Its hard to overstate the profound impact ofRidley Scotton modern visual media.
His style and techniques permeate genres and mediums beyond quantification.
Theyre backed into the identity of popular culture.
In his near 60-year tenure directing cinema, hes created classics includingBlade Runner,Thelma and Louise,G.I.
Jane,Gladiator,Black Hawk Down, and many, many more.
Perhaps most influential of them all in contention withBlade Runner is his 1979 sci-fi film,Alien.
Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.
Everything about the movie is iconic, including the title card.
Its thrived for more than 40 years and still hasa new TV seriesandnew co-op videogameon the way.
Heres a look at the films in production and in chronological order.
Predator aliens arrive to clean up the outbreak before they lose their hunting grounds to the rapidly growing horde.
Despite a lackluster first installment, Fox recommitted toAVPwith its sequel,AVPR.
Ridley Scott returned to theAlienfranchise 33 years later with a prequel,Prometheus.
The movie about a group of scientists in search of humanitys creators is depicted with wonder and horror.
Its a story of exploration and identity thats at its best when its exploring those concepts.
Its CGI-heavy, but the sights and story create a worthy follow-up that strengthens and dwarfs its immediate predecessor.
While there, they meet David, the synthetic survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.
A cabin fever-style horror film aboard a spaceship,Aliensupersedes good genre films as a standard-setting technical masterpiece.
The young adults end up boarding an abandoned space station and encounter dangerous creatures with a thirst for blood.
Alvarez also co-wrote the movie with his frequent collaboratorRodo Sayagues.
Corporate greed leads to the alien invasion of a colony on LV.
426, the same rocky moon the crew of the Nostromo encountered the face-hugger on inAlien.
Seven years afterAlienwas released, a sequel was brought to life by young gunJames Cameron.
Fresh off his success withThe Terminator, Cameron rebooted Alien as an action film centered around the same protagonist.
Similar story beats unfold under different circumstances following Ripleys awakening decades after the events aboard the Nostromo.
The movie kills off everyone but Ripley fromAliens, and strands her in a prison.
Tumultuous production saw Fincher exit the project near its completion, resulting in an obviously mixed final product.
Aliens, bred for experimentation, break free and customary carnage ensues.
Another five years later andAlienreturned with the final entry in Weavers saga,Alien: Resurrection.
Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.
Alien Covenant is a sci-fi horror film set in the Aliens franchise and takes place after the events of Prometheus. Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, members of the colony ship Covenant discover what they consider an uncharted paradise. While there, they meet David, the synthetic survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. An expedition deeper into the planet soon turns dark and dangerous when a hostile alien life-form forces the crew into a deadly fight for survival.
In Alien: Romulus, a crew of space explorers lands on a distant, uncharted planet, only to uncover a horrifying secret lurking beneath the surface. As they delve deeper into the alien environment, they encounter deadly creatures and ancient ruins that hint at a terrifying history. The team’s survival becomes a desperate battle against the relentless xenomorphs, forcing them to rely on their wits and technology to escape the nightmarish world.
Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Returning from LV-426, Ellen Ripley crash-lands on the maximum-security prison Fiorina 161, where she discovers that she has unwittingly brought along an unwelcome visitor.
Image via NBC
