Alien (film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Alien, a 1979 science fiction/horror film directed by Ridley Scott, became a cultural phenomenon. A single tagline promoted the script to studio executives: "Jaws in space". The title refers to the main antagonist, a highly aggressive extraterrestrial life-form which threatens the crew of the spaceship Nostromo after hatching from the body of one of the humans.
Alien became a critical and a box-office success, and spawned a Hollywood franchise of literature, video games, merchandise, and three official sequels. The film launched actress Sigourney Weaver's career. By featuring a strong heroine, the film itself also proved unconventional (by Hollywood standards) for the action genre. While the Alien (referred to in spin-offs as a "xenomorph") proved a popular aspect of the film, the story of Ellen Ripley became the thematic thread that ran through the series. Some observers believe that the film helped to popularize the body-horror subgenre. Publicity for the film used a tagline which became famous: "In space no one can hear you scream."
