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Alien(1979)

Dir.RidleySco5

ReviewbyEmilyClarkson

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Alienisascifihorrorfilmthatwasscreenedin1979anddirectedtheinfamousRidleySco5.The

storyissetinthefuturetoaworldwherespacetraveliscommonplace.Thefocusofthestoryis

onasalvageshipcalledtheNostromoanditscrewofseven.Ontheirwaybacktoearth,the

NostromocrewsshipinterceptsasignaltheyassumetobeanSOSandfollowittoitssource.

TheirinvesMgaMonleadsthemintoterribledangerasAliencreaturelurkintheruineddebrisof

anothershipanditisreadytowreakitshavocontheunsuspecMngNostromocrew.

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TheintroducMonofAlienisdeceivinglyslow;

Thereisnodialogforthefirst6

minutes.(IDb,2012)helpingtosetthescene

ofaship,withacrewonthejob,doingwhat

theyaresupposedtowhenexternal

circumstancesintervene.Thecamerawork

includesalargeamountofpanningthroughthe

spacesoftheshipNostromo.Theshipisnota

glossy,perfectsetofcurvaceousglassesand

plasMcs,butanarrayofdisorganizedtubing,

metalwork,gangwaysandvacuumformed

plasMcs.Itvisuallydescribesareallywellused,funcMonalplaceofwork.DespitetheseVngof

afarflungfuture,thevisualconcepMonfeels

relatable.(fig1and2)

Fig1:IDb,2012)

Fig2:IDb,2012)

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Whentheaudiencesareintroducedtothealienplanettheyarethrownintoaplacethatis

immediatelyforeboding.ThemajorityofsetdesignsfortheseparMcularsceneswerebytheSwiss

surrealistH.R.Giger.anyofGigersworkscarrythemostexplicitmoMfandarequitecerebralin

nature;diggingintothedepthsofFreudiansexualpsychology.Hehasbeentodescribedtobea

visionarywithanuncannyabilitytodepictthedeepdarkrecessesofthehumanpsycherevealed

bymodernconsciousnessresearch.(Grof,200)TherepeMMveuseofribbedpipeworkinstrong,

lighMnghelpstocreateatexturethatisrepulsive(fig3)Asifitwasntenoughtohaveasetthat

subconsciouslyfrightenedaudiences,theproducershadGigercreatetheirterrifyingalien

creature.Thetallgangling;monstrosityis,forthemostpartofthefilm,partlyhiddeninshadows.

Butwhenitisseen,strikesastrongpangofintrigue,fearandrevulsion.(Fig4)

Fig3:bfi,2012) Fig4:bfi,2012)

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TheintroducMonofGigersAlienisaveryhorrificallyprimalone.Itsentryintothestorylineagain

runsalongthelinesofFreudspsychologyandGigersartworkofuncomfortablyinMmate

subjectschildbirth.Gigerdiscoveredindependentlyfromthepioneersofmodernconsciousness

research,theparamountpsychologicalimportanceofthetraumaofbiologicalbirth.(Grof,

200b)However,forthesakesofahorrorfilm,ithasbeentransformedintoacompletelybrutal

event.Atwostageprocessthatwillonfirstviewing,shockmostaudiences.Itisthischestburst

scenethathasbecomeoneofthemostfamousinscienceficMonhorrorfilms,(it)was

consideredthesecondscariestmoviemomentofallBmeonravo'sThe100ScariestMovie

Moments.(IMDb,2012).Itsfamecausedmainlybythesheerhorroroftheideabutalsothe

visualeffects.(Fig)

(FigIDb,2012)

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RidleySco5sstagedirecMonhelpedtocreatean

immersiveatmospherefortheaudiencewhenthe

crewmembersoftheNostromotalkedtoone

another.Theywouldbespeakingintermi5ently,

someMmesoverthetopofeachotherandtheadded

useifimprovisaMonbythecastonlysolidifiesthe

realism,parMcularlyinthegroupsceneswherethe

actorsareeaMngaroundthetable.

ThemostinteresMngofcharactersfromAlienwouldbe

EllenRipley,playedbySigourneyWeaver.(Fig6)The

partsheplayedwasoriginallywri5enforaman.EvenwhenthepartwasgiventoWeaver,somemasculine

characterisMcswerekept.Italteredthestereotypical

ideabehindfemalecharactersinhorrorfilms.Shewas

seentobefrightened,asshouldbeexpected,however

shewasresourcefulandnotascreamingwreck.She

parMallystoodagainstthefinalgirlphenomenon

riddlingthehorrorgenre.(Thefinalgirlisusuallythe

lastcharacterlealiveinahorrorfilmandmost

typicallyfemale(urray,S.C,2012))

(Fig6:IDb,2012)

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RidleySco5pushedtheboundariesofspecialeffectstothepointoftheabsolutelydisgusMngbut

yetmadeabsolutelysureitwasthemostrealisMcwhenitcametothedeathsofvicMmsandalso

creaMngAlienorganisms.Byuseofgenuineorganicmaterial,Sco5createdathoroughlyrealisMc

dissecMonscene(Fig7)andothereffectsthat,mostlikely,disgustaudiencesbe5ernowthan

somecurrentCGfakery.

TheplotlineofAlienisdecidedlyclichbutitisonethataudiencesneverseemtoMreof

watching;Anenclosedspaceharboringademonicmonsterthatseparatesandpicksoffatrapped

partyonebyone.Butitwouldappearoverthelastthirtythreeyears,audiencesaresMll

fascinatedbythecreatureitself,thedesignandthegorywayinwhichitdispatchesofitsvicMms.

ItisAlien'sunique,tacBleworldthatmadeitsoamenabletosequels(Newman,2008)Alien

wasinitsownwayuniqueandhasresultedinthefilmbeingconsideredacultclassicofthehorrorgenre.ItisafilmtoberecommendedforitstradiMonallyrealisMcspecialeffectsand

watchedforthepacingandsuspensethatnevergetsold.

(Fig7:Scarr,2011)

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BibliographyReferences

Grof,S(200)H.R.GigerandtheZeitgeistoftheTwenBethCentury:ObservaBonsfromModern

ConsciousnessResearch

h5p://www.primalpage.com/grofgige.htm

(2/10/2012)

IDb(2012)Alien

h5p://www.imdb.com/Mtle/50078748/

(23/10/2012)

urray,S.C(2012)TheFinalGirlinHorror

h5p://www.bellaonline.com/arMcles/art66128.asp

(2/10/2012)

Newman,K(2008)Alien

h5p://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=931(2/10/2012)

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BibliographyPictures

Scarr,P(2011)FaceHuggerDissected

h5p://bloggingblue.com/2011/11/0/waukeshapoliMcsdissectedyuck/dissecMonaliens/

(2/10/2012)

IDb(2012)AllPhotosfromAlien

h5p://www.imdb.com/Mtle/50078748/mediaindex

(2/10/2012)

BriMshFilmInsMtute(2012)Alienh5p://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6bbe2a40

2/10/2012)