A Reel 40: ALIEN

“It looks like a warning…”

This month marks the 40^thanniversary of Ridley Scott’s ALIEN. 

The 1970’s were a period of great change for cinema. In 1975, Steven Spielberg’s JAWS created the summer blockbuster as we know it today, and two years later, George Lucas unleashed STAR WARS on the world and altered the way movies were made forever. By the late 70’s, studios were screaming for more science fiction, and young filmmakers Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett jumped at the chance. They pitched an idea of “JAWS in space”, and ALIEN was on it way to theatres. 

The script by O’Bannon and Shushett drew inspiration from sci-fi classics such as THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951), and FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956), and told the story of a crew of a commercial space tug who are re-routed to an unknown planet to discover a deadly alien life form. The early script was begun without a clear idea of what the alien look like or how it would operate, but O’Bannon drew inspiration from artist H.R. Giger, whom he had worked with on a previous attempt to bring the novel Dune to the big screen. Giger’s horrific artwork provided the basis for the creature which would get on board the ship by implanting an embryo into one of the crew.

The search for a director was on, and 20^thCentury Fox hired young director Ridley Scott to helm the project. Scott had impressed the studio with his debut feature THE DUELLISTS (1977), and believed that he would take the film seriously and not let it fall into B-movie territory. Scott created detailed storyboards for the film, and wanted to emphasize horror rather than fantasy; often describing it as “the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE of science fiction”. 

With only seven human characters in the film, Scott looked to hire strong and seasoned performers. The crew was made up of older actors; Tom Skerritt (46), John Hurt (39), Ian Holm (48), Harry Dean Stanton (53), and Yaphet Kotto (42). Only Veronica Cartwright (30), and newcomer Sigourney Weaver (29), were in the typical age-range of the usual thriller cast. 

Filming began in July 1978 and lasted 14 weeks. Giger was maintained to provide designs for the derelict alien ship the crew discovers, and the alien itself. In filming the famous “chestburster” scene, in which the implanted alien embryo bursts out of the body of one of the crew, the actors on set had no idea that fake blood would be spurting everywhere…earning a genuine shocked reaction from the cast which made it into the final cut of the film. Another shock-twist comes late in the film in which one of the crew is revealed to be an android. Actor Bolaji Badejo would play the full-grown alien. Jerry Goldsmith provided the score. 

ALIEN was a hit with audiences, although critics were mixed as the industry was still not favorable towards science fiction…although years later it would be regarded as one of the best horror films of all time, and one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. It would win an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and several other industry awards and nominations for Scott, Goldsmith, Weaver, and Cartwright. The film would have a cultural impact and would be referenced and parodied endlessly over the years, and would elevate sci-fi in the eyes of many as legit cinema. Sigourney Weaver would become an icon for female heroes in cinema; an influence that still can be seen today. 

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This Blogger was too young to see ALIEN in theatres in 1979, and didn’t discover it until years later when it ran on a brand-new thing for TV called HBO. The memories of the entire family jumping out of their seats when the chestburster arrives remain strong. Years later, the film can be appreciated for more than just its scares and twists. It really is JAWS in space, as humans battle an unknown monster who has the advantage. It’s classic in its telling, and the restrictions the crew has in their fight; nowhere to run to, and a creature that can’t be simply stabbed or shot…give the film a hopelessness for our heroes that makes for excellent drama and tension. Feminine power is a theme that hangs over the film, in both the design work and the characters, which was a mighty step forward in 1979. And it also worked as a thinking-man’s picture; the short scene in which the wrecked android expresses his admiration for the creature holds as one of the most thoughtful scenes in sci-fi. Today, ALIEN holds up very well, and looks like it could have been filmed today. It’s scary, beautiful, and serves as a mighty leap for two different genres of film. 

“Perfect organism…”