Dark Star: HR Gigers Welt

I wouldn't consider myself a rabid fan of Gigers work, I don't have anything besides the Alien movies and a poster packed away somewhere to show my love of Giger. That being said you can't deny the genius that is Giger and this documentary had everything I could hope to see from the man and his small crew of loyal followers. In Dark Star the filmmakers give us more than just a peek at Gigers expansive often discussed home. Giger is a gentle man, a quiet and humble eccentric who puts you through a range of emotions in his amazing yet sometimes tragic life. Everything Giger owns and has surrounded himself with has his biomechanical signature on it. I'm very happy Dark star was completed while Giger was still alive I don't think anything can beat seeing his life through his eyes. Absolutely fascinating from start to finish, get lost in the disorienting Nightmare Labyrinth of this genius.

Just what you might have expected: HR Giger's home is a museum of the macabre. The celebrated creator of the Alien monster and a painter, sculptor, and architect as well, Giger inhabits a world of gargoyles and monsters, straight from his imagination to us. Dark Star: H R Giger's World is an intriguing documentary sometimes as weird and inscrutable as his mind. It certainly doesn't burden the audience with analysis.

As director Belinda Sallin tracks us through the baroque museum that is his Zurich house, we see a phantasmagoria of monsters from Egyptian-monarch-looking portraits to old skulls, one of which he dragged around by string when a young boy. While the camera passes his Oscar on a shelf, the spare narration overall gives no nod to this achievement (Oscar for best visual effects for Ridley Scott's Alien), typical of the documentary's minimalist approach.

Appearances by his collaborators like Gabriel Fischer, a metal musician, sometimes refer to the artist's kindness, and they occasionally give insight into the psycho-sexual, violent undertow of his startling images. The now humble man appears as if in the aftermath of a stroke, moving and speaking slowly and deliberately, but always kindly as he autographs body parts and throws off a sly smile or two.

Perhaps the purpose of limiting explanation about his work is to let the array of deeply symbolic creations out of his subconscious speak for themselves, almost defying analysis. Although Freud would have a holiday assessing Giger's innermost demons, Giger's expressionism remains delightful impressionism for viewers.

'DARK STAR: H.R. GIGER'S WORLD': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A documentary film exploring the life, and work, of the popular Swiss painter, sculptor and set designer (known as) H.R. Giger. The film focuses on Giger, at the age of 74, when his health was severely deteriorating. It was written and directed by Belinda Sallin, in her feature film debut, and it contains multiple interviews with Giger, as well as his friends and work associates. I found the movie to be extremely slow-paced, even boring (at times), but still, definitely, visually pleasing (like the majority of Giger's work).

The movie takes place in the last days of Giger's life, shortly before he died (on May 12, 2014). The filmmaker interviews Giger, and follows him around, watching him slowly do day-to-day things. Sallin also interviews Giger's wife, and multiple co-workers, and friends of his, as well. A lot of the visuals are filled with Giger's beautiful art.

The film, like I said, is really slow paced, to a somewhat painful extent; I found my thoughts drifting (a lot)! It is interesting, getting to know Giger, if only just a little, in his final days of life. It's also cool to see that he was a 'cat person', like me! I can never really get tired of looking at his fascinating art, too; but I wish there would have been more time spent on 'ALIEN', or 'SPECIES'. Although I was bored, I'm sure obsessive fans of his will be more than pleased.

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A great documentary that premiered a few months after HR Giger died. Unfortunately, it started shooting when HR Giger's health was already clearly deteriorating. The personal one on one interviews with him are quite short, many interviews in the documentary are with his personal and professional entourage.

The storytelling is not very linear, some old footage from Giger's youth and from his various movie/Hollywood assignments are mixed in. You will see more interview clips with Giger himself in these segments.

As an introduction and indicator if this movie is interesting to you, watch the short movie 'HR GIGER HOME MADE' (available for free on YouTube), which uses the same setting in Giger's house and garden in Zurich, Switzerland.

I would recommend this movie to all (surreal) art lovers, especially those who might have prejudices and only know his body of work (Giger also was quite often reduced to his work on the Alien creature, which doesn't do him justice at all) but not the real and unique person/artist behind it.

PS: In case of further interest in the artist and his body of work. The official HR Giger Museum (in the picturesque Gruyeres region in Switzerland, Giger's home country) showcases the largest collection of the artist's work from the 1960s until the present day. The top floor of the museum houses Giger's own art collection.

He feels at home in places we would flee from and lives his life among the very things we fear. Throughout his life, H. R. Giger had inhabited the world of the uncanny, a dark universe on the brink of many an abyss.

Most of us know Giger from "Alien" if we know him at all. His work is very recognizable and has been emulated by many artists over the last thirty years or so. But we may not know much about him beyond his aliens. What of his personal life or other work? This film digs into that and we see just what sort of person he is (or was). People may even be surprised to find that Giger was European. This was no secret, but perhaps not common knowledge. We also learn how he got his start, really relying on posters to get his work in font of audiences. Not your typical method.