Aliens (1986)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1986
Running Times: 137m/154m (Special Edition)
Length:
Format: 35mm/70mm
Colour Format: Eastmancolor
Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: 70mm 6-Track     Dolby

DIRECTION

Director: James Cameron

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Brandywine Productions Ltd/Concorde Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd
Unit Production Managers: M.D. Coppitters, Gil Whelan
Production Supervisor: Hugh Harlow
Production Co-Ordinator: Joyce Turner

SCRIPT
Script: James Cameron
Story: David Giler, Walter Hill

DIRECTION
2nd Unit Director: Stan Winston
1st Assistant Director: Derek Cracknell
2nd Assistant Director: Melvin Lind
Script Supervisor: Diana Dill

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Adrian Biddle
Camera Operator: Shaun O'Dell, David Worley
1st Assistant Camera: Michael Condro (uncredited)
Steadicam Operators: Jan Pester (uncredited), Pete Cavaciuti (uncredited)
Gaffer: Jack Thetford
Camera Focus: Martin Hume, Martin Kenzie
Focus Puller: Paul Kenward (uncredited)
Stills: Robert Penn
Cameras/Lenses: Moviecam
Supplied By: Cinefocus
Labs: Rank Film Labs
Prints: Deluxe
Stock: Kodak 5294, Kodak 5295

EDITING
Editor: Terry Rawlings
Associate Editor: Peter Boita
1st Assistant Editor: Phil Sanderson
2nd Assistant Editor: Simon Harris

MUSIC
Music: James Horner
Additional Music: Jerry Goldsmith (from Alien (1979) - uncredited), Aram Khachaturyan (from Ballet Suite Gayaneh - uncredited)
Music Performed By: The London Symphony Orchestra
Orchestrations: Greg McRichie
Music Editors: Robin Clarke, Michael Clifford
Music Recorded At: Abbey Road Studios
Music Recording Engineer: Eric Tomlinson
Synthesiser Effects: Ian Underwood, Robert Garret, Randall Frakes

SOUND
Sound Recordist: Roy Chapman
Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Otto Snel (uncredited)
Re-Recorded At: Pinewood Studios
Sound Effects: Don Sharpe
Supervising Sound Editor: Don Sharpe
Sound Editors: Peter Horocks, Alan Paley, Jack Knight, Dev Goodman, Scott Brose (uncredited)
Assistant Sound Editor: Chris Blunden (uncredited)
Dialogue Editor: Archie Ludski
Foley Editor: Rocky Phelan

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up Supervisor: Peter Robb-King
Chief Hair: Elaine Bowerbank
Costume Designer: Emma Porteous
Costume Supervisor: Tiny Nicholls

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: Everett Burrell (uncredited)

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Stan Winston Studio, The L.A. Effects Group, Peerless Camera Co Ltd
Special Effects Supervisor: John Richardson
Special Effects Workshop Supervisor: Norman Baillie
Senior Special Effects Technicians: John Morris, Ken Morris, Joss Williams, Nick Finlayson, Peter Pickering, Michael Dunleavy, Ron Burton, Ron Cartwright, Paul Whybrow, John Brown, Jonathan Angell, Digby Milner
Alien Queen Designer: James Cameron (uncredited)
Creature Effects Co-Ordinators: Shane Mahan, John Rosengrant, Tom Woodruff Jr, Alec Gillis, Richard Landon
Creature Effects Crew: Graham Nigh, Stephen Norrington, Ray Lovell, Nigel Booth, Julian Caldow, David Keen, Lindsay McGowan, John Robertson, Philomena Davis, Christine Overs, Ian Rolph, Trevor Butterfield, Gregory Figiel, Willie Whitten, Bill Sturgeon, Matt Rose, Rick Lazzarinin, Mark Williams
Cable-Rod Activated Puppets: Doug Beswick Productions Inc
Video Effects Supervisor: Richard Hewitt
Titles and Video Graphics Designer: Tony White
Miniatures: Peter Aston Model Fx
Miniatures Technical Support: Pat McClung
Miniatures Floor Effects Supervisor: Brian Smithes
Mechanical Armature Designers: Doug Beswick, Phil Notaro
Model Effects: Steven Begg (uncredited)
Special Effects Editor: Robert Gavin

VISUAL EFFECTS
Tech Fx: Fantasy II Opticals, General Screen Enterprises Ltd, Peter Govey Film
Visual Effects Unit Production Manager: Paul Tivers
Visual Effects Assistant Directors: Chris Knowles, Paul Frift
Visual Effects Cameras: Harry Oakes, Leslie Dear
Process Directors of Photography: Charles Staffell, Roy Moores
Visual Effects Camera Operators: David Litchfield, Michael Anderson
Visual Effects Gaffer: Wally Wheeler
Motion Control: Arkadon, Peerless Camera Co Ltd
Visual Effects Art Director: Peter Russell
Visual Effects Construction Manager: Barry Saunders
Visual Effects Production Secretary: Sarah Spooner
Opticals: Peerless Camera Co Ltd
Optical Camera Operator: Alan Church (uncredited)

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Supervising Art Director: Terence Ackland-Snow
Art Directors: Bert Davey, Fred Hole, Ken Court, Michael Lamont
Original Alien Designer: H.R. Giger
Conceptual Designer: Ron Cobb
Conceptual Artist: Syd Mead
Set Decorator: Crispian Sallis
Construction Manager: Vic Simpson
Props: Bert Hearn
Production Buyer: Sidney Palmer

OTHER CREW
Production Controller: Paul Tucker
Production Accountant: Jill Bennett
Location Auditor: Jay Roberts
Producer's Assistant: Polly Apostolof
Unit Publicist: Geoff Freeman

LOCATIONS
Locations: Acton Lane power station, London, England, UK
Studio: Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks To: Seiko Ricard Grid Systems Corp, Lasergage Mel-Phillips USFA, Esab Automation, Wes Containers, Thorn-EMI Electronics, BOC, Omega Effects Associates, Vickers Medical, Ferranti Defense Systems, Catapillar, Peter Aston Model Effects Ltd, E.M.A. Model Supplies, Karamya Components, The Central Electricity Generating Board Locations: Pinewood Studios, Acton Lane power station, London, England, UK

STUNTS
Stunt Co-Ordinator: Paul Weston
Stunts: Chris Webb, Sue Crosland, Jason White, Michael Weaver, Stuart St Paul, Simon Crane, Sean McCabe, Jazzer Jeyes, Eddie Powell, Steve Dent, Bill Weston, Eleanor Bertram, Stuart Fell, Tom Delmar (uncredited)

CASTING
Casting (USA): Mike Fenton-Jane Feinberg
Casting (UK): Mary Selway, Judy Taylor

CAST

Sigourney Weaver (Ellen Ripley)
Carrie Henn (Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden)
Michael Biehn (Corporal Dwayne Hicks)
Paul Reiser (Carter J. Burke)
Lance Henriksen (Bishop)
Bill Paxton (Hudson)
William Hope (Lt Gorman)
Jeanette Goldstein (Private Vasquez)
Al Matthews (Sgt Apone)
Mark Rolston (Private Drake)
Ricco Ross (Private Frost)
Colette Hiller (Corporal Ferro)
Daniel Kash (Private Spunkmeyer)
Cynthia Scott (Corporal Dietrich)
Tip Tipping (Private Crowe)
Trevor Steedman (Private Werzbowski)
Paul Maxwell (Van Leuwen)
Valerie Colgan (ECA rep)
Alan Polonsky (insurance man)
Aube Parsons (med tech)
Blain Fairman (doctor)
Barbara Coles (cocooned woman)
Carl Toop (alien warrior)
John Lees (power loader operator)
Louise Head, Kiran Shah (doubles for Newt)
Billy Armstrong (Lydecker (special edition))
Jay Benedict (Russ Jordan (special edition))
Holly De Jong (Ann Jordan (special edition))
Christopher Henn (Timmy Jordan (special edition))
Mac McDonald (Colony Officer Simpson (special edition))

Ripley is woken from her hypersleep 57 years after the events of Alien (1979) and soon finds herself facing her worst nightmares again. Accompanying a group of marines, she returns to the planet where her former ship, the Nostromo, picked up the lethal alien hoping to discover why the colony there has stopped sending signals to Earth. When they arrive they find a sole survivor and the colony over-run by hundreds of the alien - and there's something even nastier waiting for them in the depths of the ruined facility...

A cracking sequel to Alien (1979) that abandons the dark, techno-gothic atmosphere of the first film and replaces it with hi-tech, gung-ho action movie tropes. The alien queen is a fantastic addition to the mythos and the further revelations about the aliens' life cycle are consistent and well handled. The characters are strictly clichéd and some of the action now looks formulaic, but the perfect pacing and impressive hardware more than compensate. A more than worthy sequel.

Germany
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox of Germany
Laserdisc Distributor: CBS FOX (1802-05 - Special Edition)

Japan
Laserdisc Distributor: Fox Video

UK
Video Distributor: CBS Fox
Laserdisc Distributor: Encore (EE 1089 - Special Edition); CBS Fox (1987)

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Video Distributor: Fox Video/Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Laserdisc Distributor: Image; Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (0876184); Fox Video (8761-85); CBS Fox (1504-85) (1991); CBS Fox (1504-80) (1987)
DVD Distributor: The Alien Legacy (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment 4110439) (1 June 1999); Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (4110431)

Australia
Rating: M

Finland
Rating: K-16

France
Rating: -12

Germany
Rating: 16

Ireland
Rating: 18

Netherlands
Rating: 16

Norway
Rating: 18

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 18

USA
Rating: R

1987
Academy Awards, USA
Effects Editing (Don Sharpe) - winner
Best Visual Effects (Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson II, Suzanne M. Benson) - winner
Best Sound (Graham V. Hartsone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Michael A. Carter, Roy Charman)V
Best Music (Original Score) (James Horner) - winner
Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Peter Lamont, Crispian Sallis) - winner
Best Film Editing (Ray Lovejoy) - winner

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA
Best Actress (Sigourney Weaver) - winner
Best Director (James Cameron) - winner
Best Performance by a Younger Actor (Carrie Henn) - winner
Best Science Fiction Film - winner
Best Special Effects (Stan Winston) - winner
Best Supporting Actor (Bill Paxton) - winner
Best Supporting Actress (Jenette Goldstein) - winner
Best Writing (James Cameron) - winner

British Academy Awards, UK
Best Special Visual Effects (Brian Johnson, John Richardson, Robert Skotak, Stan Winston) - winner
Best Make Up Artist (Peter Robb-King) - nominated
Best Production Design (Peter Lamont) - nominated
Best Sound (Roy Charman, Graham V. Hartstone, Don Sharpe) - nominated

Casting Society of America, USA
Best Casting for Feature Film, Drama (Jane Feinberg, Mike Fenton, Judy Taylor) - nominated

Golden Globes, USA
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (Sigourney Weaver) - nominated

Hugo Awards, USA
Best Dramatic Presentation - winner

Sounds Poll (January 1987), UK
Number One Film - winner

Young Artist Awards
Young Artist Award: Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress, Supporting Role in a Feature Film - Comedy, Fantasy or Drama (Carrie Henn) - nominated

1986
July
18: USA - theatrical release

August
29: UK - theatrical release

September
11: Argentina - theatrical release

October
3: Sweden - theatrical release
8: France - theatrical release
27: Spain - theatrical release
31: Finland - theatrical release

November
13: Norway, West Germany - theatrical release

1991
December
18: USA - laserdisc release (CBS FOX (1504-85 - Director's Cut)

1995
November
15: USA - laserdisc release (Fox Video (8761-85))

1996
April
18: UK - laserdisc release (Image (EE1089))

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

1999
June
1: USA - DVD release (as part of The Alien Legacy box set), also released seperately (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (4110431))

2000
May
15: UK - DVD release (as part of The Alien Legacy box set)

2003
October
19: USA - television broadcast (on Fox Movie Channel, as part of 13 Nights of Fright)

This time it's war

There are some places in the universe you don't go alone

Alien II - working title
Alien 2 - working title
Aliens: Special Edition - re-release title
Aliens - Die Rückkehr - German title
Aliens: El regreso - Argentinian / Spanish title
Aliens - paluu - Finnish title
Aliens - Le retour - French title
A bolygó neve: Halál - (Hungarian title
Aliens - Scontro finale - Italian title
Obcy, decydujace starcie - Polish title
Aliens, O Resgate - Brazilian title
Aliens återkomsten - Swedish title

SEQUEL TO
Alien (1979)

SEQUELS
Alien³ (1992)
Alien: Resurrection (1997)

SEE ALSO
Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright (1996)
Spaceballs (1987)

REFERENCES

PERIODICALS

Total Film no.159 (October 2009) pp.77-78 (UK)
illustrated article (In His Own Words  James Cameron)

KEYWORDS

Alien, aliens, androids, animals, bio-organic weapons, cats, children, conspiracies, cryogenics, dissection, elevators, flamethrowers, the future, machines, military, other planets, sequels, space colonies, space travel, spacecraft, technology, terraforming, video footage, weapons, women soldiers, xenomorphs

Last Updated: 30 October, 2009