Commando (1985) - Soundtrack

Jeff Bond's liner note describes James Horner's score for Commando as "exchanging the thematic, leitmotif aspect of his symphonic scores for a style that was as single-minded as John Matrix's pursuit of his daughter..."

The core elements of Horner's score for the film are used to great effect in the film's robust and memorable Main Title. Bond lists those elements as "pulsating electronica riffs, crashing Simmons drums, a growl of no-nonsense orchestral menace from low brass, a calypso-like steel drum tune, an undulating, almost breezy saxophone riff and the exotic sound of Japanese shakuhachi flute."

One thing I feel compelled to note, or point out, is that the score's "no-nonsense brass" and "calypso-like steel drum" textures and flourishes sound very much like the brass and steel drum textures and flourishes Horner composed for 1982's 48hrs. Something not at all surprising considering Horner's well known, and self-admitted, habit of reusing his past compositions. That observation is in no way meant to disparage Horner's superlative work here and elsewhere. It was part of his process and good music is good music, period.

The Main Title also contains a brief and gentle melody, played by the orchestra's string instruments, heard during a montage of scenes showing the loving bond between father and daughter. It only appears here and nowhere else in the movie.

What follows the Main Title is some fifty-plus minutes of gnashing and grinding action cues. "Horner's score becomes the musical equivalent of Schwarzenegger's stone face as the movie progresses," Bond observes in his notes. "It is largely unvarying, but it gains power through sheer repetition, reinforcing Matrix's unstoppable determination."

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) - Soundtrack

Long ago, during the Before Times, I was listening to a Torture Cinema episode of the Skiffy and Fanty Podcast wherein one of the hosts made a snarky comment about James Horner's score for the 1983 science-fiction/fantasy mash-up Krull. This person commented that significant portions of Horner's score for Krull were repurposed sections of his score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

"Wait just a damn minute," I thought so hard that I stopped the podcast and had to start conversing with myself, "Horner's score for Wrath of Khan repurposed sections from his scores for both Battle Beyond the Stars and Wolfen! He repurposed his compositions all the time!"

But great music is great music, repurposed or not, and Horner's robust score for Battle Beyond the Stars is an entertaining blast to listen to.

Aliens (1986) - Soundtrack

Although there had been talk and an intention of doing an Alien 2 as early as late 1979, when it was clear to the producers and distributors that Alien was a bona fide hit, seven years would pass before the long desired sequel managed to get made and released into movie theaters across the globe.

Despite there being both a different director (James Cameron) and composer (James Horner) this time around, it seems that history would repeat itself. As Horner's score would be truncated, rearranged, and even replaced in the final version. According to Nick Redman's detailed liner notes, "no cue, save for the Main and End Titles, are where they should be, and no cue (except for Bishop's Countdown) plays in its entirety as it was written." So it goes.

In an irony that I am sure neither James Horner or Jerry Goldsmith appreciated, two selections from Goldsmith's score for the original Alien were used in Aliens. Sleepy Alien and a snippet from Parker's Death.