Ep. 335: Ridley Scott's Alien

Steffan and Gavia discuss one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time: Ridley Scott's Alien. Spawning an iconic franchise and dozens of copycats, Alien is part monster movie, part dystopian thriller, starring Sigourney Weaver in her breakout role. Renowned for its genre-defining production design, this film established a "space trucker" aesthetic for its working-class spaceship setting - and introduced a uniquely grotesque antagonist in the form of H.R. Giger's xenomorph.

Among other topics, this episode covers the film's creative backstory with Ridley Scott and screenwriter Dan O'Bannan, its anti-capitalist dystopian setting, and the making of its iconic chestburster scene.

Links:

"Alien’s Chestburster Sequence: The Inside Story Behind One Of Cinema’s Most Shocking Scenes," Ian Nathan, Empire

"The Unexpected Path to ‘Alien’: My Interview with Ridley Scott," It Came From...

Previous episodes: Alien: Covenant, Predator: Badlands, Blade Runner 2049, Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel