Alien Film review

Hannah Milliner

Alien constantly created suspense throughout the film by using various devices one of which was picked up in this quote "Alien" uses a tricky device to keep the alien fresh throughout the movie: It evolves the nature and appearance of the creature, so we never know quite what it looks like or what it can do. (Ebert, 2003) This meant that the audience was constantly left on edge because the appearance of the alien kept changing it could appear at any time in any place. The film also had some devices which made the film a little more predictable like the sound of a heartbeat which became louder the closer a character got their death. However this could be a device that is supposed to make the audience feel vulnerable and on edge, with allows them to some extent to empathize with the characters. Which is helped even more by creating a sense of normality within certain scenes, for example when the crew are eating meals around the table (Fig.1), because it is something we do ourselves it becomes a little more believable so the audience is able to relate to the film a little more, which therefore makes the suspenseful moments that little bit more powerful. Which is completely opposite to the film Space Odyssey.

Fig.1 Alien (1979)

This film has a strong female lead which is quite different to the usual template for Sci- Fi and Horror, usually the female lead is a helpless damsel in distress, like Ann Darrow from King Kong 1933. As the following quote picks up Ripley is a head strong character who surprisingly survives longer than her male peers. She is Resourceful, intelligent, and yet, as several scholars note, still remains a feminine spectacle in the closing sequence as she undresses preparing for hyper sleep. She even survives actions that would mean the end for lesser characters, male or female, in SF and particularly horror, such as when she goes back to rescue Jones, the ship cat. (Reid, 2009) The fact that she undresses has caused some controversy because this could wipe away the strong reputation that she has created for herself throughout the films and becomes presented as a typical female role. However this scene can also be visual representation of her finally being allowed to bring her guard down and no longer afraid of being in danger. It is also false hope for the audience as they think the character is safe but in fact is still in potential danger from the boarding alien.

Just like 2001: A Space Odysseys Hal the humans in this film are somewhat reliant on computers, Mother being the ships computer that is simply a tool and but has no emotion or free will to the extent that Hal was given, however there is a cyborg that allows the human characters to be killed in order to preserve the alien in hope to use it as a weapon. This quote seems to describe the relationship between the characters and the ship rather well The first and most elemental of relationships between characters and their ships is that of motherchild. A mother gives life to her young, sustains them, nurtures them, and acts as an

anchor, and safe haven for her children (Donald, 1993) This quote is basically saying that the characters rely on the computer to keep them alive while they are in hyper sleep within pods(Fig.2) which could be a representation of an embryo, this is also applicable to Hal but he has the capability to turn off the life supporting systems. Computers, robots and Cyborgs are still used in similar ways in modern film, and seems to be a common element in any SciFi or futuristic based film. More often or not their behaviours become predictable and stereotypical.

Fig.2 (Alien, 1979)

Donald. R (1993) Volume 3 The Material World in American Popular Film http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sSPILzc9rkcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA207&dq=%22alien+197 9%22+design&ots=Z6p2v2x7xO&sig=lqJ1ZlH4wPgWMwMM3i7UcclASM#v=onepage&q=alien&f=false

Ebert. R (2003) Alien http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-alien-1979 (Accessed on 24/10/13)

Reid. R (2009) Women in Science Fiction and fantasy http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/30237821/womeninsciencefiction.pdf?AWSAc cessKeyId=AKIAIR6FSIMDFXPEERSA&Expires=1382649723&Signature=l0GIfw3hmlBWIKA%2BAfO3K7 SimJI%3D&response-content-disposition=inline#page=196 (Accessed on 24/10/13)

Images

Fig.1 Alien (1979) [film still]

http://www.paisleynotplaid.com/2012_09_01_archive.html (Accessed on 24/10/13)

Fig.2 Alien (1971) [Film Still] http://mindofthemoviedame.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_01_archive.html (Accessed on 24/10/13)