H. R. Giger's Film Design

by H.R. Giger

An artist of uncompromising vision who gives free range to his brilliant, often bizarre imagination, H.R. Giger has created some of the most successful marriages of design and film in history. In this collection, Giger takes readers on a tour of his fantastic designs, from genesis through gestation to birth, for such films as Alien, Alien 3, and Species. 200 photos & illustrations.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Film

138 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Hans Ruedi Giger (1940 - 2014) was an Academy Award-winning Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer best known for his design work on the film Alien.

Reviews

[Rudi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had an "Alien"-phase, where I saw through the entire DVD boxset with all its extras. After that I didn't hear much about Giger before the Dune-documentary about the movie that never was. But then, that was it.

This book is obviously dated now. It's from 1996, and its about the films he was involved him up until that point. It talks of Species as a brand new film. There's no mention of the Alien franchise after the third movie. But: it's still a good read for his work (in film) up until then. And it does give an impression of what's important for him as an artist.

A big chunk of the book is dedicated to a film project of his that never was: "The Mystery of San Gottardo". It's an idea that he seemed passionate about, but I have a really hard time taking seriously. A dystopian tale about Switzerland evolving into a country controlled by arms connected to feet.

[Aaron the Pink Donut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outlines Giger's film works to 1994. A nice little introduction to his film work.

[Sylwia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me badly want to read the script for Claire Noto's The Tourist. Lovely book.