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The Book Thief VS. The BFG


Josh500

The Book Thief VS. The BFG  

31 members have voted

  1. 1. Which score do you like better?

    • The Book Thief
      14
    • The BFG
      17
  2. 2. Which movie do you like better?

    • The Book Thief
      14
    • The BFG
      17


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On the surface, they are two very different movies, yes. But the scores--their texture, their emotional impact, their quality--are rather similar, in my opinion, both being very recent John Williams scores.

 

So which do you personally like better? And why?

 

 

 

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19 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

The BFG is more a fun and unique film; The Book Thief is a more standard film.

 

 

I have a confession to make. I've listened to the score of BFG and I think it's OK, but I haven't seen the movie yet. Oh, I started watching it but I just couldn't finish it. A first for me with a Spielberg flick. I thought it was that bad.

 

But one of these days I'm gonna force myself to watch it!

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Wow, I didn't realize The BFG is so popular here (at least compared with Book Thief).

 

I really gotta watch the movie. But yeah, the main theme is charming enough. 

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Score: The Book Thief by a hair.  While I don't like anything in it as much as "Finale" or the first minute or so of "Sophie and the BFG" it has a better main theme and less bumbling comedic music.  It also feels like less of a missed opportunity than The BFG (a disappointing score in a genre Williams usually excels in).  That being said, the orchestrations/recording of The BFG are far superior to the less ornate TBT

 

Film: The BFG wins this one fairly easily.  It aims to be a nice, quaint small scale children's film and suceeds.  The Book Thief is dour, artificial, and occassionally quite cringeworthy (the Apple logo in the final shot, some of the narration, the German accents)

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1 hour ago, Not Mr. Big said:

 quite cringeworthy (the Apple logo in the final shot

 

You thought so too? lol

 

I thought the movie wasn't bad, but yeah, that final shot of Apple well-nigh ruined it for me. I mean, seriously WTF.

 

 

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24 minutes ago, publicist said:

The Book Thief was so depressingly ordinary in all respects: The BFG.

And the BFG isn't?

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Nah. This was innocuous but fun (t me). It also had some wonderful fairy tale sequences. Though both signalize an artistic standstill for Williams that has been going on for too long, methinks.

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18 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

Comparatively very weak Williams scores - I tend to say The Book Thief for score.

 

As film The Book Thief is okaaaay and The BFG is fine - so I'll go with The BFG.

Very weak? What the

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It's horses for courses.

TBT the film, is WW2 lite. The main girl (sorry, but I can't be bothered to Google her name - life's too short) is quite good, as is the boy, but it's all a bit Disneyfied, for my tastes, played-out on an obvious set. Even The Waltons did a better book-burning scene. Roger Allam was good, though.

The score is very much the best part of the film.

Despite being a Spielberg film, BFG is never going to be a tent-pole JW score, and that's just fine, as it does its job, and it does it well.

In summary; both have good and bad points, and because of this, it's a draw, on all counts, and that's nothing to be ashamed of.

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TBT is an other Memoirs case, a film Johnny wanted to score, you can hear and feel it. And Williams is still on top of his game, the result is breathtaking. The fact people are hating this is beoynd me. Well many of them never bothered listen to it even through though...

 

BFG has a wonderful score but sometimes it feels that John is composing for Steven just for the obligation...

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Seeing The Book Thief in cinema, I totally lost it emotionally in the last scenes with Visitor on Himmel Street, Rudy is Taken and Finale. It was along time a movie did this to me. it's JW's fault

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7 hours ago, hornist said:

TBT is an other Memoirs case, a film Johnny wanted to score, you can hear and feel it. And Williams is still on top of his game, the result is breathtaking. The fact people are hating this is beoynd me. Well many of them never bothered listen to it even through though...

 

BFG has a wonderful score but sometimes it feels that John is composing for Steven just for the obligation...

Don't worry Pasi. I love The Book Thief score too.

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On 8/16/2017 at 11:09 PM, Josh500 said:

Wow, I didn't realize The BFG is so popular here (at least compared with Book Thief).

 

Don't recall Book Thief ever being popular around here.  People seem to at least enjoy BFG's primary theme and enough of the score to give it a passing grade, even though the score on album is somewhat directionless.

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2 hours ago, king mark said:

what if I said I liked The Book Thief (score) better than Schindler's List

 

It's a better comparison

 

Yeah, right.

 

Why don't you make that poll, then? ROTFLMAO

On 18/08/2017 at 6:38 AM, hornist said:

TBT is an other Memoirs case, a film Johnny wanted to score, you can hear and feel it. And Williams is still on top of his game, the result is breathtaking. The fact people are hating this is beoynd me. Well many of them never bothered listen to it even through though...

 

BFG has a wonderful score but sometimes it feels that John is composing for Steven just for the obligation...

 

Agree with the first paragraph (although I wonder... Who's hating it exactly?).

 

Disagree with the second paragraph.

 

 

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On 2017-08-20 at 6:41 AM, king mark said:

what if I said I liked The Book Thief (score) better than Schindler's List

 

It's a better comparison

 

Wouldn't that be a little redundant... ? I mean, I'd defend The Book Thief against a lot of scores... But pit it against Schindler???? One of John's most beloved score of all time? LOL

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On 17/08/2017 at 3:20 PM, Jay said:

That final shot of the Book Thief with the blatant Apple logo is, indeed, ridiculous!!

I'm missing something here I guess, what's so ridiculous about seeing a computer at the end of a movie?

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I see, but still, it's not something big enough to "ruin" the movie...

 

On 17/08/2017 at 6:38 AM, Josh500 said:

I thought the movie wasn't bad, but yeah, that final shot of Apple well-nigh ruined it for me. I mean, seriously WTF.

 

This comment is more like WTF

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3 hours ago, Chewy said:

I'm missing something here I guess, what's so ridiculous about seeing a computer at the end of a movie?

 

You don't think its ridiculous to have platant product placement of a modern technology company logo in what is otherwise a WW2 holocaust movie!?

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32 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

A lot of people own Apple computers. What about the shot, specifically, makes it such an overblown mess?

 

Product placement usually occurs more than once. 

You forgot about the scene where the Nazis threaten to break Liesel's Macintosh.

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We're all surrounded by objects with great big brand logos on them.  I find it more distracting when a film has gone out its way to de-brand a set.  Less realistic.

 

What is distracting is when it's obvious paid product placement.  Like they keep making sure to show the logo to camera.  When it feels unnatural.

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That's what the final shot of The Book Thief is; An obvious pan and hold to the Apple logo.

 

In a holocaust movie.

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29 minutes ago, Jay said:

That's what the final shot of The Book Thief is; An obvious pan and hold to the Apple logo.

 

In a holocaust movie.

 

Are you saying you have a problem with the entire concept of a time jump to show she had a long happy life, or just that it showed a computer?

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Just that it panned and held on the apple logo, not that it included a final shot in the modern day to show she lived a happy life

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Exactly, it felt like blatant product placement through and through


You can pan through her modern apart with the pictures of her children, etc, without needing to show what specific brand of computer she uses to write

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