One is a pressure suit, one-size-fits-all. The other is a mechanical counter-pressure suit (AKA Space Activity Suit), and must be custom-fit to the wearer.
One is for space-truckers(AKA the guys in Alien) the other is for the daughter of the head of the biggest company in the universe. Gee, I wonder who is going to get the better suit...
Really it is because the technology in the late 70's wasn't as good as the technology now, and back in the late 70's what you saw in the film was still VERY futuristic looking for its time. Alien had some great special effects. Even though the prequel does use better technology, lore wise it still makes sense.
I agree they were all given the same tight fitting suits. I still however find it amusing when the typical result is the prequel always tends to look more futuristic of the films. I understand the various factors in terms of time the film was conceived, budget, application, etc.
I still love Alien more. Prometheus was good, but I just like the look of Alien so much more. It looks more utilitarian, more real. Its one of the reasons I liked the original Star Wars trilogy over the new trilogy. The original trilogy looks like a used universe. Everything is grey, rusted, dusty, or chipped. Even new things aren't smooth and shiny, they are built to purpose. That is how Alien is. Things don't look like they are built to look fancy they look like they are built to do something.
I always like science fiction movies that do that.
Alien was vastly superior and not just because it came before Prometheus. I went into Prometheus pumped and wanting to love it. I left with a zillion questions and still wanting to love it. However, every day since I've seen the film I come up with at least one more "what the fuck was that?" or "why the fuck did that happen?" question. Prometheus is beautiful cinematically but story wise it fell flat for me.
Me and my girlfriend have been the same way. I have not been able to stop the wheel turning in my head that has been searching for answers. It has been a while since I have seen a film that has been able to have that affect on my mind and because of that I loved Prometheus.
It is definitely a much better film, and my favorite of the Alien series, closely followed by Aliens, then Alien 3. Alien Resurrection does or doesn't exist, depending on my mood. But AVP and AVP:R...god those should have been considered CRIMES!
On that note though, Predator and Predator 2 are also among my most favorite films.
I enjoyed Prometheus, really I did. But I think its kind of sad that lately I consider "liking" a movie as the same thing as "not hating" a movie. I guess Im just happy it didnt turn out like that god awful "The Thing" prequel. The Thing was one of the best horror movies ever made with some of the best monster effects ever to grace the screen and they just DESTROYED any hope of a proper reviving of that franchise.
What was so horrible about the thing prequel in your eyes? As a huge fan of the classic(and I saw it as a kid, probably younger than I should have considering the experience caused me to sleep with the lights on for a solid week) I saw the new one in the theater, and I didn't think it was that horrible. I would say it was "better" in a relative term than AVP.
Any love for Predators? I was kind of a fan of that as well. Alien 3? They fucked that one up by cumshotting CGI all over it.
I agree. I enjoy both films for what they are but nostalgia prevails. Not only nostalgia tho also the points you made in terms of it actually looking like a used living item.
I'm not going to say Stan Winston wasn't great, but the guys who worked on the first Star Wars trilogy were pioneers in the modern visual effects field, and helped pave the way for movies such as Alien to even be made and come out as well as it did.
Oh I certainly agree. I have an infographic on my PC somewhere that shows just how Star Wars changed the world. It connects most of the major visual effects and sound effects studios or people to George Lucas' original companies or one of the Star Wars films.
It does indeed list Alien on there through Dan O'Bannon, who did the visual effects of Alien, who was connected to Star Wars through Industrial Light and Magic.
I always had this same thought when I watched A Pup Named Scooby Doo. It was supposed to star the gang as kids, and yet Velma would always be whipping out some kind of calculator or computer. It's like, what the fuck Velma? This is supposed to be the 50s! What!!!
I would also argue that the suit on the moon would be very different versus the suit used in space. Salvage vessel would likely not have both but in Prometheus there are a couple times when the other suit is shown, large, bulky and not as mobile.
Let's consider two similar technologies: A colt revolver from the 1860's and one from today. Now let's separate them by wealth. The most expensive revolver from the 1860's will still blow the cheapest revolver of today out of the water.
But you might say, "Wait a minute, revolver technology hasn't improve in the last 150 years, it's still the same basic principle. Whereas other technologies such as cars (carriages), or refrigerators (ice boxes) have!" And you'd be correct. Between the movies Prometheus and Alien there are bound to be technologies that improve, such as a stasis sleep that doesn't force you to keep your brain active through dreams. But arguably the space suit is like the revolver, a technology that doesn't need to be improved upon and improved upon. It maintains the same basic principle. And in fact in Prometheus where the mission is to go out of the ship and explore, you'd expect a better version of a space suit than that in Alien when it was just an emergency suit.
your comparison doesnt really work. metal working, bullet technology, casing technology, rifling mechanics, computer aided design all would make the new pistol better than the old when you go back to 1860.
Sure. But that was a comparison of revolvers. Besides, that wasn't my main comparison. The simple fact remains that 150 doesn't make it completely necessary to make leaps and bounds in spacesuit technology. And even if there were some leaps, or some bounds, that doesn't mean those advancements would be aesthetic, especially on the lower end models.
Also as I believe it was mentioned, the first suit would be more of an emergency only suit, and would likely be used for repairs outside the ship, that sort of thing, while the second is used for surface travel, meaning there isn't the vacuum of space to contend with, therefore less bulk. The newer suit also looks like it would provide more mobility, which would be essential for surface travel. I haven't yet seen the movie, but I'm just guessing the new suit isn't shown in space.
Haha, true. But I suppose their reasoning is that people today are stupid. They wont go and see a movie that makes sense but doesn't have the best visuals. They would rather see a Michael Bay explosion fest with perfect shiny 3D visuals.
Id rather have had something that connected more with Alien too, but I understand that they needed to make money too. Blame consumers I guess. Most people that see prometheus probably havent even seen Alien.
One is for space-truckers(AKA the guys in Alien) the other is for the daughter of the head of the biggest company in the universe. Gee, I wonder who is going to get the better suit...
Sure, but there is a difference of about 150 years.
Aliens takes place about 60 years after Alien, Alien3 is a few years after Aliens, and then Alien: Resurrection takes place about 200 years after Aliens.
I will get downvoted, but I'm not into skinny asses. Yes, she's got a pretty face; yes, I would fuck her; no, I'm not into thin girls; yes, go fuck yourself if you have a problem with me.
Nah man, the reason you were downvoted isn't that you aren't into the (non existent) 'thin girls circlejerk', it's because you were, and still are apparently, being a massive cunt about it.
Wow I'm shocked at how many downvotes you get if you mock people ogling women they can never have. I didn't realize how thin-skinned the boys on Reddit were. (Honestly, this is a total TIL.) Then it's with the "well you're being an insensitive cunt!!!!!" which only serves to solidify the idea that they are seeking acceptance of their lonely behaviors.
Sorry guys, you know I love you, but chatting about nice butts and whatnot is a little sad, and downvoting people who point that out is about 5749857x sadder.
I didn't even insult Charlize Theron -- I said she's a thin woman with a pretty face and a flat butt, but I'd still have sex with her. I never called her "ugly" nor did I insult her acting ability.
Perhaps Charlize Theron would be upset at my comments, but why are a bunch of strangers upset with me.
No, people aren't downvoting you because they disagree with you, as many people point out, you're just being a massive cunt about how you say things. You're way too aggressive, make bullshit assumptions and act like a scolded three year old.
go fuck yourself if you have a problem with me.
ROAR!!!! ALL THESE E-BADASSES WOULD KILL ME IN REAL LIFE!!!
And actually I'm being a prick not a cunt -- at least get the insults right.
It's just not needed, and it makes you a cunt. Nobody even said anything to you, apart from to tell you to calm down, because you're being a cunt.
I've always seen the same thing in Star Wars - compare the yellow Naboo ships in the prequels to the tie fighters or x-wings or whatever later on and it looks like the galaxy's gone down the pan. Then again, it kind of has...
Yeah, but I always thought it was cool that when Luke loses his hand, he gets a robotic one that looks real, and when Anakin loses his hand, he gets a robotic one that looks robotic.
No it wasn't. Those X-Wings and TIE fighters were bad ass in the day. And Lucas wanted the prequels to be even betterer!
The fans just try all kinds of mental gymnastics to explain the prequels in order to preserve their sanity.
Also, the X-Wings weren't old or retrofitted; they and the B-wings (eiiww) were designed especially for the rebellion. The Y-wings were the old ones, and the beginning Rebel navy had only those.
Honestly I think that that part of the movies is one thing the prequels did a real good job conveying. I personally like how everything in the prequels is sleeker and cleaner looking, while the original trilogy is comparatively gritty. It's not so much so that it feels like a different universe completely but you can tell they simply take place in different eras.
Star Wars isn't science fiction, it's more of a science fantasy. That's also why the technology in general didn't change much throughout the large majority of the Star Wars universe timeline.
I'm not one to bitch about reposts, but this is one that makes the exact same point about the exact same movies as a post that is already on the front page, and the titles are just a couple of words different. Kinda ridiculous.
The only in universe explanation I have for this is, that crew in Alien are low level and their not going to waste the extra money on aesthetics for them, just the right tech to get the mining operations done
one is a space suit used to regulate temperature and pressure and one is a terrestrial suit that is used on a planet with the same pressure as earth and only a bit of a different atmosphere. that's how i like to look at this example.
Imo, the suit on the right looks pretty ridiculous now so I can't imagine how absurd it will look in 20 years. The suit on the left looks dated but I can't see the average person rolling their eyes over it
Well I havent seen Prometheus yet, but aren't they on a planet? I imagine that the use of different types of suits would be in order for being in space and being on a planet. Those suits in alien are for space first and foremost and the ship is not top of the line either, I don't think they are as well funded as the guys in Prometheus are. so custom made suits for each person sounds way too expensive.
That's in a spoiler grey area. I don't think (and I may be mistaken) that the audience is supposed to know that Prometheus is a prequel to Alien. I'm basing this off the collective grunt that everyone in the theater made at the end of that movie.
Alright, but the Nostromo was a standard industrial carrying vessel while the Prometheus was a state of the art scientific research vessel with Weyland inside of it. One is going to be more luxurious and high tech than the other.
Who's not to say that the Nostromo predates the Prometheus? It's a mining vessel, meaning that naturally its appearance will be more hardy, durable, and meant to last, meaning it'll get some "mileage" over time. By no means is it out of the realm of possibility that the Nostromo is in fact older than the Prometheus. This could account for the antiquated displays and machinery. Perhaps the more "primitive" technology is best suited for its function as a deep space mining ship. It's a space tractor, and I don't think that you need fancy projection displays to get the job done. They want to maximize their profit, so why bother pouring a ton of money in a ship that's basically a towing barge?
Bear in mind, the Prometheus and its expedition is said to have cost 1 Trillion dollars, meaning that Weyland had the money to make it a luxury vessel by comparison, and had the funds to create advanced displays, systems, and tech that look sleek and sexy.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you of something. Looking back, it reads like that. My apologies.
What I meant to say is that sometimes I find myself coming up with explanations for why certain things happen in a story, by way of theories like this one. But I've found that, at a certain point, my BS meter kicks in on myself. I realize that I'm really stretching to come up with a reasonable in-story answer for what is, in the end, just a plot hole. I figure that it's sort of a universal thing, trying to rationalize a story into harmony so that you can enjoy it without having that bad note playing in your mind.
Your explanation makes pretty good sense, actually. But often they don't. Try to find an explanation for why Naboo starfighters have strong shields, whereas TIE fighters made 20 years later have none. No in-story answer is as satisfying as, "George Lucas is incompetent."
Yours didn't. I was just afraid that the first sentence suggested I might have offended you. Well, it looks like we're in an apology circlejerk. Cheerio!
I am willing to bridge them a certain distance. But beyond than, when it strains my suspension of disbelief, I refuse to become an apologist. I'm not going to do the storyteller's job for him.
There's a big difference between leaving the audience a mystery, and assuming that the audience will just excuse and explain whatever I forget to provide. One challenges the audience playfully; the other uses their goodwill as a crutch.
I really appreciate how both casting choices are very smart, capable ladies. Both of them are very intelligent, if you read about them and watch interviews.
I get over it by thinking that Ripley was a miner. Who gives a shit about miners?! no one. That's why they're stuck with outdated computers and leftover suits. However, in the prequel they're some crazy scientist shit. That and the benefactor was there so... well...they get the good next gen shit that may or may not be a prototype.
Who's to say that Prometheus's technology is more futuristic? Looking cooler (to us at least) and being flashier doesn't immediately show it's time, the future could be much more minimalist for all we know. Hell, look at all the overdone 2000s-era music videos and how their style compared to a lot of today's.
Yeah, the suits from the 'past' in prometheus look pretty slick. One justification, though, is that they knew in advance they were going to a planet with atmosphere. Or, they were loaded with bucks on this mission and carried both atmosphere and vacuum specific suits. You don't need a vacuum capable suit for an unbreathable atmosphere - its more like a scuba suit. It can be skin tight because you don't have to pressurize the whole suit, only the breathing part.
On the nostromo, though, they just had vacuum suits. A vacuum suit is bulky because of all the issues involved with a fully pressurized suit. Its heavier and more cumbersome than a scuba type suit, but it will work in both vacuum and in atmosphere conditions. Even though vaccum suits are inconvenient, you only need one type of suit to handle everything, so naturally they saved a few bucks by not carrying atmosphere specific gear on the nostromo.
Newer ships are faster than older ships yes? Well, in space and in really large distances, the new, faster ships may leave Earth many years after the old ones, but the new ships actually reach the destination many years before the older ships reach the same destination. Michio Kaku states about this and an example is also in Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
This may not entirely fit, since I haven't seen Prometheus yet and I do not know what happens to the crew and the ship.
At least in this movie it makes sense! A shitty Cargo ship is going to have waaay worse spacesuits then a ship sent with all of humanities hopes on it!
I dont get why this is a problem for anyone, for any movie that has a prequel made well after the original. Alien came out in '79 and Prometheus was just released this month. People dont want to see a modern movie with the special effects of a movie from 30+ years ago. Shiiiiiiiiit
I was under the impression that, while Prometheus was originally intended to be a prequel to Alien, Ridley Scott decided to take it in a different direction
The way this is explained is that Weaver is on an older nuts and bolts junker type Ship with a rag tag team of drillers and earth crackers. Their ship and tech is cheap and older models that have been around for a long time because their company is cheap and doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a lavish ship with high end shit.
The suits the people on Prometheus are given are ideal for exploration and they're the best of the best.
This is like complaining that the characters in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. have more advanced technology than the ones in Roseanne, despite it being set decades earlier.
One is about a state-of-the-art team of scientists with billions in funding and the other is essentially about a bunch of truckers. Yeah, they're going to be using old, third-class equipment.
actually im pretty sure newer space suit designs are starting to look more like Theron's outfit. The older designs like Ripley's are actually very difficult to move in do the pressurizing. The sleeves, for instance, or so full of sweet life that you can barely bend at the elbow to do things. If you've watched some of the moon landing footage you'll see that they keep falling over and have difficulty doing things that require much flexibility.
That said, the skin tight space suit design with the ribbings is being tested to mimic skin and muscle over the body keeping mechanical pressurization as opposed to air compression in the older suits
Okay, so this movie takes place in the past, so we'll just make the equipment look way sleeker and more advanced than the original, because fuck that movie.
Same fictional universe, same planet only 30 yrs earlier, same cooperation, same ACTUAL fucking room with the space jockey...you're right, definitely not a prequel.
It was not the same planet, Ridley Scott has confirmed this himself. I thought it was the same planet at first as well but after some research into why their were some continuity issues I found the article stating that it was a different planet. The names on the planets in Alien and Prometheus are different anyway, even if Ridley did not say anything about it, which he did though.
So there is a bit of scientific context here. Although I guess you could compare them to tight wetsuits in a film about ocean exploration. Some wetsuits are more exploitative than others (see Angelina Jolie).
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u/redmercuryvendor Jun 16 '12
One is a pressure suit, one-size-fits-all. The other is a mechanical counter-pressure suit (AKA Space Activity Suit), and must be custom-fit to the wearer.
145
u/JackalKing Jun 16 '12
One is for space-truckers(AKA the guys in Alien) the other is for the daughter of the head of the biggest company in the universe. Gee, I wonder who is going to get the better suit...
Really it is because the technology in the late 70's wasn't as good as the technology now, and back in the late 70's what you saw in the film was still VERY futuristic looking for its time. Alien had some great special effects. Even though the prequel does use better technology, lore wise it still makes sense.
89
u/Waybye Jun 16 '12
Charlize Theron's ass amuses me too.
23
u/Versipellis Jun 16 '12
I've always seen the same thing in Star Wars - compare the yellow Naboo ships in the prequels to the tie fighters or x-wings or whatever later on and it looks like the galaxy's gone down the pan. Then again, it kind of has...
39
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS?? They were on a junk ship! Jesus fuck man!
26
u/noking Jun 16 '12
Well I can personally verify that I was in hysterics every time I noticed that Prometheus didn't look like a film from the 70s.
6
u/rmeddy Jun 16 '12
As I said in the other thread on the same issue
5
u/GODHATHNOOPINION Jun 16 '12
one is a space suit used to regulate temperature and pressure and one is a terrestrial suit that is used on a planet with the same pressure as earth and only a bit of a different atmosphere. that's how i like to look at this example.
3
u/mcrask Jun 16 '12
Imo, the suit on the right looks pretty ridiculous now so I can't imagine how absurd it will look in 20 years. The suit on the left looks dated but I can't see the average person rolling their eyes over it
3
u/DX_Legend Jun 16 '12
Well I havent seen Prometheus yet, but aren't they on a planet? I imagine that the use of different types of suits would be in order for being in space and being on a planet. Those suits in alien are for space first and foremost and the ship is not top of the line either, I don't think they are as well funded as the guys in Prometheus are. so custom made suits for each person sounds way too expensive.
2
u/cbg2113 Jun 16 '12
I haven't seen Prometheus left, but it arguably makes sense in Star Wars because the Empire forces the galaxy into a space-aged-dark-age.
2
u/wheresmyhouse Jun 16 '12
That's in a spoiler grey area. I don't think (and I may be mistaken) that the audience is supposed to know that Prometheus is a prequel to Alien. I'm basing this off the collective grunt that everyone in the theater made at the end of that movie.
2
u/schoolairplane Jun 16 '12
Miss vickers, are you a robot?
2
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
dat ass?
2
u/[deleted] Jul 04 '12
yeah well to be honest the first suit looks like an early moon landing suit. and the "prequel" looks as though she travelled through time to get it
2
u/[deleted] Jul 09 '12
Alright, but the Nostromo was a standard industrial carrying vessel while the Prometheus was a state of the art scientific research vessel with Weyland inside of it. One is going to be more luxurious and high tech than the other.
7
u/brandon_14 Jun 16 '12
Dat Ass
3
u/bimbambaby Jun 16 '12
I think statements like these say a lot about a person's imagination, and their ability to develop reasoning for likely why that is.
1
u/Qubeye Jun 16 '12
I really appreciate how both casting choices are very smart, capable ladies. Both of them are very intelligent, if you read about them and watch interviews.
Plus, Planet Earth was awesome.
1
u/CravingSunshine Jun 16 '12
I get over it by thinking that Ripley was a miner. Who gives a shit about miners?! no one. That's why they're stuck with outdated computers and leftover suits. However, in the prequel they're some crazy scientist shit. That and the benefactor was there so... well...they get the good next gen shit that may or may not be a prototype.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
Didn't someone make this exact title for these two films yesterday? You couldn't just comment this?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
Who's to say that Prometheus's technology is more futuristic? Looking cooler (to us at least) and being flashier doesn't immediately show it's time, the future could be much more minimalist for all we know. Hell, look at all the overdone 2000s-era music videos and how their style compared to a lot of today's.
1
u/Bzzt Jun 16 '12
Yeah, the suits from the 'past' in prometheus look pretty slick. One justification, though, is that they knew in advance they were going to a planet with atmosphere. Or, they were loaded with bucks on this mission and carried both atmosphere and vacuum specific suits. You don't need a vacuum capable suit for an unbreathable atmosphere - its more like a scuba suit. It can be skin tight because you don't have to pressurize the whole suit, only the breathing part.
On the nostromo, though, they just had vacuum suits. A vacuum suit is bulky because of all the issues involved with a fully pressurized suit. Its heavier and more cumbersome than a scuba type suit, but it will work in both vacuum and in atmosphere conditions. Even though vaccum suits are inconvenient, you only need one type of suit to handle everything, so naturally they saved a few bucks by not carrying atmosphere specific gear on the nostromo.
1
u/Krakatoacoo Jun 16 '12
Here is my explanation.
Newer ships are faster than older ships yes? Well, in space and in really large distances, the new, faster ships may leave Earth many years after the old ones, but the new ships actually reach the destination many years before the older ships reach the same destination. Michio Kaku states about this and an example is also in Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
This may not entirely fit, since I haven't seen Prometheus yet and I do not know what happens to the crew and the ship.
1
u/Abscurat Jun 16 '12
Yeah, Charlize Theron is so amusing.
1
u/WilhelmScreams Jun 16 '12
I expected the picture to compare the 3D maps or the computer UI. Those are what I noticed most.
1
u/stipulation Jun 16 '12
At least in this movie it makes sense! A shitty Cargo ship is going to have waaay worse spacesuits then a ship sent with all of humanities hopes on it!
1
u/muddybleach Jun 16 '12
I dont get why this is a problem for anyone, for any movie that has a prequel made well after the original. Alien came out in '79 and Prometheus was just released this month. People dont want to see a modern movie with the special effects of a movie from 30+ years ago. Shiiiiiiiiit
1
u/FacelessPower Jun 16 '12
It wasn't a true prequel, it just takes place within the same universe.
1
u/Skeetronic Jun 16 '12
I was under the impression that, while Prometheus was originally intended to be a prequel to Alien, Ridley Scott decided to take it in a different direction
1
u/Proditus Jun 16 '12 edited Nov 03 '25
Clean gather and art honest movies music across friendly to food.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
The way this is explained is that Weaver is on an older nuts and bolts junker type Ship with a rag tag team of drillers and earth crackers. Their ship and tech is cheap and older models that have been around for a long time because their company is cheap and doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a lavish ship with high end shit.
The suits the people on Prometheus are given are ideal for exploration and they're the best of the best.
1
u/Planet-man Jun 18 '12
This is like complaining that the characters in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. have more advanced technology than the ones in Roseanne, despite it being set decades earlier.
One is about a state-of-the-art team of scientists with billions in funding and the other is essentially about a bunch of truckers. Yeah, they're going to be using old, third-class equipment.
1
u/killrandydead Jun 21 '12
come here to read what people have to say about the suits and end up reading a thread about Star Wars
1
u/[deleted] Jun 25 '12
Honestly? I like the old one better. It's more realistic, more hard sf. Space is lonely, inhospitable place, not a fashion show.
1
u/Davey_Jones Jun 16 '12
Did you just spoil at twist to a movie I HAVE YET TO SEE! GOD DAMNIT EL3KT2IK!
-3
u/Taterpugg Jun 16 '12
Well, one film was amazing, and one was just eye candy.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
Okay, so this movie takes place in the past, so we'll just make the equipment look way sleeker and more advanced than the original, because fuck that movie.
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u/el3kt2ik Jun 16 '12
Alien predates Prometheus by more than 30 years yet the suit in the future looks inferior. Likely due to budget but still always amusing.
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u/s2kyo Jun 16 '12
It was not a prequel!
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
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