Aliens (1986)

Director:

James Cameron

Writers:

James Cameron (story) and
David Giler (story) ...

Release Date:

18 July 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

This time there's more.

Plot:

The planet from Alien (1979) has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, the rescue team has impressive firepower, enough?

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Space | Space Marine | Nightmare | Monster

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Sigourney Weaver	...	Ellen Ripley
Carrie Henn	...	Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden
Michael Biehn	...	Cpl. Dwayne Hicks
Lance Henriksen	...	Bishop
Paul Reiser	...	Carter Burke
Bill Paxton	...	Pvt. Hudson
William Hope	...	Lt. Gorman
Jenette Goldstein	...	Pvt. Vasquez
Al Matthews	...	Sgt. Apone
Mark Rolston	...	Pvt. Drake
Ricco Ross	...	Pvt. Frost
Colette Hiller	...	Cpl. Ferro
Daniel Kash	...	Pvt. Spunkmeyer
Cynthia Dale Scott	...	Cpl. Dietrich (as Cynthia Scott)
Tip Tipping	...	Pvt. Crowe

Also Known As:

Alien 2 (USA) (working title)
Alien II (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for monster violence, and for language. (1992 special edition)

Runtime:

137 min | USA:154 min (special edition)

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1999) | Italy:T | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Finland:K-18 (director's cut) (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 | Portugal:M/16 | Brazil:14 | Philippines:R-18 | USA:R (Certificate #27850) | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | India:A | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Acton Lane Power Station, Acton Lane, Acton, London, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Lance Henriksen wanted to wear double-pupil contact lenses for a scene where Bishop is working in the lab on a microscope and gives a scary look at one of the Marines. He came to set with those lenses, but James Cameron decided he did not need to wear them because he was acting the character with just the right amount of creepiness already.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the elevator escape scene where Hicks gets acid sprayed, he holds his gun in front of his face and turns his head to the left. Any acid burns he got would have been to the right side of his face. As they fight to remove his melting chest armor, there are no acid marks on his face. When they leave the elevator, there are acid burns are on the left side of his head, instead of the right side.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Salvage team leader: Bio-readouts are all in the green, looks like she's alive. Well, there goes our salvage, guys.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Spaced: Battles (#1.4)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Movie music

ALIENS IS THE SCI-FI GENRE

"Aliens" is the best trapped-with-a-monster-right-behind-you movie of all time. The weird part is that it's not the first of its kind. Usually, the first of a genre is always the best but these kinds of movies were made decades-and-decades before 1986's "Aliens." Still, through its strong story and characters, it elbows its way to the head of the class.

Ripley is a heroine like no other. She thrills you. Her powerful presence and unstoppable soul will always live on in the minds of movie-goers. She and Newt form a surrogate mother-daughter relationship that is more touching than anything I've seen before in this kind of a movie. In this movie more than any other in the "Alien" series, Ripley's a woman who does what she can (and then some) to protect herself and the ones around her. She's the perfect action hero.

On top of that, the pulsing music that plays while Bishop is speeding them away from the exploding compound and while Ripley is booting the Queen Alien out into space is beyond comparison.

Note: If you LOVED this movie, it's probably best you don't see Alien 3. It, for some reason, turns the triumph of this film's conclusion into a depression deeper than the vastness of a hundred black holes.