Alien (1979) - Film Review.

Directed by Sir Ridley Scott and written from the minds of Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett; Alien (1979) is a film full of jump scares, high suspense and restless curiosity, as stated by Roger Ebert “At its most fundamental level, "Alien" is a movie about things that can jump out of the dark and kill you.” further emphasising the menacing and hostile nature of the foreign organism. Alien (1979) not only pushes boundaries in terms of visual design, but also in subliminal messages hidden within the film that the audience will have to sit a decipher; these include woman empowerment, challenging misogynistic views and the vulnerable qualities that reside in men. (fig. 1)

Fig. 1 Alien (1979) film poster

This sci-fi horror conveys themes as mentioned above strongly through its character line-up; depicting a crew of seven mineral ore miners consisting of two women, four men and one undisclosed A.I. who all vary in characteristics and personality. On the first silent introduction of the characters, the audience comes across Executive Officer Kane as he awakes from the hibernation pod (fig. 2) then they fully get to meet the cast when in the mess hall; this then follows through to where the crew have gone to investigate the SOS call on the uninhabited planet. 

Fig. 2 Alien (1979)

Captain Dallas, Navigator Lambert and Executive Officer Kane go to investigate the distress call leaving Chief Engineer Parker, Engineering Technician Brett, Science Officer Ash and Warrant Officer Ripley on board the shuttle. While the Captain and Executive Officer are off the ship that leaves Ripley in charge of the crew on deck. When this film was produced women at the time were still fighting for equal rights to men; this more commonly known as the second wave feminism which was a movement that covered topics from sexuality, family, in the workplace, reproductive freedom and to move away from the constraints imposed on women either through their partners or men in general. So, to have a strong female lead in a film, when in reality women were only just starting to be herd; this may have been startling to male audiences as it was seen that men don’t take orders from women but rather give them. This seen in the film where Ash lets in the captain and his peers, when Ripley specifically said no, this showing that male counter parts don’t like listening to a female leader’s orders under the pretence that she is the inferior sex. However, having a strong female lead would have been empowering to female viewers, as it shows that women have a voice and can take control of situation when needed; as seen after the malfunction of Ash (the android). “Weaver [Ripley] begins the action looking girlish and serious, but changes into the toughly self-reliant woman who defined her subsequent roles.” (Bradshaw, 2019). (Fig.3)

Fig. 3 Alien (1979)

Alien (1979) much like La Belle et La Bête (1946) is a film of special effects and intrigue. This seen with the attention to detail in the set designs and the alien character featured in this film; designed by H. R. Giger; who focuses on merging the human anatomy with that of a machine. Creating obscurities of frightening intrigue for viewers, this seen vividly with the Alien costume design (fig. 4 and fig.5) where it uses a skeletal structure as a base and is then enhanced with further organic shapes, tubing and textured materials.

Fig. 4 20th Century Fox (1979)  Alien (1979)

Fig. 5 Alien (1979)

With this being applied to alien, it was then easily transferred to the alien spaceship interior where corridors are exaggerated with cylindrical and organic shapes; this can also be seen in the Nostromo ship interior, although not as exaggerated and grotesque looking. Scott also pushes the boundaries of how much gore and carnage he can show the audience through his physical special effects; this exclusively seen when Kane has the alien explode and rupture from his chest, oozing and spattering blood everywhere (fig. 6) and again where we see Ash in the aftermath of having his head severed from his body and the audience get a glimpse of the inner workings of an android with its wiring and white fluid spurting everywhere (fig. 7). 

Fig. 6 Robert Penn (1979) Alien (1979)

Fig. 7 Alien (1979) 

Through all the theatrics of Alien (1979) it has been said to lack narrative, as implied by Phillp Strick “not much variety in a narrative constructed around a monster-hunt. Once identified, the thing has to be pursued through identical sequences of mounting suspense until the climactic instant when it taps the next victim on the shoulder” now audiences at the time would have found this narrative line to be gripping as there weren’t many films around that embodied that level of special effects and jump scares; this narrative can also be seen in later sequel to Alien (1979), making it an overused plot line that people keeping coming back to; “The result is a film that absorbs us in a mission before it involves us in an adventure, and that consistently engages the alien with curiosity and logic, instead of simply firing at it.” (Ebert, 2003). In today modern cinematic narratives, there is an abundance of access to a variety of special effects, yet some narratives seen in Hollywood are predictable to audiences and considered dull in terms of making the audience feel like they’ve had an out of body experience.

Overall, Alien (1979) is a film that still holds its place among the sci-fi greats, through its innovative, fantastical set designs, horrific character ideals and classic gore and chilling fear of the unknown. With Alien (1979) empowering female lead, it has spurred on other plotlines that embody a strong versatile female protagonist set in a dystopian world in Hollywood films. These include Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) directed by James Cameron with the female protagonist being Sarah Connor and Rita Vrataski from Doug Liman’s sci-if, action Edge of Tomorrow (2014).

­

Bibliography:

Bradshaw, P. (2019) Alien review – Ridley Scott's masterpiece is lethally contemporary: The 1979 movie that made Sigourney Weaver’s name is a heart-stopping essay on the hell of other people. At: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/01/alien-review-ridley-scott-lethally-contemporary-masterpiece (Accessed 04/11/2019) In-text citation: (Bradshaw, 2019).

Ebert, R. (2003) Alien movie review & film summary (1979) | Roger Ebert. At: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-alien-1979  (Accessed 04/11/2019)  In-text citation: (Ebert, 2003).

Strick, P. (2019) Alien archive review: “a spectacularly British xenophobia” | Sight & Sound | BFI. At: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/alien-original-1979-archive-review-spectacularly-british-xenophobia (Accessed 04/11/2019)  In-text citation: (Strick, 2019).

Illustration list:

Fig. 1 Alien (1979) film poster [advertisement] At:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/mediaviewer/rm2990766080 (Accessed 04/11/2019).

Fig. 2 Alien (1979) [Film still] At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/mediaviewer/rm2992413185 (Accessed 04/11/2019).

Fig. 3 Alien (1979) [photograph] At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/mediaviewer/rm660685056  (Accessed 04/11/2019).

Fig. 4 20th Century Fox (1979)  Alien (1979) [photograph] At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/mediaviewer/rm3745950464 (Accessed 04/11/2019).

Fig. 5 Alien (1979) [film still] At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/mediaviewer/rm939065856 (Accessed 04/11/2019).

Fig. 6 Robert Penn (1979) Alien (1979) [photograph] At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/mediaviewer/rm3407714304 (Accessed 04/11/2019).

Fig. 7 Alien (1979) [film still] At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/mediaviewer/rm2304547329 (Accessed 04/11/2019).