# Alien (1979 film)

20 Hacker News commenters recommended Alien (1979 film) and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Ridley Scott's 1979 science fiction film, praised as a masterpiece and as an entertaining, well-crafted watch that often beats expectations.

## Why people recommend it

- Widely called a sci-fi masterpiece (5 comments): "hard to believe two of the most iconic sci fi's were created by the same guy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49407128)) "ooze with what must be the absolute pinnacle of science fiction vibes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46053835)) "Alien and Aliens were masterpieces" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46056973))
- Entertaining and better than expected (2 comments): "story-wise they were simply very entertaining" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48863766)) "they are surprised how good those movies are" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50233209))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Blade Runner](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blade-runner.md): 54 recommend
- [Colossus: The Forbin Project](https://hackerapproved.com/p/colossus-the-forbin-project.md): 35 recommend
- [Jurassic Park (1993 film)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jurassic-park.md): 32 recommend
- [The Fifth Element](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fifth-element.md): 24 recommend
- [Terminator 2: Judgment Day](https://hackerapproved.com/p/terminator-2-judgment-day.md): 21 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Alien (1979 film)", https://hackerapproved.com/p/alien/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).