Summer 1986. Young Quentin Tarantino, then a simple video rental worker, is standing in line with his colleagues at a movie theater in Westwood. Ahead of him are two hours of waiting. At stake is one of the first screenings of James Cameron's Aliens.
Later, he often called this moment one of his most vivid cinematic experiences.
Tarantino said that Cameron was personally present at the premiere, checking the quality of the screening and the audience's reaction. The director went virtually unnoticed, all his energy was spent on monitoring the process. And the film itself had the effect of an exploding bomb on Tarantino.
Instead of the expected sequel to Alien, he saw something radically new, a militarized Sci-Fi horror action film, where the main character did not run away from monsters, but went to war against them. He was especially impressed by Ripley's transformation from a victim to a full-fledged fighter. For the mid-1980s, when female roles in action films were often reduced to "damsels in distress", this was revolutionary. Later, this approach was clearly reflected in Tarantino's own heroines from Mia Wallace to Bridget von Hammersmark.
Interestingly, he rates Aliens even higher than Terminator - despite all his love for the latter. If Cameron's first film was a breakthrough low-budget action film, then Aliens showed how to make an ideal sequel: not to copy the original, but to rethink it, enhancing everything possible.
Today, when Tarantino celebrates 62 years, Aliens remains a benchmark for him - a film that not only impressed him, but also influenced his own directorial vision. And yes, he still regrets that Cameron never made a third part with Ripley.
