Despite spawning three sequels and two collaborations with the Predator series the original Lien is still one of sci-fi's most iconic movies, with the infant creature bursting out of John Hurt's chest as one of the most memorable moments in cinema history.Directed by Ridley Scott, and launching the career of actress Sigourney Weaver, the follows the Nostromo, a commercial towing vehicle, and her crew.The ship is travelling to earth with a cargo of mineral ore when the Nostromo picks up a signal from a moon orbiting a nearby planet.The crew leave the ship and cargo in orbit going to investigate the signal in the tug portion of the Nostromo, but suffers serious damage when landing.Captain Dallas, Kane and Lambert go out onto the surface of the moon to try and find the source of the signal.They discover an unknown spacecraft and the remains of the pilot. They also find thousands of eggs protected by a forcefield.
When one of the eggs hatches the creature inside leaps out, burns a hole through Kane's visor and attaches itself to his face.
Ripley refuses to let them back on the ship because of quarantine regulations but is over-ruled by Science officer Ash who lets them into the infirmary.
All attempts to remove the creature from Kane's face fail until the creature, which appears dead, detaches itself.
Kane wakes and appears unharmed.
The ship is repaired and they are about to enjoy one last mean before entering hypersleep.
During the meal Kane begins to convulse and choke until an alien creature bursts through his chest, killing him. The creature then disappears somewhere on the ship.
The crew split into two teams to capture it and they are picked off one by one.
The film was a commercial and critical smash hit giving life to a huge media franchise that included video games and books.
The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 1979 ceremony.
But it is Sigourney Weaver's role as Ripley that has become one of science fiction's most popular characters.
It was very un-Hollywood to cast a strong heroine in an action movie, a role usually reserved for an actor, and in the beginning Ripley was a man.
The character of Ellen Ripley became the core thread of the movies that followed: Aliens in 1986, Alien 3 in 1992 and Alien Resurrection in 1997.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw