My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #3
by Ken Parker
Among my criteria of excellent Sci-Fi
movies I include strong visuals, a soundtrack that envelopes the
viewer and high concept ideas that are both thought provoking and
exciting. So many movies on my list have elements from these but
also may have great stories, top notch acting and just that magic
touch. I am also a sucker for dystopian depictions and commentary on
society of today. One thing that I may have not mentioned as a
criteria in some Sci-Fi movies is realism. Not only do I like seeing
a movie that could be real but when a film goes out of its way to
sell the setting and ideas without going too far, I am happy. Movies
such as Sunshine, The Abyss and 2010 are
examples of this realism.
When a film takes place in the future
it may be harder to sell the look of the film. You can certainly
push your imagination to accept that a ship can travel faster than
light or that time travel is possible. When a movie presents
realistic settings, concepts and characters, that is when things can
get very interesting. My final three films on my list all excel at
realism. There is a look of each that could exist in the future.
The concepts are within grasp of a possible future.
When a film bases some of its ideals in
reality while expanding on the wonderous ideas of alien life, space
travel and artificial life, it really hits a sweet spot for me.
3 – Alien (1979)
You give me a film that has an
excellent characteristic or two it may be a film that I like. When a
film has two or three superb elements than I start to think about
putting that film on my top lists. When a film has many elements
that are spectacular, it may make it all the way to the top.
IMDB Story Summary - The crew of the deep space mining ship Nostromo are awaken from hypersleep to investigate a strange signal from a nearby planet. While investigating the signal, they discover it was intended as a warning, and not an SOS. Written by Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>
What is excellent about Alien is
made up of so many things. Sure, the visuals are well done and the
music matches perfectly but as I said in the intro, Alien is a
film that takes place many years in the future and is set deep in
space, be realistic. I love when characters don’t get along and
make mistakes. They show their weaknesses and are not super human
heroes. My final three films of my list show the flaws and
fallibility of humans in different ways. In this case it is a
mixture of the unknown, human error, complacency, fear and greed.
This is all presented with several elements that I find to be well
done in this film.
Real Setting – The setting of the
ship is not white and gleaming. Nor is it so futuristic or alien.
Instead it looks familiar, like it could exist. Dark and cluttered,
the ship looks lived in and real, not a set on a stage. The space
suits are bulky and barely movable but something that one could see
working on a planet with that harsh of conditions. The setting is
gritty and functional.
Real People – We do not have a crew
of heroes. These people have a job to do but they are not out to
save the universe. They are taken out of their comfort zones and
must try to stay alive. Often the scenes in this movie have real
performances, with the cast talking over on another and arguing.
There is an obvious class struggle and division of workers. We see
different agendas clashing at the worst moments. Mistakes are made,
resulting in an ever spiraling out of control situation.
Unreal Aliens – The design of not
only the alien itself, but the derelict spaceship are so incredible
and wild. Contrasting the realism of the characters and the Nostromo
includes a huge skeleton ‘Space Jockey’ and a room full of
‘leathery eggs’ and the truly alien Alien. You spend the whole
time trying to focus on what is what with the design and have trouble
comprehending the reality of it.
Tension – The slow moving pace of the
story, couple with the music and the annoyance of the Nostromo crew
in their premature wakening lulls the audience into a captivating
interest in what is going on. The reveal of the spaceship, its
interiors and escalating fears conveyed by Lambert begin the build up
ending with the facehugger attack on Kane. The tension building is
so subtle and yet so harrowing, it was hard to realize that it was
happening. Could I have not breathed during the first 20 minutes of
that film?
Horror – Shear horror is what this
film is all about. I love horror films and want to be scared. It
rarely happens these days but certain topics can do it. Possession
and ghosts, done properly, can frighten me. Alien monsters, not so
much. Unless that alien is onboard the Nostromo. The shocking
attack of the face hugger creature and the even more shocking ‘birth’
out the chest of the crew member, Kane set the stage. From that
point we only catch glimpses of the creature and even when we do see
him, he blends into the background. That is all horror right there
ladies and gentlemen. One by one the crew are killed. Sure, that is
a popular motif in horror films but when its done so well as it is in
Alien, one cannot help but scream. For what good it will do
you.
The music by Jerry Goldsmith locks in
the emotions and tone of each scene. Realism has no music but
suspense, action and unfamiliarity are all given appropriate music to
showcase what we see. The sound also is balance with the right
familiar and unfamiliar.
The bonus of this film is that it is
truly scary. There is no hope when you are that far out in space.
As the advertising said, “No one can hear you scream in space”.
The trailer, with its inhuman screeches is one of the best trailers
in movie history and it is good to see the Prometheus trailer
copying the concept.
Ridley Scott, a true visionary put the
whole movie together. He must get the most credit just as Lucas gets
credit for Star Wars. Scott’s style changes from movie to
movie and adapts perfectly, in this case, to the tone and style of
story telling.
Once we get this high on my list it is
hard for me to determine why one film is higher than another. I am
less likely to locate and discuss errors or problems with these
movies either because there are none or, more likely, I do not see
the mistakes or feel they are so insignificant, they are not worth
mentioning. Instead I concentrate on the excellence of the film and
everything about it. My final 4 films on my list, at one point or
another, probably reached my #1 spot. A year from now these films
may move around some more but for now this is how I feel about them.
Alien may be the least original
of my final 4. It has elements from The Thing From Another World,
Forbidden Planet and even Dark Star. The execution with
“out of this world” designs and all the other elements mentioned
before worked on such a high level.
I first saw this movie on cable TV - never seen it on the big screen
I have seen this movie 20 - 25 times on cable and home video
I just got this on blu ray and will be watching it soon
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(film)
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Alien-Blu-ray-Sigourney-Weaver/dp/B004RE29T0/ref=tmm_blu_title_0
One of the best trailers of all time
One of the best trailers of all time
Not so much
One of the coolest toys ever!!
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