One of this years best science fiction films is, in actuality, a 24 year old gem from the directing genius of Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Legend, Gladiator). It's none other than the original 1979 sci-fi classic "ALIEN" ...for those of you who have never seen this film on the big screen, do yourself a favor and catch it before it leaves the circuit, for the current release the film has a new digitally remastered soundtrack and score, and the picture looks great you would swear that you were watching a new film! Also some long deleted scenes that were originally cut in the1979 release are back in and have been polished up including finding out what happened to Capt. Dallas (Tom Skerrit), and some additional action scenes and the lengthening of other familiar parts of the film.

Based on a short story by Dan O Bannon, first seen in the pages of Heavy Metal magazine, the story is a perfect mixture of horror and sciece fiction brilliantly directed by Scott, the movie stars; Tom Skerrit, Patricia Cartright, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto, Harry Dean Stanton, and in her film debut...a young, little known actress by the name of Sigourney Weaver, who portrays Lt.Ellen Ripley, the last survivor of the doomed cargo freighter Nostromo.

Stan Winston created the now familiar alien creatures based on the designs of renowned artist H.R.Giger who also was a conceptual artist and set designer on the film...Back in 1979 when most people were captivated by Steven Spielbergs'"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" or watching and believing that a man can fly in Richard Donner's "SUPERMAN", a choice few people took a gamble and went to see ALIEN despite initial bad reviews by critics who didn't know better at the time, the film recieved good word of mouth and quickly became the sleeper hit of that year.

The film that taught us that in space, no one can hear you scream, has since then spawned into a profitable franchise with sequels, toys, models and comics...all based on those nasty little xenomorphs. The stars have all moved on with their careers, but it was Sigourney Weavers career that experienced the greatest attention, since then she has starred in the following ALIEN sequels and has garnered critical acclaim as a serious actress (Death and the Maiden,Working Girl,Gorillas in the Mist)...Director Ridley Scott has been thrilling audiences for over 30 years with his unique visions and recently directed the academy award winning best picture "GLADIATOR" with Russell Crowe...So go back to your local theatre and delve into deep space and encounter "ALIEN: The Directors Cut" take someone who has never seen it.or has never seen it on the big screen...I for one only wished they would re-release great old films like this more often instead of making newer but far inferior ones-enjoy the show.