Watched this when released in the cinema, since then have bought & watched many times the 3 sequels. Bought this last week to complete the collection but wasted my money - the storyline is slow, the sound track barley audible & the film just doesn't cut it any more.
The 3 sequels are far, far better.

This film is EXCELLENT. Ridley scott does a great job creating a slice of must-watch cinema. But the film does get quite dull and repetitive towards the middle mark, and then shines on an amazing conclusion that doesn't fail to disapoint! James Camerons military sequel (Aliens) is a far superior piece of sci-fi/horror entertainment.

The first, and greatest, of the Alien series. Essentially a mixture of science fiction and "the old dark house" style of horror movie. H.R. Giger's design for the titular beastie has never been surpassed and still manages to get under the skin and disturb the viewer. Ridley Scott is careful to stick to one of the cardinal rules of the great monster flick - don't show the creature too clearly. Terrific set design presents us with a believable vision of grubby, heavy-industry spacefaring which looks genuinely lived-in. The cast are possibly the best ensemble that Ridley's ever been blessed with - John Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto and Veronica Cartwright. Not to forget the preternaturally tall and thin Bolaji Badejo, who lurks in the dark places of the ship as the alien itself. And, if you've never seen it, prepare yourself for one of the most effective "shock" moments in cinema.

Not just a great Sci-Fi film, this is one of the great achievements in movie making. Made on a shoestring it showed the future as a real place not a silver-suited fantasy land, and boy did it scare the viewer !
A great "ride" of a movie that grabs you and doesent let go.

I'm not going to review this film, most folks know it by now, it's a classic, I love it, and you can go read the Quadrilogy reviews for more, what I'm going to do is ask you a question:

Why should you bother to get this DVD when you can get the full 9 disc Quadrilogy box set with all the movies, directors cuts, commentaries and extras for little more than 3 times the price than this one film, nowadays? Well I'll tell you:

This DVD differs from all the others included in that box set in that it has a few extras that didn't make it across, in particular a 'temp mix' audio track before the final dubbing and musical score was added that has many scenes where you can hear the original lines before dubbing, and some are very different, you can hear Ridley giving off camera directions to the cast, particularly to the fresh-off-the-stage Sigourney, and you can hear the wooden sets and plastic props creaking and cracking as the cast run up and down the corridors, which is almost certainly why it wasn't included later because it really brings across just how 'glue and duct tape' a lot of the sets and props actually were, and also you REALLY appreciate just how important the music and sound effects were in selling this to the general public!

If like me you watch these older movies not just for the story itself, but for the way the film was brought to life too, then you may see this as something well worth having in your collection purely for that little extra that's missing from the box set.

If so, well, it ain't expensive!

Ridley Scott is a visionary.His flair in Bladerunner bore a lot of routes from his previous classic....ALIEN.
This film needs no introduction as it is simply in my opinion the best sci-fi horror yet!!!!!!It works for me by the way the characters are allowed to interact,we see each of them for what they are.....almost!We are allowed to wander with them through their run down home,the Nostromo,start to relate to and even like them..........all this is thrown into hell when the land and pick up the Alien.
The direction,the detail,the sets,atmosphere,pacing,acting,fx....EVERYTHING is spot on here and you cannot do anything but be sucked into the haunted house in space which is ALIEN.
A classic.........get the popcorn in,turn off the lights and prepare to be scared poopless!!!!