ALIEN: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT

Length: 117 minutes

Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
5/5

Ridley Scott’s sci-fi/horror classic gets a slightly premature but entirely deserved re-release as
Alien returns to the cinema screen, twenty four years after its original release – just one short
of the quarter century. But this is no ordinary, bog-standard version. This is the Director’s
Cut, the one true vision, the holy of holies, digitally remastered and with an added three
minutes (yep, count ‘em!) of extra footage not included in the original. To be fair, the
‘Director’s Cut’ claim is a bit of a swizz, as the new footage - barring a new scene where
Ripley discovers a fellow crew member cocooned - is mostly blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stuff
that has already been available on the DVD release. But as long as you don’t go expecting
anything drastically different from the original, what you’ll get is an atmospheric classic in its
true home on the big screen.
Answering what they believe to be a distress call, a mining ship and its seven crew (well,
eight if you count the cat) find themselves unwelcome hosts to an alien visitor that isn’t even
remotely friendly. In a rather unsportsman-like fashion, the alien happens to have acid for
blood, several jaws full of razor-sharp teeth and a murderous survival streak a mile wide.
Graceful, otherworldly and exuding a menace that is truly discomforting, the alien is without
doubt the star of the show, although this film has far more to recommend it than just its
superb creature effects.
From the organic crashed spaceship to the industrial grandeur of the Nostromo itself, the set
design is artful and striking. The script, simple and streamlined, squanders not one word on
pointless exposition and still manages to spring a few nasty surprises on the viewer -
remember the classic chest-bursting scene? The acting is also spot on, the crew’s mixture of
antagonism and camaraderie making them immediately believable and likeable. And all of
these pieces are held in place by Ridley Scott’s atmospheric direction. A masterpiece in
economy and style, Alien is a truly elegant film that is still as shockingly effective and
entertaining as it was all those years ago.

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