Alien: The Director's Cut
Review by Clint Morris
 "In Space No One can hear
you scream".
No one’s probably heard the zillions of
shrieking folks that have experienced Alien on
video for the last umpteenth years, either.
So now – thanks to some mislaid footage,
digital rendering and studio support – Ridley Scott’s fan favourite
returns to its original pedestal, the cinemaplex.
The only of the four Alien
movies to get the re-release treatment – although Aliens
[1986] is rumoured to be the next cab off the rank – the unhurried but
transfixing monster-feature pits a group on spacecraft against an
alien-life form which they inadvertently pick up on a deserted planet.
It’s been done a million times since, but
this was really the first of the “crew trapped in enclosed area with
monster” movies.
From a breathtaking production blueprint to
H.R. Giger's “Alien” design, moody absorbing direction by Scott and a
knockout performance by Sigourney Weaver - as the film’s heroine Ellen
Ripley - Alien plays just as well, if not better
than it did on its initial run.
 In comparison to the three
sequels that followed it, Alien comes a close
second to James Cameron’s significantly more enthused Aliens,
but forgetting that pace becomes more
important as the series goes on, Scott’s film is a winner, especially
in a genre that so regularly doesn’t care too much for performances,
script or anything but blood and gore.
Those that have found the film too slow, too
humdrum and rather insipid from watching it on either on Television or
old crusty video cassette will find Alien plays
like a different movie on the big screen.
The sound – a new six-track digital stereo
mix - becomes a star in itself, the production value is more evident,
and the scares are more effectual.
It’s tempting to simply hang out and wait
for this Directors Cut – which has a few added scenes, one in
particular, where Ripley discovers The Nest is a goodie - to hit DVD
early next year, but then, you’d be missing out on experiencing the
film the way it was intended.
Alien has never looked
better or played scarier…run, don’t walk.
4 out of 5
Alien: The Director's Cut
Australian release: Thursday November 13th
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean
Stanton, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, Bolaji Badejo.
Director: Ridley Scott.
Website: N/A
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