Gary Dretzka
Leonard Klady
David Poland
Ray Pride
Patricia Vidal

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The day started with a surprise. Fox had an early screening of Alien, which was attached to possible sit down with Ridley Scott. Sudden must see. And man, oh man, what a joy it was to see this movie with great sound 24 years later. Make no mistake, the “director’s cut” is not much different than the original. The one added scene, the infamous Dallas-in-a-cocoon bit real doesn’t fit in at this point. I’m sure if it was added back at the start, the cut would have made sense. Here, it feels completely superfluous.

BUT… great freakin’movie. It is easy to forget many of the details… like that Yaphet Kotto and Tom Skerritt were the only real names, in America at least, and that Sigourney Weaver was a complete unknown and a complete surprise as the sole survivor. It’s easy to forget how little of the Alien we saw. Seeing a young Ian Holm… the Laurel & Hardy/Beavis & Butthead routine by Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton… the simple reality of a cargo ship in space…

Alien is a treat of slow moving thrills, effects that would only be hurt by CG and sound… oh that amazing sound. Listen for the heartbeat. Hear that constant drip, drip, drip. The sound of the human body being challenged to hold together. And the silence. That silence. In space, no one can hear you scream indeed.

by David Poland

Alien
The Directors Cut
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Director: Ridley Scott
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Country: USA
Year: 1979
Time: 117 minutes

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Production Company: 20th Century Fox/Brandywine Productions
Executive Producer: Ronald Shusett
Producer: Gordon Carroll,
David Giler, Walter Hill
Screenplay: Dan O'Bannon,
David Giler, Walter Hill
Cinematography: Derek Vanlint
Editor: Terry Rawlings,
Peter Weatherley
Production Designer: Roger Christian, Anton Furst, Michael Seymour
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Principal Cast: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm