The navigation system from 1979's Alien looks distinctly timeless despite its anachronistic technology.

Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien stands out for many reasons. Aside from its amazing moody minimalism, I continue to be fascinated by its portrayal of flight navigation technology. Last week, I watched yet again. I began to wonder how a film now more than 30 years old still maintains a uniformly modern feeling.

Though the technology appears “dated” in many ways, it still fits seamlessly into the overall visual environment of the film. The carefully crafted connection between set & technology convinces the modern viewer of its plausibility. Contemporary filmmakers seem all too satisfied making use of CG technology to structure their whole story. Instead, Alien constructs a world in which the technology simply fits. It thereby becomes part of the larger environment rather than an omniscient plot-controlling device. The simplicity of Alien’s vector graphic flight navigation sytem – though now anachronistic technology – makes the film striking timeless.