MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN (2019)

Studio:      Screen Media
Director:    Alexandre O. Philippe
Writer:      Alexandre O. Philippe
Producer:  Kerry Deignan Roy
Stars:     Axelle Carolyn, Veronica Cartwright, Roger Corman, William Linn, Ben Mankiewicz, Adam Egypt Mortimer, Ian Nathan, Diane O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Tom Skerritt

Review Score:

---

Summary:

Actors, scholars, filmmakers, and family analyze the influences that led to the creation of Ridley Scott and Dan O’Bannon’s “Alien.”

---

Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Diane O’Bannon, widow of “Alien” screenwriter Dan O’Bannon, discusses her husband’s childhood fascination with science-fiction while growing up in the Midwest. Diane mentions Dan’s interest in insect infestations and cites his script “They Bite,” which is about a giant cicada creature picking off people one at a time, as a precursor to “Alien.”

TV host Ben Mankiewicz and “Defiled” creator Tim Boxell discuss the direct influence of comic books, specifically EC’s story “Seeds of Jupiter” and “Death Rattle,” on O’Bannon’s work. Scholar S.T. Joshi contributes to a segment on H.P. Lovecraft’s influence. Other interviewees note the sci-fi cinema influences of films such as “It! The Terror from Beyond Space,” “The Thing from Another World,” “Planet of the Vampires, and Roger Corman’s “Queen of Blood.”

Author Ian Nathan recounts Dan O’Bannon’s collaboration with John Carpenter on the sci-fi comedy “Dark Star.” Dissatisfied with not receiving co-director credit, O’Bannon decided to take the concept in a more serious direction.

Diane recalls how Dan ended up crashing with producer Ronald Shusett following the collapse of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Dune” project. In 1971, Dan wrote a story titled “Memory” that became the first 30 pages of “Alien.”

“Alien” art director Roger Christian and USC professor Henry Jenkins speak about Swiss artist H.R. Giger’s iconic creature designs. Giger’s friend Bijan Aalam talks about Giger’s painting process while Giger’s wife Carmen Giger discusses Egyptian influences on her husband’s art.

Roger Corman recalls Dan O’Bannon trying to sell him his “Alien” script when it was titled “Star Beast.” Corman encouraged O’Bannon to find a producer who could give the story the higher budget it deserved.

After the project found a home at Brandywine Productions, O’Bannon personally paid $1,000 to commission H.R. Giger as a concept designer. Fox later fired Giger while original director Walter Hill dropped out to make “Southern Comfort” instead.

Actor Tom Skerritt recalls turning down the project after reading the script when no one else was attached. After Ridley Scott came on board and the budget bumped up from two million to ten million, Skerritt changed his mind.

Dan O’Bannon easily convinced Scott to rehire Giger, creating a creative synergy between writer, director, and artist. Associate producer Ivor Powell, “Alien” editor Terry Rawlings, and actress Veronica Cartwright contribute to musings about the film’s unique design, massive sets, and deliberate pacing.

Interviewees discuss how the tone of the film changed during the famous chestburster scene. Cast and crewmembers recall shooting the iconic scene while others pontificate on its thematic significance and impact on popular culture.

In archival footage, H.R. Giger mentions the influence of artist Francis Bacon on the chestburster’s design. Author Michael Peppiatt adds to the discourse about Bacon’s influence. Denise Demetrious, Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies at UCSD, discusses the influence of Greek mythology on “Alien,” specifically the story of The Furies.

Additional interviewees include podcaster Clarke Wolfe, USC professor Nicholas J. Cull, writer William Linn, director Gary Sherman, New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer, director Axelle Carolyn, film critic Alan Jones, Texas A&M professor Drew Morton, and filmmaker Adam Egypt Mortimer.

---

Review:

It seems like an unrewarding prospect to profile an iconic motion picture when none of that movie’s key creative contributors are available to participate. I can only assume she was asked to, but “Alien” star Sigourney Weaver doesn’t appear in Alexandre O. Philippe’s documentary “Memory: The Origins of Alien.” Aside from brief archival footage, neither does director Ridley Scott. Screenwriter Dan O’Bannon died in 2009. Legendary artist and xenomorph designer H.R. Giger passed in 2014.

“Memory” instead turns to several “next best things” to create credibility. Featured interviewees include O’Bannon’s widow Diane, Giger’s widow Carmen, “Alien” producer Ronald Shusett, art director Roger Christian, actors Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright, and others of similar stature. The documentary continues boosting clout with scholars whose indirect insights frame the 1979 classic with enlightening eyes on Greek mythology, historical imperialism, even reflections of the era’s socioeconomic climate.

“Memory” fills in more gaps with people whose only notable association appears to be being an acquaintance of filmmaker Philippe, or some ancillary name in horror’s social scene. The movie often doesn’t identify who is speaking over snapshots of early sketches, script pages, vintage photos, and film clips. Disembodied voices effectively become narrators as opposed to true talking head personalities, highlighting how much importance “Memory” places on the substance of what is being said, never mind whose mouth those words come from.

With so much material structured from recollections of people who weren’t even around during “Alien’s” inception, you might not believe a documentary formed in this fashion could be completely compelling. Except it is. The movie comes to rely on firsthand accounts infrequently as its focus sharpens. “Memory” decides, correctly in light of the ideas it ultimately explores, that the most critical context should come from perspectives that assumed ownership of “Alien” after it passed from its founders to its audience.

For its first half, the film sufficiently and succinctly covers the bases of how “Alien” gestated in Dan O’Bannon’s imagination. The time tunnel of factors that went into seeding O’Bannon’s script essentially establishes that “Alien” not only isn’t an original concept, but umpteen comics and sci-fi cinema classics could file a class action lawsuit for blatant plagiarism.

Even though the film similarly examines what preexisting works floated as motes in H.R. Giger’s artistic eye too, “Memory” doesn’t do the work of a traditional “Making Of” piece any more than required for a basic vocabulary to take shape. I’ve seen stubborn complaints argue “what about this” and “what about that,” yet “Memory” never deigns to be a behind-the-scenes breakdown at all. More than a mere anecdotal retrospective, “Memory” writes an audiovisual essay regarding the impact and influence both on and of O’Bannon’s story, Giger’s biomechanical monstrosities, and Ridley Scott’s unifying vision.

More often than not, I find academic interpretations of idolized pop culture pieces to be outright malarkey. I still snicker when I think of a college professor who forced preposterous parallels into “Silence of the Lambs,” like suggesting the hidden well in Buffalo Bill’s home intentionally symbolizes a vagina.

But the people populating “Memory,” even those who are arguably questionable inclusions, come backed by convincing convictions. Some stray musings aren’t as strong as others, such as one Texas A&M professor stretching a line between “Alien” and serial killers like Bundy and Gacy. But intriguing metaphors identifying working class characterizations and male rape mold your mind to appreciate “Alien” under bold new lights not commonly considered.

The documentary’s most egregious instances of overly arty pretention aren’t in content so much as presentation. One such scene is the confounding opening featuring Greek Furies, whose appearance doesn’t become any more necessary even after their purpose is revealed later in the film. Chalk this up as a rare outlier. Once the film fully finds its thematic footing, it no longer sees fit to fill up on fluff.

If clinical interviews and colorful nostalgia strike your fancy, home video featurettes can provide that kind of supplemental material. “Memory: The Origins of Alien” takes a more precision approach to looking at a specific slice of “Alien,” with particular attention paid to the famous chestburster sequence. The breakdown isn’t as meticulous as Philippe’s pinpointed “Psycho” dissection in “78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene” (review here). But Philippe’s uniquely thoughtful framing elevates “Memory” beyond being a mere Blu-ray extra, provided your open mind remains interested in poking at the insides of the egg.

Review Score: 80

---