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.
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 the film by three preternaturally creative people. In regards to outlining the complexities of this origin story, O. Phillippe’s documentary is an unqualified success.
- Jake Watt
Read Jake's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-memory-the-origins-of-alien-three-men-and-a-xenomorph
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 actually like to see that movie. It's nice to have a single encapsulated version of all the background info and critical analyses of one of the most symbolic films produced in recent memory, but if you're a fan who's studied this film to death already, you're not going to find anything new or revelatory here. This is really only for fans of the original film. Others probably won't get much out of it.
