Saturn 3

Saturn 3 is the orchestral and synthesizer score composed by Elmer Bernstein for the 1981 film of the same title, directed by Stanley Donen and starring Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett and Harvey Keitel. A production plagued by problems from the outset (Donen replaced the film's designer and original director, John Barry—not the composer of the same name—after only a few days filming, due to conflicts between Barry and Douglas) became further hampered when its production company, ITC, drastically lowered its budget as another of their films—Raise the Titanic—went drastically over budget and then sank dismally at the box office. As a result, many of the segments that Bernstein originally viewed and scored were reduced or cut completely, and some of the best and most unique music composed for the film never made it to the final mix.

Composing and editing
Prior to 1981, Elmer Bernstein had only limited experience scoring B-grade sci-fi movies, dating back three decades to the very beginning of his career. (His second and third big-screen scores, respectively, were for Cat-Women of the Moon and Robot Monster, both in 1953. He took them as second-rate jobs while facing a brief period of censure following accusations from Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee.) Saturn 3 would mark his first attempt to return to genre since that time. With the advent of Star Wars in 1977, the demand returned for large orchestral scores accompanying epic motion pictures—particularly science fiction films—and fit well with Bernstein's long experience scoring movies such as The Ten Commandments and The Magnificent Seven.