Engineer Design Question

[echobbase79]

I'm watching the Furious Gods Doc on the Prometheus bluray. I'd never seen it and it's great so far. One thing that struck me as interesting was that the Engineer has elements of Elvis's face. In the final design I can't really tell except for maybe the eyes.

Anyone else see the resemblance in the final design?

[SM]

Yeah, the nose.

[echobbase79]

Oh yeah, I see it now.

[SM]

I didn't pick it up at first but as soon as they mentioned it, it stood out.

[bb-15]

I'm watching the Furious Gods Doc on the Prometheus bluray. I'd never seen it and it's great so far. One thing that struck me as interesting was that the Engineer has elements of Elvis's face. In the final design I can't really tell except for maybe the eyes.

Anyone else see the resemblance in the final design?

That is a very good Blu-ray extra.

* Nice to see the Engneer art design topic coming up.
With the Engineer's face and body Ridley went away from H.R. Giger's concepts.
What was the artistic basis for the Engineer's face?

- Let's start with images of the Engineer's face;





- A comparison has been made to Elvis' face. There are similarities with the mouth and nose (as well as cheeks and jaw).



- But imo what this shows is that Elvis' face was similar to the classic Greek ideal.
So, imo the inspiration for the design of the Engineer is classic Greek (Roman) sculpture (such as with this statue of Apollo).   



- This style was continued many years later by Michellangelo with his David.



- And continued again in the 1800s with the Statue of Liberty;



* PS. In this brief interview clip, the designer, Neville Page, (who worked on "Prometheus") says that Ridley had a very specific idea about how the Engineers should look.
- The Greek/Roman gods concept was an influence for the design of the Engineers. 
And specific mentions are made of this style (from Ridley to Page) as shown above; Michelangelo's David, the Statue of Liberty and even the face of Elvis!
https://www.wired.com/video/2012/08/designing-the-perfect-engineer-in-prometheus/

[echobbase79]

Thanks for the reference shots! I wonder why he was chosen as a reference? They didn't say in the Furious Gods doc.

[whiterabbit]

Well what did you guys think Milburn was going to say it looked like? Obama?

[bb-15]

Thanks for the reference shots! I wonder why he was chosen as a reference? They didn't say in the Furious Gods doc.

You're welcome.
This is why I posted a link to the video interview by the designer, Neville Page.
https://www.wired.com/video/2012/08/designing-the-perfect-engineer-in-prometheus/

In the Blu-ray's main documentary Ridley got to choose what he thought was most important.
But sometimes words from the other film makers in commentaries/interviews can give interesting insights to the choices in the movie.

As for Elvis, I think it's just a coincidence that he happened to have a classic Greek ideal look. According to designer, Neville Page, that classic Greek god look is what Ridley wanted.
- For instance compare the image I posted of Elvis with the statue of Apollo right underneath it; from the deep set eyes, to the mouth and chin, there are a lot of similarities.
- But Ridley went beyond Elvis to other parts of the classic Greek look.
See the more bulky nose on the Engineer and compare that to the face of the Statue of Liberty. The nose is almost a straight line beginning from the bottom of the forehead to the tip of the nose. That is seen in the classic Greek look but not with Elvis.

* Ridley has an artistic, visual sense with his movies. He had this vision of classic Greek god looking Engineers underneath the Space Jockey outer shell.
It's one of several things which make "Prometheus" interesting to me.