Aliens (soundtrack)
Aliens: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack The score to the 1986 James Cameron film Aliens was composed by James Horner, who took over for Jerry Goldsmith.[4] The score itself includes musical references to Gayane's Adagio from Aram Khachaturian's Gayane ballet suite, which had been used in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The score also uses musical motifs, sound treatments and excerpts from Jerry Goldsmith's original soundtrack to Alien (1979). Additional cues taken from Jerry Goldsmith's Alien score were used in the climax of the film when Horner was unable to finish some cues to Cameron's satisfaction. The film's editors also reportedly altered the score's chronological flow, sometimes looping, truncating or removing the music and placing it in fragmented form in the film out of context. Despite production issues, it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1986. It was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The soundtrack album was released the following year, in 1987.[5]
Aliens: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Soundtrack album by James Horner | ||||
Released | October 25, 1987 | |||
Genre | Soundtrack | |||
Length | 39:57 | |||
Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
Producer | James Horner | |||
Alien soundtrack chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Cover of the Deluxe Edition |
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Filmtracks | (Original) |
Filmtracks | (Deluxe) |
MovieMusicUK | (Deluxe) |
Track listing
Original track listing
- "Main Title" (5:10)
- "Going After Newt" (3:08)
- "Sub-Level 3" (6:11)
- "Ripley's Rescue" (3:13)
- "Atmosphere Station" (3:05)
- "Futile Escape" (8:13)
- "Dark Discovery" (2:00)
- "Bishop's Countdown" (2:47)
- "Resolution and Hyperspace" (6:10)
Deluxe edition track listing
- "Main Title" (5:13)
- "Bad Dreams" (1:22)
- "Dark Discovery/Newt's Horror" (2:07)
- "LV-426" (2:03)
- "Combat Drop" (3:29)
- "The Complex" (1:34)
- "Atmosphere Station" (3:11)
- "Med.Lab." (2:04)
- "Newt" (1:14)
- "Sub-Level 3" (6:36)
- "Ripley's Rescue" (3:19)
- "FaceHuggers" (4:24)
- "Futile Escape" (8:29)
- "Newt is Taken" (2:04)
- "Going After Newt" (3:18)
- "The Queen" (1:45)
- "Bishop's Countdown" (2:50)
- "Queen To Bishop" (2:31)
- "Resolution and Hyperspace" (6:27)
- Bonus Tracks
- "Bad Dreams" (alternate) (1:23)
- "Ripley's Rescue" (percussion only) (3:20)
- "LV-426" (alternate edit – film version) (1:13)
- "Combat Drop" (percussion only) (3:24)
- "Hyperspace" (alternate ending) (2:08)
Credits
- Edited By [Music] – Michael Clifford (2), Robin Clark (3)
- Executive-Producer – Richard Kraft, Tom Null
- Mixed By [Music Scoring Mixer] – Eric Tomlinson
- Orchestra – The London Symphony Orchestra
- Orchestrated By – Greig McRitchie
- Producer, Conductor, Composed By – James Horner
℗ © 1986 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
Uses in other films and trailers
Some of the soundtrack has been used many times in trailers for other films. As of April 2011, there were reportedly 24 different film trailers that used "Bishop's Countdown" alone. Some of those trailers include Misery (1990), Alien 3 (1992), Broken Arrow (1996), Dante's Peak (1997), Lake Placid (1999) and Minority Report (2002).[6][7][8]
Other tracks have been used in other movies, as well, such as the use of "Resolution and Hyperspace" in Die Hard (1988) at the last action sequence in the movie.[9]
References
- Evan Cater. "Aliens [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] - James Horner | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- "Aliens (James Horner)". Filmtracks. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- "ALIENS : JAMES HORNER". Archived from the original on February 3, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
- James Horner – Aliens (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Aliens soundtrack review at Filmtracks.com
- Ambrose Heron (November 13, 2011). "Frequently Used Trailer Cues – FILMdetail". Filmdetail.com. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- "Twitter". Mobile.twitter.com. April 5, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- Rowles, Dustin (September 28, 2011). "Five Soundtrack Scores Commonly Recycled in Another Film's Trailers". Pajiba.com. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- "FSM Online, Vol. 12, No. 7: Score Restore: Aliens and Die Hard". Filmscoremonthly.com. Retrieved April 6, 2017.