Alien is a beautiful film. One thing I love about it is the way Ridley Scott treats us to lavish wide shots in the early stages (for instance in the Alien spacecraft) to create a great sense of mystery, then as the horror kicks in, he ditches that in favour of tighter and tighter angles. As the body count escalates, he dispenses with establishing shots entirely when the scene changes, cutting to sweaty, terrified close-ups instead to build claustrophobia (just after the death of Dallas, for instance). It's a sublime piece of cinematic artistry.

And yes, it looks stunning. :)