Bechdel Test Movie List

I read 'somewhere' that Ripley was originally written for a man but that Ridley Scott chose Sigourney Weaver for reasons of his own. There is more interaction between the two women crew members in the directors' cut.

Sorry Pamela Mason, You are thinking of Alien.....this link corresponds to "Aliens" (the 2nd in the series), which was directed by James Cameron.
Additionally, the characters in the orginial Alien were written with a unisex design because the humans were not the original focus (who they were did not matter), the Alien was. Subsequently, the casting directors made a uniformed decision to make the lead character female. But once again, this is the original. "Aliens" TOTALLY passes the Bechdel test from start to finish and features nothing but strong female characters, although one could be interpreted as only strong because she "behaved like a guy."

Ripley and Rebecca Jordan ("Newt") have plenty of conversation, but as I recall it is largely about Newt's dead family, her mother, brother and father. So that conversation fails.

The conversation between Ripley and the queen, however, is entirely about Newt so it would qualify. Does the alien queen count as a "named female character"?

Yes this film is about a strong female centric character but it barely passes the two women talking to each other part. This film stands on it's own and as such the rules don't apply.

Ripley and Newt talk about monsters. Ferro (the drop-ship pilot, called by name by the sergeant) and Vasquez talk about Ripley. Easy pass.

Ripley and Newt have multiple conversations about things that don't include men (having bad dreams, monsters, imaginary friends, protection, etc). In addition, Ripley has a conversation with Vasquez about aliens that does not have anything to do with men (unless you count the fact that Ripley mentions the alien killed her entire crew which included men).

Also, Ian Mangum is mistaken about Ripley behaving "like a guy." The entire point is that she's behaving like a mother bear protecting her cub (who is female).

Mother Alien: I believe Ian Magnum was refering to "have you ever been mistaken for a man" Vasquez.

There is also some kind of dialog between ripley and the queen...not with words, but they seem to understand each other.

In the Director's Cut, there's significantly more dialogue between Ripley and Newt. They talk about their dreams, about fear, about other stuff that's not man-related. Really solidifies the mother-daughter type bond between them. It's the heart of the movie and it definitely passes the test.

Clear pass because Ferro and Vazquez talk about Ripley.

Test 1: Ripley, Newt, Ferro, Vasquez, Dietrich [pass]
Tests 2 and 3:
Vasquez: [of Ripley] "Who's Snow White?"
Ferro: "She's supposed to be some kinda consultant. Apparently, she saw an alien once."

Newt: "Are we gonna sleep all the way home?"
Ripley: "All the way home."
Newt: "Can I dream?"
Ripley: "Yes, honey. I think we both can."
[pass, pass]

1. 'Newt' is not a woman, she is a child
2. The alien mother is not a woman, she is a different species. No other females of an animal species is called a woman and therefore the Bechdel test refers to humans.

Talking about something BESIDES a subject does NOT mean that you excluded the subject. It means the you INCLUDED OTHER subjects.

Alien, Blade Runner, Prometheus, and The Martian are all movies that passes the Bechdel test.

Vasquez and Ferro are 2 females, clearly friends, and they discuss who Ripley is and why she is on the ship.