Predator (1987)

A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.

Director:

John McTiernan

Writers:

Jim Thomas, John Thomas

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Dutch
Carl Weathers	...	Dillon
Elpidia Carrillo	...	Anna
Bill Duke	...	Mac
Jesse Ventura	...	Blain
Sonny Landham	...	Billy
Richard Chaves	...	Poncho
R.G. Armstrong	...	General Phillips
Shane Black	...	Hawkins
Kevin Peter Hall	...	The Predator / Helicopter Pilot

Storyline

A team of special force ops, led by a tough but fair soldier, Major "Dutch" Schaefer, are ordered to assist CIA man, Colonel Al Dillon, on a rescue mission for potential survivors of a Helicopter downed over remote South American jungle. Not long after they land, Dutch and his team discover that they have been sent in under false pretenses. This deception turns out to be the least of their worries though, when they find themselves being methodically hunted by something not of this world.

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | survival | hunting people | characters killed one by one | commando | 

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Taglines:

If it bleeds, we can kill it...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film originally featured a Native American soldier as the lead. This character eventually evolved into Billy.

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Goofs

Obvious animation: when the Predator is answering Dutch's challenge, it leaps onto a tree branch and then kicks off, but the branch never moves once.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Major General Phillips: You're looking good, Dutch.
Dutch: It's been a long time, General.
Major General Phillips: Come on inside.

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Crazy Credits

All the 7 main cast members re-appear in ascending order as their names are displayed to give a smile to the audience in appreciation.

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Alternate Versions

In the 1991 ITV broadcast of the film, some violent scenes and bad language were cut for censorship and for time: Mac warning Dillon that he'll bleed him, if he gives up his position again. The decapitation of Dillon's right arm and his demise. The Predator ripping out Billy's skull and spine and Dutch calling the Predator "You One Ugly Motherfucker!" when The Predator removes it's mask.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Best of Science Fiction Movies (2010)

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Soundtracks

Long, Tall Sally
Performed by Little Richard
Written by Little Richard (as R. Penniman), Enotris Johnson (as E. Johnson) and Robert 'Bumps' Blackwell (as R. Blackwell)
Courtesy of Specialty Records

User Reviews

Science Fiction Perfection

I was 12 when I first saw Predator and it has been a firm sci-fi favorite ingrained in my psyche ever since. Predator, now 23 years old, hasn't aged and still feels current - if you can excuse the 80's testosterone. It just goes to show that expensive CGI is no match for a good story with a colourful and competent cast.

The story follows Dutch (Schwarzenegger) the leader of a specialized group of bad-ass soldiers who run rescue missions in areas Chuck Norris would be scared to go. He is duped into a supposed rescue mission in South America by an old college, Dillon (Carl Weathers) who now works for the CIA.

Once in the Jungle, Dillon's true reason for using Dutch becomes apparent when the team comes across the mutilated remains of a previous special ops team sent in by Dillon. The team is not there to rescue anyone, but stop an arms deal. Someone begins picking off the team one by one and and to quote Billy (Sonny Landham) who provides the spiritual insight "There is something out there, and it ain't no man". The action begins...

Alien hunters on safari, CIA operatives, professional black ops soldiers, South American rebels and a whole lot of hot steamy jungle in the mix and you have one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made.

The 80's style testosterone fueled acting gives great insight into the period and muscle-bound cast perform well and this must be Arnie's finest performance. Thankfully there isn't much of the of cheesy 80's dialog, like that painfully delivered by Bill Paxton in Aliens and Predator 2.

Like Ridley Scott's Alien, the franchise has only gone downhill since and fans have eagerly been waiting for Robert Rodriguez and Nimród Antal to restore the franchise to it's former glory with the release of Predators.

A timeless classic and sci-fi masterpiece. 10/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Mexico

Language:

English Spanish Russian

Release Date:

12 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alien Hunter

Filming Locations:

Sierra Madre del Sur de Oaxaca, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,031,638, 14 June 1987

Gross USA:

$59,735,548

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$98,268,458

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1