Alien

93%

Tomatometer

201 Reviews

94%

Audience Score

250,000+ Ratings

In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma.

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Alien

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A modern classic, Alien blends science fiction, horror and bleak poetry into a seamless whole.

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Critics Reviews

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Jack Kroll

Newsweek

Alien will scare the peanuts right out of your M&M's. It was about time someone made a science-fiction thriller that thrills... and just boils everything down to the pure, ravishingly vulgar essence of fright.

Nov 16, 2023

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Elston Brooks

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

You can have Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 2001. I'll take Alien.

Nov 16, 2023

Full Review

Desmond Ryan

Philadelphia Inquirer

Miss Weaver, a New York actress making her film debut, makes the most of the opportunity without overdoing it. She suggests toughness and fear in equal measure.

Nov 16, 2023

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

AwardsWatch

Human beings mostly die in the order of how much they acquiesced to the company without complaint, and even the robot and alien are not immune. Only the rebel, Ripley, and Jonesy, a cat who is the embodiment of a being who is never subservient, survive.

Jun 14, 2024

Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

A masterpiece of sci-fi horror.

Rated: 4.5/5

May 28, 2024

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

A towering technical achievement; an all-time Final Girl; creature design for the gods. Alien is the complete package. 5/5 - no notes.

Rated: 5/5

May 22, 2024

Full Review

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Audience Reviews

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Aaron Bacchus A Horror Classic. The beat in the series. A must watch for all !!! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/24/24 Full Review Joshua J What can you say? A classic. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/17/24 Full Review Abel T A great movie go watch it Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/16/24 Full Review Ewan F The bet Sci-fi horror Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/16/24 Full Review dod l This Moive is so good, i wish for a kind amnesia so i could watch it for the first time again.Absolute Masterpiece. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/15/24 Full Review Bryan J Iconic, tense, creepy. A standout scifi horror with one of the original action/horror heroine's in all of film history Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/15/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Alien

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Cast & Crew

Ridley Scott Director Tom Skerritt Captain A.J. Dallas Sigourney Weaver Warrant Officer Lt. Ellen L. Ripley John Hurt Engineer G.W. Kane Veronica Cartwright Navigator J.M. Lambert Harry Dean Stanton Engineering Technician S.E. Brett

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Alien

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Alien

A scene from the film "Alien."

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Movie Info

Synopsis In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma.

Director: Ridley Scott
Producer: David Giler, Gordon Carroll, Walter Hill
Screenwriter: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox, Brandywine Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 25, 1979, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 2024
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 2, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $82.6M
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: Surround, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1), 70mm