by Mike Favila, Editor

As a longtime Alien fan, I was really intrigued when I heard that Alien: The Archive was being released.  When I heard that Titan Books would be the publisher, I knew it would be worthwhile to check out.  They’ve always put out beautiful volumes, most notably the Joe Simon and Jack Kirby library.  Though the book clocks in at around 315 pages, there’s no filler inside.  From the cover featuring a storyboard of the alien, all the way to the quiet `dedication for mastermind designer H.R. Giger on the last page, the whole book is stacked deep with stories about the production and the inspiration behind certain creative decisions.  The pictures in the book are huge and detailed, providing a number of behind the scenes peeks.  They aren’t afraid to take up a whole page with profiles of Ripley, the Alien or massive space vistas.   There were also a lot of storyboards and previsualization comics that showed that the creative team spent months getting the designs and action ready, even if the final product wasn’t an exact match.

Instead of an introduction, Alien: The Archive has an interview with Sigourney Weaver, broken down through her eyes and perspective.  As she is the only true common thread among the films (and who is REALLY counting those Alien v Predator movies?), Weaver is well qualified to bring the reader into the universe.   The book is broken down into sections by movie, chronologically.  That being said, Alien: The Archive flows flawlessly, going from one story to another without having to break stride.

The opening section on Alien covers the genesis of the project.  Dan O’Bannon, who wrote the initial idea and chestburster scene, detailed how he shopped the script around everywhere, with no takers.  Ridley Scott was a new director, having only done a well received, if not modest, period film.  Sigourney Weaver had three films to her name, including a walk on part on Woody Allen’s Annie Hall.  Most crucially, the inclusion of H.R. Giger, as he helped design all the sets and various alien designs are covered.  To this day, the imagery is so iconic that none of the directors that followed could substantially divert from the original designs of Giger, whether they wanted to or not.  I also enjoyed the chance to get a closer look at the Space Jockey, the original alien that steered the doomed ship.  It was pretty telling that Ridley Scott was so fixated in keeping this segment, even as the studio pushed him to cut the sequence to save costs.  Though the audience wasn’t focused on the pilot, Ridley would always keep him in the back of his mind for Prometheus.

Aliens has always been my favorite of the series, just because I’m a James Cameron devotee.  Having never seen Aliens in theater, I only have the film to go on.  Alien: The Archive is nice because it reminds me that, even though Aliens is well regarded now, it is STILL a sequel to a genre defining film.  Only Cameron would have the gall to take on a definitive film, and carve out his own space with Scott’s toys.  In this section, the photos really telegraph the technological bent that he started displaying in Terminator and would go on to innovate on his subsequent films.

The documentaries on the Alien Anthology BD really didn’t sugar coat the difficulties David Fincher faced in putting together his first film, Alien 3.  Having taken over for another director who left midway through production, and dealing with decisions made by executives before he jumped on the process, Fincher definitely had his work cut out for him.  For example Alien: The Archive clarifies that it wasn’t his decision to cut fan favorite Newt out.

Alien Resurrection, often the redheaded stepchild of the series, gets a new look here, and is placed well in perspective.  This may have a lot to do with access to the director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who provided new interviews for Alien: The Archive.  As a Whedon devotee, I often wrote off the director’s vision here for screwing up the Whedon’s intention, but it seems as though Jeunet knew exactly what he was doing when he was in process.  I found a new respect for him, going through his storyboards and

Usually, in a coffee table sized tome like this, there are often reference sections, detailed biographies of characters, ship specs.  You know mostly boring stuff.  The reader gets all that, but in Alien: The Archive it is effortless.  Everything is a trivia buff’s dream.  I just showed my wife Alien for the first time this Halloween, and it was nice to be able to see every scene with a little bit of new information.  While I wish that there was even a small section covering a little bit of Prometheus, I understand that maybe that’s best left for another book.

Alien: The Archive is a winner.  I’ve read it like a novel, cover to cover, three times already.  I’ll probably keep it close by for future viewings.   While this book is obviously a goldmine for a diehard fan like me,  Alien: The Archive is a great way for anybody that’s even a little curious about any of the films to get a little more insight on these films.  Buy it immediately.

Rating:
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