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Alien (1979)

117 min  -  Horror | Sci-Fi  -   25 May 1979 (USA)
8.5
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Ratings: 8.5/10 from 303,892 users   Metascore: 83/100 
Reviews: 938 user | 321 critic | 22 from Metacritic.com

The crew of a commercial deep space mining ship, investigating a suspected S.O.S., lands on a distant planet and discovers a nest of strange eggs.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Dan O'Bannon (story), Ronald Shusett (story), and 1 more credit »

Stars:

Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt | See full cast and crew
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Title: Alien (1979)

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Top 250 #40 | Won Oscar. Another 12 wins & 18 nominations See more awards »

Videos

Alien -- On their voyage home, the crew of the deepspace tug Nostromo investigate an alien distress signal, inadvertently picking up and bringing aboard an extraterrestrial life form with violent and lethal survival instincts. Alien -- A special edition of director Ridley Scott's science fiction/horror classic Alien: the story of five men and two women working on a battered commercial space vessel, far away in space and time, who encounter an awesome galactic horror.

Photos

Still of Harry Dean Stanton in Alien Still of John Hurt in Alien Still of Veronica Cartwright in Alien
125 photos | 7 videos | 5152 news articles »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tom Skerritt Tom Skerritt ...
Sigourney Weaver Sigourney Weaver ...
Veronica Cartwright Veronica Cartwright ...
Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton ...
John Hurt John Hurt ...
Ian Holm Ian Holm ...
Ash
Yaphet Kotto Yaphet Kotto ...
Bolaji Badejo Bolaji Badejo ...
Helen Horton Helen Horton ...
Mother (voice)
Full cast and crew »
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Storyline

The crew of the deep space towing vessel Nostromo are awaken from hypersleep to investigate a strange signal from a nearby planet. While investigating the signal, they discover it was intended as a warning, and not an SOS. Written by Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Egg | Spaceship | Warning | Parasite | Deep Space  | See more »

Taglines:

In space no one can hear you scream. See more »

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore and language See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook | Add/edit official sites  »

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | Spanish

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Alien: The Director's Cut See more »

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK See more »

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,527,881 (USA) (28 May 1979) (91 Screens)

Gross:

$185,000,000 (Worldwide) (2004)
See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brandywine Productions, Twentieth Century-Fox Productions See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

 | (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (as Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the non-English versions of the film's title translate as something similar to "Alien: The 8th Passenger". See more »

Goofs

Continuity: When the alien is popping out of Kane, the camera changes angle and there is a significant amount of blood missing from his shirt. Then when the angle changes again, the blood comes back. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Brett: This is the worst shit I've ever seen, man.
Parker: What you say? You got any biscuits over there?
Ripley: Here's some cornbread.
Parker: Cornbread. Yeah.
Lambert: I am cold.
Parker: Still with us, Brett?
Brett: Right.
Kane: Oh, I feel dead.
Parker: Anybody ever tell you you look dead, man?
See more »

Connections

Referenced in "SGU Stargate Universe: Water (#1.6)" (2009) See more »

Soundtracks

"Eine kleine Nachtmusik'"
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as W.A. Mozart) See more »