Project Aliens!

[RobertScorpio]

So, I'm watching Project X with my kids, great movie for kids I think, by the way. Its a simple movie about the experiments done on monkeys, very formulaic; but good innocent fun for all..

But i noticed that the music from the movie is pretty much lifted from Aliens, at least the soft violin stuff. I realize that James Horner did both movies, but come on James! You're getting paid good money and your lifting music from your other movies...

Maybe it is okay for him to do that, and he seems to do it many times, but if I were the producer of those movies I would have made sure I was getting what I paid for...

Rob

 

[sojourner]

It's almost his trademark these days. Wanna have some fun? watch TWOK and Krull back to back.

 

[gastrof]

SURELY you're not saying that a Star Trek movie had music that wasn't unique to THAT film only?

Arrrruuuugggghhhh! My Trek fantasy has been grated like cheese!!!!!

 

[Hermiod]

Or watch Battle Beyond the Stars which he seems to have used as a test bed for most of the films he did over the next decade.

 

[Mr. Sin]

Interesting DIE HARD has some unused score from ALIENS. Originally, when Ripley fights the Queen and ejects her, there was a different tune played that was more heroic-sounding, instead of the countdown in the final film. Instead, that heroic tune was used at the end of DIE HARD when Reginald Veljohnson's cop character takes out the bad guy.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Is it a JAMES HORNER thing? Because I can't think of another composure that lifts his stuff to other scores as much as he does..what gives?

Rob

 

[137th Gebirg]

Don't forget Cocoon. The final scene had an almost identical track to the Genesis Countdown, IIRC. He did a pretty good job on Avatar, though. It had some signature Horner measures in it, but certainly not recycled.

Ironically, I've always found his TWOK & TSFS treatments the best two soundtracks of all the movies ever made. I mean, c'mon - when that huge bad-ass fanfare kicked in during the "Stealing the Enterprise" scene in TSFS, who didn't cheer even a little bit inside? You all know what I'm talking about!

 

[RobertScorpio]

I like his material, and yes Khan's music was great. But hearing his recanned music in what are supposed to be 'new movies' just knocks him down a tad.

Yes, you can argue that Superman/Star wars/Raiders have similar music structure but they are not simply lifted from one Williams movie to another.

These dudes get paid a lot of money to make so called "original motion picture sound tracks" to get lazy. I think AVATAR had all new music probably because the tapes containing the music for BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS/Krull/Khan/Aliens was getting worn out...

Rob

 

[Harvey]

Surely the Klingon theme from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock isn't heard over and over again in Aliens?

Horner re-uses his own material all the time. He's also quite notorious for stealing from other, deceased composers. But it's the re-use of his own material that really gets to me. On the other hand, I think I have four score CDs by him, and there's little need to get more. I think they cover just about everything!

 

[OmahaStar]

Is it a JAMES HORNER thing? Because I can't think of another composure that lifts his stuff to other scores as much as he does..what gives?

Rob

Oh, it happens. Go listen to the score for the 1970s animated Lord of the Rings by Leonard Rosenman. Then listen to his score for Star Trek IV. He was recycling long before it was cool to be "green."

As for Horner, he recycles a LOT too. But that's been covered by other posts in this thread.

I know Goldsmith recycled quite a bit, but that was always within the same series ... The Klingon theme used with Worf, for example ... but I don't remember him recycling Trek themes in other movies.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Is it a JAMES HORNER thing? Because I can't think of another composure that lifts his stuff to other scores as much as he does..what gives?

Rob

Oh, it happens. Go listen to the score for the 1970s animated Lord of the Rings by Leonard Rosenman. Then listen to his score for Star Trek IV. He was recycling long before it was cool to be "green."

As for Horner, he recycles a LOT too. But that's been covered by other posts in this thread.

I know Goldsmith recycled quite a bit, but that was always within the same series ... The Klingon theme used with Worf, for example ... but I don't remember him recycling Trek themes in other movies.

Recycling in the same movie series is okay with me. STAR WARS, I think, was the best at doing it...but this shuffling scores between two totally different movies is just, I don't know, wrong, or at least, lazy.

Rob