Product Details

• Actors: James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Kevyn Major Howard, Leslie Bevis
• Directors: Graham Baker
• Writers: Rockne S. O'Bannon
• Producers: Bill Borden, Gale Anne Hurd, Richard Kobritz
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: September 10, 1996
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301300416
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,424 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

They get drunk on sour milk. They have two hearts and bald, spotted heads. They're highly intelligent, but if you drop them in seawater they'll melt into a puddle of goop. They're "Newcomers," and they arrived as refugees in a massive alien slave-ship, quarantined for three years and then reluctantly accepted as citizens of Earth. To some humans--including seasoned Los Angeles cop Matt Sykes (James Caan)--the Newcomers are unwelcome "slags." Sykes's own virulent "speciesism" intensifies when Newcomer thugs kill his partner, but he sees logic in teaming up with Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin), the first Newcomer detective in the LAPD. Francisco's Newcomer knowledge is vital to their investigation of an alien drug ring, and a friendship grows from life-or-death circumstances.

A routine cop thriller with a comedic sci-fi twist, Alien Nation> has two things working in its favor: Caan and Patinkin form a memorable duo, and the basic premise--as conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon (who later developed the film as a TV series)--intelligently accounts for the sociological impact of an alien population. The subtle point is made that humans are extraordinary beings who squander their potential, and the evil of drugs--as dealt by a social-climbing Newcomer played by Terence Stamp--leads to a crisis that threatens to generate global intolerance. These points are well presented in a context of overly familiar plotting and standard-issue sarcasm. It's entertaining for a brisk 90 minutes, but in its attempt to be widely appealing, Alien Nation glosses over issues that might have made it more uniquely provocative. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Clever Variant on a Routine Storyline, April 2, 2001

By 

Stephen M. Kerwick (Wichita, KS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alien Nation (DVD)

Alien nation is so novel and clever that its already over before you realize that it is the same basic buddy cop theme that's been done to death in Hollywood. The "murder to cover up a drug conspiracy in high places" plot is more than a bit familiar, but the writers came up with a fascinating science fiction premise that made the end product entirely worth while. Nothing in the performances apart from the special effects is earth shaking, but the screenwriter did a magnificent job in creating a film that holds the attention and engages the interest. This was a very worthy project and never seemed hackneyed, although there are a lot of similar films that do so almost effortlessly. I recommend it heartily.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars yes -- i really like it but really want the tv series.., December 17, 2004

By 

zoeish "Curiouser and curiouser" (whidbey island, wa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Alien Nation (DVD)

this is a great pilot for the tv series that followed. the tv series allowed each character to grow and change, and their alien-ness to one another to blur as they continued to fight crime.

there were a lot of layers to this series besides the basic sci-fi "stranger in a strange land"-"my how different we are" type of story. The episodes dealt with family, romance, detective work, friendship, and a horrific past endured on the way to planet earth.

It has that blade-runner sort of feel, on the edge of the apocalypse type of city, and a pinch of buckaroo bonzai, cagney and lacey (the team had to prove themselves and break "glass ceilings") mixed up with a dash of starman for good measure.

i really enjoyed the tongue in cheek, the partnership formed, and the overcoming of racism.

...'bring me your huddled masses..." i really really implore the powers that be to bring the tv series to DVD.

Thank you in advance.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good movie, great show, October 13, 2004

By 

Kenneth E. Black (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alien Nation (DVD)

I saw the TV series before I saw the movie. The movie is pretty good, and I'm glad it's out on DVD. The series and subsequent TV-movies were an excellent continuation of the movie, and I'm adding my vote that I hope they make it to DVD too.