PRODUCTION-USED XENOMORPH HEAD FROM THE CARLO RAMBALDI ARCHIVES

An original Xenomorph creature head from the production of Ridley Scott’s Alien (20th Century Fox, 1979), from the Carlo Rambaldi Archives.

This Xenomorph head is composed of a fiberglass material, polyester  resin, and includes a clear acrylic dome. The main structure of the head  has been spray-painted with lacquer and acrylic paint to resemble bone,  and features matte black components. The head has been mounted to a  base for display purposes.  

This head casting was fabricated by the famed Shepperton Design  Studios from an original design by Academy Award-winning artist H.R.  Giger, and featured hand-applied make-up effects enhancements by  three-time Academy Award winner Carlo Rambaldi. Rambaldi was also  engaged to project the mechanical retractable mouth of the Xenomorph  head. 

This exact head can be seen on the set of the film in various vintage  black & white photographs taken during the production phase of  Alien at Rambaldi's effects lab. This photo shows the head coated in a  slime-like substance, indicating that it was likely used to test  different special effects techniques to achieve the effect seen in the  final production of the film.  This prop was photo-matched to on set  photos of Carlo Rambaldi working on the head during production.  The  slime, the broken tubing, the uniquely cut neck and other details match  these photos provided by the Rambaldi Archives.  Comparison side-by-side  photos are provided showing the on set photos compared to the  pre-restoration photos.  During the restoration process completed in  2023, the slime features were removed to restore the prop to its  intended film appearance.

This original Xenomorph head casting has been fully restored by the  expert team at Blok4, who’s highly detailed process has preserved this  piece for years to come. The team began by stripping and cleaning the  Xenomorph head of its post-production applied visual effects in the form  of paint and debris. Blok4 then began recreating from another original  production example important snap clips for minor components that were  missing or that needed to be replaced. Using a skilled fiberglass  craftsman, the team was able to strengthen the integrity of the head and  repair the worn interior. After the repair stage had been completed,  the head was then sanded and spray-painted, closely following the  original design direction from the film. Also added during the  restoration was a new clear dome, also cast from an existing original  production used example.

This Xenomorph head, which was cast during the production of the film, was referred to by Rambaldi as a “Long Shot Head." 

Science fiction and horror fans alike will agree that Alien  defined an era and set the tone for future films in the genre. The  film's accolades include a 1980 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects,  and a nomination for Best Art Direction, a Saturn Award for Best  Direction for Ridley Scott and Best Science Fiction Film, among other  nominations. Space-themed films such as Star Wars - A New Hope (Lucasfilm  Ltd., 1977), released just two years prior, would set the bar for the  scale of production expected for the film. As audiences poured in,  opening in ninety theaters across the United States, and setting over  fifty records, it's safe to say that Alien is what people were craving. 

The iconic Xenomorph was unlike anything that viewers had seen up to  that point before, and some viewers were still left traumatized from  Steven Spielberg's Jaws (Universal Pictures, 1975). Unlike that family-friendly Star Wars film, Alien's combination  of horror and sexual themes earned it an "R" rating in the United  States, and an "X" rating in the United Kingdom. 

Ridley Scott said about H.R. Giger's original model for an Xenomorph in an interview with Fantastic Films Magazine in 1979, “I'd  seen conceptual drawings that other artists had tried rendering of the  Alien. They always seemed to be of scaly bodies with claws, or huge  blobs that would move across the floor. There was no elegance to them,  no lethalness. What emerged was a H.R. Giger-designed humanoid with  distinctively bio-mechanoid tendencies. I mean, really, how many  creatures in horror films have actually worked for you? People only  accept them because that's what they're seeing. When we finally had  something acceptable, we stood back and looked at him. For better or  worse, we were committed to that thing as the beast. He was great on  paper, and when Giger put the model together, he looked terrific.”

This striking, production-made Alien head has been displayed at  various museum exhibits over the years, including most recently at the  Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Exposition Palace) in Rome, Italy, titled “La  Meccanica dei Mostri: da Carlo Rambaldi a Makinarium (The Mechanics of  Monsters: From Carlo Rambaldi to Makinarium)” and was a part of the  personal archive of Rambaldi for over four decades.  This prop has never  before been offered at auction.  

Rambaldi was a legendary special effects artist, who first rose to  prominence with his work on Italian horror classics like Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires (Italian International Film, 1965), considered by many critics to be a prominent influence on Alien, and Dario Argento’s Deep Red (SEDA Spettacoli s.p.a.-Rome, production, 1975). His mutilated dog animatronics for Lucio Fulci’s film A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin were so convincing that Fulci was brought to trial for animal cruelty,  and Rambaldi had to demonstrate the effects work in court to save the  director from two years in prison.  

Rambaldi became most well-known for his work on several of the most  beloved American blockbusters of all time, including John Guillerman’s King Kong (Paramount Pictures, 1976) and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Columbia Pictures, 1977), and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Universal Pictures, 1982). Rambaldi won a Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for King Kong, and Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for Alien and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. 

Includes a DVD of the film. 

33.25 x 13 x 15.75 inches

PROVENANCE From The Carlo Rambaldi Archives