Alien (1979)

Country of Origin: USA/UK
Year of Production: 1979
Running Times: 116m (UK, Germany)/117m (USA)
Length:
Format: 35mm/70mm/Panavision
Colour Format: Eastmancolor
Ratio:
Sound: Dolby/70mm 6-Track (70mm prints)

DIRECTION

Directed by: Ridley Scott

PRODUCTION
Copyright: © 1979 by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Production Companies: A Brandywine-Ronald Shusett production A Ridley Scott film
Made by: Twentieth Century-Fox Productions Limited
Released by: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Executive Producer: Ronald Shusett
Produced by: Gordon Carroll, David Giler and Walter Hill
Associate Producer: Ivor Powell
Production Manager: Garth Thomas
Production Executive: Mark Haggard

SCRIPT
Screenplay by: Dan O'Bannon, David Giler (uncredited), Walter Hill (uncredited)
Story by: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett

DIRECTOR
1st Assistant Director: Paul Ibbetson
Assistant Directors: Raymond Beckett, Steve Harding
Trainee Assistant Director: Bob Jordan
Continuity: Kay Fenton

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Derek Vanlint
Main Unit Camera Focus: Adrian Biddle, Colin Davidson
Main Unit Lighting Gaffer: Ray Evans
Main Unit Key Grip: Jimmy Wallers
Main Unit Electronics and Video Co-ordinator: Dick Hewitt
Still Photographer: Bob Penn
Lighting by: Lee Electrics
Video Equipment by: Sony U.K. Ltd.
Filmed in Panavision

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Film Editor: Terry Rawlings
Editor: Peter Weatherley
1st Assistant Editor: Les Healy
Assistant Editors: Peter Culverwell, Bridget Reiss, Peter Baldock, Maureen Lyndon
Post Production at: E.M.I. Elstree Studios, England
Color by: Eastman Kodak
Processed by: Rank Film Laboratories
Prints by: DeLuxe

MUSIC
Music by: Jerry Goldsmith
Conducted by: Lionel Newman
Music Editor: Bob Hathaway
Music Recorded at: Anvil Recording Studio, Denham, England
Original music copyright © 1979 Fox Fanfare Music Inc

SONGS AND ADDITIONAL MUSIC
Incidental Music From:

"Symphony no. 2 ('Romantic')"
By Howard Hanson

"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"
By W.A. Mozart

SOUND
Production Sound Mixer: Derrick Leather
Re-recording Mixer: Bill Rowe
Re-recording Assistant: Ray Merrin
Sound Editor: Jim Shields
Dialogue Editor: Bryan Tilling
Dolby Sound Consultant: Max Bell
Recorded in Dolby Stereo

MAKE-UP AND COSTUMES
Costume Design: John Mollo
Wardrobe Supervisor: Tiny Nicholls
Make-up Supervisor: Tommy Manderson
Make-up: Pat Hay
Hairdresser: Sarah Monzani

SPECIAL EFFECTS
'Alien' Head Effects Created by: Carlo Rambaldi
Special Effects Supervisors: Brian Johnson and Nick Allder
Floor Effects Supervisor: Allan Bryce
Small Alien Co-designed and Made by: Roger Dicken
Additional 'Alien' Mechanics: Carlo DeMarchis, Dr David Welling
'Alien' Effects Co-ordinator: Clinton Cavers
Special Effects Technicians: David Watkins, Phil Knowles, Roger Nichols, Dennis Lowe, Neil Swan, Guy Hudson

VISUAL EFFECTS
Matte Artist: Ray Caple
Supervisor Modeller: Peter Voysey
Modellers: Eddie Butler, Shirley Denney, Patti Rodgers

Miniature Effects
Director of Photography: Denys Ayling
[Camera] Operator: David Lichfield
Focus: Terry Pearce
Key Grip: Peter Woods
Model Makers: Martin Bower, Bill Peerson

TITLES AND OPTICALS
Title Design: Steve Frankfurt Communications, R. Greenberg Associates, Tony Silver Films
Special Optical Effects: Filmex Animation Services Ltd.
Special Graphic Effects: Bernard Lodge

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Michael Seymour
Art Directors: Les Dilley, Roger Christian
Assistant Art Directors: Jonathon Amberston, Benjamin Fernandez
'Alien' Design: H.R. Giger
Visual Design Consultant: Dan O'Bannon
Set Decorator: Ian Whittaker
Property Master: Dave Jordan
Production Buyer: Jill Quertier
Concept Artists: Ron Cobb, Jean "Moëbius" Giraud, Chris Foss
Construction Manager: Bill Welch
Head Carpenter: George Gunning
Head Plasterer: Bert Rodwell
Head Painter: John Davey

OTHER CREW
Production Accountant: Bill Finch
Production Assistant: Valerie Craig
Assistants to Producer: Alice Harmon, Lori Covel
Assistant to Director: Sandy Molloy
Advertising and Publishing Consultants: Stanley Bielecki, Charles Lippincott
Unit Publicist: Brian Doyle
Jones Trained by: Animals Unlimited

LOCATIONS
Made at: Shepperton Studio Centre, England and Bray Studios, Windsor, England

STUNTS
Stunt Co-ordinator: Ray Scammell
Stunt Work: Eddie Powell

CASTING
Casting U.S.A.: Mary Goldberg
Casting U.K.: Mary Selway

CAST

Tom Skerritt (Dallas)
Sigourney Weaver (Ripley)
Veronica Cartwright (Lambert)
Harry Dean Stanton (Brett)
John Hurt (Kane)
Ian Holm (Ash)

and
Yaphet Kotto as Parker

Bolaji Bodajo ('alien')
Helen Horton (voice of 'Mother')

Eddie Powell (the alien)
Percy Edwards (alien vocals)
Jones the Cat (Jones)

The crew of a space freighter are woken from hypersleep to investigate a distress signal coming from a remote, forbidding planet. When the exploration team return, they bring with them a parasitic alien that grows at an alarming rate and begins picking off the crew one by one...

Germany
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox of Germany
Laserdisc Distributor: CBS FOX (1090-05)

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Video Distributor: CBS-Fox
Laserdisc Distributor: Encore EE (1088)

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Laserdisc Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (0876084); Fox Video (8760-85); CBS FOX (1090- 80); CBS FOX (1090-85)
DVD Distributor: Alien 20th Anniversary Edition (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment 4110430)
(Supplements: audio commentary by Ridley Scott; isolated musical score on a separate audio channel; alternate music and production sound track; deleted scenes; artwork and photo galleries; outtakes; web links; booklet with production notes); The Alien Legacy (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment 4110439)

Australia
Rating: M

Finland
Rating: K-16

France
Rating: 12

Germany
Rating: 16

Ireland
Rating: 15

Netherlands
Rating: 12

Norway
Rating: 18

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: X; 18

USA
Rating: R

1979
San Sebastian International Film Festival
Silver Seashell - Best Cinematography and Special Effects

1980
Academy Awards, USA
Best Effects, Visual Effects (Nick Allder, Denys Ayling, H.R. Giger, Brian Johnson, Carlo Rambaldi)
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (nomination) (Roger Christian, Leslie Dilley, Michael Seymour, Ian Whittaker)

Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films, USA
Saturn Award - Best Science Fiction Film Best
Supporting Actress (Veronica Cartwright)

British Academy Awards, UK
Best Production Design (Michael Seymour)
Best Soundtrack (Derrick Leather, Bill Rowe, Jim Shields)
Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (nomination) (Jerry Goldsmith)
Best Costume Design (nomination) (John Mollo)
Best Editing (nomination) (Terry Rawlings)
Best Supporting Actor (nomination) (John Hurt)
Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Role (nomination) (Sigourney Weaver)

Golden Globes
Best Original Score - Motion Picture (nomination) (Jerry Goldsmith)

Hugo Awards
Best Dramatic Presentation

1978
July
8: production begins

October
21: production ends

1979
May
16: USA - press screening at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverley Hills, California
25: USA - theatrical release

September
6: UK - premiere at Odeon, Leicester Square, London

October
25: West Germany - theatrical release
26: Finland - theatrical release

November
2: Sweden - theatrical release

December
25: Argentina - theatrical release

1980
January
13th: UK - London theatrical opening

1982
July
11: UK - television broadcast (on LWT)

1984
March
25: USA - television broadcast (on ABC)

July
25: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

1986
April
14: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

1992
May
29: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

October
8: USA - laserdisc release (CBS FOX (1090-85))

1995
November
15: USA - laserdisc release (Fox Video (8760-85))

1996
April
19: UK - laserdisc release (Encore EE (1088))

1997
May
13: UK - 70mm print shown at the National Film Theatre, London

1999
June
1: USA - DVD release

2000
May
15: UK - DVD release

2003
October
19: USA - Director's Cut television broadcast (on Fox Movie Channel)

In space no one can hear you scream.

Alien - Das Unheimliche Wesen aus Einer Fremden Welt - German title
Alien - De Achste Passagier - Dutch title
Star Beast - early title

SEQUELS
Aliens (1986)
Alien³ (1992)
Alien: Resurrection (1997)

SEE ALSO
Alien 2 sulla Terra (1980)
The Arrival (1996)
Blade Runner (1982)
Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984)
A Close Shave (1995)
Contamination (1980)
The Creature Wasn't Nice (1981)
Creepozoids (1987)
Danger Mouse (1981 - 1992)
Dark Star (1973)
Death Machine (1995)
The Faculty (1998)
Event Horizon (1997)
Evolution (2001)
Forbidden World (1982)
Galaxina (1980)
Galaxy of Terror (1981)
Hollywood Halloween (1997)
Inseminoid (1980)
It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
Lily C.A.T. (1987)
Men In White (1998)
Mi nismo andjeli (1992)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)
Ninja Mission 2000 (1999)
Nowhere (1997)
Predator 2 (1990)
The Puppet Masters (1994)
Queen of Blood (1966)
The Relic (1997)
Scared to Death (1980)
Scream 2 (1997)
Severed Ties (1992)
Shiryo no wana (1988)
So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
Spaceballs (1987)
Species (1995)
Species 2 (1998)
Terrore nello spazio (1965)
There's Nothing Out There (1991)
Titan Find (1984)
Toy Story (1995)
Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1995)
Urusei Yatsura 2: By-tifuru dorîmâ (1984)
Wacko (1981)
Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992)

EXTRACTS INCLUDED IN
My Science Fiction Life (2006)
Terror in the Aisles (1984)

REFERENCES

PERIODICALS

American Cinematographer vol.85 no.4 (April 2004) pp.18-19, 22 (USA)
illustrated DVD review (by Kenneth Sweeney)

American Film vol.4 no.5 (March 1979) pp.17-22 (USA)
illustrated article

Broadcast no.1169 (2 August 1982) p.30 (UK)
review (by Patrick Stoddart)

Ciné-Revue vol.59 no.25 (21 June 1979) pp.14-19 (Belgium)
illustrated article

Empire no.192 (June 2005) pp.144-147 (UK)
illustrated article (C.V. Ridley Scott by Ian Nathan)

Empire no.199 (January 2006) pp.220-223 (UK)
illustrated article (At Home/DVD Club: Ridley Scott by Rob Fraser)

Empire no.201 (March 2006) pp.77-88, 90-101 (UK)
illustrated article (201 Greatest movies of all time)

Empire no.209 (November 2006) pp.165-174 (UK)
illustrated article/advertisement (The essence of greatness)

Empire no.230 (August 2008) pp.84-86, 88 (UK)
illustrated article (Title recall by Andrew Osmond & Richard Morrison)

Empire no.231 (September 2008) pp.97-101; 113-123 (UK)
illustrated article (Science? Fiction! by William Thomas); illustrated article (10 years of DVD by Simon Crook, Nick De Semlyen & James Dyer)

Film Bulletin vol.48 no.3/4 (May/June 1979) p.reviews A (USA)
review (by Munroe)

Film/Psychology vol.4 no.2 (Summer/Autumn 1980) pp.235-242 (USA)
illustrated article

Film Score Monthly vol.10 no.3 (May 2005) pp.24-30 (USA)
illustrated article (Pet Sounds by Kyle Renick)

Films in Review vol.36 no.12 (December 1985) p.601 (USA)
article

The Listener vol.108 no.2772 (5 August 1982) p.34 (UK)
note (Video Family: Time Bandits New Waves by John Peel)

Movie Maker vol.17 no.4 (April 1983) pp.212-213 (UK)
review

Music Sound and the Moving Image vol.2 n.1 (April 2008) pp.3-25 (UK)
illustrated article (Corporeality, musical heartbeats, and cinematic emotion by Ben Winters)

October no.13 (Summer 1980) pp.91-100 (USA)
article

Screen International no.196 (30 June 1979) p.25 (UK)
review (by Marjorie Bilbow)

Starburst no.14 (vol2. no2. 1979) pp.4-8 (UK)
illustrated review (by John Brosnan)

Starburst no.349 (May 2007) pp.68-71 (UK)
illustrated article (The Starburst Vaults)

Starburst no.350 (June 2007) pp.68-76 (UK)
illustrated article (30 Defining Moments)

TV Times vol.104 no.39 (17 September 1981) p.26 (UK)
review

TV Times vol.108 no.28 (10 July 1982) p.55 (UK)
credits

Variety 23 May 1979 p.22 (USA)
credits, review (by Har)

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

Alien, aliens, androids, animals, bio-weapons, cats, computers, cryogenics, flamethrowers, the future, monsters, space travel, spaceships

CONTRIBUTORS

Mark Hasan; Kevin Lyons

Last Updated: 24 January, 2010