ALIEN - Wow, what a fine cinematic experience!
 

I'm still on a bit of a high after seeing ALIEN on the big, wide screen in Digital Projection. The movie looks GREAT. The sound, good, but not on par with the overdone CGI fests of today. ALIEN is a real movie compared to most of the current Hollywood product. The style and photography is somewhat "arty" and the editing leans toward an almost Kubrick-style of editing.
The film takes its wonderful time setting up the story, but that is the film's plus. Once the creature takes to hiding in the ship and victimizing the crew, the tension is almost unbearable. And it is REAL tension, folks...tension I have not felt in a long time. I was watching every background, foreground...everything expecting that creature to attack. The most nerve-wracking is when Ripley is trying keep the ship from blowing up. The clock is ticking, lights are flashing and she can only do so much before she misses the deadline. I was right there with her.
The creature is great in that it is literally ALIEN. It doesn't look or act like anything on this earth (some movie monsters have characteristics of familiar animals). It's equally beautiful and dangerous.
I never noticed until now how Jones' skittishness throughout the film is because of the Alien presence. I just assumed he was a reclusive kitty. Whenever Sigourney is holding him, he seems to be looking around instead of cuddling with his owner.
The film holds up. There is nothing really dated about it save for the ships computers. Even then, however, I wouldn't change a thing production wise.
Sigourney is truly a revelation. She's very grounded and once the action shifts to her character, it's not jarring but (still) refreshing. She's just a confident screen presence with just the right amount of spunk and brains to pull through the horrific situations (or maybe blind luck: a couple of times, her character is at least meant to be put in harms way. The "vent" search sequence for example where Dallas volunteers himself instead.)
There are new scenes in the film which explain what I found curious when I first saw the film back in 1980. For example, how does Parker and Ripley know the Alien is as big as a man when Brett is slaughtered? You'll find out why. I just wish those scenes had been there before.
The Alien birth scene is still terror-ific. You really see the shock on the crew's face a lot better and it just makes the scene more effective.
When the closing credits roll (after that wonderful shot of Ripley sleeping), that music is just moving...scores just don't have that cinematic "feel" any more! When I saw the trailer for ALIEN last month, someone said aloud, "Finally a REAL movie" after the trailers for some awful, terrible current Hollywood films played out.
I have to agree...ALIEN is a REAL movie and should not be missed even if you have the DVD or Special Edition laserdisc.

but it's best experienced in a theatre (as Fox and Ridley Scott have wisely chosen to do so - let's hope Warner's will likewise theatrically release the "director's cut" of Blade Runner before it's release next year on DVD), on a v-e-r-y large screen. Washingtonian's should run over the Uptown to see it, even though the Gaithersburg screening is DLP, nothing compares to the ultra-widescreen impact. (again, though and I have to point this out, the sound is the most disappointing aspect of this edition. The surrounds are so subtle and do not replicate the DVD or 70mm prints of the film).

it's been discussed in here:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=326167

remember: "Search" button is your friend :)

That is a load of crap. Uptown is popular because the screen is really huge and the audience loves to get into the movie. Thats about it. The problem with Uptown is that the picture quality is horrible. Colors are washed out and sharpness is just terrible. Thats what happens when you blow up a 35mm print to a screen that size. Anyway, its also an old damn theater! The DLP at RIO just looks fantastic.