Ellen Ripley has been in stasis for 57 years aboard an escape shuttle after destroying her ship, the Nostromo, to escape an alien creature that slaughtered the rest of the crew. … See more

Development of the special effects for Aliens began in May 1985, with John Richardson supervising a 40-person team at Stan Winston Studio. L.A. Effects Group created miniatures and optical effects. Cameron lacked contacts at the more established special … See more

Critical response
Aliens opened to generally positive reviews. It appeared on the cover of the July 28, 1986, edition of See more

• Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley: the survivor of an alien attack on her ship, the Nostromo
• Michael Biehn as Dwayne Hicks: a corporal in the … See more

Early development
The success of Alien (1979) led to immediate discussions of a sequel, but the production company Brandywine Productions struggled … See more

Context
The 1986 summer film season began in mid-May. The season had been starting earlier each year as studios attempted to beat each other with … See more

Home media
Aliens was released on VHS in February 1987. A modified cut, including scenes deleted from the … See more