Tagged as "Jaws in Space," Alien was released into theaters in 1979. It was Scott's first major directing job and it proved to be the film that jump-started a long and amazing career. While Scott has directed some of the greatest films of the past 40 years, I feel that Alien still stands and one of his greatest achievements.
To define the film in a very general way, and I do mean general, Alien is essentially a haunted house style film set in space. There are 7 people trapped on a ship being terrorized by an unknown being. While this description could be a formula for a boring and predictable film, Scott's abilities to create tension and terror make for a movie going experience that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. To assist in Scott's superb direction, the design of the titular Alien character was also a terrifying sight. Scott and the film's producers were drawn to the artwork of Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger. Scott did not want his film to have a cheesy, B-Movie design to it's alien and Giger's work was far from that. Based on his 1976 artwork Necronom IV, Geiger created an alien that was sleek, deadly, and very terrifying. Using a biomechanical style, Giger then designed many other important aspects of the film including the planet landscape which the crew found the alien, the ship that the alien eggs were on, and all of the alien lifeform's lifecycle stages (egg, facehugger, chestburster, and xenomorph). Giger's designs were like all other pieces of his work; smooth, sexual, disturbing, and yet beautiful. Giger won an Academy Award for his designs on Alien.
Alien was also influential because it introduced the character of Ellen Ripley, the heroine of the Alien franchise. Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in her first staring role, was the first of her kind of the sci-fi world. Most, if not all of the main characters of science fiction films in the past had been male. Ripley was a strong woman in a high ranking position on her ship. Her strength and survival was an inspiration to women everywhere.
For all of these reasons, and many more which I cannot find the words to describe, this film has been, and will always remain one of my favorites. Scott created a sci-fi/horror masterpiece that has yet to be matched in its intensity and creativity. There have been many sequels and spin-offs in the franchise, all of which, besides James Cameron's Aliens, have failed to match Scott's initial vision. There are rumors going around on the horror circuit that Scott has signed on to direct 2 prequels to his original film. I really hope this news is accurate because his genius could bring the franchise back to its terrifying roots. I guess only time will tell if Scott pulls through. For the world's sake, I hope the films will not include Scott's current favorite Russel Crow. While I loved Crow in Gladiator, he has yet to wow me in any of his more current roles. Please Mr. Scott...cut the umbilical cord on that relationship!
If you would like to view the original 1979 trailer, please click this blog's title for a link to YouTube.
No comments:
Post a Comment