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Alien
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Alien (1979) -- A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates.

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ridley Scott
Writers (WGA):
Dan O'Bannon (story) and
Ronald Shusett (story) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Alien on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 May 1979 (USA) more
Genre:
Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller more
Tagline:
In space no one can hear you scream. more
Plot:
A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 18 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(236 articles)
Is This a Microsoft Renaissance?
 (From Fast Company. 14 July 2009, 6:30 AM, PDT)

An American Werewolf In London Blu-Ray Announced
 (From Fangoria. 14 July 2009, 1:52 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Iconographic Horror more

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Directed by
Ridley Scott 
 
Writing credits
(WGA)
Dan O'Bannon (story) and
Ronald Shusett (story)

Dan O'Bannon (screenplay)

Produced by
Gordon Carroll .... producer
David Giler .... producer
Walter Hill .... producer
Ivor Powell .... associate producer
Ronald Shusett .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith 
 
Cinematography by
Derek Vanlint 
 
Film Editing by
David Crowther (director's cut)
Terry Rawlings 
Peter Weatherley 
 
Production Design by
Michael Seymour 
Roger Christian (uncredited)
 
Art Direction by
Roger Christian 
Leslie Dilley  (as Les Dilley)
 
Set Decoration by
Ian Whittaker 
 
Costume Design by
John Mollo 
 
Makeup Department
Pat Hay .... makeup artist
Tommie Manderson .... makeup designer (as Tommy Manderson)
Sarah Monzani .... hair stylist
 
Production Management
Garth Thomas .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Raymond Becket .... assistant director
Steve Harding .... assistant director
Paul Ibbetson .... first assistant director
Bob Jordan .... trainee assistant director
 
Art Department
José María Alarcón .... assistant set decorator
Jonathan Amberston .... assistant art director
Ron Cobb .... concept artist
John Davey .... head painter
Benjamín Fernández .... assistant art director
Chris Foss .... concept artist
Jean Giraud .... concept artist (as Jean 'Moebius' Giraud)
George Gunning .... head carpenter
Dave Jordan .... property master
Dan O'Bannon .... visual design consultant
Jill Quertier .... production buyer
Bert Rodwell .... head plasterer
Bill Welch .... construction manager
Gari Bacon .... props (uncredited)
John Chisholm .... prop man (uncredited)
Paul James .... plasterer (uncredited)
Stuart Rose .... draughtsman (uncredited)
Keith Short .... sculptor (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Max Bell .... stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Andrew I. King .... sound re-recording mixer: director's cut
Derrick Leather .... production sound mixer
Ray Merrin .... sound re-recording assistant
Bill Rowe .... sound re-recording mixer
Jim Shields .... sound editor
Bryan Tilling .... dialogue editor
 
Special Effects by
Nick Allder .... special effects supervisor
Alan Bryce .... floor effects supervisor (as Allan Bryce)
Clinton Cavers .... alien effects coordinator
Carlo De Marchis .... additional alien mechanics
Roger Dicken .... small alien forms co-designer and maker
H.R. Giger .... alien designer
Guy Hudson .... special effects technician
Brian Johnson .... special effects supervisor
Phil Knowles .... special effects technician
Dennis Lowe .... special effects technician
Roger Nichols .... special effects technician
Carlo Rambaldi .... alien head effects
Neil Swan .... special effects technician
David H. Watkins .... special effects technician (as David Watkins)
Dr. David Watling .... additional alien mechanics
Anton Furst .... special effects (uncredited)
Bob Keen .... modeller (uncredited)
 
Visual Effects by
Denys Ayling .... director of photography: miniature effects
Martin Bower .... supervising model maker: miniature effects
Eddie Butler .... modelmaker
Ray Caple .... matte artist
Shirley Denny .... modelmaker
David Litchfield .... operator: miniature effects
Bernard Lodge .... special graphic effects
Terry Pearce .... focus: miniature effects
Bill Pearson .... supervising model maker: miniature effects
Patti Rodgers .... modelmaker
Peter Voysey .... modelmaker supervisor
Peter Woods .... key grip: miniature effects
Alan Buchan .... visual effects (uncredited)
Rick Cortes .... Inferno artist (2003 director's cut re-release) (uncredited)
Bob Keen .... model maker (uncredited)
Keith Short .... sculptor (uncredited)
Jon Sorensen .... visual effects miniatures (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Eddie Powell .... stunts
Roy Scammell .... stunt coordinator
Monty Jordan .... assistant stunt coordinator (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Adrian Biddle .... camera focus
Colin Davidson .... camera focus
Ray Evans .... gaffer
Bob Penn .... still photographer
Jimmy Walters .... key grip
Wick Finch .... electrician (uncredited)
David Johnson .... second assistant camera (uncredited)
Micky Wilson .... electrician (uncredited)
 
Casting Department
Mary Goldberg .... casting: USA
Mary Selway .... casting: UK
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tiny Nicholls .... wardrobe supervisor
 
Editorial Department
Peter Baldock .... assistant film editor
Peter Culverwell .... assistant film editor
Les Healey .... first assistant editor
Maureen Lyndon .... assistant film editor
Bridget Reiss .... assistant film editor
Brian Q. Kelley .... editor: additional material for special edition (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Robert Hathaway .... music editor (as Bob Hathaway)
Lionel Newman .... conductor
Percy Edwards .... alien vocalizator (uncredited)
Arthur Morton .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Stanley Bielecki .... advertising and publicity consultant
Lori Covel .... assistant to producers
Valerie Craig .... production assistant
Brian Doyle .... unit publicist
Kay Fenton .... continuity
Bill Finch .... production accountant
Mark Haggard .... production executive
Alice Harmon .... assistant to producers
Dick Hewitt .... electronics and video coordinator
Charles Lippincott .... advertising and publicity consultant
Sandy Molloy .... assistant to director
Saul Bass .... title designer (uncredited)
Robert H. Lemer .... associate to producer (uncredited)
Jake Scott .... stand-in (uncredited)
Philip Sharpe .... effects technician (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial EffectsOther Companies

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Alien: The Director's Cut (USA) (director's cut)
Star Beast (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore and language. (director's cut)
Runtime:
117 min | USA:116 min (director's cut)
Country:
UK | USA
Language:
English | Spanish
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby
Certification:
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) (original rating) | New Zealand:M (re-release) | New Zealand:R16 (original rating) | Italy:T | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Finland:K-18 (director's cut) (DVD rating) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Portugal:M/16 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 (re-rating) (2003) | South Korea:18 (original rating) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:14 | West Germany:16 (f) | Israel:16 | India:A | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 (director's cut) (2003) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (director's cut) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #25541)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to Ridley Scott, the mechanism that was used to make the alien egg open was so strong, that it could tear off a hand. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Ripley consults mother, she puts her left hand on a ledge and begins to type with her right. In the close-up she is typing with both hands, but when we cut back to the wider shot, she is still leaning on the ledge with her left. 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?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003) more
Soundtrack:
Excerpts from 'Symphony no. 2 (Romantic)' more

FAQ

Did the company know there was a derelict ship with aliens in it? How could they have known about it?
Is the Derelict the Predator ship from Alien Vs. Predator?
What's with the blue mist covering the eggs?
more
60 out of 75 people found the following comment useful:-
Iconographic Horror, 23 April 2005
10/10
Author: gftbiloxi (gftbiloxi@yahoo.com) from Biloxi, Mississippi

ALIEN received mixed reviews when it debuted in 1979--largely from science fiction critics, who accused it of being little more than a sort of Friday the 13th in Outer Space, a blood-and-gore horror flick given a futuristic twist via special effects. But while these accusations have more than a little truth, it has been an incredibly influential film--and even today, in the wake of CGI effects, it still holds up extremely, extremely well.

The story is well known: the crew of an interstellar craft responds to what seems a distress signal, only to encounter a remarkably lethal alien life form that boards their ship and sets about picking them off one by one. Some of the special effects are weak (the alien spacecraft and the android "revival" are fairly notorious). There is little in the way of character development, the film has a fairly slow pace, and the story itself is predictable; you can usually guess who is going to die next.

BUT. The art designs are incredible: the entire look of the film, from the commercial nature of the spacecraft to the iconographic alien itself (brilliantly envisioned by Giger) is right on the money. Director Ridley Scott encouraged his cast to ad lib from the script, and the result is a shocking sense of realism--and the somewhat slow pace of the film and the predictability of the story gives it a sense of relentless and ever-mounting paranoia that is greatly enhanced by the tight sets and camera set-ups. With its odd mixture of womb-like organics and cold mechanics, ALIEN is a film calculated to send even the most slightly claustrophobic viewer into a fit of hysteria.

The entire cast, led by Tom Skerrit and Sigorney Weaver, is very, very good--and the film abounds with memorable images and scenes ranging from John Hurt's encounter with the alien egg to Skerrit's search of the ship air ducts to Weaver's terrifying race against time as the ship counts down to self-destruct. Seldom has any film been so consistent in design, cast, direction, and out-and-out fear factor, and although certain aspects of ALIEN are open to legitimate criticism the end result is powerful enough to bring it in at a full five stars. A word of warning, however: you'll need to send the kids to bed for this one. And you'll probably be up half the night afterward yourself! Recommended.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

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