Yep, totally agree on all counts. Just a brilliant film and soooo scary!
BTW, I don’t know if you saw the 2003 “Director’s Cut” re-release or not, but there were a couple of really good scenes that didn’t make the original film. My absolute favorite was this one of Ripley’s discovery of Dallas after he disappeared in the airshaft. I won’t give it away, but it not only puts Cameron’s “queen egglayer” concept on its head, I think it adds an entirely new level of horror to the Alien.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJUaH9KzH1s
BRRR!
Yes I heard. In the directors cut. Those types of scenes were among the most disturbing ones in the second film. Very disturbing. The first film was a masterpiece.