And his score was way too lush, more like his Patton score, which was not really what anybody particularly wanted. As David Giler notes, "This is always a trick part because no matter how much of it the composer hums for you or plays on the piano, you don't really hear his score until you are on the recording stage. We should point out that Goldsmith's score was edited and rearranged in post-production. The music only picks up after the alien has been expelled from the ship, booming and dramatic until the alien is finally killed when it fades into a triumphant exclamation of Ripley's defeat of the monster. Instead, the sounds of the mechanisms, the alien's movements, and Ripley's troubled breathing build the suspense for us. Unlike the opening track, the music here builds fear and parallels the sudden violence of the alien's act.įinally, when Ripley battles with the alien alone in the shuttle, there's no music at all. Then there is only silence and metallic clang of the chains as Jonesy watches nearby. When the alien attacks Brett, the score has an unearthly undertone with some discordant strings that rises to a quick, shrill, violent finale to match Brett's death. By the time the crew awakens from hypersleep, the sinister percussion underling the score fades out, and the wind and string instruments build to something lighter, giving the sense of awakening and rejuvenation. The mechanical drones of the sleeping ship join the percussion instruments rumbling in the soundtrack, creating a sense of foreboding, while the flutes stay invitingly inquisitive. In the opening scene, the camera crawls through the Nostromo, the score underling both the mystery and the grandeur. Let's consider some examples of how the music heightens the experience in Alien.
About the only through line in his career is that he writes excellent music to heighten the experience of watching movies. Goldsmith's style has proven as distinct as the types of movies listed above. Ever heard of The Ballad of Cable Hogue? No? Well, Goldsmith composed the music for it, too ( source). He's written the soundtracks for movies as varied as Chinatown, Gladiator, Total Recall, Logan's Run, The Secrets of Nimh and a bunch of the Star Trek films. Alien's score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, and boy this guy can compose.