Analysing Two Scenes From Alien (1979)

 

 

Chest-burster scene in Alien 1979

 

 The first scene that I am going to analyse from Alien is the chestburster scene (1979). This is the scene where a crew member has returned to the ship from the planet that they’re on and it shows them all eating a big dinner around the table.

The clip starts where they’re all eating dinner around the table, then the camera zooms into Kane (the second in command) and Parker (the chief engineer)  eating. In this shot there is a use of rule of thirds and a low angle to show this.  In this part they’re both joking and laughing together, but then Kane starts to choke but Parker just thinks it’s a cough at first. Parker makes a joke to Kane telling him “the food ain’t that bad” and then this is when the others start to worry and panic. Then the camera cuts to the back of Kane and a high angle is used which shows that he is insignificant.             In this part the crew members all get up slowly (except for Ash the science officer) and slowly move towards Kane. When the crew are balancing Kane and resting him on the table their movements are slow but when Kane’s body starts to convulse the movements are frantic and much faster.  Many high angles are used in this part of the scene to show Kane’s vulnerability which also shows that there is nothing anyone can do to help him. The camera movements are jerky throughout this section of the scene which implies that a hand held camera was used to film this particular part. This part is very dramatic because the voices of the crew members trying to help Kane become faster and more fearful which creates tension. Once, Kane’s chest has burst the camera cuts to the others to show their different reactions.

When filming this scene/ part only a few actors were told what was going to happen and the others didn’t know anything about it, I think that it was a clever idea to film it in this way because the reactions weren’t forced which makes the audience feel frightened.

 When Kane’s chest bursts the second time you get a full shot of the movement.  After the second burst you get a close up of the alien that was making Kane choke and which made his chest burst. There is also a shallow depth of focus used where the alien was in focus and Kane’s bloody, shaking body out of focus.  A tracking shot is used to follow the alien leaving Kane’s chest and escaping from the dining room. In this part of the scene the director may have wanted the audience to feel vulnerable and scared, however I didn’t think that the special effects that were used to show the alien escaping didn’t look realistic enough which made the movement more funny than scary.

The sound during the scene was all diegetic, at the start of the scene the sound of people talking was quiet but when Kane started to choke the noises started to gradually get louder which may link to the crew member’s anxiety and panic. After the alien has burst from his chest the crew members seem to go quiet and then a non-diegetic sound is used for the alien (which is a puppet).

The lighting throughout this scene is mostly high key; there are no shadows at all because everything is white and high tech. The mise-en-scéne of the lighting could reflect their moods and reactions to Kane returning because the bright light could symbolise that they’re relieved he’s back. However, when Kane’s chest has burst the lighting seems to dramatically change. Everyone is crowding around Kane’s body lying on the table which creates shadows, and the table that he is lying on is also white so when his chest bursts the blood stands out on the white. The red of the blood symbolises in many horrors “danger” and in this scene the blood may imply that danger is on its way.   

This scene is held in the dining area of the ship and at the start all of the crew members are all sitting around the table eating and then Kane begins to choke and that’s where it starts to escalate. The props that are used in this scene are boxes of food, bowls and plates of food and cutlery.

The speed in some sections of the scene seemed to differ. For example when Kane began to choke the crew members moved slowly to lay him down on to the table whereas after his chest burst and his body started to convulse again they reacted fast and pinned him down onto the table.

This scene is supposed to create fear and tension and I think it does until the alien escapes because the special effects that are used aren’t realistic which doesn’t really make me scared and fearful of this alien. However, the acting that led up to the alien escaping was dramatic and realistic because many of the actors weren’t aware of what was going on and had to just go along with it which was effective because the reactions weren’t forced.

In the scene the first thing that you’re drawn to is them all having dinner and you’re also drawn to and suspicious of Kane who has just returned to the ship. In this part of the film the main focus is Kane.

 

 

                                                         The here kitty scene from Alien 1979

 

The second scene that I am going to analyse is the ‘Here Kitty scene’. This scene is set in one of the ships engineering rooms where Brett has gone to look for the cat. This is after the alien has escaped so the acting is very cautious, afraid and timid. The scene builds up tension and suspense which makes the viewer intrigued and it makes them want to know what is going to happen next. The speed of this scene is slow because Brett is being cautious and weary throughout this scene, he was also sent to look for the cat that is on board the ship, this creates tension because there is an alien on the loose and it can appear at any time.

In this scene the sound is non-diegetic, the music that is being played is very uneasy and puts the audience on edge. The music also suggests that something is on its way- which is the alien. The only diegetic sound in this scene is where Brett repeats “Here kitty, kitty” and then when he tries to get the cat to come to him he speaks to him.

 The most common shot that is used in this scene is a tracking shot which follows Brett’s journey through the engineering rooms looking for the cat. There are many close ups showing the fear and anxiety on Brett’s face as he looks for the cat. A high angle is used to show him walking into another engineering room which also makes him look vulnerable like Kane did when it showed him at a high angle. The camera then zooms into the next room and pans around which shows another engineering room in the ship.

The lighting in this scene is low key which adds to the tension and suspense because there are more shadows and darker areas where the alien can conceal it-self.