Alien Nation (1988)

A few years from now, Earth will have the first contact with an alien civilisation. These aliens, known as Newcomers, slowly begin to be integrated into human society after years of ... See full summary »

Director:

Graham Baker

Writer:

Rockne S. O'Bannon

Stars:

James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Caan	...	Det. Sgt. Matthew Sykes
Mandy Patinkin	...	Det. Samuel 'George' Francisco
Terence Stamp	...	William Harcourt
Kevyn Major Howard	...	Rudyard Kipling
Leslie Bevis	...	Cassandra
Peter Jason	...	Fedorchuk
Conrad Dunn	...	Quint (as George Jenesky)
Jeff Kober	...	Joshua Strader
Roger Aaron Brown	...	Det. Bill Tuggle
Tony Simotes	...	Wiltey
Michael David Simms	...	Human Dealer
Ed Krieger	...	Alien Dealer
Tony Perez	...	Alterez
Brian Thompson	...	Trent Porter
Francis X. McCarthy	...	Capt. Warner (as Frank McCarthy)

Storyline

A few years from now, Earth will have the first contact with an alien civilisation. These aliens, known as Newcomers, slowly begin to be integrated into human society after years of quarantine but are victims of a new type of discrimination. When the first Newcomer police officer, Sam Francisco is assigned his new partner, he is given Matthew Sykes , a mildly racist veteran, the animosity between them soon gives way to respect as they investigate the Newcomer underworld, and especially Newcomer leader William Harcourt.

---

Plot Keywords:

alien | police officer | discrimination | police | strangle | 

---

Taglines:

Prepare Yourself.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Future Tense

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$25,216,243 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Entertainment Partners II L.P., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brian Thompson (Trent Porter) is the only actor to appear in both the original film version of Alien Nation and the subsequent television adaptation Alien Nation.

---

Goofs

During the chase scene with the police car the tail lights on Sykes and Francisco's car change from broken to intact to broken again.

---

Quotes

[Harcourt's men are about to kill a Newcomer]
Quint: I hear seawater's like *battery acid* to these guys.

---

Connections

Spin-off Alien Nation (1989)

---

Soundtracks

"(SITTIN' ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY"
Written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper
Performed by Michael Bolton
Courtesy of CBS Records

User Reviews

Not too bad

Curiously enough, this movie is far inferior to the excellent television series it inspired, something you don't see very often. However, ALIEN NATION the film is enjoyable in its own right if you are not opposed to buddy cop movies. That's basically what this is, a buddy cop movie with some scifi stuff thrown in. The acting by Caan and Patinkin (a great actor) is good stuff, and probably saves the film from being below average. That, along with the original storyline and fairly well-crafted Newcomer/human society, holds the film up well enough in order for me to give it a 7. Not as good as the TV show, but not too bad either.