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Aliens

year 1986decade 80sdirector James Camerongenre Sci-figenre Action

137 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Sigourney Weaver Ellen Ripley
Michael Biehn Dwayne Hicks
Paul Reiser Carter J. Burke
Carrie Henn Rebecca "Newt" Jorden
Bill Paxton Hudson
William Hope Gorman
Ricco Ross Frost
Al Matthews Apone

Aliens | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Sean Fennesseyproducer Craig Horlbeckproducer Chia Hao Tatproducer Eduardo Ocampoproducer Matt Pevic theme Summer of CR
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Roger Ebert's review

Roger Ebert’s review is discussed: 3½ stars

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:24Read transcript
  • The hosts report Ebert awarded 3½ stars
  • They contrast his praise of craft with his discomfort at the sustained intensity

Casting What-Ifs

Weaver negotiations; Paxton and Remar/Biehn casting

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:33:29Read transcript
  • Weaver’s salary negotiation is recounted
  • Paxton’s prospective Police Academy 2 role and Bobcat Goldthwait are discussed
  • James Remar’s removal and Biehn’s quick arrival are recounted
  • Pacino visiting a neighboring set leads to imagined roles for him; those are jokes, not casting history

Recasting Couch

Boston; director swap; Costner and Barrymore

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:11Read transcript
  • Move the setting to Boston
  • Swap Kubrick and Cameron between Aliens and Full Metal Jacket
  • Young Kevin Costner as Hicks
  • Drew Barrymore as Newt

Half-Assed Internet Research

Practical effects, production conflicts and the extended cut

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:41Read transcript
  • British crew tea-break conflicts
  • A lightweight Newt dummy for carrying scenes
  • Carrie Henn repeating slide takes
  • Fourteen puppeteers operating the alien queen
  • Heavy prop weapons
  • Henriksen’s reported illness from Bishop’s milky effects mixture
  • Reuse of the alien-nest set for Batman
  • Editing out the colony sequence
  • Weaver’s objections to cutting Ripley’s daughter backstory
  • Franchise timeline complications
  • Alien: Isolation’s Amanda Ripley premise

Picking Nits

Ripley ignored, inconsistent logic and survival mechanics

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:52:03Read transcript
  • Authorities ignore Ripley’s experience
  • Claims of no comparable alien life versus Marines’ alien-sex talk
  • Ripley’s financial situation after hypersleep
  • Newt surviving alone
  • Destroying the eggs despite an imminent explosion
  • Ripley’s exposure inside the power loader
  • Holding on during airlock decompression
  • Sparing Burke needs more justification
  • Marines overlook the ceiling
  • The Marines’ effectiveness is questioned and defended as Vietnam commentary

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Hypersleep, transfer changes and Bishop’s future

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 02:02:15Read transcript
  • Whether Ripley’s teeth were altered in the 4K transfer
  • Biological needs during and after hypersleep
  • How to spend the first moments after waking decades later
  • Relative horror of cocooning, implantation and being torn apart
  • A deleted Burke cocoon scene and timeline logic
  • Bishop’s reconstruction after losing half his body