Description
Alien is a 1979 science-fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film’s title refers to a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature that stalks and kills the crew of a spaceship. Dan O’Bannon wrote the screenplay from a story he wrote with Ronald Shusett, drawing influence from previous works of science fiction and horror. The film was produced by Gordon Carroll, David Giler and Walter Hill through their Brandywine Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Giler and Hill made revisions and additions to the script. Shusett was executive producer. The eponymous Alien and its accompanying elements were designed by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger, while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the human aspects of the film.
Alien received both critical acclaim and box office success, receiving an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction for Scott, and Best Supporting Actress for Cartwright, and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, along with numerous other award nominations. It has remained highly praised in subsequent decades, being inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2002 for historical preservation as a film which is “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. In 2008, it was ranked as the seventh-best film in the science fiction genre by the American Film Institute, and as the 33rd greatest movie of all time by Empire magazine.
The success of Alien spawned a media franchise of novels, comic books, video games, and toys. It also launched Weaver’s acting career by providing her with her first lead role, and the story of her character Ripley’s encounters with the Alien creatures became the thematic thread that ran through the sequels Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997).
As she prepares to enter stasis, Ripley discovers that the Alien has hidden aboard the shuttle. She puts on a spacesuit and opens the shuttle’s airlock, causing explosive decompression which forces the Alien into the shuttle’s open doorway. She propels it out into space by shooting it with a grappling hook, but the gun catches in the closing door, tethering the Alien to the shuttle. Ripley activates the engines, blasting the Alien into space. After recording a final ship’s log entry, she places herself and Jones into stasis for the voyage home.
The only survivor, Ripley fled to the Narcissus, carrying a Flame Thrower and Jones in his cat box. Just before entering the Narcissus, Ripley fired the Flame Thrower behind her and dropped it, leaving it to be destroyed along with the rest of the Flame Throwers on board the Nostromo when the ship’s self destruct system detonated.
Ellen Louise Ripley is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Alien film series played by American actress Sigourney Weaver. She is often considered as one of the best female protagonists of all time: it was heralded for challenging gender roles, particularly in the science fiction, action and horror genres, gave world recognition to Weaver and remains her most famous role to date.
She has been included in many Best Characters lists: In 2011, Total Film ranked her first of their top 100 Greatest Female Characters. Ripley has been selected as the eighth-greatest hero in American cinema history by the American Film Institute, as the fifth-coolest hero in pop culture by Entertainment Weekly, the ninth-greatest movie character ever by Empire (the highest-placing female of the list), and the eighth-best movie character of all time by Premiere, In 2011, John Scalzi called her “Clearly the Best Female Character in Scifi Film”.
Weaver’s performances have been highly praised as well: for Aliens, she earned her first Academy Award nomination for the Best Actress, which is now seen as a landmark in the recognition of science fiction, action, and horror, at a time when the Academy gave little recognition to such genres. For her role in the franchise, Weaver has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, a BAFTA Award for Best Leading Newcomer, and four Saturn Awards for Best Actress, winning one for Aliens.
Ripley also appeared in various other media, including novels, comic books, and video games. In 2014, Weaver reprised her role as Ripley (alongside most of the original cast) for the video game Alien: Isolation, in two DLCs set during the events of Alien.
For her performance in Alien, Weaver was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Leading Newcomer and a Saturn Award for Best Actress.
Although her performance had already been acclaimed in the first film, Aliens gave worldwide recognition to Weaver: she was the second horror actress in history (after Ellen Burstyn for The Exorcist) to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, and won the Saturn Award for Best Actress, the first award in her career (except a minor award, the Mystfest Award for Best Actress, won for Half Moon Street).
Sigourney Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver; October 8, 1949) is an American actress. She is known especially for the lead role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection. She is also well known for her roles in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, Gorillas in the Mist, Working Girl, and Avatar.
Her 1986 Academy Award nomination for Aliens is considered as a landmark in the recognition of science fiction, action, and horror genres, as well as a major step in challenging the gender role in cinema. Weaver progressively received fame for her numerous contributions to the science fiction film history (including minor roles in successful works such as Futurama, WALL-E, Paul and The Cabin in the Woods) and gained the nickname of “The Sci-Fi Queen”. She also played the lead role as Secretary of State Elaine Barrish on USA Network’s Political Animals miniseries.
Weaver has been nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actress for Aliens and Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey, and Best Supporting Actress for Working Girl. She also won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Ice Storm, and Saturn Awards for Aliens and Avatar. She also earned Emmy Award, Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominations. She has been nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards and won both Best Actress in Drama and Best Supporting Actress in 1988 for Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl, becoming the first person ever to have won two acting Golden Globe Awards in the same year.
Warrant Officer/Lieutenant Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster 1979 film Alien, in a role initially designated to co-star Veronica Cartwright, until a late change in casting. She reprised the role in the three sequels of the Alien movie franchise, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection. Ty Burr of The Boston Globe states, “One of the real pleasures of “Alien” is to watch the emergence of both Ellen Ripley as a character and Sigourney Weaver as a star.” In the sequel Aliens directed by James Cameron, critic Roger Ebert writes, “Weaver, who is onscreen almost all the time, comes through with a very strong, sympathetic performance: She’s the thread that holds everything together.” Weaver followed the success of Alien appearing opposite Mel Gibson in The Year of Living Dangerously released to critical acclaim and as Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II.
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