Rent Alien (1979)

Intense, claustrophobic atmosphere of tension, unease and menace - Alien review by RP

Superb 1970s sci-fi film, never bettered. Despite its reputation, this is not a horror film – there is very little on-screen blood and gore with the sole exception of *that* scene. This film made the reputations of both Sigourney Weaver and director Ridley Scott. Scott went on to make (among other superb films) 'Blade Runner' and the less-appreciated 'Black Rain', both of which use similar stylish dark and brooding visual surroundings shown here.

'Alien' immerses the viewer in an intense, claustrophobic atmosphere of tension, unease and menace which never lets up until the very end. Highly recommended - 5/5 stars

Still the standard by which all of this genre are measured by - Alien review by JD

By modern standards there is on first glance a lot going against this film today. Not least the extremely slow build up.

However it must be remembered this is the original. A film that spawned countless imitators and copies. Of which only one, the sequel can stand as its equal.

When you consider OBannon and Giger had a massive part to play in the success of this film it says a lot that its Scott who gets the glory. And thats because his direction is utterly masterful.

This film is held together with aerospace grade glue and is near flawless in its execution. And that slow start i mention, like the sequel this is to build the universe and the characters and its done in a way i think few people fully understand or appreciate. Indeed, rumour has it the story of the film is summarised in the opening sequence.

Acting is superb and we have of course Sigourney Weaver acting every bit as well as her character is written.

A fully deserved 5 stars for this one. One of the greatest films ever made and worth watching today more than ever to remove the foul taste of todays garbage from your eyes and ears.

Like its sequel this film is as near flawless as they come.

Oh, it has an alien in and is set in space.

Review of 4K Blu ray - Alien review by MM

I won't focus on the story of the film which I quite agree changed cinematic history. (I attended the preview of its first night. i will never forget it) I'll concentrate on the $k remastering

Content

The Blu ray 4K contains 2 versions of the film and two commentaries, both are worth listening to. There are also 2 film score tracks. the film made interesting watching listening only to the score which actually works well. There are also so brief deleted scenes , which honestly are so short they are not worth mentioning and were honestly disappointing.

4K Film quality

The film has been remastered 4K in HDR10. This means black is truly black! What this means is that there is a lot more visible in the film than before. Corridors stretch into far distance, giving a much greater impact to the interior visuals. there is more to see on each frame than previous versions which seemed largely black ! The remaster if from film and there is a lack of sharpness because of it so I'd probably say the sharpness is not greater than non 4K.

Sound

The sound is Dolby digital 5.1 remember that the original film was only Dolby surround so what we have is largly a remix to 5.1 which does the job.

Conclusion

This groundbreaking film has been lovingly remastered for a new generation. The film has not aged a day. the 4K is probably not much better than 2K because it is a film transfer but the high contrast gives it a whole new feel. It is a masterpiece. this disk is only worth watching if you have a HDR screen or a fan of the commentaries of film score.