Film (movie) Music

[Mirror Image]

Just read some pre-lims on the BR set....good and bad.

Who are you talking to?

[DavidW]

Oh, I'm in! Just because it falls short of the others does not mean it does not deserve repeated viewing.   Plus it is my son's favorite out of the lot.  I am an Empire Strikes Back guy....laser cannons and  Imperial Walkers on an ice planet (Hoth) is about as cool as it gets.  I wonder if the Blu-Ray will sharpen without making everything look wooden or plastic like the last dvd installment that looks like a soundstage on our BR player?  When is it expected out?

Mid-September, not far from my b-day.

Just read some pre-lims on the BR set....good and bad.

No original versions, not even as special features... yeah you're stick with non-anamorphic widescreen sd for the original versions.  Well I'm fine, I've made my peace with the changes.  And I'm glad to not have to wait for blu-ray until after the 3d rereleases in the theater (that would take a long time).  And that is why I don't have Titanic on blu-ray, it won't come out until after the 3d rerelease.

[eyeresist]

I have the 6-CD set of the original Star Wars music, but haven't got around to RotJ yet - so am unsure whether it has the original finale or not.

At the risk of turning this into the Star Wars thread, I like RotJ, although the plot degenerates into a bit of a mess, and the ewoks are tiresome. I'm NOT the greatest fan of Empire, partly because it suffers from middle film syndrome, but mostly because the Degobah scenes irritate and bore me. Tend to skip the middle part, do I.

All I know of the Peter Pan music is the Disney records I grew up with, 7" long players with story on one side and songs on the other. Anyone else remember those?


BTW, I am refusing to buy the Star Wars DVDs/Blurays until the originals are released. I am prepared to wait...

[Rinaldo]

The scene where Darth Vader watches Luke get blasted by lightning from the Emperor and finally has had enough only to throw the Emperor into that shaft was very moving for me.

The whole final duel sort of redeems most of Jedi's shortcomings. And doing some thread duty: the choir that enters when Luke goes into berserk mode is one of the musical (and emotional) highlights of the whole saga.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Empire was so much cooler than rebels. They should've won. Or at least not getting defeated by freaking EWOKS!

[Grazioso]

Empire was so much cooler than rebels. They should've won. Or at least not getting defeated by freaking EWOKS!

"Lord Vader, I'm sorry to report we've been defeated by teddy bears."

[Bogey]

Added two to the collection this weekend:

Loved Powell's How to Train Your Dragon score, so thought I would snap this up from the used bins without haveing heard it, or seen the movie.  A good set of music, but one could tell that is was definitely made specifically for a movie such as this...might have to watch it now.


Also:

Had this on my wish-list.....great theme throughout:

[eyeresist]

[ASIN]B000002OIW[/ASIN]
Bernard Herrmann - CAPE FEAR "adapted, arranged and conducted by Elmer Bernstein"

I guess if anyone had to do this, Bernstein was the guy to pick. It sounds great, but I can't help wishing we could hear Herrmann's original score complete. I think it's one of his best. And why does the last track seem to just suddenly stop?

[ASIN]B000000OTW[/ASIN]
Eliot Goldenthal - Interview with the Vampire.

I like this a lot. Moment by moment it's bloody brilliant, and Goldenthal's frigid textures and classical devices remind me of Schnittke. I just wish the score had the thematic unity that sets the great ones apart from the pack (Cape Fear, for instance). The end result is just too bitty to satisfy.

[schweitzeralan]

I hope I haven't broken the rules by naming three films that use pre-existing music. I suppose that is cheating, a little bit. Sorry. 

[Mirror Image]

What does everybody think about the films scores to The Lord of the Rings written by Howard Shore? Does anyone one the soundtracks? Those deluxe sets look nice as they contain the complete score for each movie.

[Karl Henning]

What does everybody think about the films scores to The Lord of the Rings written by Howard Shore? Does anyone one the soundtracks? Those deluxe sets look nice as they contain the complete score for each movie.

At this point I have only viewed disc 1 of the extended edition of The R. of the K., so consider this a limited sample, if you will.

I think it all works very well as soundtrack. Considering all the buzz, I admit to some disappointment that full half of what I have heard so far is too lazy a nod to either Riverdance or Carmina Burana. Personally, I could not imagine listening to the soundtrack apart from the movie.

[Bogey]

What does everybody think about the films scores to The Lord of the Rings written by Howard Shore? Does anyone one the soundtracks? Those deluxe sets look nice as they contain the complete score for each movie.

Love 'em.  The first is my favorite, but that is probably because I have not given the other two their just listening.

[Bogey]

[ASIN]B000002OIW[/ASIN]
Bernard Herrmann - CAPE FEAR "adapted, arranged and conducted by Elmer Bernstein"

I guess if anyone had to do this, Bernstein was the guy to pick. It sounds great, but I can't help wishing we could hear Herrmann's original score complete. I think it's one of his best. And why does the last track seem to just suddenly stop?

I will dig around a bit....maybe something to do with it being his last score?  Did he even hear it in its complete form?

[Mirror Image]

At this point I have only viewed disc 1 of the extended edition of The R. of the K., so consider this a limited sample, if you will.

I think it all works very well as soundtrack. Considering all the buzz, I admit to some disappointment that full half of what I have heard so far is too lazy a nod to either Riverdance or Carmina Burana. Personally, I could not imagine listening to the soundtrack apart from the movie.

Interesting, thanks for your input, Karl. I read these LOTR soundtracks don't really stand on their own too well, but that's just a few opinions I've read.

[Mirror Image]

Love 'em.  The first is my favorite, but that is probably because I have not given the other two their just listening.

Do you own just the single releases or do you own the extended editions?

[Lisztianwagner]

Some of mine:

Love and Death - Sergei Prokofiev
Immortal Beloved - Ludwig van Beethoven
Mahler - Gustav Mahler
The Great Dictator - Richard Wagner/Johannes Brahms
Amadeus - W.A. Mozart
Scoop - Grieg/Tchaikovsky/J. Strauss

[Bogey]

Do you own just the single releases or do you own the extended editions?

Singles.  Would have bought the extended had I not purchased these first.  Definitely a score where I follow the movie in my mind as it plays out.

[eyeresist]

I will dig around a bit....maybe something to do with it being his last score?  Did he even hear it in its complete form?

Hang your head in shame! You should know that Herrmann's last score was for Taxi Driver. Or were you talking about Bernstein?...

I had 1-CD release of Fellowship of the Ring. I found it benefited in the hearing by boosting the bass. It was good for evoking memories of the movie (not something I particularly desired to do), but not that interesting in its own right. I wish Shore had written the score in something more his own style, instead of this Korngold/Goldsmith pastiche.

[Bogey]

Hang your head in shame! You should know that Herrmann's last score was for Taxi Driver. Or were you talking about Bernstein?...

Sorry....got excited.   Not often you see posts about Herrmann.  My apologies.   As for Bernstein, he wrote after this.  Was his last Far From Heaven (2002), or did he have others?  At least that is the last one I heard.  I knew about it because Elmer received a nomination for this one.  Kind of cool to see one of the older composers in the conversation that year, along with John Williams for Catch Me If You Can....neither won.  Either way, great composers.

[mc ukrneal]

What does everybody think about the films scores to The Lord of the Rings written by Howard Shore? Does anyone one the soundtracks? Those deluxe sets look nice as they contain the complete score for each movie.

I like them, but must admit I rarely listen to them in the order they are listed OR I listen to bits and pieces. If you are not sure, the best thing is probably to watch the movie again with an eye towards the music. If you listen to all three in a row, I think you would tire of the music as it is somewhat repetitive. This is probably why I like to flit around. It may also account for Karl's comments.