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| Goldenthal |
Alien 3: (Elliot Goldenthal) The
Alien
franchise had not been kind to the composers assigned to it by the time
a relatively known Elliot Goldenthal came on board in 1992 for the third
installment. Both Ridley Scott and James Cameron had absolutely
mutilated the scores by Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner to such an
extent that there was no prayer that either of them would return to
score Ellen Ripley's final chapter. David Fincher's
Alien 3 had
nowhere near the quality of the first two films, and remains to this day
an unsatisfying sequel (as the fourth film would be as well), not to
mention its inherent tragic ending that the others had not contended
with. Goldenthal wasn't a household name at the time, and his
unconventional score did serve as an important one. First, it
contributed to the launch of avant garde post-modern classical styles in
major film scores, and, of course, it assisted Goldenthal in landing
such assignments as
Demolition Man and
Batman Forever. The
latter score is relevant to the discussion of
Alien 3, because in
both cases Goldenthal was stepping into the third installment of
franchises that would yield four films in the original line. Whereas
Goldenthal made some creative nods to Danny Elfman's work in
Batman
Forever, he would abandon the "time" motif that both Goldsmith and
Horner had utilized in their
Alien scores, as well as all other
thematic material. The resulting experimental approach that Goldenthal
made to this film is definitely a "love it or hate it" event. As he
tends to do, Goldenthal over-intellectualizes the score, inserting a
purely classical, operatic, and religious element into a film that never
called for that kind of elegance, even in its sacrificial finale.
Goldenthal's adagio and related neo-classical ideas for
Alien 3 do, however, ironically offer the most easily listenable
music from the franchise's original trilogy in their rather simplistic
beauty. The horror music in
Alien 3 shows that the composer was
incapable of finding a completely effective middle ground between the
concepts of horror and romanticism. He is constantly at war between the
romantic and the chaotic, and the result is that neither element really
works. Orchestral chaos can indeed be beautiful in execution, but it can
also distract from the film and annoy you on album. Unless you're among
the small group of film music collectors who live and die by
Goldenthal's brilliance in style, and it is truly intelligent enough for
any student of composition marvel at, you're still going to find the
score to border on intolerability. In the film, both the horror and
religious elements fail, with the chasing and stalking cues serving as
obnoxious sound effects (you can literally hear the screeching movements
of fleeing prey and the tapping of an alien's feet on the metal floor in
the music) and the classically religious explosions of near-harmonic
power in "Lento" and "Adagio" seeming equally out of place in a
franchise that had exercised such restraint up to this point. As always,
there are individual moments that are exempt from this criticism. When
Goldenthal drops the electronics for the frenetic high string burst in
the latter half of "The Entrapment," you can't help but feel the
chills that the rest of the ensemble must have felt while sitting in the
room listening to that performance. There are also exceptions on the
album as well. There is no doubt that "Adagio" is one of the most
powerful creations of Goldenthal's career. Whether you find its
over-dramatic style misplaced in the film or not, it's the one moment in
Alien 3 when Goldenthal finally drops the bizarre sound effects
and other dissonance and produces a moment almost as strikingly awkward
on its album as "Silver Screen Kiss" would be in
Demolition
Man.
If you're a fan of Goldenthal's abundant
non-conventional use of orchestral instruments, such as the
pitch-defying whines of the brass, and can actually sit through the
relentless barrage of pounding in the "Wreckage and Rape" cue, then
Alien 3 is indeed a fascinating study. That technique with the
wavering brass, heard throughout several of Goldenthal's scores, is
somewhat of a symbol of the composer's break from the norm, and you can
be assured that if it is a source of annoyance for you, then you'll
probably not appreciate some of the other startling performance aspects
in this recording. It should be mentioned, though, that composer Cliff
Eidelman re-recorded several cues from all three original
Alien
films in 1996 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and among the
more interesting variations was "Lento" from this score, with its
longing theme performed without the wash of the background vocals that
dilute its harmony. Overall, you're going to hear a group of devoted
film score and Goldenthal collectors defend
Alien 3 to the death,
and to their credit, the score is, like many of the composer's efforts,
an interesting listening experience no matter your inclination towards
his style. There is no part of this score that will put you to sleep,
and anyone who can snooze to this score needs mental examination. But
the fact remains that it's possible that Goldenthal's approach towards
the franchise will actually detract from the viewing experience of the
film. Most people won't notice it, of course, though it's highly
probable that the mass majority of you will find the majority of chasing
and killing music in
Alien 3 to be obnoxious experiments in
instrument mutilation. Brilliance in concept doesn't always equal
success. The score remains more effective apart from the film, where
cues like "Adagio" and "Lento" can be separated from their overblown
effect in their scenes and enjoyed for their own religious splendor.
There seem to be endless ways to love or hate this score, and much of
that determination will depend on your opinion of the completely new
style within the film itself.
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| Bias Check: |
For Elliot Goldenthal reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.13
(in 16 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.12
(in 16,027 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
