94%
48 Reviews
Tomatometer
95%
1,000+ Ratings
Audience Score
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Critics Consensus
Director Ridley Scott re-edits his 1979 sci-fi classic to produce an elegantly re-mastered film that is as terrifying and effective as ever.
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Brian H
This movie is an absolute horror/ sci fi classic, and the Director's Cut makes it even better. The visual effects are even better than most modern-day effects, and it's effective at building suspense through atmosphere instead of focusing on cheap jump-scares. What a masterpiece.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
04/09/24
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Tams V
One of the rare examples where the scarce added scenes take away more than they add, but it's not enough to diminish a shining classic, and at worst they offer some fun trivia for fans.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
05/29/23
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jacob b
A great director's cut that's just as good as the theatrical version, if not better, Alien remains a scary, intense, well-acted piece of science fiction horror that remains one of Ridley Scott's best films to date. Not to mention they do such a good job with tge editing that, if you're watching the director's cut first, you'd never guess which scenes were removed from the original 1979 print. This isn't like Star Wars where, even if you're unaware of what visual effects were like at the time, it's blatantly obvious when the movie stops dead in its tracks when Han Solo has a chat with Jabba the Hutt. Here, there are new scenes and they enhance the experience rather than hinder it. One scene gets a nice call-back in Alien Resurrection, which further demonstrates that, like James Cameron's underrated The Abyss, the director's cut is the superior version. How did I not know until 5 years after I reviewed the original film on its RT page back when I was writing them via Facebook that the director's cut had its own page?! The director's cuts praises must be sung just as much as the already legendary theatrical version!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Alien: The Director's Cut... there are monsters in the dark.
This horror classic of 1979, directed by Ridley Scott, remains one of the most influential horror classic films of all time. This is one to measure all the others. Brilliant story, Great actors. An amazing beginning of an unforgettable franchise.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
Full Review
Audience Member
absolutely perfect. explains and expands further xenomorph lore and the xenomorph life cycle, eg. xenomorph egg life cycle without a queen. theatrical version is a tiny touch better as the mystery and suspense are a tiny tiny tad better contained and unleashed.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Saw this in theater when it was new. 40 years later it still makes my spine tingle. Loved the writing. Atmosphere is perfect!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
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Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
They really don't make them like this any more.
Rated: 5/5
Feb 27, 2019
Full Review
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Turns out not to be one of those movies that improves in the memory, but actually is better than you remember, mostly because it puts its multitude of imitators to shame.
Rated: 4/4
Oct 31, 2003
Full Review
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Scott knew how to create tension, and the movie still has plenty of white-knuckle impact, although it's a little tamer than I remembered.
Rated: B+
Oct 31, 2003
Full Review
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Alien is a triumph of style over substance, of lean over fat.
Nov 7, 2006
Full Review
Shawn Bowers
Kansas City Star
Going back to the beginning and seeing where it all began, this film had a lot to live up to in my eyes. In the end, I was just left wondering what all the fuss was about.
Rated: C-
Nov 25, 2003
Full Review
Blake French
Filmcritic.com
... one of the few films that can be predicted perfectly, but it?s so well crafted?and so damn exciting?that we just don?t care.
Rated: 4/5
Nov 23, 2003
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