Trailer
Summary
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
Good for
- Friends night
- Party vibe
- Teens
Skip it if
- Graphic violence bothers you
- You scare easily
- You want something quiet and calm
Where to watch
Fingerprint
At a glance
Critics vs audiences
Critics and audiences agree
Critics 84Audiences 85GoodWatch 84
Metascore84
User score8.9
IMDb8.4
Letterboxd · 983 K ratings4.1/5
Box office
9.9×its budget
- Budget
- $19 M
- Worldwide
- $183 M
Worldwide it earned $165 M more than it cost.
Running time
2 h 17 min
Longer than most action movies, +29 min on the typical 108
typical 108137Half of all action movies run 96–127 min.
Reach
Streams in 75 countries, rent or buy in 25 more
+65Released
1986
July 18, 1986
40 years ago
Genres
ActionThrillerScience FictionLanguage
English
Original language
Made in
- United States
Academy Awards1987
- Sound Editing1987Won
- Visual Effects1987Won
- Actress in a Leading Role1987Nominated
- Film Editing1987Nominated
- Music (Original Score)1987Nominated
- Production Design1987Nominated
- Sound1987Nominated
BAFTA Awards1986 to 1987
- Best Special Visual Effects1987Won
- Best Special Visual Effects1986Won
- Best Makeup and Hair1987Nominated
- Best Sound1987Nominated
Golden Globe Awards1986 to 1987
- Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama1987Nominated
- Best Actress, Motion Picture Drama1986Nominated
Rated
- RUnited States
What's in it
- ViolenceStrong
- Gore, disturbing imagesStrong
- Frightening scenesIntense
- Sex, nudityLittle or none
- Dark themesModerate
- Strong languageNamed in the advisories
In white: what the content advisories name. Levels from the title analysis.
Viewing guide
AdultsFriends NightParty VibePartner WatchPublic Viewing SafeSolo WatchTeensThought-ProvokingNot listed for kids or family movie night.
and 20 more27 people
- Sigourney WeaverRipley
- Carrie HennNewt
- Michael BiehnCorporal Hicks
- Paul ReiserBurke
- Lance HenriksenBishop
- Bill PaxtonPrivate Hudson
- William HopeLieutenant Gorman
- Jenette GoldsteinPrivate Vasquez
Al MatthewsSergeant Apone
Mark RolstonPrivate Drake
Ricco RossPrivate Frost
Colette HillerCorporal Ferro
Daniel KashPrivate Spunkmeyer
Cynthia Dale ScottCorporal Dietrich
Tip TippingPrivate Crowe- TSTrevor SteedmanPrivate Wierzbowski
Paul MaxwellVan Leuwen
Valerie ColganECA Rep
Alan PolonskyInsurance Man
Alibe ParsonsMed Tech
Blain FairmanDoctor- BCBarbara ColesCocooned Woman
- CTCarl ToopAlien Warrior
- JLJohn LeesPower Loader Operator
Directing · 5
- James Cameron Director, Screenplay, Story
- Stan Winston Second Unit Director, Special Effects
- Derek Cracknell First Assistant Director
- Melvin Lind Second Assistant Director
- Diana Dill Script Supervisor
Writing · 4
- Walter Hill Story, Executive Producer
- David Giler Story, Executive Producer
- Dan O'Bannon Characters
- Ronald Shusett Characters
Production · 10
- Gordon Carroll Executive Producer
- Gale Anne Hurd Producer
- Mary Selway Casting
- Mike Fenton Casting
- Judy Taylor Casting
- Jane Feinberg Casting
Camera · 4
- Adrian Biddle Director of Photography
- David Worley Camera Operator
- Shaun O'Dell Camera Operator
- Bob Penn Still Photographer
Editing · 4
- Ray Lovejoy Editor
- Phil Sanderson First Assistant Editor
- Simon Harris Assistant Editor
- Peter Boita Associate Editor
Sound · 8
- James Horner Original Music Composer
- Don Sharpe Supervising Sound Editor
- Roy Charman Sound Recordist
- Robin Clarke Music Editor
- Rocky Phelan Foley Editor
- Archie Ludski Dialogue Editor
Art · 12
- Peter Lamont Production Design
- Ron Cobb Conceptual Design
- Syd Mead Concept Artist
- Crispian Sallis Set Decoration
- Michael Lamont Art Direction
- Terry Ackland-Snow Supervising Art Director
Costume & Make-Up · 4
- Emma Porteous Costume Design
- Elaine Bowerbank Key Hair Stylist
- Peter Robb-King Makeup Supervisor
- Tiny Nicholls Costume Supervisor
Visual Effects · 4
- Robert Skotak Visual Effects Supervisor
- Dennis Skotak Visual Effects Supervisor
- Richard Hewitt Visual Effects Supervisor
- H. R. Giger Creature Design
Lighting · 1
- Jack Thetford Gaffer
Other crew · 24
- Paul Weston Stunt Coordinator
- Kiran Shah Stunt Double
- Stuart Fell Stunts
- Bill Weston Stunts
- Eddie Powell Stunts
- Simon Crane Stunts
Tropes
More like this
Watch order
In this series
Film 2 of 4 · after Alien · then Alien³
- Alien (1979)
GoodWatch score 86Film 1
- Aliens (1986)
GoodWatch score 83You're here
- Alien³ (1992)
GoodWatch score 54Film 3
- Alien Resurrection (1997)
GoodWatch score 56Film 4
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