Certainly an interesting pairing of acting talent in this oater. Jack Nicholson plays a horse thief, who, along with his fellow gang, are systematically picked off by an eccentric, manic bounty hunter, Marlon Brando, hired by a cattle rancher whose stock has been stolen by the thieving bunch. This film is kind of a combination of genres: western and slasher. This was slasher before it existed! Halloween was still a couple years out. Members of Jack’s gang, including the great talents Harry Dean Stanton, John Ryan, Frederic Forrest, and Randy Quaid, are killed one after the other in some new graphic fashion. Yes. This film is heavy on the violence. Although he is an insufferable ass in this part, Brando is a freaking joy to behold in his weirdness. Very entertaining, enjoyable film.
This immortal classic has been making the cable TV rounds this holiday season and “Alien”, for me, still holds up as my favorite science fiction/horror film EVER! I have always been partial to the first part of the film where the crew find out about the strange “distress” signal they are sent to investigate, up until Kane (John Hurt) is brought back to the ship from the surface of the planetoid with a “guest” attached to his face. There is nice cast interaction and an effective depiction of a trek across a rather hostile planet. The rollercoaster ride of horror aboard ship which follows the delightful chest bursting sequence is a masterfully concocted spiral of dread. Who is going to confront the gigantic alien next and how will they die? The accompanying video clip showcases scenes which were shot by director Ridley Scott but were ultimately left out of the finished film. These scenes have been incorporated into an “Alien: Director’s Cut” edition of the film which appeared some years back. I think the acoustical beacon scene and the discovery of the cocooned Dallas and Brett are very effectively done. Certainly the inclusion of this material would have fleshed out the characters performed by Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, and Harry Dean Stanton. “Alien”, for me, is, simply, a stunning film.
A varied collection of unusual movie and music video clips.
