In Space No-one Can Hear You Scream (Alien (DVD))

Member Name: Moominpapa

Product:	Alien (DVD)
Date:	14/04/01 (371 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ridley Scott's suspense-filled direction and the alien design

Disadvantages: Some audiences may find it slow

The opening chapter of what has become one of the most popular horror sagas first introduced us to the awe-inspiring resilience of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her battles against the perfect killing organism. Regarded by many as the pinnacle of the series, Alien terrified audiences worldwide with its classic blend of science fiction and horror.

In the future, the crew of the space tug Nostromo receive an extraterrestrial transmission that originates from. Reluctantly investigating (if they don’t, they’ll lose their pay) they find the tattered ruins of an ancient alien spacecraft. The investigating team then go on to discover a huge fossilised creature, seemingly the ships pilot, with a gaping hole in its chest. Then one of the crew – Kane (John Hurt) – makes the mistake of looking too closely at a strange egg. From then on, one of cinema’s most memorable evening meals ends with the bloody arrival of an uninvited guest, and a rapidly dwindling band of survivors is forced into a life or death struggle against the monster.

Ridley Scott’s masterful, suspense-filled, direction keeps audiences on the edge of their seats throughout the entire film. Even scenes that don’t contain H R Giger’s terrifying killing machine have an eerie sense of unease about them, that stops you from being able to keep your eyes from darting around every inch of the screen. The alien’s design is truly a masterpiece, and stands out above any other film alien. From its ‘extra mouth’ to bleeding acid and slashing with its tail, it can be seen that a lot of thought was put into making it like no other image of an extra terrestrial.

What the film achieves in suspense and horror, the DVD matches in picture and sound, thanks to the digitally remastered THX audio. Anamorphically enhanced, the 112 minutes of exceptional horror is, er…exceptional. But if the glorious visual acuity isn’t enough,
the special features are an absolute delight, with a hugely varying and interesting array of extras.

The audio commentary reunited Ridley Scott with his own legacy at Shepperton Studios. This exclusive recording for DVD is one of the finest examples of commentary to date, and the inclusion of a topic search is a marvellous idea.

Skipping past the traditional ingredient of theatrical trailers, the ten deleted scenes provide clues and answers to many scenes throughout the film – including a rare and much talked about scene regarding the Alien’s life-cycle. James Cameron must be thankful that it was never used as it would have made the ending of Aliens impossible. The outtakes, although interesting, are just two more short scenes that were omitted from the theatrical release.

One of the most unusual special features on the DVD is the alternate music track and isolated original score, with the latter telling a story without the need for words. The artwork (including pieces by H R Giger), photo galleries and original storyboards complete the enjoyment in this DVD marvel, making this a must-buy for all fans of the film and DVD owners alike.

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