Alien(1979)

R
1h 57m
- Horror
- Sci-Fi

Release Date: May 25, 1979 | Moderate

After investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.

Official Website

Releases

Original Release | May 25, 1979

Jun 22, 1979 | Moderate

2003 Director's Cut | Oct 29, 2003

2019 Re-release (Fathom Events) | Oct 13, 2019

2020 Re-release (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) | Jan 1, 2021

2024 Re-release (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) | Apr 26, 2024

Box Office

All Releases (5)
Total US & Canada:
$84,206,106
Total International
$24,422,885
Total Worldwide:
$108,628,991

Total US & Canada:
$78,944,891
Total International
$18,773
Total Worldwide:
$78,974,579

Director & Top Cast

Ridley Scott
Director

Yaphet Kotto
Parker

Technical Specifications

Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United Kingdom,United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

The commercial towing spaceship Nostromo is on a return trip from Thedus to Earth, hauling a refinery and twenty million tons of mineral ore, and carrying its seven-member crew in stasis. Upon receiving a transmission of unknown origin from a nearby Planetoid, the ship's computer awakens the crew. Acting on standing orders from their corporate employers, the crew detaches the Nostromo from the refinery and lands on the Planetoid, resulting in some damage to the ship. Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt), and Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) set out to investigate the signal's source while Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm), and Engineers Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) and Parker (Yaphet Kotto) stay behind to monitor their progress and make repairs.Dallas, Kane, and Lambert discover that the signal is coming from a derelict alien spacecraft. Inside it they find the remains of a large alien creature whose ribs appear to have been exploded outward from the inside. Meanwhile, the Nostromo's computer partially deciphers the signal transmission, which Ripley determines to be some type of warning. Kane discovers a vast chamber containing numerous eggs, one of which releases a creature that attaches itself to his face. Dallas and Lambert carry the unconscious Kane back to the Nostromo, where Ash allows them inside against Ripley's orders to follow the ship's quarantine protocol. They unsuccessfully attempt to remove the creature from Kane's face, discovering that its blood is an extremely corrosive acid. Eventually the creature detaches on its own and is found dead. With the ship repaired, the crew resume their trip back to Earth.Kane awakens seemingly unharmed, but during a meal before re-entering stasis he begins to choke and convulse until an alien creature bursts from his chest, killing him and escaping into the ship. Lacking conventional weapons, the crew attempt to locate and capture the creature by fashioning motion trackers, electric prods, and flamethrowers. Brett follows the crew's cat into a large room where the now-fully-grown Alien attacks him and disappears with his body into the ship's air shafts. Dallas enters the shafts intending to force the Alien into an airlock where it can be expelled into space, but it ambushes him. Lambert implores the remaining crew members to escape in the ship's shuttle, but Ripley, now in command, explains that the shuttle will not support four people.Accessing the ship's computer, Ripley discovers that Ash has been ordered to return the Alien to the Nostromo's corporate employers even at the expense of the crew's lives. Ash attacks her, but Parker intervenes and decapitates him with a blow from a fire extinguisher, revealing Ash to be an android. Before Parker incinerates him, Ash predicts that the other crew members will not survive. The remaining three crew members plan to arm the Nostromo's self-destruct mechanism and escape in the shuttle, but Parker and Lambert are killed by the Alien while gathering the necessary supplies. Ripley initiates the self-destruct sequence and heads for the shuttle with the cat, but finds the Alien blocking her way. She unsuccessfully attempts to abort the self-destruct, then returns to find the Alien gone and narrowly escapes in the shuttle as the Nostromo explodes.As she prepares to enter stasis, Ripley discovers that the Alien is aboard the shuttle. She puts on a space suit and opens the hatch, causing explosive decompression which forces the Alien to the open doorway. She shoots it with a grappling gun which propels it out, but the gun is yanked from her hands and catches in the closing door, tethering the Alien to the shuttle. It attempts to crawl into one of the engines, but Ripley activates them and blasts the Alien into space. She then puts herself and the cat into stasis for the return trip to Earth.

Storyline

In the distant future, the commercial spaceship "Nostromo" crew is on its way home when the crew picks up a distress call from a distant moon. The crew must investigate, and the spaceship descends on the small planetoid afterwards. After a rough landing, three crew members leave the spaceship to explore the area on the planetoid. At the same time, the ship's computer deciphers the message. When the crew realizes it is not alone on the spaceship, they must deal with the consequences. — blazesnakes9 In cold, boundless space, AI super-computer Mother picks up a distress signal from Acheron, a barren nearby moon. Bound by protocol, it awakens the 7-member crew of the commercial towing vehicle, USCSS Nostromo, from cryosleep. Soon, as Captain Arthur Dallas and his crew descend to the inhospitable celestial body known as LV-426 to investigate the mysterious transmission, they discover a downed extraterrestrial spacecraft and its bizarre cargo. Now, dark questions loom. Was the cryptic signal a desperate SOS or a warning? Either way, something else has somehow found its way into the Nostromo, and its silent corridors will never be safe again. Who can confront the Alien, the unwanted eighth passenger? — Nick Riganas In the distant future, the crew of the commercial spaceship "Nostromo" are returning home, when they receive a distress signal from a remote moon, located somewhere in the Zeta Reticuli quadrant. As per company policy, the large towing vessel makes a landing to investigate closer. Three of the crew set out to explore the area and discover a hive colony of unknown origin - just as the ship's computer deciphers the message to be a forewarning, in stead of a distress call. And when one of the eggs is disturbed from its dark and hideous slumber, the crew eventually realize that they aren't alone anymore. And a dire struggle for survival ensues.