The first time I saw it, 1979, was the first time I'd gone to see a movie by myself. I was 15 years old. That was how desperate I was to go and see it! I remember standing in the foyer of the Regent Cinema in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia; looking at the images of the movie that had been put up on the wall. That image of the Space Jockey sitting in that chair had me mesmerised. What was it?
Then in the cinema I sat, watching anxiously, as Kane climbed up that ledge. He winces with exertion as he makes that last heave up. Then! That moment! A moment I will never forget! The surge of music, the camera pulls back.....................and there it was.................The Space Jockey!
I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. Never before had I seen anything like it. Or its ship. This was so unique, so original and I hadn't even seen the alien yet!
That movie sparked my interest in so many different things. Science. Story writing. Design. Movies. Illustration. My imagination went wild and from that, evolved all the different things that I'm involved in to this day.
ALIENS was the first date I went on with my wife to be! She wore THAT red dress! I wasn't quite as impressed with ALIENS as I was with my date though! ALIENS was good, but not as good as ALIEN. It didn't have that certain something? ALIEN 3 came next, and I went to see that with my wife too! At first I hated it! Killing off Newt and Hicks was such a stupid idea I thought at the time. But years later I saw the uncut Directors version and I changed my mind. It was quite brave a movie to make and considering the problems that I later found out about that surrounded it, we were lucky that it was made at all. Then came ALIEN RESURRECTION. Holy fucking mother of god! What were they thinking! I was so disappointed! I couldn't believe what they had done! They had ruined everything! It was over. Through their greed and lack of love for the art of movie making they had killed off something that was so precious to me. I would never know who the Space Jockey was, where he came from, why he existed and why he had all those eggs on board that awesome ship! It was over.
I began writing my own versions of ALIEN stories. But none matched up to what people were crying out for. People seemed to only want more movies like ALIENS. Soldiers in space killing "xenomorphs"! I hated the idea. My stories were of a more peaceful nature. I always saw the Space Jockey as a peaceful being. Its warning signal to stay away from the planet a good gesture to save others from its fate. I likened it to a whale or dolphin, yet more sophisticated and, of course, alien.
Then early this year I began to hear that Ridley Scott was interested in going back to where it all began. To go back to the Space Jockey! I couldn't believe what i was hearing. Could it be? Could it happen? Well, now we've all seen the trailer! Prometheus is 6 months away!
So; why am I posting about it here? Well, why not? It's my Blog. Everything on this Blog came out of what happened to me in that Cinema way back in 1979. I've watched the trailer so many times. I've noticed so many things! But as I've read through various sites and Blogs I've noticed people haven't noticed the things I have. And maybe people aren't aware of some of the things Ridley Scott has said about this new movie. So, here I will share what has caught my eye and explain why this movie is in fact not what so many people seem to think it is. It is not a prequel to ALIEN, you'll see why.............
First we see a Dropship over an alien world. A big storm is brewing on the surface. Then the Dropship descending past some huge mountains.
People seem to think this is the same planet that we last saw in ALIENS. No, it can't be. For many reasons. Firstly Ridley Scott has said that Prometheus is set 30 years before ALIEN. The planet we see here has an atmosphere, clouds and water. LV426 was a moon, it was small. It was barren and lifeless. It had no atmosphere, that is why in ALIENS we see the Terraforming. To give LV426 an atmosphere. In Prometheus we have a new alien planet, and it may not be the only one!I do not believe this is the Space Jockey's homeworld. I think that is something the Studio is keeping a secret until opening night!
The giant human head. Why is it there? Notice the markings carved into it? They look a lot like the sort of clay tablet writings of early mankind. Could there be a connection? Notice also the varying sizes of the ampules around it. What is in them?
Anybody recall the famous illustration by Ron Cobb in this shot?
Some think this is a helmet. I say no, reason, Noomi Rapace plays an archaeologist named Elizabeth Shaw. Why would an archaeologist want to look at a helmet on a medical table? This skeletal head is found next to a Space Jockey body in the ampule room where the giant human head is.
As Prometheus is set 30 years before ALIEN there is no Weyland Yutani Company. The Company in Prometheus is Weyland Corps, as can be seen here, both as logos and in name.
This is Science Fiction at its best! What a shot! However what is going on here? There is a missing vehicle! The two tracked quad bikes are there, but only one of the Personnel Carriers! And why is there a road!? Also, notice what appears to be stalagmite formations. Interesting!
What have we here? A UFO? Is it human, or Space Jockey?
Why is Meredith Vickers, played by Charlize Theron running to what looks like an escape pod?
In this quick shot we see Meredith again. This time perhaps in a Space Jockey ship? Wherever she is she has managed to activate a star chart. Notice the Space Jockey sleeping pods in this room also.
Wow, what an image! Many people seem to think that the Space Jockey ship has blown up. But if you look carefully.................
the explosion is happening behind it (centre of red circle). Smoke is billowing out of the entrance portals in the Space Jockey ship (big red arrow), but it is intact. Note the debris of what I think is the remains of a human ship (small red arrows).
OK, now we come to the image that has everybody so excited, and rightfully so! However most people seem to think that the humanoid on the right is a Space Jockey. I don't believe that to be the case. Reason? Look at the size of his head (small red circle), now compare that to what the size of a Space Jockey's head would be (big red circle). Even with a helmet on he wouldn't fit in that chair.
However! What I think nearly everybody has missed are the sleeping pods! (marked with a red outline). Looking at the closest one, on the right, we see markings very similar to that on the big human head. Also a clear 'window' on the top, pretty much directly under the bum of the humanoid figure.
This is NOT the same room we saw in ALIEN. It is a little different in design. And has what looks like 4 Space Jockey sleeping pods! The red arrow points to a hallway. Is the humanoid waking up the Space Jockey's because contact with the humans has been made? Or does he perceive a threat that needs to be dealt with and needed to wake up his masters??
Here we see Captain Janek. On the logo of his cap I can make out “WEYLAND MAGELLAN”. Is the Magellan the Drop Ship we see in the trailer, or is it the Prometheus? At the beginning of the trailer we hear Charlize Theron crying out "Prometheus, Prometheus.....". Is it a distress call?
Wrong! As somebody has just pointed out to me (3-1-12). The second word on the cap badge begins "MEG......". So it can't be Magellan. So, what could it be?
Or, could it be spelt "MEGELLAN"??
Is this crew member picking up the Space Jockey skull?
Here we see the Space Jockey ship crash landed on the planet. The arrows point to smoke still pouring out of it and the red circles show what I think is wreckage of the human ship that blew up next to the Space Jockey ship in the upper atmosphere.
Supporting evidence of a destroyed human ship (red circles). Noomi and Charlize have obviously escaped the human ship, but now risk getting flattened by the falling Space Jockey ship! What the heck has taken place here!!
More reckage of the human ship falling all around Charlize, and the Space Jockey ship crashing down too!
So, I hope my little analysis has shed some light on Prometheus for you and that I have made my case in defence of what Ridley Scott himself said. This is not a prequel to ALIEN. The planet is not LV426 and that Space Jockey ship, although of the same design, is not the same ship we saw in ALIEN. And NOBODY has seen a Space Jockey yet! Their images will, I have no doubt, be kept very secret right up until opening night! Just like the original alien in ALIEN was.
I can't wait, it is going to be something very special!
Cheers
Richard.
