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'''''Alien''''' is a 1979 [[United Kingdom|British]] [[science fiction movie|science fiction]]–[[horror movie]] directed by [[Ridley Scott]], released in the [[United Kingdom]] on 25 May and the [[United States]] on 6 September. It is called a science fiction movie because the story takes place in [[outer space]], and there are alien creatures.  The movie's title refers to a highly aggressive (angry) and intelligent [[Extraterrestrial being|extraterrestrial]] (alien creature) that attacks and kills the crew of the spaceship ''Nostromo''. The movie stars [[Sigourney Weaver]] as Ellen Ripley, [[Tom Skerritt]] as Captain Dallas, and [[Ian Holm]] as Ash.

The extraterrestrials in the movies are usually called '''[[Xenomorph]]s'''.

''Alien'' was a [[box office]] success (it made a lot of money). It led to a successful [[Hollywood]] [[Franchising|franchise]] of books, [[video game]]s, merchandise, and three official [[sequel]]s (follow-ups). Along with launching the career of actress Sigourney Weaver, the movie is credited as being the first [[action movie]] to have a strong female [[heroine]].

There are three sequels to this movie: ''[[Aliens (movie)|Aliens]]'' (1986), ''[[Alien³]]'' (1992), ''[[Alien: Resurrection]]'' (1997), and a cross-overs: ''[[Alien vs. Predator (movie)|Alien vs. Predator]]'' (2004) and ''[[Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem|Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem]]'' (2007).

The famous [[tagline]] (slogan) for the movie was: ''In space no one can hear you scream.''
== Plot ==
A [[Spacecraft|spaceship]] called the ''Nostromo'' is towing cargo through space when it gets a signal from an unknown source on an alien planet. The crew wake up from [[Cryonics|cryonic]] sleep and go down to the planet to find out what it is. They find a large alien ship wrecked there. Its pilot is long dead and on board they find mysterious eggs. One of the crew, Kane ([[John Hurt]]) looks into an egg and is attacked by an alien creature that grabs onto his face. They bring him back to the ''Nostromo'' and try to cut the creature off him, but find out it has [[acid]] for blood. The creature later falls off and dies, but Kane is killed afterwards by another alien the first creature put into his [[stomach]]. The new creature quickly grows into a huge monster and starts killing the rest of the crew. Later the survivors find out that Ash is actually an evil [[Android (robot)|android]] and the company that owns the ''Nostromo'' secretly wants the alien and doesn’t care if they die getting it. The survivors destroy Ash and plan to blow up the ship. The alien kills everyone left except Ripley and the ship’s cat Jonesy, who escape in a small shuttle before the ''Nostromo'' explodes. However, the alien is actually still on board the shuttle. Ripley kills it by shooting it into space and blasting it with the shuttle’s engines. The movie ends with Ripley going into cryonic sleep with Jonesy after leaving a message that the ship was destroyed and the rest of the crew are dead.

== Alien (movie) Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Dan O'Bannon.jpg|American science fiction screenwriter and director Dan O'Bannon.

File:Jerry Goldsmith 2.jpg|[[Jerry Goldsmith]] composed the music for ''Alien''.

File:Paisley Abbey &quot;Xenomorph&quot; Gargoyle (10317339143) (cropped).jpg|[[Paisley Abbey]] "Alien" [[gargoyle]] ({{circa|1990}}) in [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]], Scotland

File:Sigourney Weaver by Gage Skidmore 4.jpg|[[Sigourney Weaver]] became the star of the ''Alien'' films, reprising her role as Ripley in three sequels between 1986 and 1997. She did not appear in either of the ''Alien vs. Predator'' crossovers of the 2000s, but has expressed interest in doing a fifth ''Alien'' film.
</gallery>
== Other websites ==
* {{imdb title|id=0078748|title=Alien}}
* [http://hollywoodgothique.com/alienshusett.html Executive producer Ron Shusett on making ''Alien''] - video interviews and transcript

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[[Category:1979 horror movies]]
[[Category:1970s monster movies]]
[[Category:1970s English-language movies]]
[[Category:1979 science fiction movies]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox movies]]
[[Category:Alien movies]]
[[Category:American monster movies]]
[[Category:British science fiction movies]]
[[Category:British horror movies]]
[[Category:Movies set on fictional planets]]
[[Category:Movies composed by Jerry Goldsmith]]
[[Category:Movies directed by Ridley Scott]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry movies]]
[[Category:Movies that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award]]
[[Category:Saturn Award winning movies]]
[[Category:American science fiction horror movies]]
[[Category:Movies about extraterrestrial life]]
[[Category:Body horror movies]]
[[Category:R-rated movies]]
[[Category:Movies set in the future]]