Datameister

I already answered as best I could, @JTN:

Remember, that's just what I was most interested in listening to at that moment. It wouldn't make my top five for all time, although I do like the score quite a bit. (Incidentally, I've never seen the film, partly because I'm afraid it would ruin the score for me! 😂)

Best I can do is the top five JW scores I'd want to listen to at this moment. Answers could be very different tomorrow depending on my mood and what I'd already listened to recently. 1941 Superman Raiders Return of the Jedi Always A "top five of all time" list would definitely include Star Wars, ESB, and Raiders. But the other two slots are really, really, really damn hard. They wouldn't go to any of the others on today's list, though.

Me right now, not listening to anything: 🤔 Me earlier today, when the E.T. end credits came up in shuffle: 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Hey, Alien is such a cool film that it doesn't even need this particular credential. It remains undiminished in my eyes!

A brief Google venture suggests that it dates back at least to the 50s?

Of the ones of I've seen: Alien Aliens (but it's close to #1) Prometheus Alien³ Alien Resurrection (I guess, since I forgot about it altogether)

That would be awesome. I was just wishing for this the other day. I may prefer the overall journey of the first score, but Doc Ock's theme singlehandedly makes the second one indispensable as well.

I just never got around to it. Kept meaning to in the years since! Oh well. Better late than never.

I'm so excited. Didn't see this film until last year and I absolutely loved it. It emphasizes all my favorite things about Nolan's films and minimizes all my least favorite things about them. I will definitely jump at the chance to see it in IMAX.

I'll say this for TOD: It has many weaknesses, and almost every one of them can be viewed as a sort of strength. Is it a betrayal of everything Raiders stood for or a sterling example of a second film that's brave enough to do everything differently? Yes, yes it is. And then there are the elements that are just pure strengths, no matter how you slice it. The score, the cinematography, the fight scenes, the mine car chase … there's definitely stuff to love here. I'm sure I'll watch it at some point this year. And the score gets a lot of listening time from me no matter what.

Cutthroat Island comes to mind. It's got some great themes, and it's beautifully recorded, but it's just. Too. Much. You've got thickly layered fortissimo strings, brass, winds, percussion, and choir up the wazoo—and that's just the first cue! I enjoy individual tracks but I absolutely cannot enjoy the whole album, despite years of trying. I was really lukewarm on Star Trek TMP for a long time, but I finally "got" that score eventually.

Yep. Complete programs for the prequels would be pretty easy. Complete programs for the sequels … oof. Nightmare. (But one I still fervently hope happens during my lifetime!)

@mosabri2 I think you're vastly overstating HZ's pianistic deficiencies. Your point would make more sense if you were talking about, like, the E.T. end credits or the solos in Snowy's theme—something that could only be written by someone intimately familiar with the repertoire and with the sounds an excellent pianist can produce. But the feather theme is super simple. Totally diatonic, not fast, with easy pop chord changes and a melody consisting of three-note scale fragments and basic arpeggios. It's great because of its simplicity. Silvestri didn't need to be a virtuosic pianist. He "just" needed to be really, really great at a much rarer skill: the ability to craft a tune that sounds totally inevitable, that gives the right feels, and that lingers in your ear and heart. And I'd argue that HZ has written some tunes like that as well, albeit very different in style.

Really puzzling allegations here. HZ got his start as a keyboardist. He may not be a world-class virtuoso, but I'm sure he could get his fingers around something basic like the feather theme. (It's a great theme, but not remotely difficult to play.) And I believe Djawadi started with guitar, graduating summa cum laude from Berklee, so he's probably not the world's worst musician either.