Sir Hilary Bray

John Barry's The Living Daylights. Love Ice Chase but the music for after they reach Afghanistan is top notch -Airbase Jailbreak and Hercules Take-Off personal favourites.

Master and Commander, Legends of the Fall and Harry Potter (first). Found them in a charity shop, figured what the heck. Found some gems that way before.

First proper listen of Solo yesterday. To me, Williamsesque if not a score that he would have approved of. The use of 'classic' themes seemed more natural than Rogue One. Reminiscing Therapy wove the themes in brilliantly (though the opening Death Star Theme took me by surprise, I haven't seen the film since the cinema.) I guess in Powell's context it's not the Death Star Theme but rather the-then Imperial theme (pre-Episode IV). But then onto Patriot Games by Horner. I have the original release but what with re-reading the book for the first time in ages and rewatching the film consequently, gave it a few listens. Was faintly nonplussed. It's okay, it's nothing earth-shattering -to my untuned ear, somewhere between his 48hrs/Red Heat scores and the Apollo 13. The early part of Boat Chase -as indeed the odd part elsewhere (The Hit and Attempt on the Royals) that has this ethereal, offworld kind of feel to it. Though Attempt on the Royals feels typical Horner (alongside such tracks as Surprise Attack from Star Trek II and The Ambush from Clear and Present Danger) of building up the tension, hitting us with the 'excitement'/action and then the climb down.

Fall of the Roman Empire, Tiomkin then a couple of Barry's -Man With the Golden Gun and Monte Walsh. Something about the instrumental for 'Good Times are Comin' that is quietly moving. Good film to boot.

Clear and Present Danger, Horner The Hunt for Red October, Poledouris and a little while before, Roy Budd's Who Dares Wins

Finally got my hands on Solo. Not listened to the soundtrack at all since the release, yes it's on YouTube but I always like a CD for Star Wars releases. Anyway, it was cheaper for once in HMV, though according to the receipt I've brought "John Solo: A St..."

It is yes. I've not watched the remake nor likely to. Any film with Shane Rimmer and Buck Rogers' Pamela Hensley isn't entirely bad.

Watched a few in the past month, recent forays include- Rollerball, Air Force One, Bridge of Spies, the '58 Dunkirk and culminating with Das Boot. The lattermost on Blu-ray. Far cry from when I had a VHS of it and the opening shot of the submarine approaching the camera was so murky (like my old Red October VHS) you were nonethewiser really if there was a sub there.

a few Goldsmith's -Escape from Planet of the Apes, First Blood, Air Force One, The Blue Max and The Swarm. Horner- 48 Hours, Star Trek's II and III and Cocoon.

Selected Goldsmith tracks -Generals Suite, Winter March/German Advance, All Glory is Fleeting and Bound for Bastogne from Patton, tracks from First Blood, The Waltons theme and Police Story which I can't get enough of. Yesterday, Elmer Bernstein's Ghostbusters, The Bridge at Remagen and Heavy Metal.

Soon you will be intoxicated by the sheer exuberance of your own velocity.

Red Heat. Silly stupid film but it's fun in a way and I like the score (Russian Streets was one of the first Horner tracks I ever heard thanks to the 2CD Titanic: Best of Horner thing I got for Christmas aeons ago). Also, only just twigged it's got the guy who looks vaguely like a Russian Connery in Hunt for Red October. Sven-Ole Thorsen...and he's Danish. It's like 30C here so I apologise...

As mentioned elsewhere re-read Boys from Brazil, the film and went to the score. Something about that waltzy main theme but also the music for the first reveal of Mengele. Proper 'bad guy' music. But, again in light of finding the book, John Barry's Dances With Wolves. A beautiful score, I found Dunbar's theme quite moving this time round but the favoured track remains The Buffalo Hunt (Film Version) -the way it gradually builds, soars even and that sound when you see Dunbar racing in to the hunt -has an old Western feel from the 50s. You want to see the frontier? Yes sir, before it's gone.

Voted Lincoln, it was either that or Episode VII.

Well, one of the last films I watched prior to Pool of London was The Boys from Brazil. I recently brought a secondhand copy of the book, I've not read it in years but have seen the film a few times and so revisited it. I guess it's largely a weird, hokey film. Cloning Hitler, having the said little Hitler's turn into said Fuhrer by killing the fathers when the boys' are a certain age and so forth. But personally, it's driven by the performances of Peck (tad hammy I suppose but something quite enjoyable about it) and Olivier. And then there's the score. Still, I read that Peck's Mengele got voted villain of the year or was nominated for it. Something weird about that in itself.

Build it, and they will come. -- If it's my Friday off I might be able to come.

Prussian Blue, Philip Kerrthe penultimate Bernie Gunther. There's one more, Beware of Greeks, typical Bernie though by now I was marvelling at Kerr's ability by now to fit Gunther into the fabric of the Third Reich (such is the length of the series and how much was established in the first trio of books). I then google and to my surprise, great surprise, see that Philip Kerr died in March of this year. Great shame.

end of last week watched The Poseidon Adventure. Tend to do so at some point every year and it's almost a guilty pleasure watch (forget the sequel. Waste of time). But on this viewing I marvelled more at Williams' score -chiefly Raising the Christmas Tree and when the survivors first sight the red wheel. The former makes something almost comical as raising a huge Christmas decoration immensely epic. Like climbing Everest. (I reread the book and easy to see why changes were made, they were more survivors in the book -32 and a few other things). Anyway, tradition is that once I watch Poseidon, onto Towering Inferno, or vice versa. Footnote is that this was probably the first Gene Hackman film I watched and though it's probably down his all time favourites, still a role I enjoy him in. Even if there's touches of ham along the way: "Why God? Why this woman!?"

revisited Enemy at the Gates. I think it was the first Horner disc I ever brought (from the old Tower Records, Piccadilly Circus) and for a while it was all the rage in my listening cycle. That being said, this time I had re-listened after Perfect Storm and the two sort of crossed-over in my mind as well as the earlier listen of Titanic this week. However, one part that still works for me is about 6.42 in "Betrayal" that sound when Tania catches sight of Sacha hanging -the music full of angst and horror before segueing into the Russian counterattack against the Germans (I've not seen the movie for a while so probably thinking of a different scene). River Crossing to Stalingrad starts well, resonating with that image of the globe and the seemingly unstoppable tide of the German blitzkrieg. Another highlight the Tractor Factory.

Meteor, Laurence Rosenthal On Her Majesty's Secret Service, John Barry Live and Let Die, George Martin and The Final Option/Who Dares Wins, Roy Budd lattermost makes you want to run around shooting bad guys a la Lewis Collins style

If you guys Stateside are having problems with orders arriving, I guess in Britain we'll get it sometime next year?

“See, that’s your problem, Jason. You were never serious about the craft.”

Been reading a book on Robert F. Kennedy and what with other stuff, sought out selected tracks from Williams' JFK. Something about the theme that just stirs time after time. I find it's one of those scores that to me can become quite separate from the movie it has been done for. Motorcade for example -that gradual build and frantic use of the theme conjuring images of the actual motorcade and the shots ringing out as opposed to Costner's narration/delivery. Or Arlington -hopes lost, dashed. Worthy mention to the JFK Suite that's on YouTube, in Japan I think, conducted by JW himself.

I know what you mean -usually Ron Goodwin's war scores (Battle of Britain, Force 10, Where Eagles Dare) blend in my mend sometimes.

My famous folk are low end of the scale I suppose with one or two exceptions- Walter Koenig, Gene Wilder, George Lazenby, Eric Sykes, Ian McDiarmid (from afar sadly, in Waterstones the other week in London) -indeed, seen a few in passing but never said anything to -Richard E. Grant, Leslie Phillips and a bunch from the Beeb as my campus was on top of Broadcasting House virtually.