The story begins on the starship Nostromo, a commercial freighter hauling materials back to Earth. The ship is quiet and seemingly empty. We see empty rooms and hallways, all with that haunting but indifferent music in the background. In the first scene the crew is woken from their sleep and begins to get ready for their return to earth, complaining about shares of money and all the things one would expect when finishing a job. Which is one of the realistic parts in the film, which I enjoyed. It shows the viewer that there will be no flashy death lasers or swords made of lights, there’s just a bunch of tired people wanting to get home and get paid. It turns out that things are not as previously thought, and instead of almost being home, the ship has gone off-course to investigate an SOS signal from nearby. Of course, the crew is not very pleased about the turn of events and leading the charge is Parker one of the two maintenance guys on the ship, and one of the only funny parts I thought in the film.
Alien starts out slow, but the somewhat sluggish pace is necessary for the rest of the movie to work. The laid back attitude of the crew is needed for when the movie picks up. The atmosphere is truly eerie throughout the film. It feels like a haunted house in space with the dark sets, confined quarters, smoke, the ship tension and never knowing where the next attack will come from. This all works together to create a creepy atmosphere.
I thought it was unique, especially 30 years ago, to feature a female action hero. Even today, it is rare when a woman takes the lead in an action/adventure movie; In the beggining, Ripley is essentially just one of several crew members, until the end, when she's the last one standing, man or women. Having Ripley as the hero of Alien is an interesting twist, in these times viewers automatically expected that role to be done by a man.
I did enjoy the cinematography of the film as well. Alien holds on to the concept of seeing less is better and more suspenseful, in this case, it's true. Everything is dark and hazy. You can't see what is in the shadows and it makes it truly scary. The shots are fast-paced, clear, and provided the viewer with all the light he/she needs. The props are well done, although I did think the outside of the ship looked very similar to one you would find in star wars. The ships interiors, alien terrain, and the explosions are very nicely done. The shadow detail is good for a film shot thirty years ago, and there is a surprising amount of detail lurking in the darkness of some sets. I typically enjoyed the various developmental stages of the alien (eating faces, bursting out of a chest, and grown alien).
This alien was very well done and it was quit disturbing, which in this case is good. The music is very tense and adds to the overall terror and suspense. The music weaves its way into the consciousness of the listener and adds the right degree of tension to the film.
I really enjoyed your post and your insight into the film. I especially enjoyed the line, “…there’s just a bunch of tired people wanting to get home and get paid”. This is so true! This movie was so different than the other science fiction movies of the time because it had characters that were just average Joes. There were no light sabers or crazy battle scenes. It was an honest group of people who had to use whatever they could find to battle a truly terrible monster. I think you could have found quotes between the two readings to back up your critical response, so next time maybe try to include a few. Also don’t forget to include a few pictures to help give us a visual to pair with your view of the film. Overall your blog gave me a lot to think about and it is a good start. Now you just need a few sources to help back up your strong opinion.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you mentioned the crew's initial reaction to being woken up. They really were just an average group of people trying to do their job so they could afford to live their lives. When the alien shows up, you have to feel sorry for them because they did not sign up to fight an unknown creature. They were just out at another day of work. I would try to proofread your post though because there are a few spelling errors, and also there is an incomplete sentence. Just be careful with the grammar mistakes, but I liked your focus on the beginning of the movie.
ReplyDeleteA few pictures and some quotes from article and you will be just fine to go with this post. I like how you briefly described the movie. It gave me some ideas what the movie is about. I also like the idea that you have mentioned the parts you think funny in this movie. I probably will use the technique in my future posts.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting how you saw Ripley as a female action hero. In class we have been discussing the feminine/masculine roles in the movie, and I thought that was a great addition. When watching the movie I never saw her as an action hero, but I can see how that could be so now. The way you talked about the strangeness of that considering the time period was also a great observation. I also liked the beginning of your discussion on the reality of the conversations they were having. I think that it again goes to show the egocentrism of humans; they are out in space and don’t have any clue if they will get home safely, yet their first concern is money. In your post I would have liked to see you go into more detail about the cinematography you enjoyed. A little more elaboration on how the props, explosions, and shadowing were well done would have been interesting to read about, or see pictures of.
ReplyDelete