In 1977, movie goers every where were exposed to what might be the greatest sci-fi film to ever be released….STAR WARS. The “epicness” of that film, and its subsequent sequels have entertained fans for generations. But, 2 years later, it was another film released that year that would shake the genre to it’s core. Alien would come upon the cinema world and would meld the world of science fiction and horror. Alien was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. The sheer terror of the alien face huggers, the mystery of the derelict ship and the chest popper was more than some people could take.
All of this, and more is captured in the beautifully produced Alien Vault. Written by Ian Nathan, the Executive Editor of Empire Magazine, Alien Vault is a handsome collection of the Alien mythology presented in book form capturing the making of the film. Not only does this book collect the story of the making of the film, it talks about many of the experiences from the people involved. From director Ridley Scott to future director James Cameron.
For example there is a chapter dealing with an early screening of the film to a test audience, for reaction. Ridley Scott and several others who worked on the film are describing the madness that transpired. People jumping from their seats, women, 40 strong in the ladies room all vomiting from what they were seeing on film. The theater manager approaching Scott and giving him that “your career is over” look. An usher at the theater had passed out at the sight of heads being flung off of bodies. Fox, the studio releasing Alien had had enough. They thought the film had gone too far. They feared being banned from every theater in the country. With a rich array of behind the scene pictures, never before scene story board drawings, numerous concept designs of the Alien and detailed descriptions of scene shoots, Alien Vault is a great addition to every sci-fi geeks collection.
Alien Vault also delves into the numerous spin off properties in other media the film spawned. From the very popular comic book series Dark Horse Comics to the novelization of the movie and continued stories. The book also shows us several cut scenes and explored story lines that never made it to film, or were left on the cutting room floor. One such sequence was a love scene between Tom Skerrit’s character Dallas and Weaver’s Ripley. Scott decided to remove the scene, stating there would be no time for hanky panky with a loose alien on board.
On top of Alien Vault being this fantastic read and rich in detail, it also comes with several “Enclosures” extra pull outs for the real Alien enthusiast to enjoy. One of these enclosures is a full scale schematic of the Nastromo, the teams ship. For the exception of needing a magnifying glass to actually read the wording on said schematic, the detail is magnificent! Other enclosures original story boards from the film, drawn by Ridley Scott himself. Talk about saving on the budget. A face hugger concept design from Dan O’Bannon’s designed by Alien artist H. R. Geiger. Promotional posters designed for the film, one from a Japanese promotion.
(Please note, this posrtion of the review is in no way a major spoiler for Promethieus, more so information gathering on the up coming prequel)
Now for the really interesting part of the book. With the up coming release of the movie Prometheus, rumored to be a prequel to Alien (don’t worry, it is a prequel). There are several clues and a whole chapter in Alien Vault dedicated to and exposing the most intriguing character in the Alien franchise…The Space Jockey. Now, for those that don’t know who or what the Space Jockey is, well I’m not going to get into it here. (Go rent the movie). But, Prometheus is said to deal with this alien “Jockey”figure found in the derelict investigated by the team. And for those of us who do know about the space jockey, well there are some juicy tidbits in this book.
First off, at a cost of $500,000 the studio did not want to proceed with this part of the script, but Giger and Scott fought long and hard to include the now famous character. There is a whole history that was developed for this character/race of humanoid alien species.
From Alien Vault…
As Dan O’Bannon and Ron Shusett first envisioned it, when the crew land on the planetoid, they find the derelict and the space jockey, who with his final act has scratched a triangle into his control panel. They return to their ship mystified. When the planetoids dust storm abates-earlier planet design was more desert based, more Dune-the crew can see a huge pyramid silhouetted on the horizon.
They set out once more to explore: scaling its treacherous flank and lowering a volunteer (the proto Kane) inside. Here the explorer finds O’Bannon’s concept of an ancient temple or possibly a tomb, gargoyled with vile statuary, it’s walls carved with dizzying hieroglyphics. Across the floor are the spore pods – the eggs.
H.R. Giger’s depiction of those hieroglyphics is breath – taking. An impossibly intricate occult tableau of the alien life cycle. Pre – empting Aliens, they reveal the alien species did feature two sexes, and the Space Jockeys, the long dead temple builders, would sacrifice animals as hosts on a purpose – built plinth.
This version of events was never able to be filmed, as the cost would have been prohibitive to the film. (And luckily it didn’t, as the new film Prometheus will delve into this history)
A+ for Alien Vault. Order this book as fast as you can. Or better yet, do what people used to do in the 70’s, got to abookstore and pick up this one up. It’s out of this world.
