I heard from someone on another forum that Scott indicated that the creature is dying by the 4th act when Ripley reaches the Narcissus, thats why it was so lethargic, sleepy and unresponsive to Ripley in the beginning when she was undressing and preparing for cyro. It had a very short life span originally . Which would be very understandable since it really was intended as a bioweapon to kill with agility and speed and could kill a lot within a short time span.
Is this at all true?
I certainly remember reading Giger saying something along those lines. It was supposed to become blacker as the film progressed, as if it was being "bruised" by the atmosphere.
Not sure if that was actually in the script or just Giger's design perspective, or Giger and Ridley's if you're remembering rightly too.
Ridley Scott on the issue of the Alien's lifespan:
Quote"I wanted a sense of a timeless, slightly decaying creature that, maybe, only has a limited life cycle of, maybe, four days like an insect ... The Alien lifeform lived to reproduce ... [Ripley] killed it, but it would have died soon anyway. It's like a butterfly."
As for:
QuoteI certainly remember reading Giger saying something along those lines. It was supposed to become blacker as the film progressed, as if it was being "bruised" by the atmosphere.
Not strictly true. The water and slime the suit was exposed to destroyed Giger's paint job, which was excruciating for him as he had to keep painting it (according to his diary, he was
not happy about this). You can see some of the damage as the film progresses but it doesn't really have any plot significance. I think fans reached the conclusion that the Alien is dying onscreen themselves.
Veronica Cartwright once mentioned that it would darken and bruise like fruit as it matured.
Oh dear. Not being able to tell Veronica Cartright and HR Giger apart is probably a sure sign that it's time for me to get my eyes tested.
Originally, originally it was supposed to live for centuries. But as per above that idea changed by the time they got to shooting.
Quote from: Valaquen on Oct 11, 2014, 02:10:27 PM
Ridley Scott on the issue of the Alien's lifespan:
Quote"I wanted a sense of a timeless, slightly decaying creature that, maybe, only has a limited life cycle of, maybe, four days like an insect ... The Alien lifeform lived to reproduce ... [Ripley] killed it, but it would have died soon anyway. It's like a butterfly."
As for:
QuoteI certainly remember reading Giger saying something along those lines. It was supposed to become blacker as the film progressed, as if it was being "bruised" by the atmosphere.
Not strictly true. The water and slime the suit was exposed to destroyed Giger's paint job, which was excruciating for him as he had to keep painting it (according to his diary, he was not happy about this). You can see some of the damage as the film progresses but it doesn't really have any plot significance. I think fans reached the conclusion that the Alien is dying onscreen themselves.
Actually I'm pretty sure the bronzing was done to show aging, not necessarily dying, but certainly aging. I'll dig around for the article and see if it's the interviewer or Giger.
Quotelive for centuries
Funny how that one became true by accident... or simply lack of professionalism.
wow this should become a sticky - see ask those who knows and you get answers......
this should be a reference thread.
thanks guys - brilliant !!
If the alien was to die in a short amount of time wouldn't the self-destruct of the Nostromo be in vain?
when she activated the self destruct she didn't know this.
and i think she didn't know it when she blew it out of the narcasis.
not sure though.....
I didn't say that she did.
then what is the relevance of the question ??
Quote from: oduodu on Oct 13, 2014, 10:37:58 AM
then what is the relevance of the question ??
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi2.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Foriginal%2F000%2F175%2F315%2FPicardDoubleFacepalm-1.jpg&hash=cbf64e82f34e306ff7e49bf23cac943a74708db7)
Probably the fact that the viewer isn't perceiving the plot just through how Ripley interprets it...
If the viewer was to know that the alien was dying than they would see that blowing up the Nostromo was something done in vain...
Regardless towards OP:
There wasn't enough takes of the Alien to identify that it was precipitating towards death in the Narcissus. Scott merely implied that that was the direction he wanted to go but didn't fully deliver it through his presentation. And on another note, Scott's indication of his Alien dying in less than 24 hours contradicts Giger's "4 days like Butterfly" concept.
ok.........
Didn't one of the making-of books on the film suggest the Alien had a short lifespan and was in the Narcissus because it was looking for somewhere quiet to snuff it?
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Oct 13, 2014, 01:28:29 PM
Didn't one of the making-of books on the film suggest the Alien had a short lifespan and was in the Narcissus because it was looking for somewhere quiet to snuff it?
I think I know which book you're referring to. But once again, as you said, it was merely suggested.
Quote from: Xhan on Oct 12, 2014, 12:02:32 AM
Actually I'm pretty sure the bronzing was done to show aging, not necessarily dying, but certainly aging. I'll dig around for the article and see if it's the interviewer or Giger.
If you find it I'm definitely interested in the quote. I've been reading Giger's diary and he whines every other page about the paint job being destroyed :laugh:
I doubt much thought was put behind it, aside from idle ideas from the production crew behind why the script allowed Ripley to remain unmolested in the shuttle. Assuming it was dying was just as valid as assuming it realised it had no need to hurry and could simply observe her in curiosity before pouncing (or biologically gearing up to start remaking more hive material).
A short life-span might also explain why they go into stasis as they (seemed to at least) did LV426.
I was trying to make a theory work, but it doesn't. However, for the record ---
I first thought that maybe they had short lifespans to stop them being too successful and running out of resources (hosts) as gigantic armies of alien warriors would soon deplete any environment they were in (I think the very first comic says that they also had natural predators on their homeworld, but outside of that - unchecked - they were to of the food chain).
But that doesn't really add up? Cos once a host is dead its dead. Still, maybe if the warriors keep dying out and can't hunt in vast numbers, it gives the hosts a chance to repopulate?
I also thought the alien was sick and dying at the end of the first one (this thread reminded me of that) - or at least there was something not right with it. As Xenomorphine indicates, they probably had no real reason other than "we need a reason for Ripley to survive" and threw it in there, but its great to extrapolate on!
Quote from: Russ on Oct 14, 2014, 02:01:46 PM
A short life-span might also explain why they go into stasis as they (seemed to at least) did LV426.
I was trying to make a theory work, but it doesn't. However, for the record ---
I first thought that maybe they had short lifespans to stop them being too successful and running out of resources (hosts) as gigantic armies of alien warriors would soon deplete any environment they were in (I think the very first comic says that they also had natural predators on their homeworld, but outside of that - unchecked - they were to of the food chain).
But that doesn't really add up? Cos once a host is dead its dead. Still, maybe if the warriors keep dying out and can't hunt in vast numbers, it gives the hosts a chance to repopulate?
I also thought the alien was sick and dying at the end of the first one (this thread reminded me of that) - or at least there was something not right with it. As Xenomorphine indicates, they probably had no real reason other than "we need a reason for Ripley to survive" and threw it in there, but its great to extrapolate on!
A dead host can still have it's uses.
Never thought of it as dying at the end of Alien. But it does make sense. Then again, if it is as intelligent as most presume, then maybe it was simply biding its time for the right moment to strike. If the alien senses a human heart rate, adrenaline, etc, then maybe it was waiting for Ripley to feel safe and let her guard down before it struck. Obviously it underestimated her quick response to him reaching out to her. Either that or he was just a fat ass by then and couldn't be bothered to move without "motivation".
Quote from: Russ on Oct 14, 2014, 02:01:46 PM
A short life-span might also explain why they go into stasis as they (seemed to at least) did LV426.
I was trying to make a theory work, but it doesn't. However, for the record ---
I first thought that maybe they had short lifespans to stop them being too successful and running out of resources (hosts) as gigantic armies of alien warriors would soon deplete any environment they were in (I think the very first comic says that they also had natural predators on their homeworld, but outside of that - unchecked - they were to of the food chain).
But that doesn't really add up? Cos once a host is dead its dead. Still, maybe if the warriors keep dying out and can't hunt in vast numbers, it gives the hosts a chance to repopulate?
I also thought the alien was sick and dying at the end of the first one (this thread reminded me of that) - or at least there was something not right with it. As Xenomorphine indicates, they probably had no real reason other than "we need a reason for Ripley to survive" and threw it in there, but its great to extrapolate on!
Thing is a long span would might necessitate the same.
*nods thoughtfully* Go on...
Quote from: Valaquen on Oct 11, 2014, 02:10:27 PM
Ridley Scott on the issue of the Alien's lifespan:
Quote"I wanted a sense of a timeless, slightly decaying creature that, maybe, only has a limited life cycle of, maybe, four days like an insect ... The Alien lifeform lived to reproduce ... [Ripley] killed it, but it would have died soon anyway. It's like a butterfly."
Here's another quote by Ridley while talking about the cocoon sequence:
Quote...I think it provided some explanation for the Alien's killing spree -- like a butterfly or an insect, it has a limited lifespan in which to reproduce itself. It also helped explain why it didn't attack Ripley in the Narcissus. It's days were over. Like a chameleon, it had found a protective corner in that ship and was working itself in there to die.
Quote from: xeno_alpha_07 on Oct 17, 2014, 03:17:58 PM
Quote from: Valaquen on Oct 11, 2014, 02:10:27 PM
Ridley Scott on the issue of the Alien's lifespan:
Quote"I wanted a sense of a timeless, slightly decaying creature that, maybe, only has a limited life cycle of, maybe, four days like an insect ... The Alien lifeform lived to reproduce ... [Ripley] killed it, but it would have died soon anyway. It's like a butterfly."
Here's another quote by Ridley while talking about the cocoon sequence:
Quote...I think it provided some explanation for the Alien's killing spree -- like a butterfly or an insect, it has a limited lifespan in which to reproduce itself. It also helped explain why it didn't attack Ripley in the Narcissus. It's days were over. Like a chameleon, it had found a protective corner in that ship and was working itself in there to die.
I think that's new to my eyes. You da man 8)
Finally found the original quote I was looking for taken from the book of Alien for those interested:
QuoteI want to show that the Alien has a limited life cycle, like a butterfly. And within that period of time once it decides to expose itself - to coin a phrase - once it jumps out of the egg, it has to reproduce and spread fast as possible, maybe in a cycle of only days. And so in the last sequence, you see slime emanating from the big Alien's body because we're trying to convey that maybe he's sealing himself in again, like a cocoon. Also, by that point, he has to be provoked to attack, because he has to get on with his life cycle.
wow
thats a pretty definitive statement.
thanks xeno aplha 07
Does anything cocoon itself to die?
Not to my knowledge, but quite a few invertebrates die when they give birth, to provide a food source for their litter. The quote suggests it has another stage to its lifecycle, maybe it's also able to spawn an egg or some kind of larva from its dying/dead body. *Shrug*
Remember the spider that lived outside your window? Orange body, green legs. Watched her build a web all summer, then one day there's a big egg in it. The egg hatched...
Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 20, 2014, 11:49:51 AM
Remember the spider that lived outside your window? Orange body, green legs. Watched her build a web all summer, then one day there's a big egg in it. The egg hatched...
Brilliant :D
Quote from: xeno_alpha_07 on Oct 19, 2014, 08:23:35 PM
Finally found the original quote I was looking for taken from the book of Alien for those interested:
QuoteI want to show that the Alien has a limited life cycle, like a butterfly. And within that period of time once it decides to expose itself - to coin a phrase - once it jumps out of the egg, it has to reproduce and spread fast as possible, maybe in a cycle of only days. And so in the last sequence, you see slime emanating from the big Alien's body because we're trying to convey that maybe he's sealing himself in again, like a cocoon. Also, by that point, he has to be provoked to attack, because he has to get on with his life cycle.
That's extremely interesting, I wonder what caused Scott to change his mind? I understand the whole perfect killing machine thing but it would kind of make sense for it to have a life expectancy of some kind?
Tbh, i hate that idea of Alien living for only 4 or something days 'cause it really restricts you in possibility of making any satisfactive sequel. Shit, if it was aproved we would never get Aliens! ALIENS!
Quote from: LastSurvivor92 on Jun 18, 2019, 04:12:01 AM
Quote from: xeno_alpha_07 on Oct 19, 2014, 08:23:35 PM
Finally found the original quote I was looking for taken from the book of Alien for those interested:
QuoteI want to show that the Alien has a limited life cycle, like a butterfly. And within that period of time once it decides to expose itself - to coin a phrase - once it jumps out of the egg, it has to reproduce and spread fast as possible, maybe in a cycle of only days. And so in the last sequence, you see slime emanating from the big Alien's body because we're trying to convey that maybe he's sealing himself in again, like a cocoon. Also, by that point, he has to be provoked to attack, because he has to get on with his life cycle.
That's extremely interesting, I wonder what caused Scott to change his mind? I understand the whole perfect killing machine thing but it would kind of make sense for it to have a life expectancy of some kind?
What makes you think he changed his mind?
I doubt he did, stating the obvious but James Cameron, David Fincher and others made sure the idea is no longer applicable.
Exactly, but I'd doubt that would stop Ridley if he still thought the original idea was cool. :laugh: After hearing about the chopped Alien maybe reassembling/regenerating and him contemplating that maybe Big Chap has a little family unit, I understand that nothing is sacred, nothing is off limits for him which has its good and bad side...
I agree the Alien's got a certain amount of regeneration, but after decapitation or extreme bodily harm and trauma? No, it's dead.