Film Critique: Alien (1979)

The American 1979 release Alien was directed by Ridley Scott, the top sci-fi director of the 70’s and 80’s. The film is renowned in feminist circles as the protagonist, Ripley, is a symbol of femininity, and an anomaly among other women leads. Alien was released at the end of the ‘second wave of feminism’, which focused on political and personal agendas, the individual needs of a woman. It was a time when “A desperate, exaggerated femininity was being held up as an ideal for all women” – Cochrane (2019) theGuardian.com. The 70’s outlined the damaging and unrealistic rolls expected by women through mass media. Within the same time frame, America was experiencing the civil rights movement, introducing the world to Martin Luther King, and issues surrounding race, gender and sexuality. The law was slowly changing, but not the minds. Alien kicked off the high budget sci-fi revelation.

H.R Giger heavily influenced the stylistic choices seen in Alien, producing sexualised biomechanical imagery that explored the growing intimacy between technology and people as America became more modernised. The film explores a viewer’s unknown fear of sex through phallic shapes including the alien’s head, and its penetrative behaviour. Giger was unnervingly described as “The pornographer from another planet” – Helen O’Hara (2019) telegraph.co.uk

Alien Poster Art

Alien depicts the 70’s American vision of a dystopian future. People no longer enjoyed the idea of modernism; this had worn away with the 60’s. The youth had grown up and gained experience, they realised where the world was heading. Modernity had reached its limit, and the Americans believed that the pragmatic, plastic and chunky design of spaces was the realistic way forward. This underwhelming and realistic vision of the future was an intentional design decision in Alien. The ‘Nostromo’ is utilitarian and military, these characters have given up on optimism for the future.

The film has a unique title sequence that immediately caught my attention. White bars slowly reveal the name of the film as we pan across an establishing shot of a dark planet (as seen in figure 1). Modern films now focus on more minimalistic title screens, this showed me that a title sequence can be tastefully cool and professional at the same time, still holding an essence of minimalism with the choice of font.

Human life is linked to illumination; as the crew first wakes up at the beginning of the film (as seen in figure 2), the previously dark and indistinguishable interior of the Nostromo is revealed through pure white light. As through the vessel comes alive once there is life to take care of. Most of all environments within the film rely on light to cast suggestive shadows across all unusual textures and formations used within the Nostromo. Most of this huge vessel is dark, unclear and vague, creating a sense of unease as most information is hidden in the darkness. As viewers, we never see the entire vessel.

As we progress through the film, viewers are introduced to a room including the ‘mother’ computer. This area immediately shares similarities with a common aircraft cockpit; clunky, mass produced, not luxurious, and only including the necessities. This carelessness of the vessels inhabitant’s links to the attitudes America had towards the real future, this space has an aura of hopelessness, amplified by the vagueness the ‘mother’ computer has towards the crew, not being helpful whatsoever. Other screens throughout the Nostromo visualise a geometric, digital altitude aesthetic, creating some interest and colour through the rest of the off-white stained plastic interior.

The abandoned ship the characters encounter on the moon has a contrasting personality compared to the Nostromo. As the team explores the vessel, viewers notice its organic style. Halls look like cavities, internal human tunnels. Moisture and unknown substances are constantly present, and humidity is suggested by the condensation on the characters suits, signs that suggest the team are within a living creature. Upon discovering the layer of eggs, viewers notice that they merge with the floor, growing out of a surface that is typically manmade and artificial.

Figure 1 | Alien title sequence

Figure 2 | Nostromo chambers

The plot to Alien has steel strong links back to author Philip K. Dick’s science fiction novels, a writer who determined the sci-fi consciousness before the 80’s, a huge influence for the films released around a similar time to Alien.

The plot focuses on mature themes such as porn, pregnancy and male rape. The story is an expression of these anxieties that viewers didn’t realise they had. Male victims succumbing to exploitation and exposure was unusual and showed men how it feels to be vulnerable.  A mirror of masculinity, men fearing themselves. The plot also realises a fear of pregnancy, the aftermath of sex. Alien is almost a projection of fears surrounding adulthood. Ridley Scott describes the film as though “It's about them trying not to get raped by a drooling monstrous animal” – Seymour .T (2019) vice.com, an unsettling perspective…



Ripley is a thoroughly loveable protagonist; the annoying damsel persona from many previous Hollywood works has been shed, giving the film a female character with independence, initiative, and strength. Ripley grabs the leadership role by the throat in order to keep the Nostromo crew together.

The men on board are blamed for the films plummet into chaos, as it was a group of three who contaminated the Nostromo with the alien egg. The male group is villainized for this act, whereas Ripley is perceived as heroic for defending the ‘protocol’.  Ripley’s role on the Nostromo varies and dips into multiple fields of work, including sciences and engineering, checking up on all members of the crew to give advice. Her confident communication creates a decent relationship with everyone on board the Nostromo, Ripley knows what to say for a good reputation and keeps herself out of trouble. Her general logic within the film is highly appreciated and a refreshing change.  

All other characters have a protruding characteristic that weighs them down and further villainizes them compared to Ripley, whether that is laziness, being fake, or money hunger. Viewers in-tune with the characters would most likely pick out Ripley as the successor and hero of the film from the first ten minutes, as she has no negative traits immediately revealed to audiences.

The dark and depressing attitudes that 70’s America had on the future reflect the crew’s attitudes towards surviving the films story arc. Ripley represents the small glimmer of hope that ultimately succeeds the films challenges, which could be a message for America to do everything they can to make the future as positive as possible.

Figure 3 | Ripley, the protagonist

The audio within Alien is extremely effective and atmospheric. An immediate technique I noticed was the continuous hum of the Nostromo, which resonates throughout the entire two-hour duration. The noise is a constant reminder that the vessel is moving, travelling and on route to a specific destination. Audiences feel as though they’re on a journey with the cast, like a road trip. The ongoing reminder of movement creates a sense of claustrophobia, unease and travel sickness.

High pitched alarms and notification sounds keep viewers on edge, and our unfamiliarity with how the vessels technology works creates an out-of-depth unease within viewers. A sense of being overwhelmed even though we have no roles on the ship as an audience.



In conclusion, the film was a shocking watch, mainly because of the context behind the film. After discovering the sexual undertones scattered throughout, I perceive Alien very differently. The film now seems like more of a creative expression piece rather than a high budget blockbuster. The dark undertones of this film make it an uneasy watch, but the plot effectively sucks you in, and I quickly forgot my opinions about its context and enjoyed the story and appreciated the filmmaking.

Bibliography

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Lloyd, B. (2019). How Alien Changed The Horror Genre Forever. [online] Entertainment.ie. Available at: https://entertainment.ie/cinema/movie-news/how-alien-changed-the-horror-genre-forever-230859/ [Accessed 6 Nov. 2019].

O'Hara, H. (2019). The pornographer from another planet: how HR Giger created Alien. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/pornographer-another-planet-hr-giger-created-alien/ [Accessed 6 Nov. 2019].

Seymour, T. (2019). 'Alien' Is Sci-Fi Horror's Most Feminist Movie Franchise. [online] Vice. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvdn4d/alien-is-sci-fi-horrors-most-feminist-movie-franchise [Accessed 6 Nov. 2019].

Youtube (2019). Alien title sequence. [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zItdK13pSik [Accessed 6 Nov. 2019].