Alien Nation

Dir. Graham Baker. 1988, 91 mins. 35mm. With James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp. Bedecked in ’80s genre trappings yet motivated by allegory, Alien Nation situates a mismatched buddy cop story within a near-future Los Angeles inundated by 300,000 humanoid extraterrestrials. After his partner is killed by “the newcomers,” avenging (and bigoted) Detective Matthew Sykes (Caan) teams with brainy Sam Francisco (Patinkin), the LAPD’s first newcomer detective, to solve the crime. Evocatively shot throughout L.A., and savvily refracting historical elements of U.S. immigration and racism through the prisms of noir and sci-fi—embodied by Caan’s iconic machismo and Patinkin’s reptilian other-ness—Alien Nation has aged better than most of its Reagan-era, B-movie-with-a-blockbuster-budget peers. It spawned a popular ’90s TV show as well as a reboot currently in development.

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.