The adaptable xenomorphs find themselves up against colonial marines armed to the teeth including Bill Paxton ( Apollo 13), Michael Biehn ( The Terminator), and Al Matthews. Similar story beats unfold under different circumstances following Ripley’s awakening decades after the events aboard the Nostromo. Fresh off his success with The Terminator, Cameron rebooted Alien as an action film centered around the same protagonist. Seven years after Alien was released, a sequel was brought to life by young gun James Cameron.

Sigourney Weaver’s role of Ripley, a miner aboard a corporate interstellar shipping vessel, would unlock a franchise she’d lead for nearly 20 years.

Geiger’s xenomorph endured alongside the film itself against the progress of visual effects thanks to its eerie, chitinous body and excellent facial animatronics. The contemporary cinematic presentation, inspired special effects, and stellar cast made a movie in a class of its own. Despite art direction in part by Leslie Dilley, one of the art directors who worked on Star Wars just a few years before, it was the antithesis of the melodramatic space opera. Everything about the movie is iconic, including the title card. Perhaps most influential of them all - in contention with Blade Runner - is his 1979 sci-fi film, Alien. Jane, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and many, many more. In his near 60-year tenure directing cinema, he’s created classics including Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, G.I. They’re backed into the identity of popular culture. His style and techniques permeate genres and mediums beyond quantification. It’s hard to overstate the profound impact of Ridley Scott on modern visual media.

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