A couple of years after the hugely successful re-release of The Exorcist comes another seminal 70s horror film, freshly minted and digitised for a new generation. The good news is that it stands up as one of the finest examples of the sci-fi horror genre - in fact, it is still arguably the best example that led the way for a host of often sub-standard imitators (Outland anybody?).
Strangely this new cut, overseen by Sir Ridley Scott, is slightly shorter than the original. Scott has taken his scissors to many of the scenes, explaining that at the time of the original he was too in love with the build-up to each scene. As a result, many of the scenes have a sharper feel, giving the sense of menace an added boost.
There are only two new scenes which have never been seen in the cinema before. One is relatively minor: a fracas between the two female characters Ripley and Lambert. The other, often discussed among fans, is at the end of the film when Ripley returns to the ship to discover her crewmates dead and ensnared in the alien's lair.
However, the pleasure for many will be seeing the film on the big screen for the first time. This emphasises the stunning art direction and cinematography which remain hugely impressive. The animatronics sequences are still to be bettered: alongside landmark films of the time such as An American Werewolf in London they remain perfect examples of model-making before the age of computer graphics.
Scott's assured hand makes what is essentially a creature feature a tense journey where the viewer ultimately feels they too are in the spaceship. If anything remains a minor quibble, the docking and arrival on the planet where the crew have heard transmissions slows down the pace at the beginning of the film. It is also the most obviously reminiscent scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Like Jaws the film achieves greater horror by revealing little of the monster until some time into the action. When it does arrive, the notorious stomach bursting scene now invokes a nervous laughter from the audience, but still makes most people squirm in their seats.
Although there may be relatively few changes from the original, the video generation who first saw it through the 80s will still enjoy the big screen experience.
