Impact: The terror of Alien came - in part - from genuinely not knowing who would survive, such was the lack of stars and uniformly intense character actors who populated the Nostromo.
But making Sigourney Weaver's Ripley the lone survivor was a masterstroke, redefining the macho sci-fi genre with a feminist icon who could be both fragile and hard-as-nails.
Influence: Weaver herself was the most immediate beneficiary, becoming the '80s go-to girl for Hawksian heroine-ism.
But the female action hero lived on via Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor, Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight and pretty much anything Angelina Jolie has done since Tomb Raider.
If She'd Never Existed: The typing pool would offer better prospects for actresses than Hollywood.
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Comments
deedeedragons
Sep 29th 2010, 10:31
You seem to be forgetting the contribution James Earl Jones had with Vader, it was kind of important.
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deedeedragons
Sep 29th 2010, 10:34
Gollum should be higher.
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snakes65
Sep 29th 2010, 12:45
I'd replace Jackman's Wolverine with Michael Keaton's Batman. Why? Because he was the first 'unusual' casting choice for an action hero/superhero part where to boot the character didn't entirely come across as steretypically macho.
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Joshubuh
Sep 29th 2010, 14:37
I was anticipating Citizen Kane for the number one spot and yet your choice is better. Touche Total Film.
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Hadouken76
Sep 29th 2010, 17:29
Lee from Enter the Dragon deserves a mention, it may be a corny movie but (he and it) brought martial arts movies to a global audience.
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DravenCage
Sep 29th 2010, 22:22
No place on the list for "Cool Hand" Luke makes me cry.
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Watchfilmsasone
Sep 29th 2010, 23:18
Solid entries, but this list is still lacking. But first, Toshiro Mifune should be much higher on the list. Akira Kurosawa, often with Mifune playing the lead role, made many movies influencing American actors and directors, including one George Lucas, who was heavily influenced by Kurosawa and made a small movie franchise called Star Wars. He straight "borrowed" the storyline and many characters from Kurosawa's "Hidden Fortress." I also don't see how this list couldn't include Bruce Lee's star turn in "Enter the Dragon. Bruce Lee just about singlehandedly paved the way for martial arts movies on the big screen. Now, if only Hollywood wouldn't be so racist and actually give Asian-Americans some lead roles here and there, or actually cast them to play Asian characters, rather than casting white actors. And where is Michael Keaton's Batman? As soon as Burton's Batman came out, for years, just about every movie or show tied to comic books tried to go dark, gritty and sly while also suiting up the main characters in armor similar to that of Batman.
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snakes65
Sep 30th 2010, 14:30
The list is about how certain characters (from a writing and performance level)in film have specifically inspired other actors, writers and directors to create similar characters and Bruce Lee's star turn in ETD didn't really do that. The film as a whole made martial arts popular but I haven't really seen many martial arts/action flicks since then where I can say the lead character is EXACTLY like Lee's hero. If anything the legacy of the character should have been in giving Asian American actors the opportunity to acquire more lead roles in Hollywood productions....and sadly as you say above that really hasn't happened with any regularity (look at the recent casting issues with THE LAST AIRBENDER for example).
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kiltubrid
Oct 2nd 2010, 11:07
wheres heath ledgers joker ?
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jceaser
Oct 6th 2010, 5:14
would have to agree with Bruce Lee. During the 70's every kid i know wanted to be Lee in Enter the Dragon.
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Remy61
Oct 6th 2010, 5:32
Too bad Monsieur Verdoux is way more fun than the Tramp.
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