What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Been listening to Robocop and am curious about the third score now that it's been recently released. Is the DE worth picking up, or should I just stick with the original score and that be that? 

[publicist 4,643]

Brilliantly cheesy late 60's western score by Quincy Jones. Fans of 'The Scalphunters' or 'Sons of Katie Elder', take note:

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

La La Land - Justin Hurwitz

 

Still in my regular rotation, still as brilliant as when I first heard it, and still mostly underrated by the film score enthusiast community.  Hurwitz is an incredibly talented melodicist, an ability sadly lacking in most film composers today.  I really just hope he starts scoring films for directors other than Chazelle, I want to hear him take on other challenges!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

I keep getting confused and wondering when the heck La La Land Records ever released a score called Justin Hurwitz. 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

They also released a film called Damien Chazelle. It was almost the Best Picture Of The Year.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

La La Land - Justin Hurwitz

 

Still in my regular rotation, still as brilliant as when I first heard it, and still mostly underrated by the film score enthusiast community.  Hurwitz is an incredibly talented melodicist, an ability sadly lacking in most film composers today.  I really just hope he starts scoring films for directors other than Chazelle, I want to hear him take on other challenges!

It often seems like the film score community is more interested in "epic tonal highlights" than actual quality melodies.  

[crocodile 7,983]

 Potop (aka The Deluge) by Kazimierz Serocki.

 

 

Karol

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Been feeling Horny today, and eventually put in this one on a whim (it's actually been quite awhile). 
I have yet to hear a score from him that comes anywhere close to this in terms of pure emotional resonance. Yeah, sure, link me your counter-arguments all you wish. I shall not fight, but neither shall I step down from this prehistoric pedestal. 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

ID4

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Godzilla (1998)

[Incanus 5,713]

1 hour ago, Selina Kyle said:

ID4

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Godzilla (1998)

Your daily dose of film music. Throw in some Batman Returns for variety for Danny's sake!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I would have, but it was a busy day. Not enough time for all my adoring composers.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

2 hours ago, Selina Kyle said:

ID4

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Godzilla (1998)

 

55 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Your daily dose of film music. Throw in some Batman Returns for variety for Danny's sake!

Fuck, yeah!

 

54 minutes ago, Selina Kyle said:

I would have, but it was a busy day. Not enough time for all my adoring composers.

 

Enough of your excuses, Sel; we need more Prince!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I'm afraid because I've been listening to Casino Royale a lot lately and the guy who sang the song just died. This keeps happening!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

2 minutes ago, Selina Kyle said:

I'm afraid because I've been listening to Casino Royale

 

That, and THE LOST WORLD! 

[Incanus 5,713]

Medal of Honor: Frontline by Michael Giacchino: Still remains one of the composer's best scores with just right balance between dramatic heft and fun action writing with interesting orchestrations and catchy thematic base.

[Faleel 5,331]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

 

 

THE HUMAN ADVENTURE IS JUST BEGINNING. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

 KING ARTHUR, by Hans Zimmer, as part of Radio 3's Sound Of Cinema. It's so boring, I've just pressed the "mute" button on my remote.

 

 

Hold on. Its Ron Goodwin now, with SIR GAWIAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. Aah, much better 

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

I hadn't played James Horner's Pagemaster in a long time and when I was desperate for extra money, I almost sold off this one. Why do people like this one? I mean, it's good, but Horner could write this stuff in his sleep. 

Before I made any post offering to give my copy away, I gave it another listen.

...Boy, did I feel like a sucker. It had me once the pirate music came in. 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I think it's an awesome score. One of my favorites!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

I think what sets Horner apart from other A-list composers is an utter lack of cynicism. He sounded so sincere when talking about scoring Casper (in a video interview), that it comes off as he pours his soul into every project to at least some degree (some films more than others, obviously). With Goldsmith or Williams, they're just so talented it doesn't usually matter if they particularly care about the movie or not (Goldsmith was especially blunt when he knew a movie he was involved with was a piece of crap), the music will come out great because they're really good at their jobs. With Horner, his music is great more purely because he cares. He comes (both in his interviews and through the work itself) off as having a more idealistic worldview than, say, Goldsmith the lovable curmudgeon. 
I think that's why he was especially happy with a lot of his work being for children's films, and why a lot of that was his best work. Because something like "Land Before Time" would especially bring out earnestness.
For example, for a children's film as ridiculous (not to mention an utter trainwreck in regards to the troubled production) as "We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story", a lot of other composers would understandably roll their eyes if assigned to such a project and just get the job done. But I get the impression that Horner simply saw a goofy, odd little kiddie story about cute dinosaurs on a strange adventure. And he scored it exactly as such (rather than try to make out like he was scoring an epic), contributing a spectacularly catchy, bouncy, playful main theme that's been leaving me in a giddy mood.

I'm probably wrong and Horner was just as endearingly grumpy or world-weary as anyone else. For all I know, he probably wanted to punch the director of "Once Upon a Forest" in the face. Ah well. Either way, this theme's been making me happy. 

 

 

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

18 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

Goldsmith was especially blunt when he knew a movie he was involved with was a piece of crap

 

LOL...I remember reading an interview with Rosenman where he talked about what piece of crap the animated LOTR was, and how his score deserved better. Leonard was certainly not short of ego. And the animated LOTR wasn't that bad (score was pretty good too).

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Goldsmith is the main grumpy composer I'm familar with. Haven't delved into Rosenman yet, beyond "Prophecy".

[publicist 4,643]

23 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

(Goldsmith was especially blunt when he knew a movie he was involved with was a piece of crap)

 

This thesis is refuted by several post-mortem interviews with his agent and others, who commented how Goldsmith always became 100% partisan even when he did irrelevant crap. The only movie he openly badmouthed was 'The Mummy' and that was, by all accounts, more due to the bad working conditions Stephen Sommers put him through.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

I'm curious in that case, did he have a better time with Sommers' "Deep Rising"?

[publicist 4,643]

Obviously. I'm sure he was intellectually able to make out what's a good or bad movie but when you re watching movies like a film composer - it necessitates watching single scenes ten times in a row - it's much easier to forget about the bad framework and getting caught up in individual moments you dream up even when they are not there on the screen (Goldsmith did come up with better movies in his mind because his complete musical arcs made it necessary to fill in the gaps of a lacking picture to arrive at something that wasn't mere patchwork).

 

Bruce Broughton once told a story of how he watched 'Monster Squad' and knew it was goofy but he became very sad at the fate of Dracula in this movie which informed the score (making it probably deeper than it was).

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

I indeed felt a little naive writing that post, but I appreciate you for sharing some truths without shooting me down for my childish enthusiasm. My gushing tends to get obnoxious. I try to hold back and keep it down, but this stuff keeps making me emotional and all that crap.

 

[publicist 4,643]

What, 'We're Back'?

[Bespin 8,475]

Adventure!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

4 hours ago, kaseykockroach said:

I'm probably wrong and Horner was just as endearingly grumpy or world-weary as anyone else.

 

Horner could definitely be brutally honest, but he never came across as "curmudgeonly" to me.  More like saddened.  Like he could be enthusiastic and effusive if Hollywood would just stop beating him down.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Various Disney theme park loops. Tomorrowland (2003), Soarin' (Epcot) and Horizons (EPCOT Center).

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

  JAWS.

O.....M.....G!!!!!

This is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could wax lyrical about JAWS 2, until the the Aberdeen Angus return, and bore JWfan into a coma, while doing it, but I played this on Friday afternoon, and just couldn't wait to hear it again. In 51mins 08secs, JW changed film music, forever (I'm afraid I don't have the 2-cd set, so I had to slum it with the Decca - oh, the humanity! )!

At least I got to hear it in surround sound, for that all-immersive listening experience. I really can't say any more about this. What was once (IMO) an average work, has, overnight, become a bona-fide masterpiece! What took me so long? 

Maybe I'll wake up, tomorrow, and realize all along that KOTCS really is better than everything......but I doubt it.

In the meantime, I'll be paying repeated visits to Amity, and its citizens, via a towering score from, quite simply, the greatest composer alive.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Definitely get the Intrada release whenever you can, though I indeed didn't mind the Decca CD beforehand. 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

Troy - Gabriel Yared

 

My favorite rejected score, I think.

[Incanus 5,713]

1 hour ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

Troy - Gabriel Yared

 

My favorite rejected score, I think.

It certainly translates into a fine tone poem styled album. A bit old fashioned, sure, but oh so very good and I don't I have ever heard Yared quite in this form.

 

On the Beach by Christopher Gordon: Again. A wonderful album despite its often sombre nature. Beautiful stuff. This guy should really be scoring more high profile pictures.

 

Catch Me If You Can by John Williams: Now this is some old fashioned playful jazzy fun, perfect for my morning stroll to work.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

3 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Catch Me If You Can by John Williams: Now this is some old fashioned playful jazzy fun, perfect for my morning stroll to work.

 

Did you snap your fingers?

[Bespin 8,475]

8 hours ago, Incanus said:

Catch Me If You Can by John Williams: Now this is some old fashioned playful jazzy fun, perfect for my morning stroll to work.

 

Call me old fashioned... 

 

No work here. Monday is holiday in Canada. Queen Victoria's birthday in Canada... Patriot's day in Québec!

[publicist 4,643]

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Tomorrowland - Michael Giacchino

 

Two years on, I still can't get enough of this score.  I just love it.  My favorite thing he's ever done, it feels like one of his most personal expressions in film music somehow.  I think he really connected with the material.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Okay...

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

10 hours ago, Stefancos said:

 

Did you snap your fingers?

 

Of course. Every time, and I go "sssh".

[Disco Stu 15,495]

13 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Okay...

 

I know you're not a fan, and even I thought his 2016 was particularly rough (Rogue One still just sounds amateurish to me) but Tomorrowland really is fantastic and I'm still rooting for him despite the recent missteps.

[publicist 4,643]

There's one cue i like which is called 'Pin-Ultimate Experience'. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I mean, yeah, it's fantastic and it's the track everyone singles out, but there's a lot of the score that's just as good IMO.  "What an Eiffel" especially is great.

[Jay 37,281]

41 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

Tomorrowland - Michael Giacchino

 

Two years on, I still can't get enough of this score.  I just love it.  My favorite thing he's ever done, it feels like one of his most personal expressions in film music somehow.  I think he really connected with the material.

 

Once again... I agree with Disco Stu.  I mean, LOST will forever be his masterpiece, but for film work, I think Tomorrowland has passed Super 8 as my favorite now.

[publicist 4,643]

The rest i found as noisy and lacking in compositional discipline as his other (recent) stuff. But hey, one good 5-minute cue is nothing to frown at. 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I still have a preferred fondness for Ratatouille, and love the horror romance of Let Me In, but Tomorrowland is easily up there as well. 

 

Lets not forget Speed Racer!

[publicist 4,643]

Yeah, the rat movie had a balletic lightness he just can't muster anymore.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Tomorrowland isn't exactly worth the 500$ it's going for on Amazon, alas...

[Incanus 5,713]

Memoirs of a Geisha by John Williams: Classy. Very classy indeed.

 

Night Crossing by Jerry Goldsmith: Soaring. Very irresistible rhythms but mostly wonderfully soaring.

 

Star Trek: First Contact by Jerry (and Joel) Goldsmith: A person favourite Trek score. I really dig all the suspense music in this one and of course the hymn theme for the first contact is ace.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

NIGHT CROSSING is an absolute underrated classic!