Just in time for Halloween 2003, FOX releases "Alien: The Director's Cut" into theatres. Although an obvious "cash cow" move (hey, why not release it on DVD and call it a high enough $$$ return?), it was a treat for me to see "Alien" on the big screen for the very first time (originally released in 1979). Now although the "special effects" looked more dated since the screen was so big and the flaws more apparent (like that severed head on the table, or the chestburster puppet on a stick), the bang-on production values, the gorgeous exterior Nostromo shots, the breathtaking space scenery and the beyond astounding set designs (inside the ship and especially on the creepy Alien planet) truly shined. "Alien" had a somber enough feel and arresting enough imagery on the small screen, but witnessing that unique world on a massive canvas blew my sox off to "Face Hugger" heaven..

And what about the editing changes and the 11 minutes of new footage, you may ask? Well, first off, the pace of the flick was definitely tighter than the initial cut. I heard that Ridley Scott shaved seconds from some scenes to speed things up and I felt it. New footage-wise, my favorite bit had to be "The Nest" sequence where an exhausted Ripley (Weaver) found two expiring crew members gooed up on the walls in Alien slime (a tactic that James Cameron mucho used in "Aliens"). It gave those two RIP characters a good finish and allowed Ripley to have an extra emotional moment. I loved it! Other obvious additions were a slight physical confrontation between Ripley and Lambert (Cartwright) which upped the impact of the situation at hand, a slick overhead money shot of the Alien hanging from chains, ready for attack and an added peeved Alien Vs Ripley chase down a hall where the Alien did something that I've been dreaming of doing forever...kick that damn cat "Jonesey" out of the way. Yeah bitch!

Alien is the movie that made the formula of a “crew trapped in an enclosed area with monster” popular. Countless imitators have followed but none were ever able to achieve the artistry that “Alien” proudly displayed. On the visual front, everything about “Alien” is more than just on the money; it’s fucking amazing! You get the kickarse production designs by Michael Seymour; who can forget the inside of the crashed space ship or the unveiling of the Alien egg farm? You get atmosphere up the wazoo with dripping corridors, lots of smoke and groovy lighting. And of course, you get the H.R. Giger's “Alien” design; one of the more original creature designs to ever grace the silver screen. Top all that off with Scott’s subtle and moody directing and you get a visual horror feast that’s undoubtedly on top of the menu.

Story wise, Alien hooks you early on and gradually imposes its terror upon you.  What I love about the characters in this flick is that they all pretty much get the same screen time. For someone who knows nothing about this classic movie, it’s virtually impossible to pinpoint who’s going to make it and who’s not. It’s pretty nerve-wracking. Also, all of the kills are injected with a huge dose of tension with Scott fully using the dark surroundings to scare us. The inside of that spaceship is just plain creepy; even the ventilation shaft doors that shut in a circular motif gave me the brrrs. Another aspect that had me chewing on my socks is the way the movie handled the growth cycle of the alien. That dinner scene still gets to me even though I’ve seen it a thousand times. Every time you think that it's over, it gets worse. The Alien itself is one of the more interesting cinematic creatures ever. I won’t give everything away in case some people live on Mars and have yet to see this flick, but I will say that any creature that has acid for blood is OK in my book. Wow!

Alien does betray its intelligence and uniqueness twice though. First off, the damn cat really pissed me off. Couldn’t the screenwriter find a less obvious and silly reason to get a character wandering in the dark so he could get his head bit off? The feline bothered me even more when Ripley (Weaver) went back in the ship to save it, discarding two important facts: A) the ship is going to blow up and B) the invincible Alien is still on the prowl. Come on! Fuck the cat! You’re going to die! The other thing that cheapened the movie for me was having Ripley in her bra and panties (why are the panties two sizes too small??) during her final encounter with the alien. Why do that? To excite us (didn’t work, she looked like a plumber with that butt crack sticking out)? To put Ripley in a more vulnerable state? To further imply that the Alien is a phallic symbol on two legs? Whatever the reason, it didn’t work for me. It looked sleazy and was obviously only there to show some skin.

Walter Hill was initially supposed to direct this film but he pulled out and Scott took over.

Much of the dialogue in the film was improvised.

An early draft of the script had Ripley as a man.

A sex scene between Dallas and Ripley was in the script but never filmed.

Scott originally wanted a darker ending. He wanted the alien to bite Ripley's head off in the escape shuttle then sit in her chair and start speaking with her voice in a message to Earth. Apparently, 20th Century Fox wasn’t down with that.

Veronica Cartwright was originally set to play Ripley but the producers went for Weaver in the long run.

A.E. van Vogt sued the film claiming plagiarism of his 1939 story 'Discord in Scarlet. Everything was settled out of court, of course.