Alien: Original Motion Picture Score came out in 1979 and achieved critical acclaim, being released commercially in multiple forms during the following decades. The iconic, avant-garde score to the film Alien was composed and arranged by Jerry Goldsmith and is considered by some to be one of his best, most visceral scores. Rather than focusing on themes, Goldsmith creates a bleak and dissonant soundscape that fits the film's dark and intense atmosphere, with only a few "romantic" cues.