ALIEN - DVD review

The last time I was scared by a film in a theater it was "Alien." Before that it was the 1963 adaptation of "The Haunting," and when I was a kid it was "The House of Wax." What do all of these films have in common besides fright? They're basically about haunted houses. That is, they're all set in enclosed areas with things largely unseen going bump in the night, then springing out and going "boo"! "Alien" is more than a hair-raising sci-fi thriller. It's a darned good horror flick that just happens to be set among science-fiction trappings. For its twentieth anniversary, it comes with a disc-load of welcome extras, and even if the DVD transfer isn't all that we might have hoped for, it's better than any previous rendering of the film we've had for home use.

Director Ridley Scott said that his idea for "Alien" was to make a kind of space truckers picture, featuring a crew of long-haul space jockeys on an interstellar cargo run. The gigantic space freighter makes a perfect stand-in for the old dark house of earlier times, and Scott is canny enough not to let the audience see too much of his monster until the very end. Even then we aren't sure what we've actually seen, except that it's really scary.

The story plays on the principle that people are most frightened by things they don't see, that imagination can be more terrifying than reality, that suspense can be more hair-raising than mere shock. So when the cargo ship Nostromo accidentally picks up a deadly alien creature that keeps changing shape as it matures, we see the thing almost exclusively in the background, blending in among the shadows and ducts and hanging chains, only occasionally popping out to do its dirty deeds.

The cast is a prime example of ensemble acting, with each performer formidable enough to carry the film by him or herself, yet each working seamlessly with the others to produce an on-screen unit we care about. Sigourny Weaver stars as Lt. Ellen Ripley, a woman of sense and resource, whose heroic qualities would come to the fore even more strongly in the film's sequel, "Aliens." Tom Skerritt plays Captain Dallas, a strong, charismatic personality who at first appears to be the main character, a notion squelched before the film gets too far along. Ian Holm is Ash, the science officer, a menacing presence with a cold, detached demeanor. John Hurt is Kane, the man who inadvertently brings the alien creature aboard the ship. Veronica Cartwright plays Lambert, the crew's most vulnerable character. And Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton play Parker and Brett ("Right"), the ship's maintenance team.

Not least among the filmmakers is H.R. Giger. Much of the motion picture's artwork, set design, and costuming is based on his drawings. Giger is the fellow whose soft, round, intricately curving and fluid designs have influenced everything from video games to automobiles. His vision of the alien spacecraft is that of a gigantic womb and the alien monster's head a giant penis; viewers may make of this whatever they like. Finally, there is Mother, the ship's onboard computer, as vital, as comforting, and as sinister as HAL was in "2001." Mother serves to remind us that the business corporations behind these intergalactic cargo operations value money and power over human lives.

Video:
Fox have tried to preserve the widescreen size of the film's theatrical release with a picture ratio that measures 2.15:1, perhaps not fully as wide as originally presented but close to it. Unfortunately, the video transfer is not quite all it could be (or maybe it is only as good as the film stock from which it came). There is a deal of graininess evident in darker areas, which in a dimly lit cargo ship in space is much of the time. True, this graininess is more conspicuous at the beginning of the story, especially during the opening credits, but it sets a tone for the rest of the film. Some small amount of surface deterioration, flecks and spots, and some minor line fluctuations further contribute to the minor distractions. Understand, none of this is severe, but it is present. Otherwise, colors are reasonably vivid, well separated, and realistic, and image definition is generally good.

Audio:
The film's two-channel stereo has been THX mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 (as well as in Dolby Surround) and it, too, is slightly disappointing. The front left-to-right stereo spread is excellent and clarity is outstanding; but the rear speakers get fed relatively little information, and the overall sound quality is a bit hard and thin, with nothing like the low end I was counting on. Incidentally, Dolby Digital audio must be selected from the languages menu before playing the film; Dolby Surround is the default. Again I must emphasize that neither the picture nor the sound is inadequate, particularly considering that this is a twenty-year-old movie. I have been watching too many newer films on DVD made from crystal-clear prints and multi-channel sonics, and my expectations are undoubtedly too high.

Extras:
Happily, the extra features are fully up to speed. Director Ridley Scott's commentary track is indexed and makes for informative and sometimes provocative study. Scott comes off as quite an independent thinker and man of serious convictions. Regardless, one thing he said I found odd. He describes a scene that I consider a major flaw as looking pretty good. It's a shot that has always appeared phony and disconcerting to me, a quick cut from a rubber head to a live actor's head, supposedly the same person. But the colors of the two heads are way out of sync with one another. It seems such a glaring mistake, I was anticipating Scott saying something about it, like maybe he wished he'd had a chance to do it over. But he doesn't; he simply glosses over it. Most of his notes are otherwise direct and candid. Another agreeable bonus is the series of deleted scenes Fox includes. There are ten of them, plus two outtakes, a dozen in all.

The most interesting and controversial of the deleted scenes is one that shows several cast members cocooned by the alien creature, a scene many people wish had been left in the motion picture. Well, now we can at least see it as it was filmed. In addition, there is a collection of artwork for the movie, arranged in various categories that include one group for the original drawings of H.R. Giger. There are two isolated audio tracks, the first for composer Jerry Goldsmith's film score and a second for production sound alone. And wrapping up the regular extras are three theatrical trailers, scene selections, several language and subtitle choices, and an animated set of menus. For people with DVD-ROM players in their computers, there is an "Alien" screen saver and Web links to the Fox studios.

Parting Thoughts:
"Alien" is among those works of film and literature that did not get the best reviews when they first appeared but have since gained reputations as classics. "Alien" joins the likes of Scott's later movie "Blade Runner" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" that took a while to catch on. At least Scott's films are in good company. I hope by now that "Alien" doesn't need any further praise to ensure its place as one of the best horror films ever made. It's a DVD not to be missed.