Alien Case

Alien: Film Critique

Jessica

ENG 225

Introduction to Film

Instructor Annemarie Hamlin

April 28, 2013

What does one get when they mix the creativity of film-making and the unconscious imagination? You get Ridley Scott's incredible science-fiction horror masterpiece, Alien (1979). Alien captures an array of qualities, all of which contribute to its overall success. One of the more major qualities that exist in this film is the use of suspense and surprises to encompass the illusion of fantasy. It stands as a case of cinematic perfection, with all the separate elements coming together with such unity, that the final result is really something to behold. Therefore, the purpose of this analysis is to describe some of these qualities and illustrate how they create an extraordinary film. It will describe the storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style and directing, the impact of society on the film and vice versa, genre, analysis and interpretation, overall textual themes. This film ultimately provides the audience with endless opportunities to become engaged.

Alien is about a group of mining workers aboard a spaceship called the Nostromo. The crew awakes from a stasis by a distress call from an unknown planetoid. The crew arrives on this planetoid, only to find a dead alien and a nest of alien eggs. One of the crew members is attacked by a creature that attaches itself to his face. The creature that was attached to the crew members face impregnates the crew member, Kane, thus an alien was born. The terror is only beginning for the crew and what follows is a terrifying quest for survival against the alien aboard. This story is told in chronological order, which means the events in this movie are arranged in the order they occur in time (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). The movie includes mostly external conflict due to the fact that the alien needs to be hunted down and destroyed. The only internal conflict presented in the film is Ripley's, when she needs to make a decision about letting Kane inside Nostromo with the alien attached to his face.

Alien includes rape, maternal, birth, and death symbolism. The alien chooses to use bodies of its victims as hosts for its eggs. When the crew member has the alien attached to his face, we later find out that the creature was impregnating the crew member. There are many birth symbolisms within this movie, the most known is when the baby alien explodes from the crew members chest, in other words the baby alien is being 'born'. In the beginning of the movie the creature hatches from the egg, this is another symbolism for birth. The characters are easy to relate to because they are presented as regular blue collar workers and they react how we would react in most cases. There is universal truth through this movie because we can empathize with the characters.

The cast were made up of relatively unknown actors that enhanced the horror of the film. Since the main actors were not yet famous when this film was made, this gives the movie a more realistic feel, making the audience believe that this type of situation could happen to anybody. Sigourney Weaver as Ripley is a by-the-book warrant officer that becomes the unlikeliest action hero. The antagonist is the alien, who is played by Bolaji Badejo with the help of Eddie Powell. Let's not forget about the hysterical, scared out of her wits woman Veronica Cartwright, who plays as Lambert the navigator. Ian Holm plays as Ash, the science officer whose is in fact an android. The rest of the crew is made up of John Hurt as Kane, Yaphet Kotto as Parker, and Harry Dean Stanton as Brett. Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton are engineers and John Hurt is the executive officer who becomes the host for the alien. At the time the movie was released Sigourney Weaver was famous however, she is now known as a "star" actor. The acting that is present in this film is realism acting. It qualifies as realism acting because it gives the impression of human action and reaction.

The mise-en-scene of Alien is exquisitely portrayed throughout this movie. The environment gives the ominous feeling due to the pressured air escaping from every leaky gasket, water dripping from the pipes, emergency lights flashing red in every corridor, and sewer-like flooring. The colors used are a variety of black and white shades, neon greens, and bright reds, which adds to the space look. Another interesting design in the film is the reoccurring feel of wetness, for example sweat running down the crews face, water dripping from the corridors, and the liquid that drips from the alien's body and mouth. All of these things add to the environment to give it a creepy, alive aspect to the ship.

The planet that the alien resides on, most of the ship, and the escape pod is shot in low-key lighting. This is to let the audience know that the alien's presence is in that area, or symbolically, the presence of evil. The stasis room, central control room, and the dining area are well lit to correspond with the sanctity or safety of the area. The ICU room was well lit when Kane was brought in with the alien attached to his face which signified no danger but when the alien released Kane and went missing the room was dark and threatening.

Ridley Scott used an abundance of close-up shots of the characters and alien to show the fear of the crew members and to hide the true form of the alien. The film displays a wide variety of framing depending on what takes place throughout the film. When the film starts, the characters are typically the only person in the scene, and centered within the picture. As the movie progresses, the characters are seen more off centered so we can see what surrounds them. This type of framing