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Aliens (Sigourney Weaver)

Directed by
James Cameron

Writing credits
Dan O'Bannon (characters) and
Ronald Shusett (characters) ...

Genre: Thriller / Horror

Tagline: This time it's war

Plot Outline:

The only survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley is discovered in deep sleep half a century later by a salvage ship. When she is taken back to Earth, she learns that a human colony was founded on the same planet where the aliens were first found. After contact with the colony is lost, she finds herself sent back to the planet along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the alien menace forever, and saving any survivors -- if any remain.

User Comments: ALIENS IS THE SCI-FI GENRE

User Rating: 8.3/10 (64,004 votes) top 250: #86

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sigourney Weaver	....	Ellen Ripley
Carrie Henn	....	Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden
Michael Biehn	....	Cpl. Dwayne Hicks
Lance Henriksen	....	Bishop
Paul Reiser	....	Carter Burke
Bill Paxton	....	Pvt. Hudson
William Hope	....	Lt. Gorman
Jenette Goldstein	....	Pvt. Vasquez
Al Matthews	....	Sgt. Apone
Mark Rolston	....	Pvt. Drake
Ricco Ross	....	Pvt. Frost
Colette Hiller	....	Cpl. Ferro
Daniel Kash	....	Pvt. Spunkmeyer
Cynthia Dale Scott	....	Cpl. Dietrich (as Cynthia Scott)
Tip Tipping	....	Pvt. Crowe

Also Known As:
Alien 2 (USA) (working title)
Alien II (USA) (working title)
MPAA: Rated R for monster violence, and for language. (1992 special edition)
Runtime: 137 min / USA:154 min (director's cut)
Country: USA / UK
Language: English
Color: Color (Eastmancolor)
Sound Mix: 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) / Dolby
Certification: Argentina:13 / Australia:M / Canada:18A / Chile:14 / Finland:K-16 / France:-12 / Hong Kong:IIB / Ireland:18 / Japan:PG-12 / Mexico:B / Netherlands:16 / Norway:18 / Peru:14 / Singapore:M18 / Spain:13 / Sweden:15 / UK:18 / USA:R / West Germany:16

Trivia: James Cameron had the actors (the marines) personalize their own costumes (battle armor and fatigues) for added realism (much like soldiers in Vietnam wrote and drew things on their own helmets). Actress Cynthia Dale Scott, who plays Cpl. Dietrich has the words "BLUE ANGEL" written on the back of her helmet. Marlene Dietrich was of course the star of Blaue Engel, Der (1930) or Blue Angel. Bill Paxton has "Louise" written on his armor. This is a dedication to his real-life wife, Louise Newbury.

User Comments:

7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful:-
ALIENS IS THE SCI-FI GENRE, 6 December 1998

Author: Collins from Wetumpka, Alabama

"Aliens" is the best trapped-with-a-monster-right-behind-you movie of all time. The weird part is that it's not the first of its kind. Usually, the first of a genre is always the best but these kinds of movies were made decades-and-decades before 1986's "Aliens." Still, through its strong story and characters, it elbows its way to the head of the class.

Ripley is a heroine like no other. She thrills you. Her powerful presence and unstoppable soul will always live on in the minds of movie-goers. She and Newt form a surrogate mother-daughter relationship that is more touching than anything I've seen before in this kind of a movie. In this movie more than any other in the "Alien" series, Ripley's a woman who does what she can (and then some) to protect herself and the ones around her. She's the perfect action hero.

On top of that, the pulsing music that plays while Bishop is speeding them away from the exploding compound and while Ripley is booting the Queen Alien out into space is beyond comparison.

Note: If you LOVED this movie, it's probably best you don't see Alien 3. It, for some reason, turns the triumph of this film's conclusion into a depression deeper than the vastness of a hundred black holes.