'Alien'- Film Review (1-5)
'Alien'- Film Review (1-5)
[1448 words]
Starting with the Swiss painter H. R. Giger. His contributing concept art puts a boundary on the visual aspect of the set later down the line. His own body of work that delves into themes of sexuality, the likes of which clearly translate across to ‘Alien’s’ own visual concept. Consideration for space in his original concept drawings, works successfully at pushing audiences out of their comfort zones. Similarly, Ron Cobb’s work enforces the intended space, and relatable/readable detail, evident in each scene.
With their i- use of space, ii- style and design to iii- their use of medium, which I’ll be discussing… and how each aspect makes the final product (terrifying, isolated, constricted).
With their i- use of space, ii- style and design to iii- their use of medium, which I’ll be discussing… and how each aspect makes the final product (terrifying, isolated, constricted).
Often there’s an evasive quality to his work. Organic shapes, and drawings that the viewers may try to identify, come to no avail. Instead, we are made to feel unnerved by the nature of these subjects…that are both familiar to ourselves, but not quite enough to be human (observe Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). In that regard, relating to our own human fears. The fear of sex or sexuality, gender and the body… to the fear we have of other organic, predatory life forms here on earth.
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| Fig. 1 |
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| Fig. 2 |
With that other, evasive quality, comes the fear of the unknown. A threat that we seldom see, or can place. Logic is rarely provided to the watcher in regards to the ‘Aliens’, what they do on their ship, and how/why they can prove threatening. In that absence of knowledge, we are reverted back to our primal ways.
Looking at the design of ‘Alien’, we can draw resemblances to historic reference to Gothic architecture (often used in horror), which merges with the films ‘bio-mechanical’ aesthetic. This style is often very ornate, and detail-oriented, with heavy emphasis on repetition. Note Giger’s concept art below, (fig. 3), and it’s inclusion of such qualities.
Space
The juxtaposition between the spacious nature of the alien spaceship, against the narrow corridors of the human vessel, ‘Sulaco’, drops the main protagonist Ellen Ripley and the audience, from the shallow, initially familiar, and reassuring space of the hyper sleep vault (akin to the womb, as observed by: ‘Zouch Magazine’, 2010: “the computer is called ‘Mother’…”the crew are dressed in white surgical wear resembling the swaddling clothes in which new-born babies are dressed”, as they are woken, and the ship “gives life to them”)... into a deep, cavernous space (potentially harbouring a great deal more threatening life/the unknown).
To translate this visual concept of scale to real world context… children were asked to dress in the space suits, to change our perception of scale. Filmmakers could successfully bypass the issue of scale in real world context. Our assumption that the actors would be full adult size, meant the space of the room suddenly increases ten-fold (Fig. 5 and Fig. 4).
Once the humans step outside of the comforting space of ‘Sulaco’ to explore the Alien ship… their space ship- having been stood in stark comparison- suddenly becomes claustrophobic. Suddenly, with the emergence of these two worlds (after the alien, evades the human space), the hallways see too narrow, the ceiling too close, and the rooms too tight for comfort (Fig. 6).
Alien is observed by Barbara Creed, to force us to ‘confront the abject which they [the audience] tried to suppress’. The film representing ‘the female as horrific and abject’, as we see the antagonistic threat take form in the evasive, almost feminine curves of the ‘Aliens’, whose tubular forms and structures, and masculine, almost phallic head shape (see Fig. 2), juxtapose against the hyper sleep capsules, that visually looks to be ‘a uterine or womb-like space’ (Fig. 11).
Fear
Looking at studies taken around the time of ‘Alien’s’ release concerning sex, we can have some idea into attitudes towards the films themes across 1970-1980’s.
Between the 1960’s-1980’s, a social movement known as ‘Sexual Liberation’ was in play. Challenging the ‘tradition codes of behaviour related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships’ across western culture. This meant an acceptance of sex outside heterosexual relationships, (marriage etc.), a greater acceptance around the user of contraception and ‘the pill’… pornography, alternative sexual orientations beyond heterosexuality, alternative forms of sexuality, and abortion.
‘Zouch Magazine’ goes onto suggest that ‘in the future, birth has been sanitized and sterilized: technology has been used to banish the abject’. The sudden presence of the alien, however, with it’s ‘monstrous reproductive cycle and horribly visceral nature’, helps forces us to confront ‘the true nature of birth as abject and organic’. The scene of Kane being ‘impregnated’ with a foreign body, that violently ‘rips itself free’, sees birth as a horrific process (Fig. 12).
Overall, Alien is a good example of how visual concept can be successfully translated across to the finalised film. With Giger’s organic, biomechanics structures, use of thick oils, and suggestive imagery coupled with Cobb’s attention to detail, that allowed them to visualise this idea into something that could become concrete product… The set designers, sound designers, producer Scott Ridley, and the rest of the team do a brilliant job of keeping these first initial rules (concerning the films visuals), the center of all decision making regarding the films production, thereafter.
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| Fig. 3 |
The juxtaposition between the spacious nature of the alien spaceship, against the narrow corridors of the human vessel, ‘Sulaco’, drops the main protagonist Ellen Ripley and the audience, from the shallow, initially familiar, and reassuring space of the hyper sleep vault (akin to the womb, as observed by: ‘Zouch Magazine’, 2010: “the computer is called ‘Mother’…”the crew are dressed in white surgical wear resembling the swaddling clothes in which new-born babies are dressed”, as they are woken, and the ship “gives life to them”)... into a deep, cavernous space (potentially harbouring a great deal more threatening life/the unknown).
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| Fig. 4. Giger's original concept art for ‘Cockpit’(1978). |
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| Fig. 5 'Alien's' finalised interpretation of Giger's 'Cockpit' (1978). |
Once the humans step outside of the comforting space of ‘Sulaco’ to explore the Alien ship… their space ship- having been stood in stark comparison- suddenly becomes claustrophobic. Suddenly, with the emergence of these two worlds (after the alien, evades the human space), the hallways see too narrow, the ceiling too close, and the rooms too tight for comfort (Fig. 6).
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| Fig. 6 |
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| Fig. 7 |
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| Fig. 8 The level of detail Ron Cobb uses brings believability to the world 'Alien' evokes. |
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| Fig. 9 |
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| Fig. 10 |
Fear
Looking at studies taken around the time of ‘Alien’s’ release concerning sex, we can have some idea into attitudes towards the films themes across 1970-1980’s.
Between the 1960’s-1980’s, a social movement known as ‘Sexual Liberation’ was in play. Challenging the ‘tradition codes of behaviour related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships’ across western culture. This meant an acceptance of sex outside heterosexual relationships, (marriage etc.), a greater acceptance around the user of contraception and ‘the pill’… pornography, alternative sexual orientations beyond heterosexuality, alternative forms of sexuality, and abortion.
Despite the primal fear of sex that exists back to caveman (sex in regards to the action itself) ... this changing time in society might have also put pressure and confusion onto existing expectations (sex in regards to social/cultural expectations)… something that may be relieving to those stuck in a dismissive society… but also fear provoking to accept and be honest when whole lives were spent ignoring and hiding one’s true feelings. Could this fear of exposure, and avoidance around sex (in terms of one’s identity) be taking form in ‘Alien’?
The fear of sex persists into modern society, as seen in ‘The Chapman University Survey of American Fears, Wave 2’ produced in 2015.
The study see’s two groups of people (those who’ve once had unprotected sex, and those who’ve once completed a 300 mile road trip), respond to being asked to identify which risk was bigger: dying from a car crash, and dying from HIV. In spite of states from ‘U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’, saying that you are “20 times more likely to die from the car trip than from HIV contracted during an act of unprotected sex”… many people assumed that 71 people would die from HIV, while only 4 the car crash. Saying this though, the article is confusing in its explanation… it’s unclear as to whether the groups were provided with a sample group of 75 people, and asked for a ratio of death from HIV:Death from car crash, and an average was taken… or whether they responded for themselves (1-One Person), in which case… hadn’t the two groups of, presumably, 2000 people, all answered? Beyond this one study, there isn’t another than explores these themes to date.
Regardless of this, though, it’s clear that as a whole, the groups saw sex as primary cause of death.
Alternatively ‘Zouch Magazine’s’ article ‘Building Better Worlds’: the production design of Alien’ brings attention to Julia Kristeva’s theory of ‘Abjection’ (as discussed by Barbara Creed, in her essay ‘Alien and the Monstrous-Feminine’), as the primary fear in ‘Alien’. The likes of which comes from our ‘primordial fears of birth and reproduction’.
Kristeva’s book ‘Powers of Horror: An Essay in Abjection (1980)’, says that “when a child is first born, it has not yet entered the social order and has no sense of itself as separate from the mother because it has grown inside the womb”. So to establish a “psychological distinction between itself and the mother”, the child has to reject “everything associated with the maternal body- blood, the placenta, the umbilical cord etc’, (abjection literally meaning ‘the state of being cast off’). Suddenly these elements of body become ‘vile’ or ‘disgusting’, as the new person begins the ‘mapping of the clean and proper self’. Incidentally this subconscious fear of the abject persists into adulthood, and often when we consider the inner workings of the body, it is done so with repulsion, or a sense of unease. Death, in the form of a corpse, also provokes similar fear, as we are reminded of our being ‘just organic matter’ that will inevitably rot away.
The fear of sex persists into modern society, as seen in ‘The Chapman University Survey of American Fears, Wave 2’ produced in 2015.
The study see’s two groups of people (those who’ve once had unprotected sex, and those who’ve once completed a 300 mile road trip), respond to being asked to identify which risk was bigger: dying from a car crash, and dying from HIV. In spite of states from ‘U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’, saying that you are “20 times more likely to die from the car trip than from HIV contracted during an act of unprotected sex”… many people assumed that 71 people would die from HIV, while only 4 the car crash. Saying this though, the article is confusing in its explanation… it’s unclear as to whether the groups were provided with a sample group of 75 people, and asked for a ratio of death from HIV:Death from car crash, and an average was taken… or whether they responded for themselves (1-One Person), in which case… hadn’t the two groups of, presumably, 2000 people, all answered? Beyond this one study, there isn’t another than explores these themes to date.
Regardless of this, though, it’s clear that as a whole, the groups saw sex as primary cause of death.
Alternatively ‘Zouch Magazine’s’ article ‘Building Better Worlds’: the production design of Alien’ brings attention to Julia Kristeva’s theory of ‘Abjection’ (as discussed by Barbara Creed, in her essay ‘Alien and the Monstrous-Feminine’), as the primary fear in ‘Alien’. The likes of which comes from our ‘primordial fears of birth and reproduction’.
Kristeva’s book ‘Powers of Horror: An Essay in Abjection (1980)’, says that “when a child is first born, it has not yet entered the social order and has no sense of itself as separate from the mother because it has grown inside the womb”. So to establish a “psychological distinction between itself and the mother”, the child has to reject “everything associated with the maternal body- blood, the placenta, the umbilical cord etc’, (abjection literally meaning ‘the state of being cast off’). Suddenly these elements of body become ‘vile’ or ‘disgusting’, as the new person begins the ‘mapping of the clean and proper self’. Incidentally this subconscious fear of the abject persists into adulthood, and often when we consider the inner workings of the body, it is done so with repulsion, or a sense of unease. Death, in the form of a corpse, also provokes similar fear, as we are reminded of our being ‘just organic matter’ that will inevitably rot away.
'Alien' (1979) is observed by Barbara
Creed, to force us to ‘confront the abject which they [the audience] tried to
suppress’. The film representing ‘the female as horrific and abject’, as we see
the antagonistic threat take form in the evasive, almost feminine curves of the
‘Aliens’, whose tubular forms and structures, and masculine, almost phallic
head shape (see Fig. 2), juxtapose against the hyper sleep capsules, that
visually looks to be ‘a uterine or womb-like space’ (Fig. 11).
 |
| Fig. 11 |
 |
| Fig. 12 |
Overall, Alien is a good example of how visual concept can be successfully translated across to the finalised film. With Giger’s organic, biomechanics structures, use of thick oils, and suggestive imagery coupled with Cobb’s attention to detail, that allowed them to visualise this idea into something that could become concrete product… The set designers, sound designers, producer Scott Ridley, and the rest of the team do a brilliant job of keeping these first initial rules (concerning the films visuals), the center of all decision making regarding the films production, thereafter.
References
Illustrations
Fig. 1 Giger, H.R. (1980), ‘New York City XX Subway’, [Oil Paints]. Available at: https://slowsoulburn.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/hr_giger_newyorkcity_xx_subway1.jpg [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Fig. 2 Giger, H.R, (1979), ‘Necronom IV’, [Oil paints]. Available at: https://giger.com/resource.php?id=224 (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 3 Giger, H.R. (1980), ‘NY City II’, [Oil Paints]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu923hSStO4Co_SyJeM08_Fpuyq3IQDoOlX2vxDW1TlW-EId0p8v2ItLZhji54fByW9l6FDSmjyzvrAPMMysUdPT_1YBcYB8yTAoixyZU2r1_vXV1cJ10ffb0zHtc1U65tX9OU3JfIiE/s1600/BLOG+hr_giger_newyorkcity_II.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 4 Giger, H.R. (1978), ‘Cockpit’, [Oil Paints]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TAAVF9fSwauCxZbGmnIx2D_vsRywf-oyI4HqxEkQzmF_vHO7xw5rR7K66hToScS6JFIGWC5Ryx-3j1bww5mBmmi0yfjMxHWxKFaCmiT7LwUEfKu5_xUU9SQJglMK0kdytxFS24J4UXSv/s1600/Cockpit,+1978,+Vierfarbiger+Siebdruck.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 5 ‘Alien’ (1979), [Film Still]. Available at: https://killerpaint.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/95b17e75a2e615f7f5282218049d81fa-farewell-to-alien-artist-h-r-giger-jpeg-62270.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 6 ‘Alien’ (1979), [Film Still]. Available at: https://fogsmoviereviews.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/20120108-212227.jpg [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 7 Cobb, Ron, (1979), ‘Early Design Nostromo Control Bridge’, [Pencil and Ink]. Available at: http://roncobb.net/05-Alien.html (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 8 Cobb, Ron, (1979), ’Final Design Nostromo Bulkhead Door’, [Pencil and Ink]. Available at: http://roncobb.net/05-Alien.html (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 9 Cobb, Ron, (1979), ‘Early Nostromo, often called the ‘Tug’, [Pencil and Ink]. Available at: http://roncobb.net/05-Alien.html (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 10 Cobb, Ron, (1979), ‘Early Design Nostromo from an earlier script’, [\]. Available at: http://roncobb.net/img/filmography/05-Alien/B-156-on-Original_5_Nostromo_Design-Color-alien.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 11 ‘Alien’ (1979), [Film Still]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbp404gLYTV4leVMHM2tofNBqz70WAJxYq8E4Tzlo9l83BXAI2DT7jELLKH7gCSo79uu7etSnDvkV32thL5Rkbgj-xTVOtzdDm-Sc4bPMD5C4I23U3xxGynj1iMw4S_ZFBV84NAZ1ZvY/s1600/alien-movie-screencaps.com-403.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 12 ‘Alien’ (1979), [Film Still]. Available at: https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/avp/images/3/3c/Chestburster_BTS.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141104125759 (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Illustrations
Fig. 1 Giger, H.R. (1980), ‘New York City XX Subway’, [Oil Paints]. Available at: https://slowsoulburn.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/hr_giger_newyorkcity_xx_subway1.jpg [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Fig. 2 Giger, H.R, (1979), ‘Necronom IV’, [Oil paints]. Available at: https://giger.com/resource.php?id=224 (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 3 Giger, H.R. (1980), ‘NY City II’, [Oil Paints]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu923hSStO4Co_SyJeM08_Fpuyq3IQDoOlX2vxDW1TlW-EId0p8v2ItLZhji54fByW9l6FDSmjyzvrAPMMysUdPT_1YBcYB8yTAoixyZU2r1_vXV1cJ10ffb0zHtc1U65tX9OU3JfIiE/s1600/BLOG+hr_giger_newyorkcity_II.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 4 Giger, H.R. (1978), ‘Cockpit’, [Oil Paints]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TAAVF9fSwauCxZbGmnIx2D_vsRywf-oyI4HqxEkQzmF_vHO7xw5rR7K66hToScS6JFIGWC5Ryx-3j1bww5mBmmi0yfjMxHWxKFaCmiT7LwUEfKu5_xUU9SQJglMK0kdytxFS24J4UXSv/s1600/Cockpit,+1978,+Vierfarbiger+Siebdruck.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 5 ‘Alien’ (1979), [Film Still]. Available at: https://killerpaint.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/95b17e75a2e615f7f5282218049d81fa-farewell-to-alien-artist-h-r-giger-jpeg-62270.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 6 ‘Alien’ (1979), [Film Still]. Available at: https://fogsmoviereviews.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/20120108-212227.jpg [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 7 Cobb, Ron, (1979), ‘Early Design Nostromo Control Bridge’, [Pencil and Ink]. Available at: http://roncobb.net/05-Alien.html (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 8 Cobb, Ron, (1979), ’Final Design Nostromo Bulkhead Door’, [Pencil and Ink]. Available at: http://roncobb.net/05-Alien.html (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 9 Cobb, Ron, (1979), ‘Early Nostromo, often called the ‘Tug’, [Pencil and Ink]. Available at: http://roncobb.net/05-Alien.html (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 10 Cobb, Ron, (1979), ‘Early Design Nostromo from an earlier script’, [\]. Available at: http://roncobb.net/img/filmography/05-Alien/B-156-on-Original_5_Nostromo_Design-Color-alien.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 11 ‘Alien’ (1979), [Film Still]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbp404gLYTV4leVMHM2tofNBqz70WAJxYq8E4Tzlo9l83BXAI2DT7jELLKH7gCSo79uu7etSnDvkV32thL5Rkbgj-xTVOtzdDm-Sc4bPMD5C4I23U3xxGynj1iMw4S_ZFBV84NAZ1ZvY/s1600/alien-movie-screencaps.com-403.jpg (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
Fig. 12 ‘Alien’ (1979), [Film Still]. Available at: https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/avp/images/3/3c/Chestburster_BTS.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141104125759 (Accessed Date: 01/06/2017)
‘Boundless.com’ (2017), ‘The Sexual Revolution’, [Online]. Available: https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/the-sixties-1960-1969-29/expanding-the-civil-rights-movement-1464/the-sexual-revolution-1226-9275/ [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Diamond, Milton (2004), ‘Sex Gender, and Identity over the Years: A changing perspective’, [Online]. Available at: http://www.ukia.co.uk/diamond/sex-gender-identity.html [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Drucker, Ali (2015), ‘Study Shows American’s Are Really Scared of Sex’, [Online]. Available: https://www.maxim.com/maxim-man/study-shows-people-scared-of-sex-risks-2015-11 [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Fritscher, Lisa (2017), ‘What Is Erotophobia?’, [Online]. Available: https://www.verywell.com/fear-of-sex-2671739 [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Harry, Debbie (2014), ‘H.R. Giger – Phallic Duress’, [Online]. Available at: https://slowsoulburn.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/h-r-giger-phallic-duress/ [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Hirsch, Andreas J. (2016), ‘How H.R. Giger Invented Sci-Fi’s Most Terrifying Monster’, [Online]. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/taschen-monograph-the-magnum-opus-of-hr-giger [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Ledbetter, Sheri (2015), ‘America’s Top Fear 2015’, [Online]. Available at: https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/2015/10/13/americas-top-fears-2015/ [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
‘PBS’, (1999-2001), ‘People & Events: The Pill and the Sexual Revolution’, [Online]. Available: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh//amex/pill/peopleevents/e_revolution.html [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
‘Zouch Editors’ (2010), ‘‘Building Better Worlds’: the production design of Alien’, [Online]. Available at: http://zouchmagazine.com/building-better-worlds-the-production-design-of-alien/# [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
Video
‘The Film Theorists’, (2017), ‘Why ALIEN is a CLASSIC Horror Movie! | Frame by Frame’, [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DMqrc2Htko [Accessed Date: 01/06/2017]
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