I have always considered this score to be over-rated. I am a BIG fan of Horner's more lush, pretty scores (Willow, Legends of the Fall etc.) But for me, Aliens was kind of bland until you get to the ending.
That said, I listened to it again today after not having played it for a few years. Well, I liked it alot more than I remember. Terrific action cues and famous music from the climax make it a pretty decent CD.
Pretty much feel the same way. Thought it was painfully dull when it was released other than the last few cues. Over time Ive come to appreciate the quieter moments a bit more. But it gets played maybe a few times every decade at best. Just not up there with other Horner scores. Wasn't Horner rushed? I thought there was some falling out with Cameron over that score.
The more subdued portions of the score have so much to do with the loss that Ripley endured with what happened between the events of the first movie, and the jump in time to the second where it is revealed that she had a daughter she never saw again.
An overwhelming sense of loss. This theme continues through with her meeting/then bonding with Newt, becoming her "foster" mother. To me it works. The score unfolds, showing hints of what is building for the finale. When it is unleashed, yes, the action scoring is masterpiece.
I too love his more lush action adventure scores... KRULL (my favorite score by him) and WILLOW come to mind first. However, I connected to ALIENS for it's grim and gritty atmosphere and grand finale of pulse-pounding action.
I have always considered this score to be over-rated. I am a BIG fan of Horner's more lush, pretty scores (Willow, Legends of the Fall etc.) But for me, Aliens was kind of bland until you get to the ending.
I feel that way about the score and the film. Honestly, I don't really care for James Horner's work.
Aliens is one of my all-time favorite scores. Have loved it ever since I first saw the movie in the late-80s. Never had the original release, but love Varese's "Deluxe Edition."
We tend to associate the words masterpiece and brilliant with a lot of scores that don't necessarily deserve it (I do it all the time) as there are truly only a handful of scores in the history of film music that deserve those two distinctions. James Horner's score to James Cameron's Aliens is one of them.
Horner's music with the help of Cameron's exceptional visual style made this 1986 film one of the most successful sequels of all time. Horner's score is made up of many different textures to deliver a wide range of emotions by combining dark, atmospheric music with terrifying, militaristic action.
The deluxe edition release is a Godsend and serves up some previously unreleased material that showcases Horner's unique ability to terrify you with his music alone. One cue in particular,"Facehuggers," is four minutes of brilliance combining orchestral stings, eerie synths and percussion to deliver by far one of Horner's most terrifying and original compositions of his career.
Eric Tomlinson's recording is top notch and the London Symphony Orchestra gives Horner a gutsy performance.
Aliens is, IMO, one of Horner's top five scores of all time however some will find this score an extremely difficult and uneasy listen. Personally, I could listen to this album all day and never get bored. It's an absolutely terrific work!
"My mommy always said there were no monsters - no real ones - but there are."
As with Goldsmith's original, the movie didn't do the score any favors. I really enjoyed putting the track together for the Blu-Ray that presented the original intent. Apart from the movie, however, I've never particularly warmed to it and I still feel Horner's Oscar nomination that year should have been for An American Tail.
We tend to associate the words masterpiece and brilliant with a lot of scores that don't necessarily deserve it (I do it all the time) as there are truly only a handful of scores in the history of film music that deserve those two distinctions. James Horner's score to James Cameron's Aliens is one of them.
Horner's music with the help of Cameron's exceptional visual style made this 1986 film one of the most successful sequels of all time. Horner's score is made up of many different textures to deliver a wide range of emotions by combining dark, atmospheric music with terrifying, militaristic action.
The deluxe edition release is a Godsend and serves up some previously unreleased material that showcases Horner's unique ability to terrify you with his music alone. One cue in particular,"Facehuggers," is four minutes of brilliance combining orchestral stings, eerie synths and percussion to deliver by far one of Horner's most terrifying and original compositions of his career.
Eric Tomlinson's recording is top notch and the London Symphony Orchestra gives Horner a gutsy performance.
Aliens is, IMO, one of Horner's top five scores of all time however some will find this score an extremely difficult and uneasy listen. Personally, I could listen to this album all day and never get bored. It's an absolutely terrific work!
"My mommy always said there were no monsters - no real ones - but there are."
-Erik-
Couldn't have said it better, Erik. Fantastic score!
As with Goldsmith's original, the movie didn't do the score any favors. I really enjoyed putting the track together for the Blu-Ray that presented the original intent. Apart from the movie, however, I've never particularly warmed to it and I still feel Horner's Oscar nomination that year should have been for An American Tail.
It's one of the first Varese scores I got and I remember prior watching the finale of the movie over and over on vhs just to hear 'Going after Newt' and 'Bishop's Countdown'. It is horror scoring at its best which can be a turn off for a lot of people.
The score contains a lot of tense and scary music and rarely allows for any breather; Even the quieter and stretched out eerie buildup cues, like 'Sub Level 3' get under your skin. I'm torn on the original album vs deluxe edition debate; the added cues to me are hit and miss, some gems but also some repetitive stuff. I like that they included the percussion only cues though, just for curiosity sake.
I'm a fan of the trumpet in film scores and Horner uses it so beautifully in the quieter parts with the echo'ed trumpet motifs in the atmospheric cues or the thematic quotes in the action material and the muted trumpets motifs for the sense of danger.
As far as tense and hyper scores go, cues like 'Futile Escape' and 'Bishop's Countdown' make this score to me mind blowing! I miss that type of frantic scoring in movies, seems like the mid 80's up to mid 90's was the period for composers to go crazy in action/horror movies (Hellraiser Hellbound, Predator 2, Temple of Doom, Alien 3).
The last score to have a similar sense of frantic suspense/terror to me is Goldsmith's Hollow Man. Nowadays those type of cues either consist of everyone playing the same note or the whole cue being buried in percussion. It's like listening to those last tracks on the Aliens deluxe!
As with Goldsmith's original, the movie didn't do the score any favors. I really enjoyed putting the track together for the Blu-Ray that presented the original intent. Apart from the movie, however, I've never particularly warmed to it and I still feel Horner's Oscar nomination that year should have been for An American Tail.
Mike
Agree with you 100%, Mike (about TAIL as well).
Erik's post above is very well stated and I agree that it's a masterwork of scoring, but it's not something I can listen to on album for long stretches. I much prefer the original Varese album because it sticks mainly to the highlights.
The ALIEN movies have been running on Cinemax all month and I've been catching bits here and there, and seeing the first two films together gives you a greater appreciation for just how much heavy lifting Horner's score does in the sequel. While the soundtrack/score for the original certainly deserves every bit of its revered status, Scott's film is dripping with atmosphere from the word go. What made Goldsmith's work so brilliant was the way it picked around the corners to ratchet up the gothic suspense that was so present in the visuals, editing and sound design. Cameron's movie, meanwhile, is much more workmanlike and as a result Horner's score is more of a focal point for creating the world of the movie. I thought he responded brilliantly, and every time I see it I have to marvel at how he did so much under so much pressure in so little time. Even then, his dramatic instincts were prodigious.
Returning to this score after a few years of not listening to it, I'm surprised how ballsy the action parts really are (the second half of Futile Escape, Ripley's Rescue, Going After Newt, Bishop's Countdown and the first minute of Resolution and Hyperspace). I'm sure Horner tried to do the best he could in the time available or the direction given.
The Deluxe Edition soundtrack was a dream come true. To finally have Facehuggers and the climactic cue when Bishop gets ripped in half was great! This is in my top 3 favs of Li'l Jimmy Horner.
