Alien (1979)

Alien
Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shuset
1979/US/U.K.
IMDb page
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Ripley: Micro changes in air density, my ass.

Ridley Scott shows himself to be a master of suspense in this horror/sci-fi thriller.

Whatever the year, space travel has become a commonplace grind, albeit a dangerous one. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is second in command on a space ship that must stop off on an icy planet to make repairs. The crew goes to explore and brings back some organic material. Against Ripley’s advice, they bring the material aboard. Of course it becomes a face-hugging, chest-exploding alien.

Science officer Ash (Ian Holm) foils all efforts to destroy the disgusting creature. It is Ripley that must conquer or perish. With an excellent supporting cast including Tom Skerrit, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, and Veronica Cartwright.

This certainly deserved to be a blockbuster. The production and effects are amazing for the time period and Scott makes his three-hour film fly by like lightening. But it is Weaver that makes the movie. What a truly bad-ass heroine! Recommended.