"ALIEN"
by
Walter Hill
and
David Giler
Based on screenplay
by
Dan O'Bannon
Story by
Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett
REVISED FINAL
JUNE, 1978
Brandywine Productions
10201 W. Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90035
Science fiction plucks from within
us our deepest fears and hopes then
shows them to us in rough disguise:
the monster and the rocket.
W.H. Auden
We live, as we dream -- alone.
Joseph Conrad
"ALIEN"
FADE IN
SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE:
INT. ENGINE ROOM 1
Empty, cavernous.
INT. ENGINE CUBICLE 2
Circular, jammed with instruments.
All of them idle.
Console chairs for two.
Empty.
INT. OILY CORRIDOR - "C" LEVEL 2-A
Long, dark.
Empty.
Turbos throbbing.
No other movement.
INT. CORRIDOR - "A" LEVEL 2-B
Long, empty.
INT. INFIRMARY - "A" LEVEL 2-C
Distressed ivory walls.
All instrumentation at rest.
INT. CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE - "A" LEVEL 3
Black, empty.
INT. BRIDGE 4
Vacant.
Two space helmets resting on chairs.
Electrical hum.
Lights on the helmets begin to signal one another.
Moments of silence.
A yellow light goes on.
Data mind bank in b.g.
Electronic hum.
A green light goes on in front of one helmet.
Electronic pulsing sounds.
A red light goes on in front of other helmet.
An electronic conversation ensues.
Reaches a crescendo.
Then silence.
The lights go off, save the yellow.
INT. CORRIDOR TO HYPERSLEEP VAULT: 4-A
Lights come on.
Seven gowns hang from the curved wall.
Vault door opens.
INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT 5
Explosion of escaping gas.
The lid on a freezer pops open.
Slowly, groggily, KANE sits up.
Pale.
Kane rubs the sleep from his eyes.
Stands.
Looks around.
Stretches.
Looks at the other freezer compartments.
Scratches.
Moves off.
INT. GALLEY 6
Kane plugs in a Silex.
Lights a cigarette.
Coughs.
Grinds some coffee beans.
Runs some water through.
KANE
Rise and shine, Lambert.
INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT 7
Another lid pops open.
A young woman sits up.
LAMBERT
What time is it.
KANE
(voice over)
What do you care.
INT. GALLEY 8
Pot now half-full.
Kane watches it drip.
Inhales the fragrance.
KANE
Now Dallas and Ash.
(calls out)
Good morning Captain.
DALLAS
(voice over)
Where's the coffee.
KANE
Brewing.
LAMBERT walks into the kitchen.
Pours herself a cup.
INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT 9
Two more lids pop open.
A pair of men sit up.
Look at each other.
INT. GALLEY 10
Kane enjoys a freshly-brewed cup.
KANE
Ripley...
Another moment.
And then the sound of another lid opening.
KANE
And if we have Parker, can
Brett be far behind.
Lid opening sound.
KANE
Right.
INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT 11
DALLAS looks at his groggy circus.
DALLAS
One of you jokers get the cat.
RIPLEY picks up a limp cat out of one of the compartments.
INT. MESS 12
The crew of the United States commercial starship Nostromo
seated around a table.
Dallas.........Captain
Kane...........Executive Officer
Ripley.........Warrant Officer
Ash............Science Officer
Lambert........Navigator
Parker.........Engineer
Brett..........Engineering Technician
Jones..........Cat
Five men and two women: Lambert and Ripley.
LAMBERT
Jesus am I cold.
PARKER
Still with us, Brett.
BRETT
Yo.
RIPLEY
Lucky us.
They yawn, stretch, shiver.
Dallas looks over at a flashing yellow light.
KANE
I feel dead.
Kane is not yet fully awake.
Yawns.
PARKER
You look dead.
ASH
Nice to be back.
PARKER
Before we dock maybe we'd
better go over the bonus
situation.
BRETT
Yeah.
PARKER
Brett and I think we deserve a
full share.
DALLAS
You two will get what you
contracted for. Just like
everybody else.
BRETT
Everybody else gets more than us.
DALLAS
Everybody else deserves more
than you two.
ASH
Mother wants to talk to you.
DALLAS
I saw it. Yellow light for my
eyes only...Now, everybody hit
their stations.
INT. COMPUTER ROOM ANNEX 13
Floor to ceiling data banks.
Another flashing yellow light.
A legend underneath.
COMMAND PRIORITY ACCESS ONLY.
Dallas enters.
Sits at his console.
Removes insignia master computer key attached to
his shirt.
Plug it into the board under the light.
All banks burst into life.
Dallas punches up a computer code on the keyboard.
Legend on the screen...
What's my God damn key.
Print-out from computer answers...
01335 on the binary side.
DALLAS
Thank you Mother.
Dallas punches up the combination on the keyboard.
Immediately start getting a readout.
CUT TO:
INT. BRIDGE 14
Above eye level the room is ringed by viewscreens.
All of them blank.
Kane, Ripley, and Lambert enter.
Dallas' seat remains empty.
All of them now dressed; they find their way to individual
consoles.
Ripley puts down the cat, straps herself into the high-
backed chair.
KANE
Plug us in.
All three crew members begin throwing switches.
The control room starts to come to life.
Colored lights flicker.
Chase each other across glowing screens.
KANE
Give us something to look at.
Lambert presses a bank of switches.
Viewscreens glimmer into life.
LAMBERT
Take a look at this.
On each screen, blackness speckled with stars.
LAMBERT
Where's Earth.
KANE
You're the navigator.
RIPLEY
That's not our system.
KANE
Scan.
Lambert hits several toggles.
On the screens the images begin to drift.
ONE OF THE SCREENS 15
A moving image of a starfield.
EXT. NOSTROMO 16
The Factory Starship lumbering with the depths
of inter-stellar space.
Function: Petroleum tanker and Refinery.
Capacity: 2000,000,000 tons.
Length: One and one half kilometers.
Battered exterior encrusted with dark sludge.
INT. BRIDGE 17
Lambert pores over charts.
Consults her console.
Puzzled.
KANE
Contact traffic control.
Ripley switches on her transmission unit.
RIPLEY
This is commercial vessel Nostromo.
Registration number 180246. Do
you read me. Over.
Nothing but the hiss of static.
RIPLEY
Nothing.
KANE
Keep trying.
Turns to Lambert.
Ripley attempting transmission in b.g.
KANE
You got a reading yet.
LAMBERT
We're way out in the boondocks
here...
KANE
Keep trying...
LAMBERT
Working on it.
Eureka.
LAMBERT
Found it.
KANE
Hard to believe.
LAMBERT
What the hell are we doing out
here.
KANE
What are you talking about.
RIPLEY
It's not our system.
INT. ENGINE ROOM 17-A
Giant reactor system purring smoothly.
INT. ENGINE ROOM 18
PARKER and BRETT in a glass cubicle. Each having a beer.
Huge powerplant stretching before them.
All units on automatic hyper-drive.
Parker hits a switch above his desk. A green light goes on.
PARKER
How's your light?
BRETT
Green.
PARKER
Mine too.
They both take a swig.
Suddenly a beeper signal begins.
PARKER
Christ. What is it now.
BRETT
Right.
RIPLEY
(voice over)
Report to the mess.
INT. OILY CORRIDOR - "C" LEVEL 19
PARKER
I want to know why they never
come down here. This is where
the work is.
BRETT
Same reason we have half a
share to their one, our time is
their time, that's the way they
see it.
PARKER
Well, I'll tell you
something... it stinks.
They move towards the companionway.
INT. MESS 20
Entire crew present.
DALLAS
Some of you may have figured
out that we're not home.
BRETT
What the hell.
DALLAS
Mother's interrupted the course
of the voyage.
DALLAS
Mother is programmed to interrupt
the course of out voyage if
certain conditions arise. They
have...
(pause)
We've received intermittent
transmission from quadrant points
QBR 157, 052. Somebody's gone
down.
BRETT
So what.
KANE
We're obligated under Section B2...
PARKER
Christ. We're a commerical ship
not some rescue team. This kind
of duty's not in our contract.
ASH
You better read your contract.
Transmissions received in non-
commercial lanes...
Dallas gives Parker and Brett a look.
DALLAS
We're going in, that's it.
Brett knows when to ease up.
BRETT
Right, we're going in.
(smiles)
Sir.
Dallas turns to ASH.
DALLAS
Can we land on it.
He takes a print-out from Mother out of his hand.
ASH
The other ship did.
DALLAS
That's what I mean.
Studies the print-out.
ASH
It's big enough. Can't see any
reason why not.
CUT TO:
EXT. NOSTROMO AND REFINERY APPROACHING THE 20-A
STAR/PLANET SYSTEM
OUT 21-
23
INT. BRIDGE 24
Dallas at his console speaking to Ash.
DALLAS
We're coming into range of the
planet. What kind of orbit do
you plan for the cargo.
ASH
Z local vertical mode.
DALLAS
You figure it will hold that.
ASH
You worried about redundancy
management disabling CMGS control.
DALLAS
Yeah.
ASH
CMG control is inhibited via
DAS/DCS. We'll augment with
TACS and monitor through ATMDC
and computer interface.
(pause)
Feel better?
DALLAS
A lot.
EXT. NOSTROMO 25
Moving within range of the planet.
INT. BRIDGE 26
The crew strap themselves to their seats.
DALLAS
Prepare for separation and
orbital insertion of the cargo.
Much preparation for separation, etc.
DALLAS
Give me an EC Pressure reading.
ASH
3.45 n/c m^2 squared (5 psia)
DALLAS
Shout if it changes. Deactivate
probe retract system.
KANE
What about the pressure seal.
Dallas hits appropriate switches.
DALLAS
Now the probe retract system.
Kane hits other equally appropriate switches.
KANE
Okay.
DALLAS
Release captive hatches and
disengage probe.
Kane working switches and buttons.
KANE
Disengaged.
Dallas pucnhes buttons of his own.
EXT. NOSTROMO 27
The Refinery separates from Nostromo.
INT. BRIDGE 28
Dallas watches the refinery moving away on a viewscreen.
KANE
All free and clear.
DALLAS
Ash.
ASH
Orbital insertion complete.
DALLAS
Okay. The money's safe. Let's
take it down.
EXT. NOSTROMO 29
Engines coughing to life.
Nostromo begins its descent.
Below night's tide rolls across the planet's surface.
INT. BRIDGE 30
The viewscreen shimmers.
RIPLEY
Turbulence.
EXT. NOSTROMO 31
Tug-module hydroplaning downward.
A set of brilliant lights switch on.
Cut through the thick atmosphere.
INT. ENGINE ROOM - CUBICLE 32
Parker and Brett strapped in their seats.
Begin rocking from the sudden, extreme turbulence.
PARKER
Chirst. Overloading. What the
hell are we going through.
BRETT
Dust fritzing the compressor.
PARKER
There goes the conversion
stabilizer.
BRETT
I don't know if the digital
solenoid...
PARKER
Forget it. If we don't crash,
dollars to your aunt's cherry
we get an electrical fire...
INT. BRIDGE 33
The turbulence continues unabated.
Lambert's eyes follow cross-plot gauges.
LAMBERT
Drop begins...now. Fifteen
kilometers and descending...
twelve...ten...eight and
slowing. Five. Three. Two.
One kilometer and slowing.
DALLAS
Lock tractor breams.
A loud electrical hum.
KANE
Locked.
DALLAS
Kill drive engines.
The engines fall silent.
LAMBERT
Nine hundred meters and dropping.
Eight hundred. Seven hundred.
EXT. PLANET - NIGHT 34
Storm blowing across the night-shrouded surface.
The Nostromo hovers on glowing beams of light.
Landing struts unfold like insect legs.
The ship slams down.
Rocks heavily on massive shock absorbers.
INT. BRIDGE - NIGHT 35
RIPLEY
We're down.
An enormous vibration.
The panels in the room flash simultaneously.
Light go out.
KANE
Lost it. Lost it.
INT. ENGINE ROOM 36
Another huge vibration.
An electrical fire breaks out along three control panels.
INT. OILY CORRIDOR 36-A
Huge flash fire whips along corridor.
INT. ENGINE ROOM - CUBICLE 37
Parker and Brett see the pandemonium below.
Brett hits the secondary generator switch.
A pressure valve blows.
Another conduit breaks loose.
All lights go out.
They grab hand lights from wall.
INT. BRIDGE 38
Still in darkness.
LAMBERT
Secondary generator should
kick over.
KANE
Where is it.
Moments. Nothing. Kane grabs emergency headlamp from
facia.
Followed by Dallas and Lambert.
DALLAS
What happened?
Ripley hits the voice-amp.
RIPLEY
Engine room, what happened.
PARKER
(voicer over)
God damn electrical fire, that's
what happened.
BRETT
(voice over)
It's big.
INT. ENGINE ROOM 39
Parker fighting an electrical fire on one of his panels.
Brett shouting into his voice-amp.
BRETT
The intakes are clogged. We
overheated and burned out a
whole cell...Christ, it's really
breaking loose down here...
INT. BRIDGE 40
DALLAS
Somebody give me a simple answer,
Has the hull been breached.
Ripley scans her gauges.
RIPLEY
I don't see anything. We've still
got pressure.
A beep from the communicator.
DALLAS
Hit the screen.
Kane snaps three toggles.
The screens flicker, but remain black.
KANE
Nothing.
EXT. SHIP - NIGHT 41
The wind sounds.
Storm continues to blow around the craft.
A few glittering lights distinguish the Nostromo from
absolute darkness.
INT. ENGINE ROOM CUBICLE 42
Parker on the communicator to the bridge.
PARKER
4 panel is totally shot, the
secondary load sharing unit is
out, at least three cells on
12 module are gone.
INT. BRIDGE 43
Ripley listening to Parker.
Dallas standing over her.
No images on any screens.
RIPLEY
Is that it.
PARKER
(voice over)
Couldn't fix it out here anyway.
And we need to reroute a couple
of these ducts. Can't really fix
them without a whole drydock...
DALLAS
What else.
PARKER
(voice over)
We lost a cell. Some fragments
caked up and blew the whole
system. We've got to clean it
all out and repressurize.
BRETT
(voice over)
Right.
RIPLEY
Get started on 4 panel. I'll
be down in five minutes.
She shuts off her voice communicator.
DALLAS
How long before we're functional.
RIPLEY
Fifteen to twenty hours...
DALLAS
Stay on it. What about the
auxiliaries.
RIPLEY
Working on it.
EXT. SHIP - NIGHT 44
Bridge lights come to life.
Illuminate nothing but a patch of featureless ground.
The wind and storm now at a higher pitch.
OUT 45
INT. BRIDGE 46
Dallas, Kane, Lambert, and Ash.
Slouched around the bridge.
Drinking coffee.
Occasionally staring at the opaque screens.
DALLAS
Any response yet.
ASH
Nothing but the same transmission
every thirty-two seconds. All
the other channels are dead.
Pause.
DALLAS
Kick on the floods.
CUT TO:
EXT. SHIP 46-A
A ring of floodlights comes to life.
Dimly illuminating the rocky landscape.
The wind and dust now at a higher pitch.
CUT TO:
INT. BRIDGE - NIGHT 46-B
Dallas stares at the dark screens.
KANE
We can't go anywhere in this.
ASH
Mother says the sun's coming up
in about twenty minutes.
DALLAS
How far from the source of the
transmission.
ASH
Northeast... about 3000 meters.
KANE
Close enough to walk.
DALLAS
Let's run an atmospheric.
Ash punches buttons, starts to consult his panel.
ASH
10 percent agron, 85 precent
nitrogen, 5 percent neon...I'm
working on the trace elements.
DALLAS
Pressure.
ASH
Ten to the fourth dynes per square
centimeter.
KANE
Moisture content.
ASH
None. Zero.
DALLAS
Anything else.
ASH
Rock, lava base. And cold...
well below the centrigrade line.
KANE
I volunteer for the first group
going out.
DALLAS
I hear you. Lambert. You too.
Pause.
LAMBERT
Swell.
DALLAS
One more thing. Let's get out
some weapons.
EXT. SHIP - DAWN 47
Sunrise.
The atmosphere begins to lighten.
Silhouette of the Nostromo becoming dimly visible.
Starship perched on barren rock.
More rolling clouds of dust.
The floodlights automatically shut off.
INT. ENGINE ROOM CUBICLE 48
Parker and Brett laser welding one of the ducts.
Shirts off.
Sweat steaming.
Ripley rewiring one of the panels.
Parker shuts down the laser, inspects the fusion.
PARKER
Hey, Ripley, I got a question.
RIPLEY
Yeah.
PARKER
Do we get to go out on the
expedition or are we stuck here
until everything's fixed.
RIPLEY
You know the answer to that.
BRETT
What about the shares in case
they find anything.
RIPLEY
Don't worry, you'll both get
what's coming to you.
BRETT
I'm not doing any more work unless
we get full shares.
RIPLEY
You're guaranteed by law that
you'll get a share... Now both
of you knock it off and get back
to work.
Parker looks at her.
Snaps on the laser weld.
Starts to join another section of the duct.
BRETT
Right.
INT. MAIN AIR LOCK - DAWN 49
Dallas, Kane and Lambert enter the lock.
All wear gloves, boots, jackets.
Carry laser pistols.
Kane touches a button.
Servo whine.
Then the inner door slides quietly shut.
The trio pull on their helmets.
DALLAS
I'm sending. Do you hear me.
KANE
Receiving.
LAMBERT
Receiving.
DALLAS
All right. Keep away from the
weapons unless I say otherwise.
INT. ASH'S BLISTER - DAWN 50
Ash descends companionway to blister.
Punches up screens and instrumentation.
INT. MAIN AIR LOCK - DAWN 51
DALLAS
Open the hatch.
Another servo whine.
Ponderously, the outer lock hatch slides open.
Clouds of dust and steam swirl before the three crew members.
A mobile gangway slides out the open hatch.
Burnt orange sunlight beyond.
EXT. PLANET - DAWN 52
The trio walk down the gangplank.
Arrive at surface level.
Their feet striking onto a thick layer of lava rock.
The wind at gale force.
DALLAS
Which way.
LAMBERT
Over here.
DALLAS
You lead.
Lambert walks into the storm.
Followed closely by the others.
LAMBERT
Now I can't see a God damn thing.
ASH
(voice over)
Turn on the finder.
DALLAS
It's on...Ash are you receiving.
INT. ASH'S BLISTER - DAWN 53
Ash leaning over his console.
Watches them beneath him.
Corresponding images on the screen in front of him.
ASH
See you. Read you. Good contact
on my board.
DALLAS
(voice over)
Getting you clear and free. Let's
keep the line open.
EXT. PLANET - DAWN 54
The three crew members push their way along.
Like divers at the bottom of a dark sea.
The wind and dust continues driving down in dark sheets.
Lambert repeats.
LAMBERT
Can't see more than three meters
in any direction.
KANE
Quit griping.
LAMBERT
I like griping.
DALLAS
Come on.
They wade on, following Lambert.
She halts abruptly.
Confused.
INT. BLISTER - DAWN 55
Ash watches intently.
Images on each screen of the trio.
LAMBERT
(voice over)
I've got it again.
ASH
Any problems.
DALLAS
(voice over)
Yeah. A lot of dust and wind.
Starting to get some fade on the
beam.
EXT. PLANET - DAWN 56
The trio moves through a dark limbo.
LAMBERT
This way.
Lambert indicates left.
Moves in that direction.
The others follow.
The storm growing.
KANE
It's close.
They approach a towering rock formation.
The transmission stops.
LAMBERT
It's gone again.
KANE
Did we pass it.
DALLAS
Not unless it's underground.
Let's take a break
They shelter with the rock formation.
Storm howls round them.
Dallas adjusts headset.
The signals starts.
DALLAS
I've got it again. Let's go.
LAMBERT
How about our break.
DALLAS
No. Let's more on while we're
got the signal, again.
Dallas gets up.
They stand for a moment...
Then move away from the rock formation.
Fossilized into the other side of the rock is a shape.
Fifteen feet tall.
Unseen by the members of the party.
INT. BLISTER - DAWN 56-A
Ash receiving the video transmission.
Notices something within the formation.
Freezes the image.
Enlarges it.
Enlarges again.
EXT. THE NOSTROMO - SUNRISE 57
Atmosphere turning the color of blood.
Then the sun is up.
EXT. THE NOSTROMO - SUNRISE 58
Brett and Parker still at work.
Ripley moves away from her panel in triumph...
RIPLEY
You ought to be able to handle
the rest.
PARKER
Don't worry.
RIPLEY
If you run into trouble, I'll be
on the bridge.
BRETT
Right.
She leaves.
PARKER
Bitch.
INT. BLISTER - DAY 59
Ash still working on the video image.
Enhances the enlargement.
Transfers the image to cathode ray.
The image reveals itself to be a giant form. Indistinct.
Ripley's voice comes over.
RIPLEY
(voice over)
How's it going.
Ash quickly shuts off the video image.
Hits the intercom.
INT. BRIDGE 60
Ripley at her console.
Looking at Ash on her screen.
Ash's video image not visible to Ripley.
ASH
(voice over)
All right.
RIPLEY
Have you tried putting the
transmission through ECIU.
ASH
(voice over)
Mother hasn't identified it as yet.
It's not a language.
RIPLEY
I'll give it a shot.
ASH
(voice over)
Be my guest.
She pushes some button.
The noise is now heard on her speaker.
EXT. PLANET - DAY
