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Alien

1979
R
1h 57m
Horror, Sci-Fi

The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.

Official Website

Release Date

May 25, 1979 | Limited (Original Release)

Oct 29, 2003 | Limited (2003 Director's Cut)

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

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

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

Box Office

All Releases (5)
Total US & Canada:
$84,206,106
Total International
$3,624,484
Total Worldwide:
$87,890,464

Total US & Canada:
$78,944,891
Total International
$10,915
Total Worldwide:
$78,955,806

Director & Top Cast

Ridley Scott
Director

Sigourney Weaver
Ripley

Tom Skerritt
Dallas

John Hurt
Kane

Veronica Cartwright
Lambert

Harry Dean Stanton
Brett

Ian Holm

Ash

Yaphet Kotto

Parker

Bolaji Badejo

Alien

Helen Horton

Mother

Eddie Powell

Alien

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 crew of the commercial spaceship "Nostromo" is on its way home when the crew picks up a distress call from a distant moon. The crew is under obligation to investigate and the spaceship descends on the small planetoid afterward. After a rough landing, three crew members leave the spaceship to explore the area on the planetoid. At the same time as the crew discovers a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship's computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a distress call. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew realizes that it is not alone on the spaceship and it must deal with the consequences. — blazesnakes9 In the far reaches of space, the crew on board the ship "Nostromo" is returning to Earth until it receives a distress call, an alien one. However, the crew will soon take back with it the most terrifying creature in the universe: a Xenomorph, a killing machine that bleeds corrosive acid whenever anyone tries to hurt it. All alone in space, no one can hear them scream - trying to warn the rest of the galaxy of the terror that is the Xenomorph. — Johnny In the depths of cold, boundless space, Mother, the state-of-the-art AI super-computer aboard the commercial towing vehicle USCSS "Nostromo," detects a possible distress signal from a nearby barren, inhospitable moon, Acheron, and awakens the seven-member crew from cryosleep. To investigate the mysterious transmission, Captain Arthur Dallas, along with the executive officer Thomas Kane and navigator Joan Lambert, descend to the dim-lit celestial body known as LV-426, only to discover a downed but relatively intact extraterrestrial spacecraft and its bizarre cargo. But was this cryptic signal, indeed, a desperate SOS, or was it a warning? Either way, somehow, something else, too, has found its way into the "Nostromo," and now, its silent, dark corridors will never be safe again. Who dares to confront the formidable alien, the unwanted eighth passenger? — Nick Riganas In the distant future, during its return to Earth, the commercial spaceship "Nostromo" intercepts a distress call from a distant moon. The seven-member crew is awakened from hypersleep and the spaceship subsequently descends on the moon. While exploring, a three-member team of the crew discovers a derelict spaceship and a huge chamber inside that contains thousands of alien eggs. When a curious team member goes near one of the eggs, the parasite inside attacks him, rendering him unconscious. He is brought back aboard and the spaceship takes off. After a little while, the parasite dies and the crewman wakes up seemingly unruffled. Everything soon returns to normal, but not for long. — Soumitra

Headlines

Alien

Box Office

Director & Top Cast

Ridley Scott

Sigourney Weaver

Tom Skerritt

John Hurt

Veronica Cartwright

Harry Dean Stanton

Ian Holm

Yaphet Kotto

Bolaji Badejo

Helen Horton

Eddie Powell

Technical Specifications

Other Details

Summaries

Plot Summary

Storyline

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