Film Alien Retrospective

[Redbird 11]

I wrote this a long time ago and never ended up posting it, found it on my computer and figured I'd share it with the world.

 

Hi everyone, today I felt like starting a discussion on one of my favorite film franchises, that being the Alien franchise. One piece of information I'd like to make known is that I have not seen Prometheus however I am aware it is considered a quasi-prequel to the first film.  WARNING:THIS THREAD WILL NOT BE SPOILER FREE AND AS SUCH I WILL NOT BE PUTTING SPOILER TAGS. So without further delay let's get started. In this first post I will be talking about the first film in the series which is:

Alien (1979)
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay: Dan O'Bannon

Let me start off by saying, if you haven’t seen this movie; 1, why are you on this topic 2, go and watch like right now. Stop reading what I have written, and go spend the 2 hours it takes to watch this movie. It is without a doubt the Science Fiction Horror film. I’m not sure where to start so let’s start with the basic plot of the movie. The movie, set in the year 2122 takes place almost entirely aboard the commercial towing vessel the USS Nostromo. During the crew’s return trip to Earth they are commanded by their employer to investigate a signal of unknown origin. Upon investigating the source of said signal one of the crew members is attacked by an unknown life form that attaches itself to his face, later this organism appears to die. During the crew’s last meal before entering hibernation for the flight home the crew member whom had previously been assaulted by the lifeform is killed by the parasite that has been gestating within him. Thus releasing the titular alien.
One of the first things I’d like to discuss about this movie is the pacing, Alien in very much a slow burn film. It is roughly 40 minutes before even the facehugger appears and the full grown form of the Xenomorph is given I’d estimate less than 15 minutes of time on screen. This however works overwhelmingly in favor of the movie. Alien is all about atmosphere and it is genius at building its atmosphere. Not just in its design but also in the acting of each of the cast members. The characters are as follows, Dallas, Kane, Ripley, Parker, Brett, Lambert, and Ash.
Speaking of the characters, let’s talk about them right now. First up is Ash, now Ash doesn’t have much development other than the fact that he seems to be acting in the company’s favor as opposed to the safety of the crew of the Nostromo, this is of course because he is actually an Android planted by the Weyland-Yutani corporation to ensure the Xenomorph’s capture and transit to a Weyland-Yutani research facility. Brett is an engineering technician and is the first crew member to encounter and be killed by the full grown Xenomorph. Brett is rather stupid and easily one of the least likeable of the crew. Moving onto Parker, the head machinist/engineer aboard the Nostromo, Parker is one of the first to react when the Xenomorph kills Kane, and is also what I’d call the most proactive of the crew second only to Ripley who I will talk about later. Lambert is the umm, actually I’m not sure what Lambert’s job is aboard the ship, she might be the communications officer of the helmsman someone feel free to correct me. Kane, as I have mentioned is the crewmember who serves as the host for the Xenomorph, Kane isn’t given much development but while he is still alive it seems that he gets along with the rest of the crew. Dallas is the captain of the Nostromo and it is obvious he cares very much about his crew seen by his willingness to be the first to try to trap the Xenomorph, in the novelization of the film its mentioned that he has feelings for Ripley, which is reasonable to believe if you watch the film.
Now onto Ripley, Ripley will be getting her own block of text because she’s just that darn important. Ripley is the protagonist of the film, and the sole survivor of the incident. Ripley is listed as the warrant officer, of the Nostromo. Ripley is a normal person who is thrust into a situation that would push any person to the breaking point. Ripley is also notable for being one of the first female protagonists of a science-fiction film or a horror film. Ripley in general and specifically her portrayal by Sigourney Weaver. Ripley gets more development in the sequel Aliens.
There’s plenty of filmmaking elements to talk about in regards to Alien, I’m just going to speak about my personal favorite. All of the piping and infrastructure of the ship which is exposed to you for the full hour or so before you see the Alien is nearly identical in color and texture to the Alien itself. Thus near the climax of the movie when the Alien is in the shuttle with Ripley the viewer often does not see the Alien until it moves, which personally scared the living hell out of me. I would also like to add that this film is made using practical effects. Which are beautiful and I will maintain that a well made practical will always look better than CGI.
There’s plenty more to talk about but this is already almost a 1000 words and I really don’t want to write this until tomorrow. So thanks for reading!