Alien (1979)

Forty-four years ago today, the film Alien premiered. In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma.

Title: Alien
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Screenplay by: Dan O’Bannon
Story by: Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett
Produced by: Gordon Carroll, David Giler, & Walter Hill
Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, & Yaphet Kotto
Cinematography: Derek Vanlint
Edited by: Terry Rawlings & Peter Weatherley
Music by: Jerry Goldsmith
Production Companies: 20th Century Fox & Brandywine Productions
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release dates: May 25, 1979 (United States), September 6, 1979 (United Kingdom)
Running time: 116 minutes
Countries: United Kingdom 7 United States
Language: English
Budget: $11 million
Box office: $184.7 million
Academy Award Best Visual Effects – H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, & Denys Ayling
BAFTA Best Production Design – Michael Seymour
BAFTA Best Sound – Derrick Leather, Jim Shields, & Bill Rowe
Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation
San Sebastián International Film Festival Best Cinematography and Special Effects
Saturn Awards Best Director – Ridley Scott
Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress – Veronica Cartwright

In the distant future, the commercial spaceship Nostromo is on its way back to Earth with a crew of seven members. During their return journey, they are unexpectedly awakened from their cryogenic sleep when the ship’s computer detects a distress signal coming from a nearby planet. Obliged by company policy, they investigate the signal, leading them into a nightmare they could never have imagined.

Upon landing on the desolate planet, the crew encounters a mysterious derelict spacecraft. Curiosity gets the better of them as they explore its dark corridors and discover a chamber filled with strange, leathery eggs. One of the crew members, Kane, is attacked by a face-hugger, a parasitic creature that attaches itself to his face, leaving the crew in a state of shock and confusion.

Back on the Nostromo, the crew desperately tries to save Kane, but their efforts prove futile. In a horrifying turn of events, an alien creature violently bursts out of his chest, revealing itself as a lethal and rapidly growing organism. The crew soon realizes they are up against a highly intelligent and deadly creature that stalks them throughout the ship.

As panic sets in, the crew members, led by the resourceful officer Ellen Ripley, attempt to devise a plan to eliminate the alien threat and survive. Their situation becomes even more dire as they learn that the creature is not just an isolated incident but part of a cycle of reproduction and survival. The crew must confront their worst fears as they fight for their lives against the relentless and ever-evolving alien.

Tensions rise, alliances fracture, and the crew’s chances of survival diminish as the alien picks them off one by one. Ripley, now the last surviving crew member, must summon every ounce of her strength and courage to outsmart the creature and make a desperate bid for survival.

“Alien” is a gripping and suspenseful sci-fi horror film that explores themes of isolation, survival, and the primal fear of the unknown. As the crew battles the alien and their own inner demons, they are faced with a terrifying reality: in the depths of space, no one can hear them scream.