Memory – The Origins of Alien, premiering in the Midnight Category at Sundance 2019, follows the making of the science fiction classic: Alien. I caught the screening on a Friday morning… admittedly not midnight… more of a brunch showing. The film is a deep dive into the pace, imagery, cinematography, script and THAT ONE SCENE where the creature buys a one way ticket to Bloodville via the Chest Cavity Express. Here’s a glimpse at the doc that aims to reveal what made Alien a gooey, light flickering sci-fi masterpiece, where it rains inside and steam is inexplicably everywhere…oh wait. Ridley Scott did explain it. “‘Cause it looks cool.” Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Dan O’Bannon Director Alexandre O. Philippe‘s (78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene) documentary begins, a little like the classic film, with a long drifting tracking shot down a familiar looking spacecraft hallway ending at an unspeakable horror —one I won’t spoil here. This prologue works as a great hook that becomes an anchor for the entire doc. (Shots of the hallway along with beauty shots of The Temple of Delphi return every now and then throughout the doc’s 93 minutes.) With such a striking beginning, I was primed for the type of cinematic doc that seems to be so on trend, but from that first hallway, we move into more of a standard Ken Burns sort of format that loosely follows the act structure of the 1979 film. (Motion on photos covering voiceover and seated interviews.) This standard structure isn’t a bad...
Published By: CineD - Tuesday, 29 January, 2019