Alien Vault: The Definitive Story Behind the Film - Hardcover

Nathan, Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845136675 ISBN 13: 9781845136673

Publisher: Aurum Press, 2011

Synopsis

For more than thirty years, audiences have been simultaneously captivated and appalled as the spaceship Nostromo is invaded and its crew stalked by a terrifying parasitic creature. From the gore of the infant alien bursting from Kane's chest to the mounting claustrophobia as Ripley discovers the monster has followed her into the escape shuttle, Alien is a chilling masterpiece. Now, ALIEN VAULT opens a portal into the making of this legendary film, tracing its path from embryonic concept to fully-fledged box office phenomenon. Featured herein are director Ridley Scott's own annotated storyboards, Polaroids and script pages; the elegant but disturbing concept artwork of H.R. Giger; sketches and construction blueprints for the Nostromo; costume designs by Moebius; a treasure trove of never-before-seen photographs of the cast and crew; and ten meticulously reproduced artefacts, enclosed in vellum envelopes, for readers to remove and examine more closely. Fully authorized and illustrated throughout, ALIEN VAULT is the ultimate tribute to a movie that changed cinema for ever.

About this title

About the Author

Ian Nathan, who lives and works in London, has been a film writer, producer, broadcaster and magazine editor for twenty years. As executive editor of Empire, the world's leading film magazine, he is allowed to feed his passions on a daily basis: generating, editing and writing articles as a thinly veiled excuse to provide the world with his opinions. Like any healthy cinema obsessive, he grew up on James Bond, Indiana Jones, and sneaking into horror movies when he was tall enough. It has grown into a magnificent obsession with everything from Hitchcock to Kurosawa, from arcane film theory to picking your favourite Harrison Ford punch. He has had the immense good fortune of traversing the globe, interviewing the great and good: watching the godlike Steven Spielberg at work, eating ice cream with Peter Jackson and a tableful of orcs, buying Sigourney Weaver breakfast, and being hugged by both Oliver Stone and Kate Winslet -sadly, not at the same time. He has regularly contributed to books; newspapers such as the London Times and Independent; and magazines; had a weekly radio show; and produced TV documentaries and award ceremonies. The work of Sir Ridley Scott, in particular the extraordinary Alien, has been seminal in inspiring him to what film could be, and how much there is to discover within it.

Review

'An impeccably researched, beautifully written and lavishly illustrated romp through the Ripleyverse. Will enliven your next viewing of the film tenfold. Indispensable stuff.' Five stars ***** Empire 'Giving the 1979 film the treatment it deserves, this lavish backstage pass is a tribute, a celebration and a must-have collectors' item for anyone loving the alien.' Five stars ***** Total Film 'Highlights include Ridley Scott's original storyboards and HR Giger's designs for the xenomorph, yet it's the high-quality photos of the Space Jockey construction and other iconic imagery that really make it a worthwhile package. The actual text is nice array of behind-the-scenes stuff, covering all the key points you'd expect with just the right amount of detail' **** Four stars SciFi Now 'The stuff of fan's dreams' - BOOKS OF THE YEAR Independent on Sunday 'A fantastic coffee table book. This is a proper book that is almost a work of art in itself...a magnificent record of a classic film.' Scifilondon.com 'An exhaustive tome fit for any film lover's coffee table. Four stars ****' Cultbox.co.uk 'Worthy testament to the classic film's talented creators... a must have book. 9 / 10' Starwarsaficionado.com 'All in all a simply gorgeous book full of gorgeous words and gorgeous photos. Buy it, put it on your bookshelf' 10/10 Starburstmagazine.co.uk

Edition details

• Publisher: Aurum Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1845136675
• ISBN 13: 9781845136673
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 176