Wich score do you like better:The Book Thief of Schindler's List?

[publicist 4,643]

2 hours ago, Stefancos said:

 

Does it have to?

 

What would make sense? Why do you say it's from a different era?

 

Because a filmmaker either has a specific point to reference older eras and filmmaker's traits, like 'Far from Heaven' did with those old Douglas Sirk movies - it reflected them from a modern perspective - , or he just emulates those cinematic gestures (in War Horse it's mainly John Ford, King Vidor, and Clarence Brown) to elicit certain calculated old-school effects (especially in framing and storytelling) - which is exactly as a lot of WH feels to me, and i suspect that Williams came under a lot of criticism for his score because the movie needed more 'heart', so to speak, to draw people in and accommodate such lush scoring. The boy never was a match for Elizabeth Taylor's performance in 'National Velvet', and in a nutshell that's the movie's problem: it looks and feels like an old MGM soaper but it just doesn't click like those did, or worse, makes a parody of them (i. e. reunion scene).

 

I find Kaminski's camera work here very strong, and some scenes, like the scenes with the old peasant, do work well so maybe it's really best suited for children who look at something like this for the first time. 

[KK 3,307]

15 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

True story: I bought this album as a freshman in high school 10 years ago. The day after I got it, I was sick, and stayed home from school (on the day we were supposed to start watching Schindler's List in English class, no less!) So I thought, "Well, if I can't watch the movie, might as well listen to the soundtrack!" 

 

I popped the CD in my player, heard the first track, thought, "That was nice". Then the second track, Jewish Town,  played. After it was done, I stared wide-eyed at my CD player for a moment, pressed the previous track button, then the repeat button. I then proceeded to listen to Jewish Town for _six hours_ straight, and I did not once get tired of it.

 

"Jewish Town" was the piece that did me in when I first played the album as well. I had a strange phase back in high school where Schindler's List used to be on repeat for weeks.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Schindler's List is my favorite Williams score in terms of spotting.  The runtime is more than three hours and the majority of it is played without music.  When the music does come in, it's usually for long, sustained cues that mark important narrative moments in the film.  There's no real "filler" to be heard.  

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Just now, KK said:

 

"Jewish Town" was the piece that did me in when I first played the album as well. I had a strange phase back in high school where this album used to be on repeat for weeks.

 

Hell yeah! Dare I call you...a brother?

[publicist 4,643]

It's also much more austere, harmonically and in terms of orchestration. It's really the only part i like, together with the quieter moments (Nacht Aktion, Auschwitz) that break with the overt Hollywood romanticism of the rest.

[artguy360 1,843]

The emotional depth of the music is one major reason I return to Schindler's List again and again.

[crocodile 8,013]

I can't wait to give The Book Thief a listen when the weather becomes more chilly... usually somewhere around early November. Yes, it is a bit of a Angela's Ashes Light but the music really speaks to me for whatever reaaon.

 

But Schindler's List is a better score. It works because it feels like a documentary score, or source music. That is why the emotion behind it never feels fake. I always have a very visceral reaction to it and that is not to be underestimated.

 

Karol

[Nick Parker 3,040]

5 hours ago, crocodile said:

I can't wait to give The Book Thief a listen when the weather becomes more chilly... usually somewhere around early November. Yes, it is a bit of a Angela's Ashes Light but the music really speaks to me for whatever reaaon.

 

I only listened to the whole album once, but I do love the main theme. I say this many times, but I hope the Oscar suite one day gets professionally recorded, it's truly the strongest representation of the score.

[Sandor 797]

18 hours ago, publicist said:

It's also much more austere, harmonically and in terms of orchestration. It's really the only part i like, together with the quieter moments (Nacht Aktion, Auschwitz) that break with the overt Hollywood romanticism of the rest.

 

I’ve always felt SL broke from that more as a whole, reminding me of a European type score in the vain of Piovani, Karaindrou or even Morricone, which tend to be a bit on the sentimental side as well. I don’t hear much ‘Hollywood’ in it...

[publicist 4,643]

The orchestral setting is very stereotypical Hollywood (the same approach was chosen for films/tv series with similar topics like Conti's 'Murderers among Us', 'Holocaust' or Delerue's 'Sobibor' and several others), compare that to Morricone's 'Fateless' (again, similar theme), which harmonic and orchestral choices are much more individualistic. Kilar would have been my choice for SL, based on 'Exodus', the trailer piece.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

52 minutes ago, publicist said:

Kilar would have been my choice for SL, based on 'Exodus', the trailer piece.

 

How unoriginal.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I declare a big like for Publicist for the Exodus comment.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Thanks for posting that clip @Nick Parker.  Like I said, I haven’t listened to the OST in years and years.  That clip made me excited for the INEVITABLE expansion when I will fully revisit it.

[Score 770]

On 8/25/2018 at 11:44 PM, Nick Parker said:

Can we all just agree that this statement of the main theme that sounds like something out of The Fury is kickass?

 

 

 

The whole track is probably my favourite cue from the score (together with the Auschwitz piece). It's a perfect match for the movie scene: the tone switches from danger to hope/nobility (the horns + violas chorale) to sadness when the list has to be stopped because the money is over, and the characters seem to realize the meaning of the list and of the whole situation. As far as I am concerned, this is perfect scoring.

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

Regarding the thread title, who is the book thief of Schindler's list? The guy who stole the list?

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

The Nazis were the ultimate book thieves

 

7 hours ago, Score said:

 

The whole track is probably my favourite cue from the score (together with the Auschwitz piece). It's a perfect match for the movie scene: the tone switches from danger to hope/nobility (the horns + violas chorale) to sadness when the list has to be stopped because the money is over, and the characters seem to realize the meaning of the list and of the whole situation. As far as I am concerned, this is perfect scoring.

 

That string interlude that plays as Schindler negotiates with the camp director is absolutely incredible

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

On 8/22/2018 at 7:43 AM, artguy360 said:

Edit

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

There's not enough drum loops.

[TownerFan 4,983]

I've spoken with conductors and violinists over the years about the music of Schindler's List and all of them agreed that Williams' music for the film is indeed something special. None spoke about it as being sugar-coated Hollywood-ized scoring.

 

While I can see that some people might be put off by the cantilena-like character of the main theme, I think the score is a wonderful example of restraint and soberness, especially in terms of orchestral colour and harmonic language. Williams never emphasizes nor overcharge the narrative with excessive melodrama. Quite the opposite, he finds way of being very discrete and respectful of the story being told despite using mostly a tonal language and identifiable melodic subjects. Perhaps the "Immolation" scene is the only one where he ups the ante and goes big, but the overall effect is imho very powerful at that crucial moment in the film, because it feels earned (the moment where the SS Agent looks in the camera screaming accompanied by the anguished choir singing Hebrew texts is particularly striking, imho). The Jewish character is akin to Ernst Bloch's music inspired to similar subjects, much more than anything else, but it sounds unmistakeably Williams. There are also hints of ethnic authenticity, like the clarinet writing for Giora Feidman. Also, the music in the Auschwitz scene is bleak and stark, never letting go to any sentimentality (it's also historically accurate, with its Bartok-ian octatonic writing). Yes, the epilogue scene at the Jerusalem cemetary is of course deeply moving and sentimental mostly because of the music, but it's tremendously sincere and honest. It's the moment Spielberg and Williams tell the audience is okay to let go to tears. Again, because it feels earned.

 

As other pointed out, Schindler's List isn't a film about the bleak depicition of the Shoah, but a story of survival and hope in the midst of one of history's darkest periods. I think Williams' music perfectly captures this spirit, hence it shouldn't be quickly dismissed as Hollywood schmaltz.

 

Just my two cents.

[SteveMc 2,674]

Yes!

Very well put @TownerFan!

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

5 hours ago, TownerFan said:

I think Williams' music perfectly captures this spirit, hence it shouldn't be quickly dismissed as Hollywood schmaltz.

 

I didn't see anyone quickly dismiss anything here - I think both myself and Pub have carefully considered our thoughts, but alas, it seems less than glowing opinions will be seen as just that, or as apathy, cynicism, etc. as in previous posts. 

[TownerFan 4,983]

It's okay, TGP. I wasn't downplaying yours or pub's opinions. I was speaking in broad terms without referring specifically to anyone.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Sidebar:

 

Just found this Lockhart/BPO album that has the "Immolation" cue from Schindler's list sandwiched between Around the World in 80 Days and Gigi....and two tracks before The Producers 😳

 

 

That's, uh, quite an album assembly there.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

It just adds to the body of proofs that Schindler's List really is a (dark) comedy.