Memory: The Origins of Alien

2019 95 min ★ 6.4 Documentary

The untold origin story behind Ridley Scott's Alien - rooted in Greek and Egyptian mythologies, underground comics, the art of Francis Bacon, and the dark visions of Dan O'Bannon and H.R. Giger. A contemplation on the symbiotic collaborative process of movie-making, the power of myth, and our collective unconscious.

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Cast

Ronald Shusett

Self

Roger Christian

Self

Ivor Powell

Self

Terry Rawlings

Self

Tom Skerritt

Self

Veronica Cartwright

Self

Roger Corman

Self

Gary Sherman

Self

Carmen Scheifele-Giger

Self

Clarke Wolfe

Self

Details

Director

Alexandre O. Philippe

Tagline

"Before Alien, there was Starbeast. Before Starbeast, there was… Memory."

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Production

Screen Media Films, Legion M, Dogwoof

Reviews

S

SWITCH.

August 10, 2019

★ 6/10

What makes ‘Memory: The Origins of Alien’ interesting is the way, as one critic puts it, “it was a synthesis that wasn’t done consciously“ of Giger’s biomechanical designs, Scott’s eye for striking compositions and O’Bannon’s fear of insects and the unknown. The Xenomorph, a symbiotic monster and classic cinema nasty, was created through a vast melting pot of the different influences brought to th...

S

Sheldon Nylander

September 21, 2019

★ 6/10

Honestly, there's not much to say about "Memory." Or rather, there isn't much to say about "Alien" that hasn't really been said before. Most of the information is stuff that's been talked about before. It was interesting to see some more information about the original idea for "Alien," that being the screenplay for "Memory." To be honest, not only would I like to see more about that, but I would a...