Alien (film)

An alien flew to the earth with peaceful intentions - as part of a research group. The film begins in a California forest, where a group of alien researchers collect plant samples. NASA experts noticed the approach of a flying saucer. When special agents of the United States government appear, aliens flee into their space ship, forgetting one less agile colleague on Earth.

Earth boy Elliot, as well as his brother and sister, save him.

At the audition, Henry Thomas recalled the day his dog died in order to portray the sadness of his character. His face was so sad that the director Steven Spielberg himself cried and immediately gave the boy the main role in the film.

The alien's voice was voiced by Pat Welch , an elderly woman from Marina , California. She smoked two packs of cigarettes a day, which gave her voice certain properties that the special effects creator Ben Burtt liked. It took nine and a half hours to record her voice, for which she received $ 380. To create the voice of an alien, Bertt also recorded the voices of various animals and sixteen people, including Debra Winger and Stephen Spielberg.

Harrison Ford played the role of the principal, but the only scene with his participation was cut by Stephen Spielberg, who believed that his presence would confuse the audience.

• When creating the film, Spielberg relied on his own painful experience of a child whose parents divorced ^[4] .
• The communicator, designed by an alien, actually worked and was created by Henry Feinberg, an expert in the interpretation of science and technology for the general public.
• Steven Spielberg made the majority of the film at the eye level of a child to better show the contact between Elliot and the alien.
• Steven Spielberg made the film in chronological order to get a genuine reaction from actors (mainly children) in the scene of parting with an alien.
• Steven Spielberg arranged a personal screening of the film in the White House for US President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan.
• Almost a tenth of the total budget went to the manufacture of the alien.
• The frame with Elliot and an alien flying a bicycle against the backdrop of the moon became a trademark of the Amblin Entertainment film studio.
• The original name of the project was “The Life of a Boy”. The film acquired its final name only in the process of filming.
• Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Melissa Matheson were considering creating a sequel called Nightmares, where Elliott and his friends were abducted by hostile aliens and an alien saved them.
• From January 16, 1983 to February 12, 1998 the film was on the first line among the highest grossing films in the history of American film distribution.
• Shelley Long was first invited to play Mary, the mother of the children, but she had already agreed to star in Ron Howard's film “The Night Shift ” and was forced to refuse.
• Spielberg's original concept was much darker, in which the aliens terrorized the family in their own house.
• The song sung by Elliot’s brother Michael as he looks in the refrigerator is called “ Accidents Will Happen ” and written by Elvis Costello .
• The real name of the Man with the keys (the character of Peter Coyote) has never been revealed.
• In the scene of the Halloween celebration , a child who meets in the way of an alien and catches his eye is dressed as Master Yoda from the movie Star Wars . At this time, an excerpt from the theme of "Yoda" by composer John Williams sounds. In addition to Yoda in the Halloween scene, in the Elliot room, you can find various toys from the Star Wars series. George Lucas supported the topic and revealed several aliens in The Phantom Menace . In addition, the race E. T. was shown in several comics. There is also a non-canonical (in the light of the cannon canceled by Disney ) novel prequel to the first episode of “Under the Cover of Lies” which says that the alien senator from the first episode is Greblips (the name of the director of the film “Alien” by Steven Spielberg is written in reverse) and that he sent expedition beyond the galaxy. Other pieces of the so-called “Expanded Universe” (renamed Star Wars Legends after the abolition of the old canon) mention that Greblips was in opposition to Emperor Palpatine and was arrested shortly after the events of the third episode .
• Also in the book SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story , related to the universe of "Star Wars", the name of the race E. T. - asogian is mentioned .
• One of the excerpts that E. T. watches on television is a fragment of the film “ This Island Earth ” (1955), in which aliens send their equipment to earth scientists.
• The alien plant collection includes triffid (from the film " Day of the Triffids " in 1962).
• There is a parody of a film shot in Uzbekistan in 1991: " Abdullagjan, or Dedicated to Steven Spielberg ."

• 1982 - Nomination for the Best National Film Award from the United States Film Critics Council .
• 1983 - 4 Oscars : Best Original Music (John Williams), Best Sound (Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don Dijirolamo, Gene Cantamessa), Best Editing Sound Effects (Charles Campbell, Ben Burtt), Best Visual Effects (Carlo Rambaldi , Dennis Muren, Kenneth Smith). In addition, the film was nominated in 5 more categories: Best Film (Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy), Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Original Screenplay (Melissa Matheson), Best Cinematography (Allen Davio), Best Editing (Carol Littleton) .
• 1983 - BAFTA Award for Best Music (John Williams), as well as 11 nominations: Best Film (Stephen Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy), Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Screenplay (Melissa Matheson), Best Newcomer in the Starring (Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore), best cinematography (Allen Davio), best editing (Carol Littleton), best makeup (Robert Sidell), best work of the artist and decorator (James Bissell), best sound (Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don Digirolamo, Gene Cantamessa , Charles Campbell), the best special visual effects (Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren).
• 1983 - 2 Golden Globe Awards for Best Drama Film and Best Original Music (John Williams), as well as 3 nominations: Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Screenplay (Melissa Matheson), New Star (Henry Thomas).
• 1983 - 5 Saturn Awards: Best Sci-Fi Movie, Best Screenplay (Melissa Matheson), Best Music (John Williams), Best Special Effects (Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren), Best Poster (John Alvin). The tape was also nominated in 3 categories: Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Actor (Henry Thomas), Best Supporting Actress (Dee Wallace).
• 1983 - 4 awards " Young Actor ": Best Family Film, Best Young Actor (Henry Thomas), Best Young Supporting Actor (Robert MacNaughton), Best Young Supporting Actress (Drew Barrymore).
• 1983 - David Di Donatello Award to Best Foreign Director (Steven Spielberg).
• 1983 - 3 Grammy Awards : Best Original Music Album for Film or Television (John Williams), Best Instrumental Composition (John Williams, “Flying Theme”), Best Arrangement of Instrumental Record (John Williams, “Flying Theme”).
• 1983 - nomination for the Cesar Award for Best Foreign Film (Steven Spielberg).
• 1983 - Nomination for the Directors Guild of America Award (Steven Spielberg).
• 1983 - US Scriptwriters Guild Award for Best Original Drama (Melissa Matheson).
• 1983 - Hugo Award nomination for Best Drama Performance (Steven Spielberg, Melissa Matheson).
• 1994 - The film is placed on the National Register of Films .
• 2003 - Saturn Award for the best DVD edition of a classic film.

In the US and Canada, the film was released on VHS by MCA Home Video. In the USSR, video pirates distributed “pirated” copies of this film on “pirated” VHS video tapes of foreign manufacturers, mainly Japanese, through household video recorders with mono sound.

In the USA, Canada and Japan, the film was first released on DVD in 1997.

In Russia, in January 2002, the film was released on DVD by the Universal company together with THX Luxasfilm ltd., And in the NTSC system .

In the USA, in 2002, a re-release of the film was specially released on DVD for the 20th anniversary of its creation. In Russia, in September 2002, it was released on a DVD edition with a polyphonic translation and in the PAL system.

In April 2003, in Russia, the film was released on DVD in NTSC with an English menu, with a Russian two-voice (Glanz and Koroleva) and the original soundtrack in the Dolby Digital 5.1 track; with english and spanish subtitles.

• Official homepage for the 20th anniversary edition
• Nocturnal Fears Sequel treatment by Spielberg and Melissa Mathison
• Alien at the Internet Movie Database  
• Alien on the site allmovie  
• “Alien” on the Rotten Tomatoes website (98% based on 94 reviews)
• Alien on Box Office Mojo
• Alien on the Metacritic website
• ET the Extra-Terrestrial at Yahoo!