Search - Elliot Goldenthal :: Alien 3: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The music and the film work with each other extremely well

esca | Sydney | 04/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This soundtrack is one of my earliest collections of film music. The Adagio is certainly my favourite. I was really amazed by how well the music fitted into the film. The ascending 3-note theme (l-t-d') is simple while working extraordinarily well to portrait the tragic ending. When Ripley was diving down to the liquid metal, the baby alien queen burst out from her belly. Music turns to very dissonant at that point but then, looking at Ripley's face, she looked like a mother giving birth to her daugther( She asked Bishop whether she could have children later if she let him to take the alien away from her body). The high string sound suddenly gives me an impression of a mother.......Ripley must wish it would have been a human baby coming out from her body...i guess..........when she disappeared in the fire pool, which meant the destruction of both herself and the alien, the 3-note theme turns to its retrograde form (d'-t-l), resolving to the tonic. Finally, after the climatic resolution, the soft coda leaves the scence in peace."

You either love it or you hate it. . .

Josh | Wyoming | 06/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . .but Elliot Goldenthal's score to Alien 3 is undeniably harsh, frightening, and one of the most unique scores ever to be composed! The action cues still frighten me and chill my bones each time I listen to them, and the calm interludes of soft, flowing melodies are still, in their own special way, chilling and foreboding. If you're a fan of Elliot Goldenthal's music, like me, then buy this score! You won't be left disappointed! Otherwise, make sure you preview this score before you buy it. It's very different, and not a score that everyone will enjoy. But it is one that Goldenthal fans will continue to be scared by forever."

A landmark in the history of soundtracks

Sean Howard | Medford, MA United States | 05/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Um...wow...what do I say? This soundtrack never ceases to amaze me in both its orchestral arrangement and its musical beauty. It is very unsettling, thus very moving. The opening track Agnus Dei (latin for Lamb of God), perfectly sets the mood for the whole movie (and CD); the contrast between the boy soprano and the booming alp-horn is enough to shatter any sense of security or safety in you. Bait and Chase's segmented action (each segment with a new arrangement) conveys a sort of "hurricane's eye" mood. The Beast Within is a simple set of progressions that build to a hesitant climax, ingeniously creating tension and then failing to fully resolve it. The fourth track (done in the tempo of Lento) has two distinct parts, first of the simple quasi-Gregorian chant of "Dona nobis pacem (Grant us peace)" displaying the shallow affair between Ripley and the doctor, then compared and contrasted with a poignant scoring of the funeral accompanied by the birth of the alien (the last minute is enough to make your skin crawl off of you). Candles in the Wind uses muffled horns and muted basses to display an almost unreal seige. Wreckage and Rape... how did he get that voice there in the end? It freaks me completely out. Umm... I'm running out of space. Death Dance is a splendid trade off between arhythmic tremolo strings and pounding synthetic drums, fitting for a frantic chase. The last minute of The Entrapment is one of my favorite string arrangements ever, falling like rain (or like emergency sprinklers in this case). Adagio is beautiful in every sense, climaxing with a glorious crescendo, but then dwindles for about another minute, almost nostalgically, making it sound regretful, mournful and unresolved. Rarely do you hear this much passion and mastery put into a contracted film score, nor do I feel that this mood could ever be emulated. This is a one and only in music business, a must for anyone who can listen with more than their ears."