In 1979, Sigourney Weaver, as Ripley in the sci-fi classic Alien, blazed a trail for kick-ass action heroines to follow in her wake. Before Ripley, tough, no-nonsense female leads were a rarity, but the incredible box office success of Alien and its sequels showed Hollywood that audiences wanted more women in the driving seat - or rather, at the controls of the spacecraft. Here are eight other sensational women that rewrote the rules on the big screen:
Sarah Connor (The Terminator, 1984)
In a chilling moment in Alien, the crew of Nostromo realise they are up against a ‘perfect killing machine’ – which makes Ripley’s task at the end of the film, to try and defeat it, all the more terrifying. The same could be said of the unstoppable, indestructible robot sent back from the future to kill waitress Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) – so that she doesn’t give birth to a son who will lead the resistance against the robot overlords. A low budget sci-fi thriller starring a woman, that made nearly $80 million worldwide, and led to numerous sequels and a TV series – who would have thought it?! Hamilton returns to the role this year in Terminator: Dark Fate.
Megan Turner (Blue Steel, 1990)
Before the pouting pose in Zoolander, Blue Steel was a blistering crime thriller starring Jamie Lee Curtis. The actress, who had carved out a name for herself as a horror heroine in the likes of Halloween and Prom Night, effortlessly commands the screen as a rookie NYPD cop dealing with suspension, sexism and a psychopath. Director Kathryn Bigelow confirmed her mettle as a thriller director when she won an Oscar in 2010 for The Hurt Locker.
Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs, 1991)
Jodie Foster plays a brave and resourceful young FBI cadet who is sent to interview the infamous, incarcerated Hannibal Lecter, in the hope that he might help catch a serial killer who is skinning his victims – her meeting with Lecter turns into a cat and mouse game that puts Starling at the very heart of the dangerous investigation. Like Ripley in Alien, it’s left to the woman to take over when all the men fall by the wayside. In this instance, the male FBI agents end up at the wrong house, and Starling must take on the killer alone.
Jordan O’Neill (G.I Jane, 1997)
The director of Alien, Ridley Scott, returned to having a woman as his heroine in this action drama. A-lister Demi Moore ditched the frocks and shaved her head to play a woman determined to succeed where even 60%t of the men fail, undergoing the intense, crushing Navy Seal training. The film nicely illustrates that just because Hollywood doesn’t traditionally have women front and centre in action roles, doesn’t necessarily mean that it shouldn’t.
Charly (The Long Kiss Goodnight, 1998)
For once, in a big budget Hollywood action film, the woman gets to deliver the wisecracks, shoots guns and be at the wheel during car chases. Geena Davis is on top form as an amnesiac trying to piece her life together amidst a whirlwind of mayhem, and discovering some alarming skills along the way. In a nifty reverse, Samuel L. Jackson plays the bewildered sidekick role normally reserved for women.
Lisbeth Salander (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, 2009)
Anything men can do, Lisbeth Salander can do 10 times better – certainly if it involves computer hacking, tracking down a missing woman and capturing a killer. Noomi Rapace was the first, and arguably best, screen incarnation of the character from the bestselling books, and Salander has proved so popular with audiences that she has so far appeared in five films.
Diana (Wonder Woman, 2017)
After some false starts with the likes of Catwoman (starring Halle Berry) in 2004, and Elektra in 2005 (starring Jennifer Garner), in 2017 the superhero genre handed over the reins to a woman again… this time in the form of Gal Gadot as the beloved DC comic book character. If anyone was still unconvinced that women can rule at the box office, Wonder Woman’s near one billion dollar worldwide take put any doubts to bed. A sequel is due next year, and it can’t come quick enough.
Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel, 2019)
After winning an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe for 2015’s Room, waving a gun around in Freefire, and getting up close and personal with the giant ape in Kong: Skull Island, Brie Larsen took on the role of Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, an intergalactic warrior living on Earth, whose super-powers know no bounds. So far the film has taken an eye-watering $1 billion worldwide… take that Superman!
ALIEN 40TH ANNIVERSARY is out now on 4K Ultra HD™ Blu-ray™ and Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD™ SteelBook®.
Tagged in Alien