In general, I'm not a huge fan of movie or TV companion books. One exception is if the book really does enhance the movie viewing experience by providing details that would be hard to miss without it. I thought that The Cabin in the Woods companion helped in that case, because there were so many Easter eggs or minor items that you may miss even with repeat viewings.

The other case is if a movie leaves you wondering what could have been and the book can provide answers. While I enjoyed Prometheus, it is far from a flawless film and it left people wondering what was missing from the final product. Prometheus: The Art of the Film gives us a look at the original concept art and we also get to see a number of items that were cut from the movie difficult to spot.

**Spoiler Warning: You'll notice from the concept art below that the artists were going for a much darker look at the start. Those blues, yellows, and oranges that you see in the movie are not present and you get the feeling that the original concepts were sticking closer to Alien and Giger. If you wanted to get a better look at the alien from the end of the movie or the xenomorph wall statue, both are included in this book.

The most interesting item for me is Fifield's transformation. Those who have seen Prometheus know that he turns into a mutant creature that very closely resembles actor Sean Harris. That wasn't always the case, though. He was going to look like a xenomorph-human hybrid and the book shows some of the work that was done on that creature. This wasn't just a concept either, because they actually filmed an alternate version with him made up as the hybrid. I've included an image from American Cinematographer the bottom of the page from the scene they filmed. You get a better look at alternate creature designs inside of the book.

Ridley Scott's original cut of the film was 20+ minutes longer, so I'm hoping that we get to see a director's cut that fills in some of the gaps. Until then, this book gives us a great look at some of the amazing concept art and set designs, along with items that didn't make the cut. If you're a fan of the movie or the Alien series and want to learn more about the making of the film or what could have been, I highly suggest checking it out.

The first 3 images are from Prometheus: The Art of the Film, which was recently released by Titan Books.  You can learn more or pick it up for yourself at the Titan Books website (UK) or Amazon (US).

Photo Below from American Cinematographer (via AvP Galaxy)