Memory: The Origins of Alien

Memory: The Origins of Alien is a 2019 documentary film that traces the origins of the film Alien (1979).[1] Directed and written by Alexandre O. Philippe and produced by Kerry Deignan Roy, the documentary delves into the history of the classic science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. It focuses on the idea that film is "a collective art form – not just the wider circle of writers, performers and technicians beyond the director, but in the case of the truly great films, serendipitous access to a deeper collective unconscious ...", tracing the connections from H. P. Lovecraft to Francis Bacon to the Greek Furies.[4]

Memory: The Origins of Alien
Directed byAlexandre O. Philippe
Written byAlexandre O. Philippe
Based on
Alien (1979)
by
Produced byKerry Deignan Roy
Production
company
Exhibit A Pictures
Distributed byLegion M and Screen Media Films[1]
Release date
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$38,995[2][3]

The film was nominated for Audience Award in the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival.[5][6]

Synopsis

Memory: The Origins of Alien explores the origins of director Ridley Scott's film Alien (1979).[7] The film includes original story notes, rejected designs and storyboards, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, and screenwriter Dan O'Bannon's original 29-page script of Memory (1971).[8]

Cast

Production

Director Alexandre O. Philippe announced Memory: The Origins of Alien while he was promoting his 2017 documentary film 78/52, which is based on the 1960 film Psycho.[9] Philippe said he was fascinated by the tagline of Alien and he further added after watching Alien (1979) that it "blew him away".[9] Talking about his approach, Philippe said:

I love to tackle cinema and pop culture in a way that is rooted in some deep idea that needs to be explored further.

— Alexandre O. Philippe, [10]

Philippe credited the 1944 painting Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion by Francis Bacon for getting him excited about exploring the Alien franchise.[11] He further added, "If you looked at the artwork, you'll say, 'That's just a little tidbit of trivia'".[11]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Memory - The Origins of Alien offers an entertaining inside look at the making of a classic — and compellingly analyzes its creation in the context of its era."[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[13]

Phil Hoad of The Guardian wrote: "Francis Bacon, Greek myth and unsung script hero Dan O'Bannon are given their due in this richly obsessive film about the making of a sci-fi classic".[4] Dan Jolin of Time Out wrote: "However, thanks to 20th Century Fox's rich archives and the quality of the dark space-saga's DVD/Blu-Ray extras, there is honestly not much in Memory – named after Alien creator Dan O'Bannon's first title for the script – that warrants its claim to be the 'untold' story of its origin".[14] Anton Bitel of the Little White Lies wrote: "But what Philippe's documentary traces is the way in which Alien transforms the perverted (pro)creative process at the heart of its own making into the main theme and central mystery of its ongoing story".[12] Owen Gleiberman writing for Variety wrote, "Memory captures the hypnotic layers of history and meaning that were folded into the shock value of Alien".[15]

Accolades
Award Year Category Result Ref.
Copenhagen International Documentary Festival 2019 Politiken's Audience Award Nominated [5]
Edinburgh International Film Festival Audience Award Nominated [6]

References
  1. Haring, Bruce (2019-04-26). "'Memory: The Origins of Alien' Documentary Acquired By Screen Media & Legion M". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  2. "Memory: The Origins of Alien". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  3. "The Origins of Alien". The Numbers. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  4. Hoad, Phil (2019-08-30). "Memory: The Origins of Alien review – inside the secret psyche of a monster". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  5. "CPH:DOX (2019)". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  6. "Edinburgh International Film Festival (2019)". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  7. "Memory: The Origins of Alien Is a Stomach-Churning Look at the Making of a Classic". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  8. "Memory is a superficial look at the origins of Alien". Film. October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  9. "'Memory—The Origins of Alien' Director Alexandre O. Philippe is Happy to Make Movies About Classic Movies, Talks His Upcoming 'Exorcist' Documentary [Interview]". /Film. 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  10. "Sundance 2019 Interview: MEMORY Director Alexandre O. Philippe on Exploring the Lasting Influence of ALIEN and His Upcoming THE EXORCIST Documentary". Daily Dead. 2019-01-26. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  11. "Intense Memories – Point of View Magazine". povmagazine.com. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  12. "Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019)", Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, retrieved 2021-10-30
  13. Memory: The Origins of Alien, retrieved 2019-11-14
  14. "Memory: The Origins of Alien". Time Out London. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  15. Gleiberman, Owen (2019-01-25). "Sundance Film Review: 'Memory: The Origins of Alien'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
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