How much was Ridley Scott actually influenced on Alien?

How much was Ridley Scott actually influenced on Alien? - Free stock photo of action, bike, biker

In this Cracked article, it states that Ridley Scott ripped off two other lesser know movies to make Alien. However according to wikipedia, Dan O'Bannon takes the credit for stealing from these two movies. How much influence is from the script and how much is from the director?

Also, even though it's a comedy site they don't actually say that the director never gave credit to these two movies. Has Ridley Scott ever acknowledged these movies as influencing his designs for this movie?



Best Answer

Cracked.com is a great place to find false information. I wouldn't recommend taking them too seriously, but that article is correct about Alien.

"Good artists copy. Great artists steal."

Dan O'Bannon explicitly stated in an essay he stole elements from those movies (it's available on the Alien special features disc). So it is really the script that contains stolen ideas, not the directing. I don't really like using the word "stole" for this, because it seems to me that parts of the script were "inspired" by those movies. Nothing can be completely original--writers are always influenced by others. Dan O'Bannon seemed like a nice, laid back guy, and he intended to create a work of art by writing the script.

With the combined creative genius of Ridley Scott's visionary style, Giger's alien designs, and O'Bannon's script, they were able to create something truly unique, even if it did use some ideas from other films. I would highly recommend watching the Alien special features if you want the full story.




Pictures about "How much was Ridley Scott actually influenced on Alien?"

How much was Ridley Scott actually influenced on Alien? - First swim - A story about the recovery of the olive ridley sea turtle population
How much was Ridley Scott actually influenced on Alien? - Mosaic Alien on Wall
How much was Ridley Scott actually influenced on Alien? - Cheerful young African American female blogger in stylish sweater smiling while setting up camera of smartphone attached to tripod with ring light before recording vlog



Who was Ridley Scott influenced by?

The storyboarding art of Ridley Scott Just as he kept up with New York trends in advertising, Hollywood determined his idea of filmmaking. He cited The Seven Samurai, Citizen Kane and The Third Man and therefore Kurosawa and Welles as early influences.

Was Star Wars inspired by aliens?

The influence of Star Wars on Alien came full circle last year, when Gareth Edwards told Fandango that a planet in Rogue One (Eadu) was inspired by the look of a planet in Alien (LV-426).

Did Ridley Scott create aliens?

Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O'Bannon....Alien (film)AlienDirected byRidley ScottScreenplay byDan O'BannonStory byDan O'Bannon Ronald ShusettProduced byGordon Carroll David Giler Walter Hill13 more rows

What inspired Ridley Scott?

The success of Star Wars (1977) inspired Scott's interest in making science fiction and he accepted the offer to direct Dan O'Bannon's low budget science fiction horror movie Alien (1979), a critical and commercial success that firmly established his worldwide reputation as a movie director.



Ridley Scott On The Elements Of ALIEN




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Bono Tsang, Karlus Morales, Francesco Ungaro, George Milton