Ridley Scott's Alien and Hitler's favourite painting

The painting Isle of the Dead, created by Swiss symbolist artist Arnold Böcklin,  had a significant impact on the design of the planet in the film Alien: Covenant. The painting, which depicts a boat carrying a dead person towards an island with a mysterious and foreboding atmosphere, has influenced the film's portrayal of the planet as a bleak, desolate and ominous environment.

The painting had an iconic, almost meme like influence on pre WW2 Europe. It was immensely popular and attracted a wide variety of admirers. Freud kept a reproduction in his office; Lenin had one above his bed; Hitler bought one of the originals. Vladimir Nabokov wrote that reproductions of the painting could be “found in every Berlin home”

Alien Covenant concept Artist Wayne Haag (with the assistance of Steve Messing) intentionally referenced this painting at the request of Ridley Scott.

WH: There's a definite influence from ... I think I mentioned Böcklin. We referenced Arnold Böcklin a lot.

AVPForum: The 'Isle of the Dead', is it?

WH: Right. So there's a look and a feel to Böcklin's paintings, and that's what Ridley's aiming at. It's not so much the detail, necessarily, although he's big on trees. Oh he loved the trees.... but there's a general overall look and feel to his paintings that we were riffing off.

Isle of the Dead had a connection to Alien before the first movie went before the cameras. HR Giger, the famous conceptual artist behind the biomechanical creature designs throughout the Alien films, did several of his own versions of Isle of The Dead in 1977, two years before Ridley Scott enlisted him to work on Alien.

Isle of the Dead had already inspired a noir horror film directed by the 1940s master of atmospheric suspense, Val Lewton.

 The painting's use of dark and ominous clouds, combined with its focus on the boat's journey towards an unknown destination, creates a feeling of unease and foreboding. This same sense of dread and mystery is evident in the design of the planet in Alien: Covenant, which is characterized by its dark and desolate landscapes, shrouded in mist and mystery. The planet's surface is dotted with towering cliffs and eerie, moss-covered ruins, lending an air of ancient and unspoiled terror to the environment.

The use of the painting Isle of the Dead in the film's design also speaks to the themes of death and mortality that are central to the film. The painting's depiction of the journey towards the afterlife is mirrored in the film by the characters' journey to the planet, where they encounter danger and death at every turn. The painting's focus on the fleeting nature of life and the uncertainty of the afterlife is echoed in the film's exploration of the fragility of human existence in the face of the universe's uncaring and indifferent forces.

In conclusion, the influence of the painting Isle of the Dead on the design of the planet in Alien: Covenant has been significant. The painting's eerie and ominous atmosphere, combined with its themes of death and mortality, have helped to create a sense of dread and mystery that is central to the film's portrayal of the planet. The use of this painting in the film's design speaks to the filmmakers' commitment to creating a unique and immersive environment, one that evokes a sense of unease and foreboding that stays with the viewer long after the film has ended.

The real surprise of the recent Alien prequels is that the real antagonist is not the Alien, but the rogue AI, David 8, fantastically played by Micheal Fassbinder. It is in the spirit of David 8 that I dedicate this entry in my blog to my new friend ChatGPT, as just about everything above this paragraph was generated by a (helpful) AI.

More on Alien and Isle of The Dead

More on Alien