20th Century Fox, in cinemas now

 

The crew of the USCSS Nostromo are picked-off one at a time after an attack by a parasitic xenomorph in this ruby anniversary release of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror classic, back on cinema screens.

The tag line tells us that ‘In space no one can you scream’, but that’s certainly not the case for Veronica Cartwright’s Lambert as she animatedly reacts to the chestburster that has just exited John Hurt’s Kane’s body. It’s a visceral scene that we’ve enjoyed (endured?) so many times, and now, thanks to a crisp, new 4K ultra high definition transfer supervised by Scott, we really get to experience even more vividly. The HDR (high dynamic range) in addition to four times the standard HD resolution makes the blood richer in this iconic scene, but more importantly it adds definition to the darkness in the bowels of the ship.

Many films suffer when put under the UHD lens, the increased scrutiny revealing deficiencies in the sets or costumes that would otherwise have remained hidden. But not so here; as with the recent re-release of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, the director was so fastidious about the quality of the movie that it is essentially age-proof. There’s no single moment where you think ‘If they did that today it would look so much better.’

The fact is that proper scares and high tension are not diminished by time, and with no artefacts or hokey effects to pull you out of the moment, you get to experience the movie like a 1979 audience member, but with the best picture yet. Everything – from the Academy-Award wining visual effects to Jerry Goldsmith’s atmospheric score to Giger’s creature design to Ron Cobb and Roger Christian’s design – just glows with quality on big screen.

Verdict: Fox are releasing the 40th Anniversary 4K print on home entertainment on 23rd April, but if you get the chance to experience it at the cinema either for the first time, or just to marvel at how well it has scrubbed up, you really should do so. 10/10

Nick Joy

The 40th Anniversary of ALIEN is in cinemas now