Alien Resurrection

***Alien Resurrection*** is a 1997 American science fiction horror film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Joss Whedon, and starring Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder. It is the fourth installment of the *Alien* franchise and was filmed at the Fox Searchlight studios in Los Angeles, California.

Set 200 years after the preceding installment *Alien 3* (1992), Ellen Ripley is cloned and an Alien Queen is surgically removed from her body. The United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study and research on the spaceship USM Auriga, using human hosts abducted and delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to escape and destroy the Auriga before it reaches its destination: Earth. Additional roles are played by Ron Perlman, Dan Hedaya, J. E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, and Michael Wincott.

*Alien Resurrection* had its premiere in Paris on November 6, 1997, and was released to the public on November 12. It grossed $47.8 million in North America, the least successful of the Alien series on that continent. The film was well received internationally, however, with a gross of $113.6 million, bringing its total gross to $161.4 million. It was the 43rd-highest-grossing film in North America in 1997, eleven spots lower than *Anastasia*, another 20th Century Fox film. The film was nominated for six Saturn Awards (including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actress for Weaver, Best Supporting Actress for Ryder, and Best Direction for Jeunet).

## Storyline

### Plot

The saga continues 200 years after Ripley sacrificed herself for the sake of humanity. Her erstwhile employers long gone, this time it is the military that resurrects the one-woman killing machine through genetic cloning to extract the alien from within her, but during the process her DNA is fused with the queen and then the aliens escape. Now Ripley must decide where her allegiance lies.

### Genres

* Action
* Horror
* Science fiction

### Motion Picture Rating

* **16** (Argentina)
* **MA** (Australia)
* **14** (Brazil)
* **R** (Canada)
* **14A** (Canada) (Alberta)
* **18A** (Canada) (British Columbia)
* **R** (Canada) (Manitoba/Ontario)
* **18** (Canada) (Nova Scotia)
* **13+** (Canada) (Quebec)
* **15** (Czechia)
* **15** (Denmark)
* **K-16** (Finland)
* **K-15** (Finland) (DVD rating)
* **12** (France)
* **16** (Germany)
* **IIB** (Hong Kong)
* **18** (Hungary)
* **16** (Iceland)
* **15+** (India)
* **UA** (India) (heavily cut)
* **A** (India) (1998, original rating)
* **18** (Ireland)
* **VM18** (Italy)
* **R-15** (Japan)
* **C** (Mexico)
* **A** (Mexico) (2016, re-rating)
* **16** (Netherlands)
* **R16** (New Zealand)
* **15** (Nigeria)
* **15** (Norway)
* **18** (Peru)
* **R-18** (Philippines)
* **16** (Poland) (self-applied)
* **M/16** (Portugal)
* **R15** (Saudi Arabia)
* **M18** (Singapore)
* **16** (South Africa)
* **15** (South Korea)
* **18** (Spain)
* **15** (Sweden)
* **18+** (Turkey)
* **18** (UK)
* **R** (USA)

## Images

USA VHS coverUK VHS cover (1998)UK DVD cover
## Cast and Crew

### Writing Credits (WGA)

* Dan O'Bannon (characters) and
* Ronald Shusett (characters)
* Joss Whedon (written by)

### Cast

* Sigourney Weaver as Ripley 8
* Winona Ryder as Annalee Call
* Dominique Pinon as Dom Vriess
* Ron Perlman as Ron Johner
* Gary Dourdan as Gary Christie
* Michael Wincott as Frank Elgyn
* Kim Flowers as Sabra Hillard
* Dan Hedaya as General Martin Perez
* J. E. Freeman as Dr. Mason Wren
* Brad Dourif as Dr. Jonathan Gediman
* Raymond Cruz as Vincent Distephano
* Leland Orser as Larry Purvis
* Carolyn Campbell as Anesthesiologist
* Marlene Bush as Scientist
* David St. James as Surgeon
* Joan La Barbara as The Newborn (voice)
* Archie Hahn as The Newborn (voice)
* Steven Gilborn as Father (voice)

### Producers

* Bill Badalato (producer)
* Gordon Carroll (producer)
* David Giler (producer)
* Walter Hill (producer)
* Sigourney Weaver (co-producer)

## Details

### Release Dates

* November 12, 1997 (Switzerland) (French speaking region)
* November 12, 1997 (France)
* November 26, 1997 (Canada)
* November 26, 1997 (Philippines)
* November 26, 1997 (Puerto Rico)
* November 26, 1997 (USA)
* November 27, 1997 (Germany)
* November 27, 1997 (Malaysia)
* November 27, 1997 (Netherlands)
* November 27, 1997 (Singapore)
* November 28, 1997 (Austria)
* November 28, 1997 (Benin)
* November 28, 1997 (Switzerland) (German speaking region)
* November 28, 1997 (Spain)
* November 28, 1997 (UK)
* November 28, 1997 (Ireland)
* November 28, 1997 (Sweden)
* December 3, 1997 (Belgium)
* December 3, 1997 (Jamaica)
* December 5, 1997 (Cameroon)
* December 5, 1997 (Denmark)
* December 5, 1997 (Israel)
* January 1, 1998 (Australia)
* January 2, 1998 (Dominican Republic)
* January 7, 1998 (Netherlands Antilles)
* January 8, 1998 (New Zealand)
* January 9, 1998 (Estonia)
* January 10, 1998 (South Korea)
* January 11, 1998 (Bahrain)
* January 11, 1998 (Jordan)
* January 12, 1998 (Poland)
* January 15, 1998 (Czechia)
* January 15, 1998 (Slovakia)
* January 16, 1998 (Norway)
* January 23, 1998 (Iceland)
* January 27, 1998 (Thailand)
* January 27, 1998 (South Africa)
* January 28, 1998 (Lebanon)
* January 28, 1998 (Taiwan)
* January 29, 1998 (Slovenia)
* January 30, 1998 (Latvia)
* January 31, 1998 (Russia)
* February 5, 1998 (Mexico)
* February 6, 1998 (Lithuania)
* February 6, 1998 (Romania)
* February 12, 1998 (Hungary)
* February 19, 1998 (Croatia)
* February 19, 1998 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
* February 20, 1998 (Portugal) (Fantasporto Film Festival)
* February 20, 1998 (Portugal) (Fantasporto International Film Festival)
* February 26, 1998 (Hong Kong)
* February 27, 1998 (Switzerland) (Italian speaking region)
* February 27, 1998 (Italy)
* February 27, 1998 (Portugal)
* March 4, 1998 (Kuwait)
* March 6, 1998 (Finland)
* March 7, 1998 (Paraguay)
* March 11, 1998 (Indonesia)
* March 20, 1998 (Greece)
* March 27, 1998 (Turkey)
* April 3, 1998 (Uruguay)
* April 9, 1998 (Argentina)
* April 9, 1998 (Brazil)
* April 9, 1998 (Chile)
* April 9, 1998 (Peru)
* April 25, 1998 (Japan)
* April 30, 1998 (Colombia)
* June 11, 1998 (Bolivia)
* September 4, 1998 (Ecuador)
* October 10, 1998 (Egypt)
* May 31, 2003 (UK) (ITV broadcast) (Network premiere)
* 2005 (UK) (Channel 5 broadcast)
* September 6, 2013 (India) (Internet)
* April 17, 2016 (China) (Beijing International Film Festival)
* December 23, 2016 (Mexico) (Todos Ñiños)

## Reception

### Box office

A pre-screening of *Alien Resurrection* was held in Camarillo, California, and the film was released in North America on November 26, 1997. Debuting at number two at the box office behind *Flubber*, *Alien Resurrection* grossed $25 million in its first five days—$16 million over the weekend, for an average of $6,821 per 2,415 theaters. The film grossed $47.8 million in North America, the least successful of the *Alien* series on that continent. It was well received internationally, however, with a gross of $113.6 million, bringing its total gross to $161.4 million. It was the 43rd-highest-grossing film in North America in 1997.

### Critical response

The film has a 3.5 rating on IMDb and a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

## Company Credits

### Production Companies

* 20th Century Fox (presents)
* Brandywine Productions

### Distributors

* 20th Century Fox (1997) (USA) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox (1997) (Yugoslavia) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox (1997) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox (1997) (Spain) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox (1997) (Greece) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox (UFD) (1997) (France) (theatrical)
* Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1997) (Netherlands) (VHS)
* 20th Century Fox (1998) (Finland) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox (1998) (Portugal) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1998) (Spain) (VHS)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
* Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1999) (Greece) (VHS)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
* Odeon (2003) (Greece) (DVD) (special edition)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (Blu-ray) (DVD) (Alien Anthology)
* Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray) (DVD) (Alien Anthology)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
* Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray) (DVD) (Prometheus to Alien: The Evolution boxset)
* 20th Century Fox Searchlight Pictures (1998) (Argentina) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox India (1998) (India) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox (1997) (Germany) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox (1998) (Mexico) (theatrical)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Mexico) (DVD)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Mexico) (VHS)
* Ciné+ (2020) (France) (TV)
* Disney+ (2020) (USA) (video)
* Gativideo (Argentina) (VHS)
* HBO Max (2020) (USA) (video) (VOD)
* ITV (2003) (UK) (TV) (Network premiere)
* Channel 5 Television (2005) (UK) (TV)

### Special Effects

* Duboi (digital visual effects)
* Blue Sky/VIFX (computer generated aliens)
* All Effects Company
* Amalgamated Dynamics (alien effects)
* Digiscope (digital visual effects)
* Duran Duboi
* Hunter/Gratzner Industries (miniatures)
* New Deal Studios
* Vertex International (rotoscoping)

## Technical Specs

### Aspect Ratio

* 2.39:1
* 16:9 (Small Widescreen versions)

## Trivia

* The first lines of the movie, "My mommy always said there were no monsters. No real ones. But there are" is taken from Aliens (1986). Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden originally said it.
* Joss Whedon has commented on his dissatisfaction with the movie. Fans had speculated that the finished movie deviated from his original script in some fatal manner, however he put such rumors to rest. His dialogue, action and plot were essentially intact. However, he had written with a playful, tongue-in-cheek tone, which didn't work when the director decided to "play it straight." Eventually, Whedon created *Firefly* (2002) and *Serenity* (2005), which was also about a group of pirates on an old space ship, and captured the tone he had aimed for in this movie. He said that he never realized the similarities with the Betty and her crew until someone pointed it out to him. As irony would have it, the series was shot on the same stages at Fox Studios where 'Alien: Resurrection' was filmed, with the Serenity built over the pit that was dug for the underwater scenes.
* The production had trouble finding enough studio space as major productions like *Titanic* (1997), *Starship Troopers* (1997) and *The Lost World: Jurassic Park* (1997) were all taking up most of the available studio space in Hollywood.
* The film takes place in 2379.
* Winona Ryder was a big fan of Alien (1979) and jumped at the chance of appearing alongside her idol, Sigourney Weaver, for that reason.
* All four *Alien* movies featuring Sigourney Weaver have a scene in which Ripley is seen dining with the ship's native inhabitants, and a sexual comment is made by someone at the table (in this movie, Ripley is prompted to say "fork" and says "f\*ck" instead).
* The 43rd biggest grossing film at the US box office in 1997.

## Connections

### Follows

* *Alien* (1979)
* *Aliens* (1986)
* *Alien 3* (1992)

### References

* *Alien* (1979)
* *Aliens* (1986)
* *Edward Scissorhands* (1990)
* *Alien 3* (1992)

### Referenced in

* *Armageddon* (1998) - Sharp: "Have you \*seen\* the fourth alien movie yet?"
* *Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back* (2001) - A copy of the DVD can be seen on Banky Edwards' desk.