Joni Wiljami 1,206 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Cool. For me it's going to take a little bit longer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 My copy arrived in today's mail! Watching the film now! Amer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amer 2,080 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Great, let us know if there is more music other than whats on the cd. I hope their commentary will have any *interesting discussion* on the score!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Mark 3,626 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 I remember the film was so boring I stopped watching it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 6 hours ago, azahid said: Great, let us know if there is more music other than whats on the cd. I hope their commentary will have any *interesting discussion* on the score!! I've already said repeatedly in this thread that there is music in the isolated music track that was not on the OST. I'm listening to the commentary track now! Amer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 Oh, do let us know please about the quality. I assume you don't have the capability to take screenshots, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amer 2,080 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 3 hours ago, Jay said: I've already said repeatedly in this thread that there is music in the isolated music track that was not on the OST. I'm listening to the commentary track now! No. I didn't see it, But good to know you found *interesting discussion* on the commentary time to celebrate 2017! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 The video quality is absolutely nothing to write home about. In fact, the entire time, I never once felt like I was watching a blu ray at all; It looked just like I was watching a DVD. Very disappointed about that. During the commentary track, they mentioned Williams three times (plus maybe another short comment or two here or there). The first is about halfway through the film, when Nick Redman states that its one of his favorite Williams scores, and how its not a very long score but its incredibly effective. He praises the opening cue in particular, and goes on to discuss how John Williams is one of the rare composers that - like Henry Mancini - became a household name, because he was the Boston Pops conductor and on TV all the time in that role throughout all of the 80s (on top of all the hugely popular themes he wrote for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, and ET). He then praises his work in the 60s as an "arranger", and how that led to him being so perfectly suited to score small dramas like this with a small ensemble with string backing. The second time is when they are discussing the films or Martin Ritt, and he mentions that they put out Conrack that was also scored by John Williams, and was another film that involves illiteracy (Something I'm sure Thor has pointed out somewhere) The 3rd is at the very end of the film. They discuss how most composers would think that for a scene of two people talking, you wouldn't write a busy cue because it would distract from what they are saying, and Nick gives a funny example of how Dimitri Tiomkin wasn't one of his favorite composers because he would write a symphony for two people in a kitchen discussing marshmallows He then says that John Williams' cue for this final scene is the best cue in the whole movie because the score had been properly subdued throughout but how gets very busy in the final scene; They were expressing their dissatisfaction with the final scene in the film and speculate that John Williams' thinking was basically "well, the film has gotten so nuts here, I'll sum it all up with a wild cue" He calls it one of WIlliams "great, great cues" and says how Williams brings the whole score and all his thematic ideas together in one cue. When the credits start they again praise John Williams and Nick announces that a Varese Deluxe Edition of the score is coming and praise it, as well as the isolated music track, both overseen by Mike Matessino. Overall, the commentary track was nice enough, they actually pointed out all the same things in the film that I had problems with. Now I'm off to listen to the isolated score track for the first time! I'll try to take some notes about what bits are released vs unreleased. Oh I forgot to mention too, I did notice the source music when watching the film last night. There was a high school band piece, an existing classical piece, and a few other small things. Nothing to write home about. Smeltington 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 1 hour ago, Jay said: The video quality is absolutely nothing to write home about. In fact, the entire time, I never once felt like I was watching a blu ray at all; It looked just like I was watching a DVD. Very disappointed about that. I was wondering though what's your idea of a good Bluray. Because many people think that if a film has grain it's not good and should look like a computer Pixar animation film instead. I don't suppose you belong to those people, do you? well, if it looks at least as this: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/At-Close-Range-Blu-ray/102884/ I will be content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Well, its clearly a scan of a film print, because there is not only grain, but also the occasional defect and scratch, etc. I don't think Twilight Time is the kind of company that uses DNR software right? That's a big corporation thing, who think people will complain if the action movie dojour doesn't look amazing on their flatscren TV. This is a film preservation company for a niche market. Anyways, its not a very visual film regardless, so it doesn't really matter much - it looks FINE, its just not very eye popping. I'm about 30 minutes in the iso score now and there's only been 7 minutes of Williams score (OST tracks 1 and 3, and a 1 minute long unreleased cue) and 6 minutes of Joe Williams source music (one is rock, one is saxophone-led soft rock). Both times for the source music, Matessino played the entire recording instead of the film edit, meaning the music goes beyond the scene it plays in the film, which is perfect since we now have a complete recording of the Joe Williams pieces! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Oh, here's that first unreleased cue, on youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Alright folks! According to my crude analysis (IE, playing the iso track on the blu in my living room while I glanced at the BD Player's display when a cue started and stopped), the amount of music in the isolated music track is 52:37. This doesn't count studio chatter, which is heard before or after many of the cues! 41:51 of that is score, and 10:46 is source music. Out of the score cuts, 13:35 are cues that weren't on the OST! So I guess the DE will be about 41-42 minutes. That should have been how long the original OST was, they should have just included the entire score the first time around! The unreleased cues are all very much cut from the same cloth as the released ones; There's no wild surprises here. If you like the 28 minutes released, you'll like the 14 minutes unreleased just as much! Here is what I named them (I have no clue what any of the actual titles are) and how long they are Fortune Cookies (1:08) Reading Lessons Begin (1:07) Reading Lessons Continue (1:26) The Park (2:20) The Map Test (2:03) Another Reading Lesson (0:44) Two Grown Up People (3:06) The Proposal (1:41) I also found that some of the OST names are weird and don't actually reflect the scene it scores, like "Looking After Papa" is actually primarily the montage from after he dies, "Finding a Family" is for some scenes with just Stanley and Iris, "Factory Work" is a cue from late in the film that begins when Kelly's baby is born and only has a small bit in the middle at the factory (the rest is her coming home to find Stanley cooking dinner for her family), and "Reading Lessons" is actually also from late in the film and is the cue for when the new family has dinner together, only a small bit of reading lessons, and then the scene where Iris notices how tattered Stanley's jacket is and gets out her husband's jacket for him to try on. So the actual complete score would be something like (unreleased cues in bold) 01 OST 01 Stanley And Iris (3:24) 02 OST 03 The Bicycle (3:07) 03 Fortune Cookies (1:08) 04 OST 06 Stanley At Work (1:31) 05 OST 07 Looking After Papa (3:10) 06 Reading Lessons Begin (1:07) 07 OST 09 Night Visit (1:58)08 Reading Lessons Continue (1:26)09 The Park (2:20) 10 OST 05 Finding A Family (1:41) 11 The Map Test (2:03) 12 OST 08 Stanley's Invention (1:17) 13 Another Reading Lesson (0:44) 14 OST 04 Factory Work (1:23) 15 OST 02 Reading Lessons (2:26) 16 Two Grown Up People (3:06) 17 OST 11 Putting It All Together (1:46) 18 OST 10 Letters (3:25) 19 The Proposal (1:41) 20 OST 12 End Credits (3:03) It's very odd to me that he didn't consider "The Proposal" to be OST-worthy, nor "Two Grown Up People" since its one of the longest cues in the score! The source music in the film is: Rock music by Joe Williams in an early laundromat scene; 2:43 in the iso track and only actually heard in the final film when the door to the laundomat opens (so maybe 4 seconds worth of the cue plays twice)! Saxophone-led soft rock by Joe Williams in an early bar scene; 2:57 in the iso track and just under 2 minutes in the film itself. High School band music in the scene in the park running 0:43 in both iso score and final film; Not written by Williams (but I assume newly recorded and conducted by him) Piano / Violin / Cello trio piece heard in the lobby of the Boston hotel, I'm told a Haydn composition. Plays for a full 1:33 in the iso track, only ~30 seconds in the film itself. "Deck The Halls" instrumental at the airport - this was really nice! (1:27 in the iso track, about a minute in the film) "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" instrumental at the airport (0:31 in iso track and film) "Hark The Herald Angel Sings" instrumental at the airport (0:52 in iso track and film) Those last three seem to me to be arranged by either Williams or one of his usual orchestra tors and conducted by Williams at the main scoring sessions. For whatever reason I love instrumental Christmas music that appears on film score releases and I will be very happy to add these to my collection, I thought they all sounded super nice! Might sound weird to others but its kind of a gem of the release for me, and something that NEVER would have happened without Twilight Time hiring Mike to do this isolated track so that's really cool! Having listened to the score twice now (once in the film and once on the iso track) I really can't wait to get the Varese DE. It's a really lovely score! And I'm very glad to have the BD to add the Christmas carols to my collection Naïve Old Fart and 1977 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Thank for this first breakdown of the score. So, does that mean that the OST tracks don't contain any concert versions, or 2 or more cues edited together in one track? Also, I see no comment whatsoever on the film! Did you like it? Well, since it's more of a women's film (not to sound sexist or anything), I assume your wife would like it more than you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Skywalker 1,793 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Jay, you are assuming that the source music wont be included on the varese release...if it was conducted by williams for the film...i think it should be included, and also the Joe Williams songs too, but maybe like with AI williams interferes with it. I really hope that being so short a score they may want to beef up the CD including all the source music as bonus tracks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1977 1,743 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Thanks so much Jay for the detailed analysis! I'm so looking forward to the Varese DE now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 7 hours ago, filmmusic said: Thank for this first breakdown of the score. So, does that mean that the OST tracks don't contain any concert versions, or 2 or more cues edited together in one track? Correct. I suppose his main and end title cues are basically the concert arrangement for this score. Quote Also, I see no comment whatsoever on the film! I've begun writing thoughts for the Last Film You Watched thread, but haven't posted them yet. Quote Did you like it? Yes and no. It's nice, but heavily flawed. Quote Well, since it's more of a women's film (not to sound sexist or anything), I assume your wife would like it more than you? She was actually not feeling well and went to bed early the night it arrived, so I watched it alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Out of curiosity, am I the only person on this board who purchased and has received this blu ray? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 On 1/21/2017 at 3:48 AM, filmmusic said: Also, I see no comment whatsoever on the film! Did you like it? @filmmusic, I finally posted my thoughts on the film itself here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joni Wiljami 1,206 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 2 hours ago, Jay said: Out of curiosity, am I the only person on this board who purchased and has received this blu ray? I received it (and Conrack) last week but haven't watched(or listened to) it yet, been too busy... edit: I read your thoughts and I think I don't need to see this film I will only listen to that isolated score... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,477 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 I'm going to stick to my ol' digital files of John Williams movies (except a handful or two that I have on DVD) untill I get the dough to go bananas with BR purchases, including STANLEY & IRIS. Might be a few years. I'll live vicariously through you guys, as you receive the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,506 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 2 hours ago, Jay said: Out of curiosity, am I the only person on this board who purchased and has received this blu ray? I would buy it, but I don't believe that it's available in the UK. It's not on the Amazon site, nor does my local HMV stock it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 28 minutes ago, hornist said: I read your thoughts and I think I don't need to see this film I mean, its worth seeing once to put the score into context (so you know what characters and situations the music represents). Plus, you may like the film more than me, you never know. 2 minutes ago, Richard said: I would buy it, but I don't believe that it's available in the UK. It's not on the Amazon site, nor does my local HMV stock it. Twilight Time exclusives sells their products via online purchase. Richard, its 2017, it is safe to purchase things online and have them mailed to your house! https://www.twilighttimemovies.com/stanley-and-iris-blu-ray/ http://www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm/ID/32374/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,506 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Thanks, Jay, I'll consider it. It's just that I still have an inate distrust of the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joni Wiljami 1,206 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Of course I will watch it, my expectations were not very high before I read your comments... actually l may have seen this on crappy VHS in the 90's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thx99 1,740 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 19 minutes ago, Richard said: Thanks, Jay, I'll consider it. It's just that I still have an inate distrust of the internet. You could probably place an order with Screen Archives over the telephone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,506 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thx99 1,740 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 5 hours ago, Jay said: Out of curiosity, am I the only person on this board who purchased and has received this blu ray? I'll have mine, and Conrack, in hand on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 In case anyone is interested, this is currently (until March 31st) at $24.95 at SAE and also: USE CODE SHIPPING10 AT CHECKOUT TO SAVE 10% ON SHIPPING Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Damn! BTW @filmmusic you might have missed this: On 2/1/2017 at 4:06 PM, Jay said: @filmmusic, I finally posted my thoughts on the film itself here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 yes, thanks. I had seen it but i think I couldn't reply because I had a problem and couldn't write. In some points I may agree, but I didn't think it too much when I was watching it. I was just enjoying a simple little movie with a gorgeous score.. (the same way I enjoyed Accidental Tourist - hope this comes on bluray too). On the whole, I like the movie though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 The score is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 So again I ask: Am I the only person on this entire forum that bought this blu ray and have listened to the isolated score track? I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on the score track! It contains a bunch of music you can't hear on the OST of course, but also a bunch of music you can't even hear in the film since Mike M was good enough to include the complete versions of source cues that were only partially heard in the film, and longer versions of score cues that had portions dialed out. The Christmas source music in the iso track is fantastic, among my favorite Christmas music as part of a film score there is! I'd love to hear more thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thx99 1,740 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Bought it and have listened to the iso score. Agree on the Christmas suite, @Jay. Overall, I think hearing the score chronologically makes for a better listen, as Williams somewhat holds back until the latter cues, which results in a cathartic release. Can't help but giggle at the touches of The Witches of Eastwick that creep into cues like "The Bicycle", though. The unreleased bits are certainly nice to have (and have again with the Varese CD), but I skip over the pop source cues. Listening to this score takes me back to the relative early days of my Williams collecting, and I think this was the first score of his that I bought that was outside of the typical sci-fi/adventure work that I knew him for. I remember exactly where I bought it, too: Camelot Music in Florida Mall (Orlando, FL). I was working there at the time during college breaks, and it (along with a multitude of other Varese CDs) came in as a "cut out" CD for $6.99. Snapped it up right away, along with Safan's Stand and Deliver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Yea, I didn't really find much to like in Joe Williams' two instrumental pop songs. Agreed about the chronological presentation, seems to increase my appreciation of just about every Williams score thx99 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 2 hours ago, Jay said: Agreed about the chronological presentation, seems to increase my appreciation of just about every Williams score That's because a film score with the cues in chronological order is a whole. It's like a complete symphony of classical music, with beginning, middle and end, and the music makes sense! Which I can't say about original albums where there is no unity, logic (musical logic specifically) and order. Music osts would compare to me like taking a film, extracting some parts (in the director's opinion), rearrange them in order randomly and present them on Bluray as representative of the film! Ricard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Have you listened to the isolated score track yet, filmmusic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,477 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 19 minutes ago, filmmusic said: That's because a film score with the cues in chronological order is a whole. It's like a complete symphony of classical music, with beginning, middle and end, and the music makes sense! Which I can't say about original albums where there is no unity, logic (musical logic specifically) and order. Music osts would compare to me like taking a film, extracting some parts (in the director's opinion), rearrange them in order randomly and present them on Bluray as representative of the film! Aaaah.....I'm sooooooo tempted. But I won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 47 minutes ago, Jay said: Have you listened to the isolated score track yet, filmmusic? Ι've listened to the unreleased cues. I'm waiting to listen to the complete score from the upcoming cd. I don't share the high enthusiasm about the Christmas arrangements though, I like the ones in the 2 Home Alone films better. 32 minutes ago, Thor said: Aaaah.....I'm sooooooo tempted. But I won't. Thor, both our opinions can be right. I judge a score from a musician's and composer's point of view, you judge it from the perspective of a non-musician. We have the same discussions with a Greek film score lover. it's the same like this: an architect will judge a building differently than a non-architect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 11 minutes ago, filmmusic said: Ι've listened to the unreleased cues. I'm waiting to listen to the complete score from the upcoming cd. Looks like you won't have to wait long! 11 minutes ago, filmmusic said: I don't share the high enthusiasm about the Christmas arrangements though, I like the ones in the 2 Home Alone films better. I don't mean to compare them to his original, new Christmas cues he wrote, just the classic standard carols that play barely audibly in the background. I like the arrangements of them for this film a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,477 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 2 hours ago, filmmusic said: I don't share the high enthusiasm about the Christmas arrangements though, I like the ones in the 2 Home Alone films better. Thor, both our opinions can be right. I judge a score from a musician's and composer's point of view, you judge it from the perspective of a non-musician. We have the same discussions with a Greek film score lover. it's the same like this: an architect will judge a building differently than a non-architect. I don't think that's entirely accurate. While I'm not a musician, I'm also very much approaching this from a purely musical angle, even if I don't have all the technical terms as you do (arguably, my approach is even more musical than yours, when you think of it). The reason we have opposite opinions on this doesn't really have anything to with a musician/non-musician dichotomy. But let's not go there too much. Let's instead cherish the fact that we both love to dig up obscure Williams! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted March 8, 2017 Author Share Posted March 8, 2017 4 hours ago, Jay said: I don't mean to compare them to his original, new Christmas cues he wrote, just the classic standard carols that play barely audibly in the background. I like the arrangements of them for this film a lot. Yes, these ones I meant too. The arrangemenets of Christmas songs. I liked the ones in the Home Alone films better. (the source music in the supermarket if I recall in the first film, and the medley in Carnegy Hall in the 2nd) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,317 Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 I find that Carnegie Hall Medley to be a bit too grandiose for my tastes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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