Late last year we learned of Memory – The Origins of Alien, a new documentary which will explore the development of the first Alien film! Entertainment Weekly brings us news of the documentary’s premiere and an exclusive look at the poster for the film:
The documentary is directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, who is best known for his 2010 Star Wars documentary: The People vs. George Lucas. Memory seeks to focus on the work of Dan O’Bannon and H.R. Giger, exploring the early concepts and ideas of the film.
Set to debut at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on January 24th, there is no wide release date yet but we can likely expect to see one later this year. The Festival program describes the documentary as follows:
“Memory was a script that Dan O’Bannon started in 1971, abruptly hitting a wall at page 29. But after the idea gestated for several years, it ultimately took the form of Ridley Scott’s masterpiece Alien.
Alexandre O. Philippe’s documentaries—most recently 78/52, about Hitchcock’s Psycho shower scene—have interrogated cinema’s cultural ripples. If MEMORY—The Origins of Alien were only a comprehensive account of Alien’s origins—ancient myths, comic books, H.P. Lovecraft, sci-fi movies, and parasitic wasps—it would still be fascinating. But how did Alien lodge itself so indelibly into our cultural imagination? Philippe’s real interest lies in the deep resonance of myths and our collective unconscious. The strange symbiotic collaboration between Alien creators O’Bannon, Scott, and H.R. Giger suggests a greater synchronicity across history, art, and storytelling, a synchronicity that gives us the Furies, creatures of Renaissance painting, and even chest-bursting aliens.
Propelled by a pure joy of cinema (and sociology), the film is strewn with unearthed archival material, designs, and story notes. It’s safe to say you’ll never think of Alien the same way again.”
It seems there are nearly endless stories to be told about the development and production of the original Alien. As also recently announced, we’ll also be getting a new comprehensive behind the scenes book of the film right before Alien Day on April 23rd.
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https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2019/01/25/sundance-review-memory-the-origins-of-alien-is-at-least-wackier-than-your-a
https://www.indiewire.com/2019/01/memory-the-origins-of-alien-review-sundance-1202036731/
https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3543334/sundance-review-memory-origins-alien-takes-us-inside-chestburster-scene/
https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/memory-the-origins-of-alien-review-1203115299/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/memory-origins-alien-review-1178935
https://www.thewrap.com/memory-the-origins-of-alien-film-review-2019-documentary-ridley-scott/
I'm looking forward to seeing some impressions or reviews tonight, though!
Nice, RidgeTop I assume? Nightmare pretty much covered it above, some good questions there.
What was the process of getting the documentary off the ground like? How did you go about approaching the O'Bannon and Giger families and 20th Century Fox?
Did you consult Charles de Lauzirika's The Beast Within: The Making of Alien at all? What differentiates Memory from Lauzirika's doc?
Is there a wider theatrical release planned after Memory makes its festival debut? How about a physical home media release?
Was Ridley Scott consulted with/spoken to at all as part of the production of Memory, or does the doc exclusively focus on O'Bannon and Giger's contributions?
Any other questions I have would probably delve too much into "spoiler" territory; regardless, can't wait for this doc!
Non watermarked version of the poster for those who want it.
https://imgur.com/rwK1ZOL.jpg
It's well known. It's just that nobody has ever seen it. It's meant to only be 30 pages long, and takes us down to the alien planet and no further. The most interesting thing about it will be: what changed between Memory and the first draft of Alien? Character names, dialogue, anything?
There's one archive in particular I talked to you about that I'd love to crack open.
I don't recall seeing any behind-the-scenes footage from the deleted cocoon scene in the Giger's Alien documentary, yet footage (of the crouched Brett egg figure with the missing eyeball & dressing the cocoon set) turned up as clips in The Beast Within: The Making of ALIEN Documentary.
The Brett egg and set dressing footage look very much like Giger / Mia filmed outtakes from the Giger's Alien documentary.
The announcement specifically mentions O'Bannon's archives being accessed for the first time. I don't think this whole Memory thing is something I know of. If it is, I can't remember it.
In the past 3 years i have finally bought a blu-ray player and got rid of my dvd collection of over 600 movies and repurchased ALL OF THEM on blu-ray. I am not switching to yet another damn format. And digital downloads have never appealed to me. I refuse to support non-physical media.
It would be such a shame too because this is exactly the type of thing i would love to watch and spend money on but only if its the right format.
Indeed, I do mean Dark Star. To this date, I don't know how I can watch this in Canada.
You know it.
Looking forward to AVP Galaxy's review later this month then!
I don't think this is an official Fox docu like the CdL ones though. Unless of course they made a deal with Indie Sales to include it with the 4K release.
One day, the prevailing thought is you'll have no choice but to download (unfortunately).
Do You mean the documentary "Dark Star"? Should that not be with Engl subs? Or is there any other docu? Thanks.
I wish that Giger documentary that came out recently was available for purchase as well with English sub-titles..