Has anyone ever felt as alone and isolated in a cinema in empathy with a screen character as they have with Ellen Ripley in the climactic scenes of Alien? Ridley Scott essentially took the climax of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, removed the transcendence of man, replaced Dave Bowman with a vulnerable looking semi-naked woman, and replaced HAL with a acid blooded Xenomorph. It was a heady mix creating one of the most nerve racking tight corner situations seen in cinema. With her crew all gone and communications dead Ripley and Jonesy the ship's cat are truly alone in the depths of space. Alien was ground-breaking in countless ways but never has a scene so justified and optimised the tagline from the poster that promoted it: "In Space No One Can Hear You Scream"... A fact audiences were acutely aware of when locked in that shuttle with Ripley and Jonesy as the Nostromo blows up and she realises she has an unexpected and unwanted passenger. Any isolation films you feel should have made the list? Or just feeling a little lonely? Tell us below:
As well as the odd article, I apply my "special mind" to scriptwriting for Comics, Films and Games... Oh and I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flow'rs, I put on women's clothing, and hang around in bars.
Follow me on Twitter @DrRobertOtnik
