{"id":46734,"date":"2024-08-21T14:25:51","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T12:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9f5c220e-f680-43dd-8054-5b3b2f7ce48c"},"modified":"2024-08-21T15:08:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T13:08:34","slug":"the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best\/","title":{"rendered":"The Alien soundtracks ranked worst to best"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 21 August 2024 at 12:25 PM<\/p>

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Benjamin Wallfisch is the latest composer to write music for the\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0film franchise, but how does his new score, for\u00a0Alien: Romulus<\/em>\u00a0compare to the rest of the series? Here\u2019s our ranking of all the\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0film scores\u2026<\/p>

With the release of Fede Alvarez\u2019s\u00a0Alien: Romulus<\/em>, cinema audiences are being thrown back into the terrifying (and occasionally baffling) sci-fi\/horror franchise launched in 1979 by Ridley Scott\u2019s masterpiece,\u00a0Alien<\/em>.<\/p>

The films that followed over the last four decades have certainly varied in success. <\/p>

Some have taken us in bold new directions, while others (Romulus<\/em>\u00a0included) have merely riffed on familiar franchise tropes that were never served up better than in the first two films.<\/p>

Musically,\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0has been something of a moveable feast with no single composer ever scoring more than one of the films.\u00a0<\/p>

Each has been inspired by the sheer horror unleashed by the insatiable Xenomorph \u2013 the nightmare-inducing alien species at the heart of the series, designed by HR Giger, with acid for blood and a hideous mouth-within-a-mouth.<\/p>

Six of the best horror film scores<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Like the films themselves, the music has variously taken listeners to tantalising new places or else been a variation on a theme. <\/p>
But which\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0score is the very best? From the action-packed to the downright disturbing, here\u2019s our ranking\u2026<\/p>
9.\u00a0Alien vs. Predator<\/strong>\u00a0(2004)Music by Harald Kloser<\/h3>
Two of cinema\u2019s most fearsome alien monsters went head-to-head in Antarctica in this cinematic adaptation of what was a nifty comicbook ruse.<\/p>
It probably seemed like a licence to print money for what was 20th Century Fox, and while the box office wasn\u2019t too shabby,\u00a0Alien vs. Predator<\/em>\u00a0didn\u2019t really hit the spot for fans of either franchise.<\/p>
Austrian composer Harald Kloser, who had seemingly come from nowhere in 2004 when he scored Roland Emmerich\u2019s\u00a0The Day After Tomorrow<\/em>, followed that with this robust, anthemic and somewhat forgettable score.<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Trailer: Alien vs. Predator<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-8-nbsp-alien-vs-predator-requiem-nbsp-2007-music-by-brian-tyler\">8.\u00a0Alien vs. Predator: Requiem<\/strong>\u00a0(2007)<br\/>Music by Brian Tyler<\/h3>Given the financial \u2018success\u2019 of\u00a0Alien vs. Predator<\/em>, it was no surprise that a sequel would follow, this time charting the hunting down (again on Earth) of a bizarre Predator-Alien hybrid \u2013 a \u2018Predalien\u2019, if you will. <\/p>Thrills and spills (mainly of a lot of blood) ensue, all to the tune of Brian Tyler, one of Hollywood\u2019s most in-demand composers. <\/p>Tyler is anything but subtle, unleashing orchestral hell for this absurd set-up, but his big-boned, brass and percussion-heavy music is well-polished and brilliantly executed. <\/p>There\u2019s more than a nod to James Horner\u2019s\u00a0Aliens<\/em>\u00a0in the Xenomorph music, too. Well played Mr. Tyler.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/tv-and-film-music\/six-best-sci-fi-movie-soundtracks\">The best sci-fi movie soundtracks of all time<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-7-nbsp-alien-covenant-nbsp-2017-music-by-jed-kurzel\">7.\u00a0Alien: Covenant<\/strong>\u00a0(2017)<br\/>Music by Jed Kurzel<\/h3>This sequel to Ridley Scott\u2019s 2012\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0prequel\u00a0Prometheus<\/em>\u00a0saw the director seemingly at pains to make sure audiences were in no doubt they were watching an\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0movie \u2013 it\u2019s actually in the title for one thing. <\/p>So the Xenomorph looks more familiar and the music, by Australian composer Jed Kurzel, even quotes Jerry Goldsmith\u2019s original theme. <\/p>Beyond that brief moment of musical nostalgia, though, Kurzel crafts an entirely unnerving soundworld \u2013 a concoction of sound design and orchestral elements performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra under Robert Ames. <\/p>It\u2019s more than effective in its eerie scene-setting.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/eleven-best-australian-musicians\">Eleven of the best Australian musicians<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-nbsp-prometheus-nbsp-2012-music-by-marc-streitenfeld-and-harry-gregson-williams\">6.\u00a0Prometheus<\/strong>\u00a0(2012)<br\/>Music by Marc Streitenfeld and Harry Gregson-Williams<\/h3>Original\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0director Ridley Scott returned to the dystopian future he helped create by spinning us this somewhat bewildering origin story.<\/p>Ambitious and rather beautiful, the film gets better with repeated viewing \u2013 particularly once you get over the fact that it\u2019s\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0but not as we know it. <\/p>For the music, Scott returned to German composer Marc Streitenfeld, who had become his regular composer since 2006\u2019s\u00a0A Good Year<\/em>. <\/p>British composer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/interview-film-composer-harry-gregson-williams\">Harry Gregson-Williams<\/strong><\/a> was brought in to supply what became the film\u2019s main theme (\u2018Life\u2019, actually the score\u2019s standout\/memorable musical element). <\/p>Altogether, though, it makes for an engaging score in-film, and ably underlines the wonder and weirdness of it all.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Prometheus - Official Full Trailer 2 - Ridley Scott Alien movie (2012) HD\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yA6OKoW30Pk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Trailer: Prometheus<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-nbsp-alien-romulus-nbsp-2024-music-by-benjamin-wallfisch\">5.\u00a0Alien: Romulus<\/strong>\u00a0(2024)<br\/>Music by Benjamin Wallfisch<\/h3>Given audiences had already seen the past and future of\u00a0Alien<\/em>, director Fede Alvarez had little choice but to plump for a \u2018midquel\u2019 (or is it\u2018interquel\u2019?). <\/p>Yes,\u00a0Alien: Romulus<\/em>\u00a0takes place after 1979\u2019s\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0and before 1986\u2019s\u00a0Aliens<\/em>\u2026 <\/p>Whatever it is, it\u2019s a good excuse to throw some poor unsuspecting space scavengers into a ship with you-know-what on board. <\/p>Rehash? Reboot? Either way, it\u2019s pretty wild and the music is too. <\/p>Benjamin Wallfisch was always destined for great things on the big screen, the British composer now one of Hollywood\u2019s most reliable and inventive musical artists. <\/p>This score serves as a love letter to the franchise\u2019s musical forefathers, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner and Elliot Goldenthal, and even features a nod to Harry Gregson-Williams’s ‘Life’ theme from Prometheus<\/em>. <\/p>Wallfisch creates a thrilling orchestral\/choral\/electronic soundworld, and like any great\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0score there\u2019s just the right balance of beauty and horror.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-nbsp-alien-resurrection-nbsp-1997-music-by-john-frizzell\">4.\u00a0Alien Resurrection<\/strong>\u00a0(1997)<br\/>Music by John Frizzell<\/h3>This fourth film in the franchise is oft-derided, perhaps because the story is just so far removed from the simplicity of\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u2019s \u2018crew stuck on a spaceship with a monster\u2019 trope. <\/p>Yes it\u2019s set 200 years after\u00a0Alien<\/em>; yes, somehow Sigourney Weaver\u2019s \u2018Ripley\u2019 has been spliced with a Xenomorph. <\/p>And yes it is all a bit\u2026 weirdly erotic. But it has its moments, not least of all musically. <\/p>American composer John Frizzell actually made his debut with this massive score, which in its way was ahead of its time. <\/p>Years before sound design passed for underscore, Frizzell crafted this heady, textural piece which brought together huge orchestral forces, choir and electronics. <\/p>His music has a strange sensuality and is full of extended orchestral techniques which serve to blur the lines of what we understand as being music. It\u2019s time this score was celebrated more.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Alien Resurrection (1997) Trailer #1\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/53If-aOy58A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Trailer: Alien Resurrection<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-nbsp-aliens-nbsp-1986-music-by-james-horner\">3.\u00a0Aliens<\/strong>\u00a0(1986)<br\/>Music by James Horner<\/h3>Viewed today, given the impact of Ridley Scott\u2019s\u00a0Alien<\/em>, it seems surprising that it took almost seven years for a sequel to appear. <\/p>The title hinted we were getting more bang for our buck and director James Cameron made sure we did, taking the franchise into far more action-packed territory. <\/p>Sigourney Weaver was back as Ellen Ripley, leading an ensemble cast battling an Alien Queen and her offspring at a decimated terraforming colony on the very planet she first encountered her arch-nemesis. <\/p>Composer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/james-horner-1953-2015\">James Horner<\/strong><\/a> pulled out all the stops (and most of his hair) in delivering what remains a quintessential action score. <\/p>The composer worked until the eleventh hour on the demanding music, which was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. <\/p>Everything about the score for\u00a0Aliens<\/em>\u00a0is big and loud, Horner underlining Cameron\u2019s grungey, militaristic vibe perfectly \u2013 see\/hear \u2018Ripley\u2019s Rescue\u2019 and \u2018Bishop\u2019s Countdown\u2019 for a taste. <\/p>There\u2019s a strange beauty, too, in the more reflective moments, Horner echoing the\u00a0Adagio<\/em>\u00a0from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/aram-khachaturian\">Khachaturian<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0Gayane<\/em>\u00a0ballet music.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/tv-and-film-music\/best-film-scores\">The best film scores of all time<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/the-london-symphony-orchestra-five-famous-conductors\">London Symphony Orchestra: Five famous conductors<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-nbsp-alien-3-nbsp-1992-music-by-elliot-goldenthal\">2.\u00a0Alien3<\/sup><\/strong>\u00a0<\/sup>(1992)<br\/>Music by Elliot Goldenthal<\/h3>The third instalment of the franchise was certainly a troubled production (rewrites, replaced directors\u2026) and its reception upon release was fairly lacklustre \u2013 I mean, how do you follow Ridley Scott and James Cameron? <\/p>David Fincher (in his directoiral debut) had his work cut out for sure, but time has been kinder to\u00a0Alien3<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em>on the whole. <\/p>That said, apart from appearances from some great British character actors, the best thing about the film is surely Elliot Goldenthal\u2019s score. <\/p>Goldenthal cut his teeth in theatre, after studies with none other than Aaron Copland, and while he had dabbled in film music,\u00a0Alien3<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em>was his first major score for the big screen. <\/p>Cerebral, dissonant, bleak and beautiful, Goldenthal\u2019s music drenches the largely mediocre film with broad avant-garde strokes that are deeply felt.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ALIEN 3 Official Trailer (1992) Sigourney Weaver, David Fincher Movie HD\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KUTaNMJJBa8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Trailer: Alien 3<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-nbsp-alien-nbsp-1979-music-by-jerry-goldsmith\">1.\u00a0Alien<\/strong>\u00a0(1979)<br\/>Music by Jerry Goldsmith<\/h3>The film that started it all. <\/p>Little did Ridley Scott know in 1979 that his claustrophobic sci-fi\/horror\/thriller would spawn decades of sequels, prequels and midquels; in fact the film didn\u2019t exactly light up the box office upon release, though it is now hailed as a total masterpiece. <\/p>Veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith took to\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0fairly fresh from an Oscar-win for\u00a0The Omen<\/em>\u00a0and went about scoring this off-world horror with real flair and orchestral inventiveness. <\/p>His music, performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra under Lionel Newman, features a blown Conch shell, serpent and even a didgeridoo, alongside a multitude of eerie brass and echo effects (Goldsmith was a champion of synthesised music in film scoring, though largely left that to one side for this). <\/p>It\u2019s amazing, then, to realise that his inspired work was either edited, moved or dropped completely from the final film. <\/p>His unsettling quasi-romantic main title theme didn\u2019t make the cut, and music from his own 1962 film score for\u00a0Freud<\/em>\u00a0is used here and there, not to mention music by another composer entirely for the film\u2019s finale and end credits (Howard Hanson\u2019s \u2018Romantic\u2019 Symphony No. 2). <\/p>What remains of Goldsmith\u2019s bold and brilliant vision for\u00a0Alien<\/em>\u00a0is still enough to warrant this number one placing, though. Seek out the soundtrack album to hear what could have been.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: The musical world of Alien\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/playlist\/6wMNV6J9JlEYGvmFze5fNe?si=9991eeecef2d4173&utm_source=oembed\"\/><\/div><\/figure>Alien: Romulus in in cinemas now and Benjamin Wallfisch\u2019s score is available to stream from wherever you enjoy your music<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Published: Wednesday, 21 August 2024 at 12:25 PM Benjamin Wallfisch is the latest composer to write music for the\u00a0Alien\u00a0film franchise, but how does his new score, for\u00a0Alien: Romulus\u00a0compare to the rest of the series? Here\u2019s our ranking of all the\u00a0Alien\u00a0film scores\u2026 With the release of Fede Alvarez\u2019s\u00a0Alien: Romulus, cinema audiences are being thrown back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":46735,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best.jpg",1890,1416,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best-768x575.jpg",768,575,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best-1024x767.jpg",800,599,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best-1536x1151.jpg",1536,1151,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-alien-soundtracks-ranked-worst-to-best.jpg",1890,1416,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Wednesday, 21 August 2024 at 12:25 PM Benjamin Wallfisch is the latest composer to write music for the\u00a0Alien\u00a0film franchise, but how does his new score, for\u00a0Alien: Romulus\u00a0compare to the rest of the series? Here\u2019s our ranking of all the\u00a0Alien\u00a0film scores\u2026 With the release of Fede Alvarez\u2019s\u00a0Alien: Romulus, cinema audiences are being thrown back…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/46734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}