ALIEN (1979)
Director Ridley Scott
Starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerrit, Veronica Cartwright, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto, Harry Dean Stanton
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Screenplay by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett
Alien belongs to those films that have remained so ensconced in the public consciousness, that I don't have to tell you from scratch about it. Basically, it is like a Science Fiction B-movie of the 1950s (there are some wonderful films among those cheapies but I will talk of those some other time) but Alien was made in the late 1970s and it had a budget, so the ambitious director could really try to make things work for him. Of prime importance for the film were of course the designs by H.R. Giger, the Swiss artist upon whose drawings the design of the alien was based. With his eerie designs the film succeeded beyond anyone's wildest expectations.
Ridley Scott's sets were also really elaborately detailed and beautiful. The music of film composer Jerry Goldsmith added wonderfully to the suspense and terror of it all, clearly indicating that 'in space no one can hear you scream'.
This film was the beginning of a franchise that quickly derailed into nonsensical sequels after James Cameron's excellent ALIENS. Hopefully the return of director Ridley Scott may bring somewhat more stability to the franchise but to be honest, the idea of an Alien prequel doesn't sound all that appealing to me. Nevertheless, the original ALIEN remains a wonderful thrill ride, a true masterpiece in sci fi terror.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten