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Comment by msane | Hacker News Reader

Another great aspect of the first two Alien movies is that the musical score is very sparse and subtle. Those films don't need to use constant music to tell the viewer what to think or feel or notice, which is an amazing effect on it's own.

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Fun fact about the score to Aliens. There's an iconic song towards the end called Bishop's Countdown.

https://youtu.be/TX1rxPBTyEY?t=1m

It has been recycled over and over again, particularly in trailers. It's like the Wilhelm Scream... once you start looking you'll start noticing it (and its homages) constantly.

https://youtu.be/dZ0dH5qv1mA?t=1m23s

https://youtu.be/-bBay_1dKK8?t=59s

https://youtu.be/jdl6eAIx2K4?t=1m35s

https://youtu.be/67oe0_s9EIw?t=45s

https://youtu.be/1608jthc2VM?t=1m20s

Reminds me of mars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmk5frp6-3Q

I love Mars (worth noting Holst wrote it between 1914 and 1916), it's jaw-dropping to discover all the references that John WiIliams was inspired from for Star Wars' music... https://youtu.be/5pM2SozsyPE

Also, obligatory Venture Bros reference ;) https://youtu.be/K0iTfasIpLc?t=1m34s

The last 35 second of Mars (when I first listened to it a couple years ago) made think that was what the used in a scene at the beginning of the Hitchhiker's Guide movie, final 40 seconds of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1WomfhjyVM

Listening to them side by side they are not really the same at all. I think the Hitchhiker's version is just a comically extended version of it.

If you enjoy this kind of music, you'll like Shostakovitch. His 11th Symphony has this same style of music, and I've always felt like I was watching Aliens while listening to it. The two minutes in the following clip have the same build-up, rhythm, and style as the Bishop's Countdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVL3vtZ-z6g&feature=youtu.be...

Yeah, Shostakovich was brilliant.

The ending of this piece reminds me of the ending of Symphony no 4 - with a quiet delicate bell sound, after starting with a grotesque, whacky march.

(A) start: https://youtu.be/I7U2WzC47sQ?t=246

(B) ending: https://youtu.be/I7U2WzC47sQ?t=3488

How did he go from A to B?

That sounds like part of the OST of one Star Trek movie (Star Trek 8, in fact), and a dozen more movies I saw.

So the Amen Break of epic music

The story about the soundtrack is interesting in itself. Jerry Goldsmith originally composed a score which Scott rejected for being too classical (it had what I believe Goldsmith called a romantic musical theme), and cut major portions of, borrowing an earlier Goldsmith soundtrack is the process (which I believe they had used as a temp track during editing). Goldsmith didn't like it at all. There is also an interview clip on YouTube where he talks about it; the way he speaks of the incident, he is obviously bitter and considers it a terrible (and inexplicable) judgement on Scott's part. The rejected portions of the score (which is available as part of the soundtrack album) are beautiful, but the film score is also obviously superior.

Edit: Here's the interview. https://youtu.be/U8bv0QDLI7M?t=481

I've heard this too and thought it was brilliant. So James Cameron even repeated this and added constraints on the music with the second movie

    James Horner thought he’d have six weeks to write
    the musical score. Instead, he had three weeks,
    and had to write some parts overnight. The movie
    was behind schedule, not even finished being
    filmed (let alone edited) when Horner arrived in
    England. What’s more, the recording studio he’d
    been provided with was outmoded, not equipped to
    handle the synthesizers he wanted to use. Horner
    called the experience a “nightmare,” and ended up
    writing the climactic musical cue overnight.
    Coming away with the impression that a James
    Cameron film was too stressful and rushed, he
    figured he’d never work with the director again.
    And he didn’t ... until Cameron approached him for
    Titanic. (That rushed Aliens score earned Horner
    an Oscar nomination, by the way.)

It seems like there's a Machiavellian lesson there. There's a lot of great "making of" material on Aliens, which shows James Cameron being a genius on other aspects too.

This is quite a common story and one I can relate to. Some of my best work has been done under time pressure, I think in part because you don't have the luxury of second guessing anything.

Some of my worst work has been done in the same conditions though, especially with regard to "technical debt" though I suppose that doesn't apply to the processes in film making as future maintenance is much less of a concern.

I saw that interview and was shocked. For me, as a music major, the soundtrack of this movie was one of the most memorable and effective parts. I can't imagine anything else inspiring quite such a sense of dread and awe.

Goldsmith makes the key point at the end of the interview: film scores are trying to do two things at once (1) do what the film needs and (2) stand alone.

To me, this completely clarifies his conflict with Ridley Scott. The director doesn't care at all about #2. And yes, Scott is right: no one is as close to the film as the director and editor. It's not their job to pad the composer's portfolio, although ironically it seems the composers are rewarded for this "tight coupling" that they strive to avoid.

p.s., I never saw Alien, but I liked the OP and I am a Jerry Goldsmith fan from the Star Trek scores, which I used to love listening to on CD. It seems he was happier with those collaborations because he was allowed to express the "romantic" view that he had of human space exploration.

The best aspect of Alien, Aliens, and the game Alien: Isolation is how they create a realistic (as in, you feel like you're there) environment. Whether it's a silent, scary thriller or an action movie it really makes you believe in the characters. Aliens is probably one of the few non-drama films that made marines have interesting personalities.

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