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We went to see Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019) directed by Alexandre O. Philippe yesterday which starts out a bit making-of-y but eventually gets into some great thematic and cultural analysis of Alien (1979) including the film's commentary on feminism, class, capitalism.On Internet Archive
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There's a definite focus on the Chestburster scene which made me think that Philippe started out making another documentary focusing on a single scene like his 78/52: Hitchcock's Shower Scene (2017) on the shower scene in Psycho (1960) but ultimately decided to broaden his scope.Permalink On Internet Archive
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There's a huge amount that he manages to say about the Chestburster scene and how it ties into the film's central themes of the power of the feminine via male rape, fear of male penetration, and the explicitly phallic imagery of the Chestburster itself.Permalink On Internet Archive
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But in the broader context of the documentary, this semi-focus makes the doc feel a bit rudderless at times. It tries to recentre on the influence of Greek myth on Alien but it doesn't feel entirely successful.Permalink On Internet Archive
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Still a great documentary that has a lot to say and it's wonderful to see this kind of incisive cultural analysis about one of the greatest films of all time youtube.com/watch?v=z4WJ64LvWnUPermalink On Internet Archive
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The documentary also criticises the weird cousin of the Chestburster scene in Alien: Covenant (2017) which manages to avoid everything that made the original scene great. Much the same way Covenant as a whole profoundly misunderstands what made Alien great medium.com/@SimonXIX/alien-covenant-removing-the-alien-from-alien-a02b32ee6911Permalink On Internet Archive