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Total Recall (1990) vs. Minority Report


Josh500

Total Recall (1990) vs. Minority Report  

20 members have voted

  1. 1. Which movie do you prefer?

    • Total Recall (1990)
      6
    • Minority Report
      14
  2. 2. Which score as heard in the movie do you prefer?

    • Total Recall (1990)
      13
    • Minority Report
      7
  3. 3. Which score do you prefer generally (i.e. as heard on the OS album)?

    • Total Recall (1990)
      11
    • Minority Report
      9


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Recently rewatched Total Recall (1990) after a very long time. Man, that's a fun movie. And one of Jerry Goldsmith's finest and most frenetically action-packed scores, for sure (I could listen to "The Dream" for hours). Still, I am also a huge fan of Minority Report, movie AND score. So it's tough.

But I would say...

1. MR

2. TR

3. MR

What do you think?

By the way, I noticed that the last tracks on both OS albums of TR and MR are called "A New Life." Coincidence? I think not. JW was paying hommage to Goldsmith, no doubt.

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Whoops, sorry.

MR's last track is actually "A New Beginning." Still... I don't think it's a coincidence.

Here's an amazing performance of Goldsmith's "The Dream," without the synth overlay, of course.


Josh is back!?

Yup, just for the polls! :P

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1. MR

2. TR

3. TR

I love both movies and both scores. TR is a classic by Paul Verhoeven, perhaps his most consistently high-quality action picture. It has its tongue firmly set in its cheek, of course (as all his films do), but it had more of an epic scope and pulled off the semi-futuristic look better than his other works. Jerry's score is one of his best 90s action filmographies, full of both the wonder and the pulse-pounding excitement we'd expect from him. I'm not quite as big a fan of John's score for MR (though "A New Beginning" is one of my favorite pieces he ever wrote)—not that I dislike it, but TR just made a better impression. There's no question which is the better film, though; TR, for all its great qualities, is still a Verhoeven film, and it's not really fair to ask him to compete with Spielberg. MR is a completely captivating experience for me, a phenomenal work that hasn't worn out in the least bit for all the viewings I've had over the years.

Great poll idea, by the way. Nice little competitive PKD vibe. :thumbup:

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Josh500! Welcome back!

Where have you been, man?

Are you excited for The Force Awakens?

Did you hear about Bridge of Spies?

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I love both movies and both scores. TR is a classic by Paul Verhoeven, perhaps his most consistently high-quality action picture. It has its tongue firmly set in its cheek, of course (as all his films do), but it had more of an epic scope and pulled off the semi-futuristic look better than his other works. Jerry's score is one of his best 90s action filmographies, full of both the wonder and the pulse-pounding excitement we'd expect from him. I'm not quite as big a fan of John's score for MR (though "A New Beginning" is one of my favorite pieces he ever wrote)—not that I dislike it, but TR just made a better impression. There's no question which is the better film, though; TR, for all its great qualities, is still a Verhoeven film, and it's not really fair to ask him to compete with Spielberg. MR is a completely captivating experience for me, a phenomenal work that hasn't worn out in the least bit for all the viewings I've had over the years.

Great poll idea, by the way. Nice little competitive PKD vibe. :thumbup:

Great analysis!

You know, the reason, I love MR the score is that it has so many little great moments. I love the first minute of Minority Report (the first track on the OS album), for example. It's one of the most dramatic and heart-pounding, classically elegant moments, steadily building toward an intense and inevitable climax. One of JW's best writings, IMO.

Listen to it for yourself:

Also, there's Everybody Runs, Anderton's Great Escape, A New Beginning, Sean's Theme, and Spyders. MR might be quite underrated around here. ;)

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It is pretty underrated. Have you heard the complete recording session leak?

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Josh500! Welcome back!

Where have you been, man?

Are you excited for The Force Awakens?

Did you hear about Bridge of Spies?

Thanks man! Oh you know, I've been busy with other stuff.

Yeah, I'm very excited about the new Star Wars movie. Can't wait! You remember back in 2004 or so, the discussions we had here whether JW would even be able to score RotS? And here we are 10 years later! lol

It is pretty underrated. Have you heard the complete recording session leak?

No, I haven't. :(

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MR

TR

MR

....for me.

MINORITY REPORT receives a lot of love, for sure, but yeah -- might be underrated in the Williams canon generally. I tend to group it with A.I. and WAR OF THE WORLDS as Wiliams' '2000s thriller sound trilogy'. Other dark films and film scores from the period, like MUNICH and SW3, are a bit different. There's something about the John Adams-like repetitions, the throbbing intensity, the "cool" and detached colours, the percussive riffs etc. that just bind these three together for me.

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Josh of the Polls is back! Welcome! Welcome! :D

And I guess it is Minority Report for me. For some curious reason this "black and white" score does it for me.

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TR

MR (listen to the recording sessions regularly)

TR (I hate the MR album--leaves out most of my favourite stuff)

MINORITY REPORT receives a lot of love, for sure, but yeah -- might be underrated in the Williams canon generally. I tend to group it with A.I. and WAR OF THE WORLDS as Wiliams' '2000s thriller sound trilogy'. Other dark films and film scores from the period, like MUNICH and SW3, are a bit different. There's something about the John Adams-like repetitions, the throbbing intensity, the "cool" and detached colours, the percussive riffs etc. that just bind these three together for me.

Great point. I'd also group that with SW2 and THE PATRIOT, though the later is more like a bridge between his TPM/TLW sound and what you're describing.

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There's plenty of people who think JW's glory period from 75-85 is his worst period.

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Total Recall is a childhood favorite I've seen a million times and heard the score a million times. Both film and score are great!

I saw Minority Report opening weekend in the theater, but haven't seen it since, so have no memory of the score as its used in the film. I really need to see this film again.

I never fell in love with the OST, but listened to the sessions a few times and really liked what I heard in a lot of spots.

So I need to re-evaluate both film and score, basically.

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Apples and oranges. As for the action music - there is no comparison. I can't stand Williams cues like 'Anderton's Great Escape' though the more noirish/minimalist strings and the soothing classical theme for Sean are certainly highlights.

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I've been trying my hardest but I simply cannot swallow Goldsmith's Total Recall. Maybe one day. But, for me, his greatness lies elsewhere. The film, however, is cool. Badly dated but fun.

I prefer both A.I. and War of the Worlds to Minority Report. The score has bits and pieces of really good material but it never came together as convincing whole. Seems like Willimas took a piece meal approach with this film and it's completely unfocused.

Karol

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Huh. I think it features some of Jerry's very best action music!


Do the synths turn you off?

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I've been trying my hardest but I simply cannot swallow Goldsmith's Total Recall. Maybe one day. But, for me, his greatness lies elsewhere. The film, however, is cool. Badly dated but fun.

Karol

It's not for the sophisticated mind, for sure...but it's a brilliantly written piece of music however you look at it. Too blunt and pushy maybe but there's so much going on under the surface that no one can deny its a career-defining moment, at least for the 90's onwards.

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There's plenty of people who think JW's glory period from 75-85 is his worst period.

I don't think it's his worst, I just don't think it's his "glory" period. From a cultural and cinematic perspective, sure. But I don't necessarily think from a musical one.

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There's one more thing. I do realise that's not a terribly popular opinion... but I always felt that Goldsmith's wonder, suspense, drama, fantasy always eclipsed his action. It's my least favourite aspect of his writing (hey, another parallel with JNH!). Don't get me wrong, it's probably the most masculine and kinetic in this business (and pretty timeless sounding at that) but just not my thing. Hence, the quiet parts of Total Recall are really good but that's it for me.

The thing with classic Williams, and that's another controversial thing, is that it featured more "lifting" and other people's voices. The modern one is more distilled. It's more "him", for better or worse. I know what TGP is getting at.

Karol

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There's one more thing. I do realise that's not a terribly popular opinion... but I always felt that Goldsmith's wonder, suspense, drama, fantasy always eclipsed his action. It's my least favourite aspect of his writing (hey, another parallel with JNH!). Don't get me wrong, it's probably the most masculine and kinetic in this business (and pretty timeless sounding at that) but just not my thing. Hence, the quiet parts of Total Recall are really good but that's it for me.

Karol

I somewhat agree, but mostly about his late action music - let's say post-Star Trek V, where it and everything else became very stringent and neo-classical. Whereas something like POTA features some of the best action music ever written for film.

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I don't think it's his worst, I just don't think it's his "glory" period. From a cultural and cinematic perspective, sure. But I don't necessarily think from a musical one.

I never understood why there has to be this division. I mix stuff from all decades and there's definitely some of every phase i love (minus the Mancini impersonations) and also stuff i'm not too keen on.

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I don't think it's his worst, I just don't think it's his "glory" period. From a cultural and cinematic perspective, sure. But I don't necessarily think from a musical one.

I never understood why there has to be this division. I mix stuff from all decades and there's definitely some of every phase i love (minus the Mancini impersonations) and also stuff i'm not too keen on.

Well it's not a division really, just where I hear the greatest concentration of the stuff that strikes me as the "best."

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I somewhat agree, but mostly about his late action music - let's say post-Star Trek V, where it and everything else became very stringent and neo-classical. Whereas something like POTA features some of the best action music ever written for film.

I don't know, there was a lot of repetition going on that seemed lame at the time but if you don't listen straight through every 90's score i'd still cheer this stuff as great music - not as in 'GREAT' - but it knows how to get stuff done and i never found any other composer who could do kinetic music at this rate - it's astonishing, even with the repetition.

Well it's not a division really, just where I hear the greatest concentration of the stuff that strikes me as the "best."

But then i'd leave out the sheer brilliance of the late 70's themes or such eloquently written pieces like the americana hymn as the end title to JAWS 2 (of all things). The new Williams just can't do this anymore.

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I somewhat agree, but mostly about his late action music - let's say post-Star Trek V, where it and everything else became very stringent and neo-classical. Whereas something like POTA features some of the best action music ever written for film.

I don't know, there was a lot of repetition going on that seemed lame at the time but if you don't listen straight through every 90's score i'd still cheer this stuff as great music - not as in 'GREAT' - but it knows how to get stuff done and i never found any other composer who could do kinetic music at this rate - it's astonishing, even with the repetition.

I mean, sure, it's undeniably blood-pumpingly and dick-swingingly exciting. I just tend to get my fix of that from elsewhere I suppose.

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There's one more thing. I do realise that's not a terribly popular opinion... but I always felt that Goldsmith's wonder, suspense, drama, fantasy always eclipsed his action. It's my least favourite aspect of his writing (hey, another parallel with JNH!). Don't get me wrong, it's probably the most masculine and kinetic in this business (and pretty timeless sounding at that) but just not my thing. Hence, the quiet parts of Total Recall are really good but that's it for me.

Now that you mention it, I love the quietly mysterious, almost hypnotic quality of "First Meeting." It's the main theme actually, just orchestrated in a different way. I love that scene in the movie, too!

Total Recall is, for me at least, among the Top 3 JG scores, along with Basic Instinct and Poltergeist.

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I mean, sure, it's undeniably blood-pumpingly and dick-swingingly exciting. I just tend to get my fix of that from elsewhere I suppose.

Let's just say that it sure is boy's stuff and not for the musically too incriminating...

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Total Recall is, for me at least, among the Top 3 JG scores, along with Basic Instinct and Poltergeist.

Add Alien and Star Trek TMP to that list and you might just have my top 5 Jerry's. (I might bump out Poltergeist for Twilight Zone: The Movie or Air Force One)

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Total Recall is, for me at least, among the Top 3 JG scores, along with Basic Instinct and Poltergeist.

Add Alien and Star Trek TMP to that list and you might just have my top 5 Jerry's. (I might bump out Poltergeist for Twilight Zone: The Movie or Air Force One)

Yup!

Maybe not among the Top 5, but I am very fond of Dennis the Menace too! It's JG's version of Home Alone (I've always thought).

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There's one more thing. I do realise that's not a terribly popular opinion... but I always felt that Goldsmith's wonder, suspense, drama, fantasy always eclipsed his action. It's my least favourite aspect of his writing (hey, another parallel with JNH!). Don't get me wrong, it's probably the most masculine and kinetic in this business (and pretty timeless sounding at that) but just not my thing. Hence, the quiet parts of Total Recall are really good but that's it for me.

Now that you mention it, I love the quietly mysterious, almost hypnotic quality of "First Meeting." It's the main theme actually, just orchestrated in a different way. I love that scene in the movie, too!

Total Recall is, for me at least, among the Top 3 JG scores, along with Basic Instinct and Poltergeist.

I actually don't rank Poltergeist as highly. Bit too much Stravinsky in that one, for my liking. The second one, as jarring as it is, at least aims to be more original.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Basic Instinct, Capricorn One, QB VII, City Hall. That would be my holy five. At least today.

Karol

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