After investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.After investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.After investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 19 wins & 22 nominations total
All 'Alien' Movies Ranked by IMDb Rating
All 'Alien' Movies Ranked by IMDb Rating
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia(at around 55 mins) The chestbursting scene was NOT filmed in one take (despite the myth). The scene was filmed twice: on the first take, the chestburster was unable to cut through Kane's shirt, so the crew needed to reset and shoot it again. The failed attempt is visible in the finished film, since director Ridley Scott thought it made it look like the creature was struggling to push its way out, and made the scene more violent (see The Beast Within: The Making of 'Alien' (2003) documentary where this is discussed). According to designer Ron Cobb, the two takes of the scene were shot from multiple angles, and about 40 minutes of footage was available for screening.
- Goofs(at around 1h 35 mins) A crewman with a black panel of some kind is visible through the smoke as Ripley runs through the corridors at the end of the film.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Ripley: Final report of the commercial starship Nostromo, third officer reporting. The other members of the crew - Kane, Lambert, Parker, Brett, Ash, and Captain Dallas - are dead. Cargo and ship destroyed. I should reach the frontier in about six weeks. With a little luck, the network will pick me up. This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off.
[to Jonesy the cat]
Ripley: Come on, cat.
- Crazy creditsThe title of the movie is slowly created one line at a time at the top of the screen during the opening credits, starting out with the I, then the slash in A and the backslash in N, and then the vertical lines in L and E (so it looks like / I I I \). After that, the ensuing lines of each letter are added slowly one at a time until the title is fully visible.
- Alternate versionsThe 2003 DVD release plasters the 1979 version of the 20th Century Fox logo with the 1980's version.
- ConnectionsEdited into Star Trek: The Next Generation: Datalore (1988)
Fantastically atmospheric, chilling and terrifying even now, the story holds up incredibly well. The special effects were incredible for the time, no wonder the franchise is still in demand, though sadly nowhere near the quality of this one or its amazing successor.
The music is fantastic, the direction is incredible, and as for the Alien itself, way ahead of its time. Weaver is phenomenal, but arguably she's upstaged by the creature.
You can't help but remember scenes days after watching it, it definitely has the chill factor.
A cinematic masterpiece. 10/10
- Sleepin_Dragon
- Jan 15, 2020
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Alien, el octavo pasajero
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $11,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $84,206,106
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,527,881
- May 28, 1979
- Gross worldwide
- $108,598,267
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1