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Let's rate and discuss "Far and Away"!


Josh500

How do you rate Far and Away?   

33 members have voted

  1. 1. The score.

    • 5 stars
    • 4,5 stars
    • 4 stars
    • 3,5 stars
    • 3 stars
    • 2,5 stars
      0
    • 2 stars
      0
    • 1,5 stars
      0
    • 1 star
      0
    • I don't know this score.
  2. 2. The movie.

    • 5 stars
      0
    • 4,5 stars
    • 4 stars
    • 3,5 stars
    • 3 stars
    • 2,5 stars
    • 2 stars
    • 1,5 stars
      0
    • 1 star
    • I don't know this movie.


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Honestly, both score and movie seem underrated to me. This is one of John Williams's most entertaining, listenable, and gorgeous scores of that era, in my opinion. It's probably overshadowed by Jurassic Park, which came shortly after that. Hell, it wasn't even nominated for an Oscar (though that's probably because the movie flopped at the box office).

 

The movie itself, while I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, is really well made and fun. An historical adventure movie, comedy, and love story rolled into one. It should have been a hit.

 

Score: 5 stars 

Movie: 4 stars

 

 

 

The famous and incredibly well-scored "land race" scene.... I love the moment at 2:20 when JW does a little nod to his own Olympic fanfare! :D

 

 

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The score is classic.  Hearing some of it on the radio for a St. Patrick's Day themed show was when I first realized that John Williams was a composer of the highest caliber.

I've been meaning to give it another spin lately.  It should have won the Oscar for Best Score.

 

As for the movie, the less said about it the better.  Cinematography is gorgeous.  Ending is, well, stupid.  At least that's my crusty critical opinion on it.

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The score is excellent, if a little too reliant on its great themes. The movie gets worse every time I watch it now that I'm used to the great music, now I just think it's okay/good, but not great.

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The score is fantastic. One of my favourites of Williams' 90s efforts (and as such one of my Top 10 favourite JW scores, since I rate his 90s so highly).

 

The film, however, leaves much to be desired. Solomon's cinematography is gorgeous (extremely lush green, and -- when they get to the US -- dusty brown hues), but the chemistry between Cruise and Kidman is surprisingly lacking compared to their other 90s things together, Cruise's dialect is the worst of all time and there's something very 'hokey' about the whole intrigue and character portrayals. I'm sure Howard's heart was in the right place, but this film is not his shining hour. 

 

But as long as we got a spectacular Williams score out of it, I'm content!

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Nicole Kidman is an actress I generally somewhat dislike, but in Far and Away she wasn't that bad. And in any case, she was little more than a "prop" for Tom Cruise to play off of anyway.

 

This movie is really about Tom Cruise's character, everybody else is just along for the ride.

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Great themes, not so great execution. The score proper is middling and kind of old-fashioned. The movie: wretched (it's not a story but a collection of old movie clichés), but turn the dialogue off and its at least pretty to look at.

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2 minutes ago, publicist said:

Great themes, not so great execution. The score proper is middling and kind of old-fashioned. The movie: wretched (it's not a story but a collection of old movie clichés), but turn the dialogue off and its at least pretty to look at.

Agreed a 100%!

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Actually, Far and Away contains one of my personal Williams favorites of all time:

I put this kind of writing into the good-happy-mood category. I especially like the flute and cello counterpoint to the end. 

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The Land Race is an amazing action cue.

I also love the concert arrangement with Itzhak Perlman that appeared on that '1969 - 1999' compilation, which a really fun and lovely violin version of Blowing off Steam.

 

As for the movie, I can tell you that Tom Cruise's awful Irish accent is rightfully ridiculed in Ireland.

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It's a score just full of little gems: The Fighting Donnellys, Fighting for Dough, Blowing Off Steam, Oklahoma Territory, and The Duel Scene - I edited that track to separate it from the other piece it's joined too (Joe Snr's Passing).

 

It has gentle and rousing pieces. The opening piece is quite haunting, and I enjoyed the inclusion of that in the suite Williams performs in concert which I've been lucky enough to see twice in 1998 a year after I did some backpacking around Ireland and listened to the previously mentioned little gems while wandering around lush green hills and the slopes near the Cliffs of Moher. Was that where the beginning was filmed? No, I just Googled it.

 

I love the end credits suits. I just love it when Williams makes a suite out of his themes and weaves them seamlessly together, and as Damien said, we also got a totally different concert piece that expands upon Blowing Off Steam and the love theme.

 

Other favorite tracks are Joseph's Dream and the often-mentioned The Land Race. 

 

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It's one of those movies where characters say and do stupid things all the time because they're in the script.Like i said, turn the sound off and its pretty to look at.

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I must listen to the score alright. I’m a little hesitant though as I don’t think JW is quite as good as, say Horner, when it comes to ethnic sounds*. I’m afraid his Irish sounds might be a bit twee. 

 

 

*Geisha is guess is the exception.

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2 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

I must listen to the score alright. I’m a little hesitant though as I don’t think JE is quite as good as, say Horner, when it comes to ethnic sounds*. I’m afraid his Irish sounds might be a bit twee. 

 

 

*Geisha is guess is the exception.

 

I agree JE isn't that good, but you should try JW!

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6 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

I must listen to the score alright. I’m a little hesitant though as I don’t think JW is quite as good as, say Horner, when it comes to ethnic sounds*. I’m afraid his Irish sounds might be a bit twee. 

 

 

*Geisha is guess is the exception.

 

Horner obviously does cliched and poppy new age Caelic shit better than Williams.

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4 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I'd say Far and Away, both film and score, is an accurate portrayal of everything Scottish Irish.

 

;)

 

I will fight you 

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1 minute ago, Bilbo said:

 

I will fight you 

 

We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

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7 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Horner obviously does cliched and poppy new age Caelic shit better than Williams.

 

Williams grandfatherly tends to favour 'The Rakes of Mallow'-type stuff.

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2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

 

🤮

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8 hours ago, pete said:

I love the end credits suits. I just love it when Williams makes a suite out of his themes and weaves them seamlessly together, and as Damien said, we also got a totally different concert piece that expands upon Blowing Off Steam and the love theme.

 

Same here! The End Credits is simply outstanding! For me this is probably the most listened track on the Far and Away soundtrack album, even topping the Land Race.

 

It's soothing, relaxing, and just overall fills you with positive emotions: love, courage, strength, beauty, and luck.

11 hours ago, Damien F said:

The Land Race is an amazing action cue.

I also love the concert arrangement with Itzhak Perlman that appeared on that '1969 - 1999' compilation, which a really fun and lovely violin version of Blowing off Steam.

 

This? :)

 

Yeah, it's great, although I still prefer the original...

 

 

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How can anyone give the movie 4 stars?!

 

I think the score is even among my three least liked John Williams scores:

Top 3:

  1. The Lost World
  2. The Prisoner of Azkaban
  3. The Temple of Doom

Flop 3:

  1. Midway
  2. The BFG
  3. Far & Away
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5 hours ago, Stefancos said:

I'm sure its not that bad.

 

4 hours ago, Bilbo said:

It’s awful. 

Steef, it really is that bad. I saw it at the cinema, in 1992. 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

A fool's overture.

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It's a Supertramp reference.

 

 

38 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

No love for Churchill?

 

27 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Richard doesn't like Tories!

I don't mind Churchill, it's the current collection of clowns that I don't like.

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