Alien Nation (1988)

In 1988, Earth makes the first contact with an alien civilization. In 1991, these aliens, known as Newcomers, slowly begin to be integrated into human society after three years of quarantine.

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	...	Matthew Sykes
Mandy Patinkin	...	Sam Francisco
Terence Stamp	...	William Harcourt
Kevyn Major Howard	...	Kipling
Leslie Bevis	...	Cassandra
Peter Jason	...	Fedorchuk
Conrad Dunn	...	Quint (as George Jenesky)
Jeff Kober	...	Josh Strader
Roger Aaron Brown	...	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.

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Plot Keywords:

police | buddy cop | investigation | buddy movie | alien | 

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Taglines:

Prepare Yourself.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Debut produced screenplay of writer Rockne S. O'Bannon.

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Goofs

Matt's dialog doesn't match his lips after he and George talk to the hostess at Encounters.

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Quotes

Det. Sgt. Matthew Sykes: Tell me the joke.
Det. Samuel 'George' Francisco: Stop me if you have heard it before. Why did the chicken cross the road?
Det. Sgt. Matthew Sykes: [coughs uncontrollably] I've heard it.
Det. Samuel 'George' Francisco: It's a good joke.

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Alternate Versions

In UK cinemas, 2 versions were shown in different cinemas. In some cinemas, certain Newcomer native dialogue was subtitled into English and in others it was not. This happens most notably in the scene where George and the morgue attendant discuss the Newcomer corpse and recognise aspects of the body as representing the drug addiction. Also a short dialogue between Harcourt and Kipling after Harcourt first meets George and Matt where Kipling tells Harcourt that Sykes was the policeman in the shootout at the film's opening.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: Bright (2017)

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Soundtracks

Scary Monsters
Written and Performed by David Bowie
Courtesy of Jones Music America

User Reviews

Caan

I just love anything James Caan is in so I decided to give this one a try, and boy was I glad that I did. Mandy Pantikin also did a nice job on the film,, and i'm a big Terrence Stamp fan so I enjoyed the acting,, the premise was excellent to,,, I graduated the year this came out but never got around to seeing it till much later., so the story goes that Caan has to take on a partner,, well he's sorta an alien and Caan resents that and has arguments and bickers with him constantly but eventually the learn to work together get along and eventually become good friends, they go up against some bad guy aliens who wish to do harm to the human race as they are selling some kind of drug that has deadly outcomes for those that inject it,, I think that this movie was ahead of it's time.. a great movie for sci fi lover's and James Caan as well. I was not disappointed whatsoever.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spacecop L.A. 1991

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,421,429, 10 October 1988

Gross USA:

$25,216,243

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$32,155,047

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Entertainment Partners II L.P., Pacific Western, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1