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JWFan Exclusive - Interview with producer Mike Matessino about 1941!!


Jay

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Nice interview, Jason! The question is, would Hook be announced so soon? It seems like it would be a holiday title. Although they could just be announcing it several months in advance, like they did for some titles (like 1941).

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Thanks Indy4 and Demondm810!

Koray yep - looking at it right here in front of me! I will be posting a full review tomorrow, but it's essentially an absolutely PERFECT release of the score. The sound quality, artwork, liner notes, and packaging are all completely top notch. Matessino really knocked it out of the park (which is no surprise).

Between the liner notes and the interview, there should be no questions left about the score at all - every detail is covered!

Oh, and of course the score itself! I have a new found appreciation for it with this release. It's a terrific film score that has been poorly presented on the OST, the film itself, and the laserdisc/DVD isolated score track that is finally getting the treatment it deserves. Every Williams score deserves this treatment.

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Awesome interview Jay. It was cool to read that Universal takes pride in keeping their master session tapes for scores in pristine condition, or at least tries to. Lucasfilm should take a page from their book on this matter.

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Thanks Trent!

It was immediately apparent upon listening how well Universal kept the master tapes. The sound quality is stunning, especially for a score 32 years old! It almost makes no sense why the laserdisc/DVD isolated score had such poor sound quality in comparison.

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Maybe the mastering technique and technology wasn't as good back then as they are today.

Here's a good example... Predator. We all know how not so great sound Varèse D.E. release was but Intrada's was pristine because the remastering technique and tools of today compared to back then are a lot more sophisticated and better.

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Great interview indeed - thanks for the interesting read!

(Btw: spelling error - it's 'were' instead of 'where')

Could you say more specifically where?

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Waiting for tomorrow to get to order and then waiting for the CDs to arrive feels like an eternity after this interview. :P

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Thanks Incanus, fommes, Maurizio, and SF1_freeze!

I tried to ask questions about anything that wasn't covered in the liner notes. The problem was, the release was handled so perfectly, with every last bit of music included, and the liner notes covered so many of the questions I would have had, it was somewhat hard to come up with good questions! Luckily Mr. Takis suggested some good ones that led to great responses.

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Colour me 0,25% disappointed that they kept the cannon thing in the concert version of the march - I would have done it otherwise. And we already had the OST for that. (The rest, including sequencing, sounds absolutely perfect though!)

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Well, he had to keep the cannons in to duplicate the original 1979 LP.

I'm sure had their been room, he would have also included the March without cannons... but both CDs are currently maxed out. What would you have dropped to fit it in?

You can always re-create the March, without cannons, by editing the final track of Disc 1 yourself.

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Nah, they had to duplicate the original 1979 LP presentation down to a T, including cannons. Besides the fact that they were probably obligated to do so, it's just smart business to do so.

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Very informative interview, good work! :-) One teensy question since you've listened to the CD, how are Capture of Hollis / Kelso Lost combined? Like, say for the sake of argument I wanted to isolate the latter for when I put it on my iPod, is that possible?

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Yea, that would sound fine. Kelso Lost just comes in as Capture Of Hollis is fading out, but it was just edited at the right musical moment to sound like it could have been a long single cue if you didn't know any better.

For the most part all the tracks that contain 2 or more cues can be separated out easily enough, especially since the liner notes point out where the second (or third) cue starts. The only ones that would sound REALLY jarring if you don't have gapless playback would be like how Sub Commander goes into Wild Bill Kelso, which is the same transition as heard on the OST (The Invasion at 4:51)

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Any truth to the rumor I heard years ago that Spielberg was not at all happy with the score? He felt it added yet another layer of chaos to the film. When he discusses it now, he always re-tells the story of going home, grabbing his clarinet and joining the ensemble to mess it up just a little. Maybe he DID play with the orchestra as a form of sabotage...

TJH

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Any truth to the rumor I heard years ago that Spielberg was not at all happy with the score?

Yes, it didn't quite work out between the two of them after that. After some early success with Jaw and Close Encounters, they never worked together again after 1941. Shame, really. So much potential down the drain....Egos man. :flush:

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Any truth to the rumor I heard years ago that Spielberg was not at all happy with the score?

Yes, it didn't quite work out between the two of them after that. After some early success with Jaw and Close Encounters, they never worked together again after 1941. Shame, really. So much potential down the drain....Egos man. :flush:

WITW?

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I ducked out of my physics class to order it at one sharp - and I got my shipping notice just a little over two hours later, so it was more than worth it!

Great job again on the interview Jason (and thanks for answering my question from earlier) - care to explain how you got to hear it before the rest of us? :biglaugh:

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Any truth to the rumor I heard years ago that Spielberg was not at all happy with the score? He felt it added yet another layer of chaos to the film. When he discusses it now, he always re-tells the story of going home, grabbing his clarinet and joining the ensemble to mess it up just a little. Maybe he DID play with the orchestra as a form of sabotage...

TJH

The liner notes do recount the story of Spielberg playing clarinet in the sessions, but nowhere do they mention Spielberg being unhappy with the score. I wish I had known about that, I would have asked Mike about it. Oh well, next time

Great job again on the interview Jason (and thanks for answering my question from earlier) - care to explain how you got to hear it before the rest of us? :biglaugh:

I was sent a copy so that I could conduct an informed interview.

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Great job again on the interview Jason (and thanks for answering my question from earlier) - care to explain how you got to hear it before the rest of us? :biglaugh:

I was sent a copy so that I could conduct an informed interview.

Well, look at you with your perks and your ability to listen to the CD while we all wait impatiently. :lick: Serious tho, nice. Hope you get to do things like that more often, I love reading in-depth interviews about our favorite subject like this.

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Yes. And he was a knowledgable interviewer.

I would have gently pressed MM regarding the last answer, though.

"And can you give us any hints as to what we can expect? You know the jwfan members will kill me if I at least don't try." Something like that.

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Next time Jason should take a Glock to an interview.

Especially if conducted by phone or by e-mail.

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