Alien (1979)
Ian Holm: Ash
Photos
Quotes
-
Ripley : Ash, can you hear me?
[slams her hands down on the table]
Ripley : Ash?
Ash : [awakens and starts speaking in an electronic and distorted voice] Yes, I can hear you.
Ripley : What was your special order?
Ash : You read it. I thought it was clear.
Ripley : What was it?
Ash : Bring back life form. Priority One. All other priorities rescinded.
Parker : The damn company. What about our lives, you son of a bitch?
Ash : I repeat, all other priorities are rescinded.
Ripley : How do we kill it, Ash? There's gotta be a way of killing it. How? How do we do it?
Ash : You can't.
Parker : That's bullshit.
Ash : You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.
Lambert : You admire it.
Ash : I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.
Parker : Look, I am... I've heard enough of this, and I'm asking you to pull the plug.
[Ripley goes to disconnect Ash, who interrupts]
Ash : Last word.
Ripley : What?
Ash : I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my sympathies.
-
Ripley : Ash. Any suggestions from you or Mother?
Ash : No, we're still collating.
Ripley : [laughing in disbelief] You're what? You're still collating? I find that hard to believe.
Ash : What would you like me to do?
Ripley : Just what you've been doing, Ash: nothing. I've got access to Mother now, and I'll get my own answers, thank you.
-
Ripley : [Ash is observing the facehugger] That's amazing. What is it?
Ash : Uh, yes, it is. Um. I don't know yet. Did you want something?
Ripley : Yes, I, uh... have a little talk. How's, uh, how's Kane?
Ash : He's holding, no changes.
Ripley : And, uh, our guest?
Ash : Um.
Ripley : Hm?
Ash : Well, as I said, I'm still... collating, actually, but uh, I have confirmed that he's got an outer layer of protein polysaccharides. Has a funny habit of shedding his cells and replacing them with polarized silicon, which gives him a prolonged resistance to adverse environmental conditions. Is that enough?
Ripley : That's plenty. What does it mean?
[Ripley bends down to look through the micro-scanner]
Ash : Please don't do that. Thank you.
Ripley : I'm sorry.
Ash : Well, it's an interesting combination of elements making him a... tough little son-of-a-bitch.
Ripley : And you let him in.
Ash : I was obeying a direct order. Remember?
Ripley : Ash. When Dallas and Kane are off the ship, I'm Senior Officer.
Ash : Oh, yes. I forgot.
Ripley : You also forgot the Science Division's basic quarantine law.
Ash : No, that I didn't forget.
Ripley : Oh, I see. You just broke it, hm?
Ash : Look, what would you have done with Kane, hm? You know his only chance of survival was to get him in here.
Ripley : Unfortunately, by, uh, breaking quarantine, you risk everybody's life.
Ash : Maybe I should have left him outside. Maybe I've jeopardized the rest of us, but it was a risk I was willing to take.
Ripley : That's a pretty big risk for a Science Officer. It's, uh, not exactly out of the manual, is it?
Ash : I do take my responsibilities as seriously as you, you know. You do your job and let me do mine, yes?
-
Dallas : Now, this air shaft may work to our advantage. Here. It leads up to and comes out in the main airlock. All right, there's only one big opening along the way, we can cover that up, and then we... drive it into the airlock and zap it into outer space.
Parker : How? This son of a bitch is huge! I mean, it's like a man; it's... it's big!
Ash : [softly] Kane's son.
-
Ash : Ripley, for God's sake, this is the first time that we've encountered a species like this. It has to go back. All sorts of tests have to be made.
Ripley : Ash, are you kidding? This thing bled acid. Who knows what it's gonna do when it's dead.
Ash : I think it's safe to assume it isn't a zombie.
-
Brett : [realizing Nostromo has changed its course and they have to investigate] Well, so what?
Kane : Well, we are obligated under section eight...
Parker : I hate to bring this up but, uh, this a commercial ship, not a rescue ship...
Brett : Right.
Parker : ...and it's not in my contract to do this kind of duty. Now what about the money? If you wanna give me some money to do it, I'll be happy to, uh, t-to, you know, oblige.
Brett : The man's right.
Dallas : Parker...
Parker : Let's go over the bonus situation. We haven't... Can we just talk about the bonus situation?
Ash : I'm sorry, can I say something?
Parker : Let's talk about the bonus more.
Ash : There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated.
Parker : I don't wanna hear it...
Brett : We don't know if it's intelligent.
Parker : I wanna go home and party.
Dallas : Parker, will you just listen to the man?
Ash : On penalty of total forfeiture of shares. No money.
Dallas : You got that?
Parker : [chuckling] Well, yeah.
Dallas : All right, we're going in.
Parker : [to Brett] Yeah, we're going in, aren't we?
-
Ripley : Ash, that transmission... Mother's deciphered part of it. It doesn't look like an S.O.S.
Ash : What is it, then?
Ripley : Well, I... it looks like a warning. I'm gonna go out after them.
Ash : What's the point? I mean by the-the time it takes to get there, you'll... they'll know if it's a warning or not, yes?
-
Ash : Primordial... deep cold... way below the line...
-
Ripley : Come on, Ash. I mean, the Science Department should be able to help us. What can we do to drive it?
Ash : Yes, well, it's adapted remarkably well to our atmosphere considering its nutritional requirements. The only thing we don't know about is temperature.
Ripley : Okay, what about temperature? What happens if we change it?
Ash : Let's try it. I mean most animals retreat from fire, yes?
Dallas : Fire, yeah.
-
Ash : Oh, Mother says the sun's coming up in twenty minutes
