Warning: this article contains major spoilers for the film, Alien. Please read with caution.
It’s dark inside the movie theater as moviegoers’ silhouettes find their way into velvety seats, illuminated by six letters appearing one by one on the screen in a title sequence that later would take its place in history as one of the most iconic: A L I E N. Premiering in 1979 in cinemas all across the country, this movie forever changed the sci-fi thriller genre: pioneering a unique use of sound to build suspense, promoting a powerful female protagonist, as well as redefining space thrillers with the reveal of the titular antagonist.
The movie begins with the commercial spaceship Nostromo, returning back to Earth with eight members aboard: Captain Arthur Dallas, Executive Officer Kane, Navigator Joan Lambert, Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley, Science Officer Ash, Engineer Technician Brett, Engineer Chief Parker, and the ship’s cat, Jones (Alien Anthology Wiki). The crew is in hypersleep when they are woken up by the ship’s computer, named MOTHER, to investigate a distress signal from a nearby planet. Whilst on the planet, one of the crew members, Kane, is attacked by a facehugger and goes into a catatonic state. Due to this, the members hurry back onto the ship and try to treat Kane, only to lose him when an actual alien bursts from his chest, killing him in the process. From here, the alien slowly grows into an adult and stalks and kills each of the crew members, leaving Ripley to fight him off in the final scenes of the movie.
Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
From the signature title sequence, the soundtrack immediately immerses the audience into the eerie atmosphere of space. Here, the composer of the iconic soundtrack, Jerry Goldsmith, along with conductor Lionel Newman and the National Philharmonic Orchestra, uses several instruments such as clock-like flutes and minimalistic tubas to create a claustrophobic atmosphere as the perfect setting for the characters. This setting harmonizes beautifully with the claustrophobia and paranoia the crewmembers of Nostromo face as well, but by utilizing this soundtrack, the tangible fear of the crew is palpable and personal to the audience. Additionally, throughout the film, Goldsmith uses an orchestral technique familiar to many music theory students, as well as many horror enthusiasts, called a Shepard Tone. For those who don’t know, a Shepard Tone is a sound created by two ascending or descending tones, to emulate a continuous, neverending tone (Psychology Wiki). This effect has become popular in suspense movies over the years; one of the more popular ones being Dunkirk. However, when Alien was first released in the late 70s, this type of sound technology was revolutionary to movie theaters and added an extra level of suspense to the opening credits.
An underlying element of the film that ties it to the time period is the fact that the ending protagonist is a strong, leading female. Throughout the film, the crew members chide Ripley on her cautious nature, saying that she isn’t fit to be making the majority of the decisions on board Nostromo. However, as each of the crew gets killed off, Ripley becomes the reluctant but capable leader of the ship and plans multiple ways to kill the alien. Ripley eventually sets the ship to self-destruct and fights her way into an escape pod with Jones, only to discover that the Alien hid in the pod with them. She realizes she can release the Alien out into space with the airlock, so she carefully steps into a spacesuit and hits the airlock button. From Ripley’s actions, the film highlights her as a strong female leader who uses her ability to think on her feet to survive. Ripley’s assertive leadership fits into the women’s movement of the 70s and sets a strong precedent for future astronauts and role models for young girls around the world.
Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
From watching Alien on its 40th anniversary, I’ve realized there are several different elements that went into the film that created a lasting impact on not only the horror genre but on all modern movies. Though I’m not a film theory student, analyzing this movie made me realize all the working parts that go into a movie behind the scenes. This movie remains to be one of my favorite sci-fi thriller movies of all time.