Sulaco (spaceship)
Encyclopedia
The U.S.S. Sulaco is a fictional spaceship
and important setting
in the film Aliens
. It also appears briefly in the opening scene of Alien 3, and will appear in the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines
video game that takes place shortly after the events of Alien 3.
The Sulaco is named after a fictional town in Joseph Conrad
's novel Nostromo
(the name of the ship from the original Alien), and a number of other names in the franchise are based on Conrad's work as well.
Some social sciences research into the Alien franchise's symbology has considered it significant that Sulaco in Conrad's Nostromo is the home of the white owners of the silver mine figuring in the book, while the Sulaco in Aliens transports soldiers to investigate unknown troubles at a corporate outpost of Weyland Yutani and to protect the investment - drawing parallels between the 'corporate' owners in Conrad's work and the shadowy business entity forming a central part of the Aliens franchise.
After encountering aliens in the colony, only Ellen Ripley
(Sigourney Weaver
), a colonist named Newt (Carrie Henn), a Marine Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn
), and the android Bishop (Lance Henriksen
) manage to return to the ship. They also accidentally carry along an alien queen, which Ripley ejects into space during the movie's final battle before the survivors enter cryogenic sleep. In Alien 3, a fire aboard the Sulaco leads to the survivors' cryogenic sleep tubes being launched from the ship, with its further fate unknown. The Sulaco will be a setting for the upcoming video game Aliens: Colonial Marines
.
, a principal conceptual designer on Aliens, first designed the Sulaco as a massive sphere, a "heavily armed cargo ship, outfitted to transport material". James Cameron
was not satisfied, as having a spherical model move past the lens would have required variable focus
; he produced a quick sketch of the style of ship he imagined and noted that he was imagining something like a "a forest of antennae enter[ing] the frame, followed by the enormous bulk of the SULACO".
While some claim that the basic shape was based on a submarine, the design has most often been described as a 'gun in space' due to the elongated form resembling the pulse rifles used in the movie - with Syd Mead agreeing that (in addition to Cameron's preferences) this was one of the reasons for the switch from the spherical form. Other film analysts have remarked on how the opening shot of the ship as something sinister and weaponlike presages Ripley's transformation during the movie into a warrior figure, akin to the hardened Marines the Sulaco already carries. The opening shot of the ship travelling through space has also been called 'fetishistic' and 'shark-like', "an image of brutal strength and ingenious efficiency" - while the rigid, mechanic, militarized interior of the Sulaco (designed by Ron Cobb
) is contrasted to the somewhat more organic and friendly interior of the Nostromo in the first movie (also designed by Ron Cobb). Other sources have also noted the homage
the initial scenes pay to the opening tour through the Nostromo in Alien.
Mead has denied rumors in the fan community that actual scientific research had been done into how a futuristic spaceship might work. As an example, he noted that the idea for the early spherical design had nothing to do with creating centrifugal gravity, as such problems were for storyline purposes assumed to have already been solved by science.
's cryo chamber
. Ripley is compared with an incorrupt
Catholic saint
preserved in a glass coffin (akin to Saint Bernadette of Lourdes
, both in her lying in state in the cryotube as well as for her 'incorrupt body' which has twice survived being almost infested with the Alien). Accompanied by the Agnus Dei of the Ordinary Mass
playing in the background of the opening, it is argued that the Sulaco has been transformed "into a holy site where the iconic bodies of a fetishistic religion lie in state" - setting the scene for a lone facehugger attacking its victim (corrupting it) and also causing the emergency system to evacuate the cryotubes into space, to plunge down to Fiorina "Fury" 161 (representing the Fall from Grace).
The upcoming videogame Aliens: Colonial Marines
is to begin by featuring the now-abandoned Sulaco being investigated by a Colonial Marine search-and-rescue team set shortly after the events of Alien 3. The investigating marines find that the ship has been boarded by scavengers and infested by aliens. Gearbox Software
meticulously created the entire spaceship room-by-room.
Scale modelling
The ship has also been built as a scale model
by enthusiasts, toy company Aoshima Bunka Kyozai, and model maker Halcyon, with some more detailed versions also produced by small-series/individual commission modelling companies.
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
and important setting
Setting (fiction)
In fiction, setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may...
in the film Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
. It also appears briefly in the opening scene of Alien 3, and will appear in the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens: Colonial Marines is an upcoming video game in development by Gearbox Software and is to be published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360...
video game that takes place shortly after the events of Alien 3.
Etymology
The Sulaco is named after a fictional town in Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
's novel Nostromo
Nostromo
Nostromo is a 1904 novel by Polish-born British novelist Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana." It was originally published serially in two volumes of T.P.'s Weekly....
(the name of the ship from the original Alien), and a number of other names in the franchise are based on Conrad's work as well.
Some social sciences research into the Alien franchise's symbology has considered it significant that Sulaco in Conrad's Nostromo is the home of the white owners of the silver mine figuring in the book, while the Sulaco in Aliens transports soldiers to investigate unknown troubles at a corporate outpost of Weyland Yutani and to protect the investment - drawing parallels between the 'corporate' owners in Conrad's work and the shadowy business entity forming a central part of the Aliens franchise.
Depiction
The Sulaco is a Conestoga-class starship that transports United States Colonial Marines to investigate the loss of communication with a colony on LV-426 in the Aliens movie. While carrying only a small complement in the movie, and only two dropships, it is noted in other reference material that as a troop carrier, the Sulaco could carry up to 20,000 tons of cargo, with up to eight UD4L Cheyenne dropships and has sufficient life support capabilities for 90 crew and passengers (with up to 2,000 possible in hibernation for short term trips).After encountering aliens in the colony, only Ellen Ripley
Ellen Ripley
Ellen Ripley is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Alien film series played by American actress Sigourney Weaver. The character was heralded as a seminal role for challenging gender roles, particularly in the science fiction genre, and remains Weaver's most famous role to...
(Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
), a colonist named Newt (Carrie Henn), a Marine Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn
Michael Biehn
Michael Connell Biehn is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in James Cameron's science fiction action films The Terminator as Kyle Reese, Aliens as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, and The Abyss as Lt. Coffey. He has also acted in such films as Tombstone, The Rock, and Planet Terror...
), and the android Bishop (Lance Henriksen
Lance Henriksen
Lance James Henriksen is an American actor and artist best known to film and television audiences for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror films such as the Alien film franchise, and on television shows such as Millennium....
) manage to return to the ship. They also accidentally carry along an alien queen, which Ripley ejects into space during the movie's final battle before the survivors enter cryogenic sleep. In Alien 3, a fire aboard the Sulaco leads to the survivors' cryogenic sleep tubes being launched from the ship, with its further fate unknown. The Sulaco will be a setting for the upcoming video game Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens: Colonial Marines is an upcoming video game in development by Gearbox Software and is to be published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360...
.
Production
Syd MeadSyd Mead
Sydney Jay Mead, commonly Syd Mead, is a "visual futurist" and concept artist. He is best known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron...
, a principal conceptual designer on Aliens, first designed the Sulaco as a massive sphere, a "heavily armed cargo ship, outfitted to transport material". James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
was not satisfied, as having a spherical model move past the lens would have required variable focus
Focus (optics)
In geometrical optics, a focus, also called an image point, is the point where light rays originating from a point on the object converge. Although the focus is conceptually a point, physically the focus has a spatial extent, called the blur circle. This non-ideal focusing may be caused by...
; he produced a quick sketch of the style of ship he imagined and noted that he was imagining something like a "a forest of antennae enter[ing] the frame, followed by the enormous bulk of the SULACO".
While some claim that the basic shape was based on a submarine, the design has most often been described as a 'gun in space' due to the elongated form resembling the pulse rifles used in the movie - with Syd Mead agreeing that (in addition to Cameron's preferences) this was one of the reasons for the switch from the spherical form. Other film analysts have remarked on how the opening shot of the ship as something sinister and weaponlike presages Ripley's transformation during the movie into a warrior figure, akin to the hardened Marines the Sulaco already carries. The opening shot of the ship travelling through space has also been called 'fetishistic' and 'shark-like', "an image of brutal strength and ingenious efficiency" - while the rigid, mechanic, militarized interior of the Sulaco (designed by Ron Cobb
Ron Cobb
Ron Cobb is an American cartoonist, artist, writer, film designer, and film director.By the age of 18, with no formal training in graphic illustration, Cobb was working as an animation "inbetweener" artist for Disney Studios in Burbank, California. He progressed to becoming a breakdown artist on...
) is contrasted to the somewhat more organic and friendly interior of the Nostromo in the first movie (also designed by Ron Cobb). Other sources have also noted the homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
the initial scenes pay to the opening tour through the Nostromo in Alien.
Mead has denied rumors in the fan community that actual scientific research had been done into how a futuristic spaceship might work. As an example, he noted that the idea for the early spherical design had nothing to do with creating centrifugal gravity, as such problems were for storyline purposes assumed to have already been solved by science.
Color and lighting
Several movie academics have remarked on the color and lighting symbology in the Alien franchise, which often offsets white, strongly lighted environments (spaceships, corporate offices) against darker, dirtier, 'corrupted' settings (derelict alien ships, abandoned industrial facilities). These black touches contrast, or even attempt to take over, the purity of the white elements. Others have agreed with this interpretation, and pointed to the Sulaco with its "sterilized, white interior" as representing this element in the second film of the franchise."Holy place" symbolism
Academics analyzing the role of the Ripley character in the Aliens franchise have also remarked on the symbolism of the opening scene of Alien 3, set in the SulacoCryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
. Ripley is compared with an incorrupt
Incorruptibility
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness...
Catholic saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
preserved in a glass coffin (akin to Saint Bernadette of Lourdes
Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Marie-Bernarde Soubirous was a miller's daughter born in Lourdes. From 11 February to 16 July 1858, she reported 18 apparitions of "a small young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at that site at Lourdes....
, both in her lying in state in the cryotube as well as for her 'incorrupt body' which has twice survived being almost infested with the Alien). Accompanied by the Agnus Dei of the Ordinary Mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
playing in the background of the opening, it is argued that the Sulaco has been transformed "into a holy site where the iconic bodies of a fetishistic religion lie in state" - setting the scene for a lone facehugger attacking its victim (corrupting it) and also causing the emergency system to evacuate the cryotubes into space, to plunge down to Fiorina "Fury" 161 (representing the Fall from Grace).
Merchandising
Video gamesThe upcoming videogame Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens: Colonial Marines is an upcoming video game in development by Gearbox Software and is to be published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360...
is to begin by featuring the now-abandoned Sulaco being investigated by a Colonial Marine search-and-rescue team set shortly after the events of Alien 3. The investigating marines find that the ship has been boarded by scavengers and infested by aliens. Gearbox Software
Gearbox Software
Gearbox Software, LLC is an American video game development company based in Plano, Texas.-History:Gearbox Software was founded in January 1999 by five members of the content team from the defunct developer Rebel Boat Rocker: Randy Pitchford, Brian Martel, Stephen Bahl, Landon Montgomery, and Rob...
meticulously created the entire spaceship room-by-room.
Scale modelling
The ship has also been built as a scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
by enthusiasts, toy company Aoshima Bunka Kyozai, and model maker Halcyon, with some more detailed versions also produced by small-series/individual commission modelling companies.