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Alien
Quadrilogy
Alien
- Alien
DVD Easter Eggs
Director Ridley Scott's breakthough film, an immensely successful blend of horror and science fiction, is a classic in both genres and spawned a host of sequels and imitators. Starring Sigourney Weaver as warrant officer Ellen Ripley, ALIEN focuses on the crew of the space cargo ship Nostromo, which lands on a moribund planet in response to a faint SOS. Inside a crashed ship, the crew members come upon strange pods, one of which spews forth a repellently fleshy insectile creature that locks on to the face of the unlucky Kane (John Hurt). Despite Ripley's advice, science officer Ash (Ian Holm) allows Kane to return to the ship, where the creature finally releases its grip. Soon, however, in one of the film's most infamous scenes, one of its offspring explodes horribly from Kane's stomach and scurries away. Dallas (Tom Skerritt), the vessel's captain, leads the others in a search for the rapidly growing, acid-dripping alien before it can cut them down--one by one. A triumph of art direction, set design, and special effects, ALIEN gains much of its impact from the contrast between the bleak, antiseptic beauty of the space vessel's interior and the primordial horror of the alien, a brilliantly original fusion of insect, man, and machine designed by Swiss surrealist painter H.R. Giger. The top-notch cast also includes Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, and Harry Dean Stanton.
"...ALIEN outshines all competition in the luminous splendour of its photography..."
"...An old-fashioned scary movie set in a highly realistic sci-fi future, made all the more believable by the expert technical craftsmanship....[Weaver] carries it off well..."
Theatrical Release: May 25, 1979. Theatrical Rerelease: October 29, 2003. For ALIEN: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT, the original negative was restored and digitally remastered. In addition, director Ridley Scott reviewed archival footage not included in the original and chose specific never-before-seen footage to include in this special version of the film.
Aliens
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor from the original ALIEN, is awakened after 57 years of drifting through space, her stories disbelieved by Company executives who tell her that the alien’s planet is now inhabited and colonized. When contact is suddenly lost with the colonists, Ripley returns to the planet with a squad of marines, an android (Lance Henriksen), and a Company executive (Paul Reiser) with a mission of his own. Once on the planet, no survivors can be found except for Newt, a little girl who awakens motherly instincts in Ripley just in time for the acid-blooded aliens to attack in what quickly becomes a one-sided battle for sheer survival. Considered by many to be the best of the series, ALIENS is a fast-paced, high-intensity thrill ride that set a new standard for action films and cemented director James Cameron’s status as one of Hollywood’s leading directors following the success of THE TERMINATOR. Weaver received an Academy Award nomination and became a feminist hero for her strong, sensitive performance as the survivor Ripley, while costars Reiser, Henriksen, and Bill Paxton all give career-making performances in this landmark sci-fi extravaganza.
In this cathartic sequel to ALIEN, Ripley is rescued after years of hibernation in space and reluctantly drawn into a second encounter with the deadly xenomorphs, this time as part of a gung-ho platoon of narines. James Cameron's film is truly one of the greatest action movies of all time.
Alien
3
David Fincher's feature debut, ALIEN 3, picks up almost directly after the events in ALIENS, finding Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) frozen in suspended animation as her ship crashes on Fiorina 161, a prison planet. When awakened by the prison's staff, she discovers that she is the sole survivor of her crew. Trapped on a barren planet with convicts and no weapons of any kind, Ripley soon realizes that an alien was also on the ship and has survived. As the savage creature begins to massacre inmates, Ripley bands together with the remaining prisoners and attempts to destroy it by wits alone. Filmed at a time when big guns and high technology dominated the screen, ALIEN 3 deserves commendation for its unique premise--battling a vicious alien creature with no weapons and almost no resources whatsoever. This scenario makes for an unusual and intriguing science fiction thriller that is also notable for Fincher's bleak industrial visuals; the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
"...Another astonishing performance from the sinewy-and-shorn Sigourney Weaver..."
Sometimes it takes three movies to really kill an alien. In this grim third installment of the ALIEN films, Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crash lands on a prison planet and soon discovers an alien is aboard her craft. Mutilated bodies pile up, but this time she has no weapons to fight the marauding creature. Once again her toughness is tested to the max, in a bleaker episode than the previous two in the series. The film is directed with visual flair by David Fincher (SEVEN, FIGHT CLUB).
Theatrical release: May 22, 1992.
Filmed in England. ALIEN 3 was
director David Fincher's first
feature film. He had previously
directed music videos.
Alien
Resurrection
Two hundred years have passed since
Ripley made theiultimate
sacrifice oniFiorina
161. But over theiyears,
andiafter
seven horrific failures, scientists
have finally clonedia
perfect replica of Ripley, which
includes theialien
Queen growing inside her at theitime
of her death. But this new breed of
alien isifar
more intelligent than its
predecessors -ia
fact theiscientists
don't realize until after The
Betty has arrived with
additional human hosts.
Sigourney
Weaver Movies & Filmography
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