# alien nation (film) ![[aliennationposter.jpg|300]] theatrical release poster directed by: graham baker written by: rockne s. o'bannon produced by: gale anne hurd richard kobritz starring: - james caan- mandy patinkin- terence stamp cinematography: adam greenberg edited by: kent beyda music by: curt sobel production companies: 20th century fox american entertainment partners distributed by: 20th century fox release date: - october 7 1988 running time: 91 minutes country: united states language: english budget: $16 million box office: $32.2 million 'alien nation' is a 1988 american science fiction action film written by rockne s. o'bannon and directed by graham baker. the ensemble cast features james caan mandy patinkin and terence stamp. its initial popularity inaugurated the beginning of the alien nation media franchise. the film depicts the assimilation of the "newcomers" an alien race settling in los angeles much to the initial dismay of the local population. the plot integrates the neo-noir and buddy cop film genres with a science fiction theme centering on the relationship between a veteran police investigator (caan) and an extraterrestrial (patinkin) the first newcomer detective. the duo probe a criminal underworld while attempting to solve a homicide. alien nation explores murder discrimination and science fiction the film was a co-production between american entertainment partners and 20th century fox which distributed it theatrically. alien nation was released in the united states on october 7 1988 and grossed over $32 million worldwide becoming a moderate financial success. the film was met with mixed critical reviews before its theatrical release although it has since gained a cult following. the motion picture spawned a short-lived television series five television films a set of comic books and a number of novels all in an attempt to continue the character development surrounding its fictional alien culture **+** james caan as matthew sykes **+** mandy patinkin as sam francisco ("george") **+** terence stamp as william harcourt **+** kevyn major howard as (rudyard) kipling **+** leslie bevis as cassandra **+** peter jason as fedorchuk **+** george jenesky as quint **+** jeff kober as joshua strader **+** roger aaron brown as bill tuggle **+** tony simotes as wiltey **+** michael david simms as human dealer **+** ed krieger as alien dealer **+** tony perez as alterez **+** brian thompson as trent porter **+** frank mccarthy as captain robert b. "bob" warner **+** keone young as winter **+** don hood as moffet > the aliens were not too different from humans and an incorrect lighting or camera angle could give away seams in the makeup > ~ adam greenberg the film received mixed reviews from critics. rotten tomatoes reported that 52% of 33 sampled critics gave the film a positive review with an average score of 5.4 out of 10. the consensus summarizes: "alien nation takes the interesting premise of extraterrestrials living among us and doesn't do enough with it emphasizing a police procedural plotline over the more intriguing sci-fi elements" at metacritic which assigns a weighted average out of 100 to critics' reviews alien nation was given a score of 45 based on 10 reviews // republic of bob