The Alien legacy is really more like a series that consists of two ground-breaking films, followed by two ambitious but flawed films. The original was conceived by Ridley Scott in 1979, two years after George Lucas showed the world that science fiction was the next big thing in movies. These two films couldn't be more different, with Star Wars being a swashbuckling-in-space opera, and Alien being a new type of horror/thriller. And it's safe to say that every single sci-fi movie since the late 1970's has been influenced in some way by Star Wars and Alien (and by another little film that Scott would create in 1982, called Blade Runner). But more about this later.
Alien
The tagline for Alien was "In space, no one can hear you scream." In light of this, it's interesting that once the terror started in the movie, not much screaming was done at all. What we got was about 110 minutes of near-silent anticipation, and maybe 5 minutes of actual screaming thrills. For example, the picture above and to the left is from about a third of the way through the movie, when the crew of the Nostromo space vehicle first runs into the alien creatures. Actor John Hurt, as the character Kane, curiously examines the alien eggs for the first time, while we look on in fear. Much of the movie is like this. Of course, soon he has an embryo implanted inside of him, which leads to the now infamous chestburster scene. And there are several other terrifying scenes, such as when Dallas (played by Tom Skerritt) crawls through narrow passageways in the hopes of defeating the alien with a flamethrower, and when Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) searches for the cat and finds...something else. But these few scenes of horror are merely specks on a huge canvas of silence, isolation, and dread.
Aliens
The second movie in the series was appropriately and cleverly called Aliens, and it's probably one of my top ten favorite movies. It was directed by none other than the great James Cameron in 1986, a full 7 years after the original. Cameron was probably still on a high from his hugely succesful movie, the Terminator, which was released in 1984. I have to say, that movie was the scariest movie I had ever seen, until I saw Aliens. I don't know how he had the energy to create two intense movies like that in a span of just a few years, but I'm really glad he pulled it off.
The fact that the title isn't "Alien 2" but "Aliens" is very important. That 's' at the end makes a HUGE difference. It was scary enough in the first movie to have just one of H.R. Giger and Stan Winston's nasty creations roaming around. Now there are scores of them. To even out the playing field, the main characters aren't stuck in one spaceship this time, and these characters aren't your average researcher and scientist. They're marines.
The tagline for Aliens is "This time it's war" and that's pretty much what you get. A little bit of quiet desperation and a whole lot of screaming. Every moment of this movie is intense and terrifying. Here's what Roger Ebert said about it:
"The movie escalates into a nonstop war between human and alien. It's here that my nerves started to fail. "Aliens" is absolutely, painfully and unremittingly intense for at least its last hour. Weaver goes into battle to save her colleagues, herself and the little girl, and the aliens drop from the ceiling, pop up out of the floor and crawl out of the ventilation shafts. I have never seen a movie that maintains such a pitch of intensity for so long; it's like being on some kind of hair-raising carnival ride that never stops. I don't know how else to describe this: The movie made me feel bad. It filled me with feelings of unease and disquiet and anxiety. I walked outside and I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was drained. I'm not sure "Aliens" is what we mean by entertainment. Yet I have to be accurate about this movie: It is a superb example of filmmaking craft. I'm giving the movie a high rating for its skill and professionalism and because it does the job it says it will do. I am also advising you not to eat before you go to see it."
Well said, Mr. Ebert. Although, I was immensely entertained by the movie. One thing that many critics and fans didn't realize back then was the huge amount of work that went into the making of Aliens. James Cameron personally designed most of the props, including weapon models and miniatures for the spaceships. The main characters are all very fleshed out and interesting. Hicks is quiet, unsure of his status as a leader, but obviously a seasoned warrior (you can see this in a scene when the team drops into the planet's atmosphere from orbit, pulling serious G forces, and he is fast asleep). Hudson is like a frat boy turned marine, and he talks way too much. He's also the movie's only comic relief. Vasquez is a woman who is very sure of herself, and very magnetic. She has an interesting relationship with Drake, who seems like he could have been a devoted Nazi in another lifetime. Gorman is the very inexperienced and fearful Lieutenant. Burke is a lackey for the Weyland Yutani Corporation, sent along for the ride with a secret mission to bring back the alien for study. Bishop is a "synthetic". Ripley has a difficult time accepting him because the cyborg on the Nostromo (in the first movie) malfunctioned and tried to sexually assault her in a way that only a synthetic could. So, it's nice how Bishop is the only one Ripley can trust by the end of the movie. Apone is the sergeant, and what a character he is. From the moment the hypersleep chambers open, he is violently chewing on a cigar. And the first thing he says is, "Alright, sweethearts, what are you waiting for, breakfast in bed? Another glorious day in the Corps. A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet, every paycheck a fortune, every formation a parade. I LOVE the Corps!" All of these over-confident marines are juxtaposed nicely with Ripley, who is the only one who knows what awaits them on the planet's surface. Her fear of and appropriate respect for the alien creatures' abilities contrasts perfectly with the marines' naivete.
One of my favorite scenes occurs after most of the marines get wiped out by the aliens. There are five or six people left alive (including a young girl who was one of the original colonists). Corporal Hicks suggests installing automatic motion sensing sentry guns in crucial corridors, so that the aliens won't be able to close in on them. Once they are installed, the group gathers together in front of the remote digital readouts for the guns, watching as the number of rounds starts to fall from several hundred to just several. During this time, we're given the benefit of being able to see the sentry guns blasting away at the oncoming rush of aliens. But the group can only see the readout on their screens and faintly hear the sound of hundreds of rounds disappearing. It's a wonderful, and terrifying scene.
But in the end, Sigourney Weaver is definitely the greatest aspect of "Aliens." She emerges as a courageous and powerful woman in the midst of mayhem. The final confrontation between Ripley and the queen alien (who is shown in the picture above, about to grab the young girl) is an awesome showdown between two "mothers" trying to protect their children. It all boils down to a line Ripley delivers to the Queen late in the movie: "Get away from her you BITCH!"
The Alien series went downhill after "Aliens". Alien 3 was released in 1992, directed by David Fincher. Although it wasn't a very good movie, he's moved on since then and directed some of the best films of the 90's (Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, and Panic Room in 2002). And the work print available on the Alien Quadrilogy collection shows that a very interesting film existed, until the studio mucked it up. Alien Resurrection was the fourth in the series, released in 1997 and directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet. There were some interesting plot elements in this movie, and the visuals were to die for, but ultimately it fell far short of the high standard set by Ridley Scott and James Cameron. But Jeunet has also had much success with the dark and twisted Delicatessen, the psychedelic yet charming City of Lost Children, and 2001's wonderful Amelie, all produced in his native country, France.
Side note: The other great sci-fi/horror movie to introduce a wonderfully detailed alien race is "Predator". There was an arcade game called "Aliens vs. Predator" in the early 90's, and there is even a series of related games for the PC. Rumor has it that "Aliens vs. Predator" will be made into a movie. Fans of the game have been begging for this for a long time but from what I hear, Sigourney Weaver has stood in the way. It might be directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who has directed Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Soldier, and Resident Evil. I know he has a sequel to Resident Evil in the works, so who knows if all of this is true. He isn't the greatest director, but he seems to do well with the scifi/action/horror genre. So, I hope for the best.
Update (2004): So, Alien vs. Predator came and went. It wasn't very good. But I still had fun. I wish it had been a longer movie. Director's Cut, hopefully.