Aliens from Space: Little Green Men, and Big ones too
The movies with aliens that most appeal to the cosmic sensibilities of theNeoplatonist. Excluding Star Wars, Star Trek, and superheroes. In alphabetical order, but beginning with that unavoidable number...
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.The aliens are never seen, but that makes them all the more eerie and creepy, especially with THAT music playing.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.Like lots of others, I prefer this to the original, maybe because it relies less on shock value, and develops the character of Ripley much more fully and vividly. Also lots of good alien vs human conflict, and the great Lance Henriksen redeeming the android figure from its treacherous outing in the prequel.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDan O'BannonDre PahichBrian NarelleIn the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong.The most hilarious alien on screen - the mischievous "mascot" that goes scampering all over the ship. A balloon with claws.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh MarloweAn alien lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.Klaatu berada nikto.
- DirectorGavin HoodStarsHarrison FordAsa ButterfieldHailee SteinfeldYoung Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formics, an insectoid alien race who had previously tried to invade Earth and had inflicted heavy losses on humankind.Enter humanity as the real monster...
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsJordana BrewsterClea DuVallLaura HarrisWhen Casey Connor, Herrington High School's newspaper photographer, witnesses the murder of a nurse and sees her alive again, he decides to investigate the bizarre happenings.Never trust a teacher.
- DirectorDean ParisotStarsTim AllenSigourney WeaverAlan RickmanThe alumni cast of a space opera television series have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help. However, they also have to defend both Earth and the alien race from a reptilian warlord.Affectionate send-up of Trekkies.
- DirectorJack SholderStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael NouriClaudia ChristianA cop and an FBI agent race for answers after law abiding people suddenly become violent criminals.Surprisingly effective: should be much more widely known. Any chance to see Kyle MacLachlan in action is fine by me.
- DirectorGene Fowler Jr.StarsTom TryonGloria TalbottPeter BaldwinAliens arrive on Earth to possess the bodies of humans. One of their first victims is a young man, whose new wife soon realizes something is wrong with him.They just don't make 'em like this any more. All the creepier for being in black and white.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsWill SmithBill PullmanJeff GoldblumThe aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry GatesA small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.Both versions merit a paranoid viewing.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsDonald SutherlandBrooke AdamsJeff GoldblumWhen strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.See above.
- DirectorEdward L. CahnStarsMarshall ThompsonShirley PattersonKim SpaldingThe first manned expedition to Mars is invaded by an unknown life form, which stows away on the rescue ship.Pretty much the template for "Alien". Monstrous alien on board spaceship, alien infection of human, creeping through spaceship corridors.... Not bad at all for a 1950s B movie.
- DirectorAndrew StantonStarsTaylor KitschLynn CollinsWillem DafoeTransported to Barsoom, a Civil War vet discovers a barren planet seemingly inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Woola and a princess in desperate need of a savior.Alien civilization (Mars - "Barsoom") as envisaged by Edgar Rice Burroughes. As a younger human, I preferred his Barsoom to his Tarzan visions, and this is a pretty good stab at putting Barsoom on screen.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsKevin SpaceyJeff BridgesMary McCormackPROT is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a faraway planet named K-PAX. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.Heart-melting, heart-breaking.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerCarl WeathersKevin Peter HallA team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsBrian DonlevyJack WarnerRichard WordsworthProfessor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth, but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.The first of the three Quatermass Hammer films, all of them fine specimens of 1950s/60s British science fiction. Stunning performance by Richard Wordsworth as tortured, alien-infected astronaut Victor Carroon.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsBrian DonlevyJohn LongdenSidney JamesProfessor Quatermass, trying to gather support for his Lunar colonisation project, is intrigued by mysterious traces that have been showing up.Quatermass does government/alien paranoia, and very effectively too.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsJames DonaldAndrew KeirBarbara ShelleyA mysterious artifact is unearthed in London, and famous scientist Bernard Quatermass is called in to divine its origins and explain its strange effects on people.Masterpiece. We are the Martians! The best of alien/occult crossovers.
- DirectorJeremy KaganStarsKyle MacLachlanMartin SheenDwight YoakamBeginning at a 30-year reunion for members of a military nuclear bomb unit, flashbacks are presented that follow the attempts of Major Jesse Marcel to discover the truth about strange debris found on a local rancher's field in July of 1947. Told by his superiors that what he has found is nothing more than a downed weather balloon, Marcel maintains his military duty until the weight of the truth, however out of this world it may be, forces him to piece together what really occurred. Adapted from real-life events portrayed in the book _UFO Crash at Roswell_ by Kevin Randle and Donald Schmitt.Pretty accurate re-creation of that seminal event. Great performances.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsCasper Van DienDenise RichardsDina MeyerHumans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
- DirectorChristian NybyHoward HawksStarsKenneth TobeyMargaret SheridanJames ArnessScientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.The black and white original. Still packs a wallop, especially on first viewing.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.The Carpenter version. The special effects conceal a complex mystery with an ambiguous ending.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanJack ArnoldStarsJeff MorrowFaith DomergueRex ReasonAliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.Another golden oldie. Just priceless.
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsScarlett JohanssonJeremy McWilliamsLynsey Taylor MackayA mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.Demands repeated viewings to get its full meaning. A sad movie.
- DirectorJohn KrishStarsJohn NevillePhilip StoneGabriella LicudiMysterious woman marries government scientist Davidson despite his lack of knowledge about her past. His bosses are suspicious of her unusual traits. After it's clear she does love Davidson, the pair come under attack.Super-creepy British gem. Beware the fish-eyed stare.
- DirectorWolf RillaStarsGeorge SandersBarbara ShelleyMartin StephensIn the English village of Midwich, the blonde-haired, glowing-eyed children of uncertain paternity prove to have frightening powers.The original 1960 classic, NOT the recent remake. The children are sort of alien-human hybrids. And the scariest children you'll ever see on screen. Damien from "The Omen", take a back seat.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsGene BarryAnn RobinsonLes TremayneA small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.The 1950's "original", with those glorious Martian war machines. Forget any attempted remakes!