Watched the documentary Memory: The Origins of Alien which I rented for 99 cents on iTunes. This one came out last year to very good reviews but I didn’t catch up to it until the current low rental fee. I think it’s worth it at that price if you dig the movie Alien.
So Memory is, indeed, a documentary about the inspirations and development of Ridley Scott’s Alien. Or Dan O’Bannon’s Alien… or H.R. Gieger’s Alien, etc. It is, however, not really a documentary about the making of the entire movie. Rather, it focuses on the genre and film inspirations behind the film, the artistic vision, and the making of – and inspiration behind – two key scenes (the investigation of the alien ship/egg room and the chest burster).
Since this isn’t an all-encompassing documentary though, it seems half finished. The doc doesn’t cover many details beyond the chest burster and very little about the franchise as a whole. It does what the subtitle suggests though… it’s all about inspiration and origins, not the nuts and bolts of the entire film. I get that and, for what they covered, it worked. And yet it also felt unfinished.
But, hey, they do cover a lot of ground while talking about the inspirations. Dan O’Bannon, who wrote the screenplay, said he didn’t steal from anyone… he stole from everyone. So they list a good half-dozen old sci-fi movies and comic books that have the seeds for the film. They cover the imaginations of two key artists (including Geiger) and have random diversions into Greek mythology. They cover who inspired the working class look of the ship, the casting of some of the parts, how scenes are blocked, and more. It’s a pretty good – and fairly original – look at the movie, and this coming from someone who didn’t think he really needed a new documentary to cover the topic.
So, hey, if you like behind-the-scenes on movies and the movie Alien in general, this is a documentary that’s worth watching. Not sure it would appeal to anyone outside that frame though. But certainly a good try.
Score: 81