Guest programmed by Ryan Beesmer, winner of our “Programmer for a Day” Grand Prize! Ryan won the opportunity to program a film at the theater during our 40^th Anniversary Casino Royale Gala. We thank him for his passionate support of our beloved art house cinema. Alien is presented as part of Enzian’s year-long 40th anniversary celebration.

“My mother was a huge nerd for Sci-Fi movies and introduced me to Alien when I was probably too young. Everyone remembers seeing the chest burster scene for the first time. I was excited to pick this movie because of its place in Sci-Fi history but also because of its importance in my relationship with my mom.” – Ryan Beesmer

This landmark science fiction film follows the crew of the commercial spaceship Nostromo as they respond to a distress signal on a desolate planet and unknowingly bring aboard a deadly extraterrestrial creature that begins to hunt them one by one.

Sigourney Weaver (in her first staring role) is Ellen Ripley, whose strong and resourceful performance broke new ground for female protagonists in action and sci-fi films. Celebrated for blending science fiction with horror in a way that redefined both genres, its minimalist suspense, claustrophobic setting, and slow-building terror set a new standard for cinematic storytelling and visual effects in genre filmmaking (including the instantly iconic creature design by H.R. Giger). More than 45-years later, the film’s influence can be traced across decades of movies, video games, and literature, as it launched one of the most enduring franchises in film history.