5773 replies to this topic

[crocodile]

Standard Operating Procedure by Danny Elfman

A very unique score in Danny's career and extremely rewarding in the long run. In fact one of his best. A clash his trademark sad melancholic style filtered through mechanical Glass-like techniques gives me chills. There is something unsettling about this combination, especially coupled with the subject matter of this film.



Karol

[Matt C]

Cutthroat Island - John Debney

Just delightfully, over-the-top swashbuckling music. The 2-CD complete score is a bit too much, but the quality of music is superlative. I can't believe the idiotic Jerry Bruckheimer went for the RC/MV approach during post-production on the first Pirates of the Caribbean and got rid of someone like Silvestri, who would've done gangbusters during his early 2001-2003 output (who is pretty equal to Debney in terms of overall output).

I think with some judicious editing, you can probably cut in Debney's score in Curse of the Black Pearl and it would sound so much better.

[lonzoe]

Speed (LLLR) Mark Mancina

[Faleel]

Mechwarrior 2: Jeehun Hwang

[Maglorfin]

David Maslanka - Symphony No. 5

AMAZING!

[Matt C]

Species - Christopher Young

The main theme is sheer beauty, everything else is good -- but I can't get enough of that theme. Those silky woodwinds, the seductive celli... Young really captured the allure of Natasha Henstridge's hybrid character.

[Marian Schedenig]

It's good, but I prefer the original main theme, Fever.

[crocodile]

Taras Bulba

The only thing there is to say is

Karol

[Incanus]

Taras Bulba

The only thing there is to say is

Karol

Hoping to listen to that soon. It has received such universal praise and Waxman is the man.


Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas by Harry Gregson-Williams: One of the composer's best scores. Highly entertaining, melodic, full of sense of adventure, mix of modern and old fashioned swashbuckling and hearty themes it is a great listen from start to finish.

Kingdom of Heaven by Harry Gregson-Williams: Completely opposite of Sinbad, this score is surprisingly introspective, lyrical, exotic and ethereal for such an epic story although at times it rises to grander heights of choral and orchestra fury. The choral and soloist music is the highlight of the score, Gregson-Williams' themes building subtly through the album to reach a subdued but satisfying finale. One thing I missed was a real sense of the orchestra and its scope, the recording and orchestration somehow diminishing the sheer size of the ensemble to an astonishing degree. Still without a doubt one of the career highlights of HGW, a truly effective blend of epic and intimate, orchestral and ethnic.

[Richard Penna]

Kingdom of Heaven is quite the revelation from HGW. I've never heard anything like it since - the maturity of his approach to the orchestra and use of choir is something you wouldn't see coming from a guy who has a few too many RCP tendencies sometimes. I believe he swapped this with Zimmer (who did Madagascar instead) who didn't want to do 'another Gladiator' and I'm very glad he did.


The Wildest Dream Imax score by Joel Douek

Discovered some time ago, and gave it a full listen yesterday - it's a very impressive, mostly orchestral score with a solid theme, and some very rich orchestration, particularly for strings. It has the usual cliches you'd expect for an Imax film about Everest, but it pulls them off effortlessly.

It's one of those scores where the guy easily has the talent to do a major mainstream film.

[Chaac]

I used to listen to Kingdom of Heaven again and again, playing strategy games lol

[BloodBoal]

I used to listen to Kingdom of Heaven again and again, playing strategy games lol

Which strategy games? Age Of Empires? Pfff, how original!


BloodBoal - who used to do the same, but with Gladiator score.

[Wojo]

I used to listen to Kingdom of Heaven again and again, playing strategy games lol

Which strategy games? Age Of Empires? Pfff, how original!


BloodBoal - who used to do the same, but with Gladiator score.

When I would play AOE2 with the guys on my dorm floor in college in competitive matches, they would explicitly bar me form playing as the Spanish because the conquistador unit made the game so unbalanced.

Then again, I had no strategy for the Franks, who could build castles for like half the stone.

[Joey]

Phantom of the Opera,

Star Wars

The Empire Strikes Back.

[ZackR]

I loved the Age of Empires games. Even bought the soundtrack CDs back in the day. A friend and I used tO play to Last of the Mohicans a good bit.

[KK.]

Standard Operating Procedure by Danny Elfman A very unique score in Danny's career and extremely rewarding in the long run. In fact one of his best. A clash his trademark sad melancholic style filtered through mechanical Glass-like techniques gives me chills. There is something unsettling about this combination, especially coupled with the subject matter of this film. Karol

Have to admit that I've never heard this one and I'm a pretty big Elfman fan. But sounds a lot like Iris. But then thats understandable considering how Iris lifts many of the different trademark moments in Elfman's career. I'll have to check SOP out.

[crocodile]

It is somewhat derivative of his other works. But then again that does happen a lot with Elfman. The excerpts of two movements from Serenada Schizophrana are lifted directly. It's a good score, but different as well.


I listened to Dark Shadows. Didn't finish it, as I'm really tired. The music is definitely well written, but not terribly accessible. A lot of it comprises of dark and moody Gothic horror music, which might not be the most relaxing thing. Sounds deifinitely "smaller" than most Elfman-Burton collaborations and I can't hear a really strong thematic idea in there. It's all solid but not as listenable. Will try again later.

Karol

[MrJosh]

I decided it was a John Williams day so today as background music to my day I listened to:

-Angela's Ashes
-Catch Me If You Can
-War Horse
-1941
-Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone

[crocodile]

Good choices, especially the first three.

Karol

[MrJosh]

Good choices, especially the first three.

Karol

Angela's Ashes really has some gorgeous moments. There isn't another JW score like it.

[KK.]

Good choices, especially the first three.

Karol

Angela's Ashes really has some gorgeous moments. There isn't another JW score like it.

Presumed Innocent?


I'm kidding of course, those scores are obviously radically different. With the exception of the main titles of course

[MrJosh]

Good choices, especially the first three.

Karol

Angela's Ashes really has some gorgeous moments. There isn't another JW score like it.

Presumed Innocent?


I'm kidding of course, those scores are obviously radically different. With the exception of the main titles of course

Hmmm...I never realized that those two main melodies have some things in common. Or maybe I did, subconsciously...

[Incanus]

I decided it was a John Williams day so today as background music to my day I listened to:

-Angela's Ashes
-Catch Me If You Can
-War Horse
-1941
-Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone

Excellent selection of scores sir!

Good choices, especially the first three.

Karol

Angela's Ashes really has some gorgeous moments. There isn't another JW score like it.

Presumed Innocent?


I'm kidding of course, those scores are obviously radically different. With the exception of the main titles of course

Actually those two themes are not very similar and the similarities are very superficial. I think it has to do with the form and contour of the opening of both themes not the exact melodic content.

[Koray Savas]

Oh noes! Vangelis has had temp trackitis!

I recently learned that it's actually a track from a sample library, Vangelis just uses it straight without adding or changing anything, but it can be heard in many places. The Bourne Identity is the first score I know of, then it can be found in Gregson-Williams' Man On Fire, and some TV shows. I know for certain it's in Dual Survival. I remember listening to Alexander for the first time and going "Whaaaaa??" Now I wonder where the Deep Blue Sea/Shrek/Dune (?) melody comes from. Seems a bit too lyrical and melodic for a sample library.

I listened to Dark Shadows. Didn't finish it, as I'm really tired. The music is definitely well written, but not terribly accessible. A lot of it comprises of dark and moody Gothic horror music, which might not be the most relaxing thing. Sounds deifinitely "smaller" than most Elfman-Burton collaborations and I can't hear a really strong thematic idea in there. It's all solid but not as listenable. Will try again later.

Karol

I'm listening to it for the second time right now. I had the same reactions upon my first listen. It's very atmospheric, no themes that I picked up on. Quite different for a Burton film.

[KK.]

Good choices, especially the first three. Karol

Angela's Ashes really has some gorgeous moments. There isn't another JW score like it.

Presumed Innocent? I'm kidding of course, those scores are obviously radically different. With the exception of the main titles of course

Actually those two themes are not very similar and the similarities are very superficial. I think it has to do with the form and contour of the opening of both themes not the exact melodic content.

My comments were made in jest. The themes are different indeed, but as you said, the piano openings are similar in structure and tone. That's what I pointed at for an attempt at a joke.

But the scores couldn't be more different. Those scores couldn't really be compared. Thus, my comment was never meant to be taken seriously

[publicist]

I'm listening to it for the second time right now. I had the same reactions upon my first listen. It's very atmospheric, no themes that I picked up on. Quite different for a Burton film.

That's usually a good sign. Scores like this often rule at the end of the year.

[Incanus]

I'm listening to it for the second time right now. I had the same reactions upon my first listen. It's very atmospheric, no themes that I picked up on. Quite different for a Burton film.

That's usually a good sign. Scores like this often rule at the end of the year.

Or they suffer the fate of some of the obvious accessible scores and fall into obscurity. But it is true that discovering some music takes a good while and open ears rather than casual listen scanning for ear pleasing highlights.

[publicist]

On Spotify: Elfman's new foray into the now abundantly musty smelling Gothic-garden of Tim Burton On first listening it's lean and mean stuff, thematically condensed down to the essentials.The main thematic idea is a flexible fateful five-note motif, very cleverly varied.Otherwise mysterious, well-orchestrated suspense scoring dominates(70's Alto flutes.. i like!).Every now and then, Elfman gets carried away with quite harsh synth effects,which, although well done, are not quite fitting with the rest.It sounds as if someone forced Elfman to add some artificially funky effects so that the audience gets it that they're watching some postmodern mayhem and not Burton's latest badly-scripted clunker.

Not world-shattering, but respectable. 3 of 5.

[indy4]

When I saw the movie parts of the score reminded me of Tintin's theme.

[crocodile]

On Spotify: Elfman's new foray into the now abundantly musty smelling Gothic-garden of Tim Burton On first listening it's lean and mean stuff, thematically condensed down to the essentials.The main thematic idea is a flexible fateful five-note motif, very cleverly varied.Otherwise mysterious, well-orchestrated suspense scoring dominates(70's Alto flutes.. i like!).Every now and then, Elfman gets carried away with quite harsh synth effects,which, although well done, are not quite fitting with the rest.It sounds as if someone forced Elfman to add some artificially funky effects so that the audience gets it that they're watching some postmodern mayhem and not Burton's latest badly-scripted clunker.

Not world-shattering, but respectable. 3 of 5.

That more or less sums up my feeling so far.

Karol

[Ro Sajooc]

I bought it a few days ago from Amazon. Since I listened to the first track I'm interested in this Elfman's work.

[crocodile]

On Willows and Birches.

Karol

[alicebrallice]

peer gynt - grieg

ahh... pure brilliance from beginning to end.

[Chaac]

I listened to that a lot years ago. I mean a lot.

Maybe we could have a non-film music thread and have this only for film scores? There's a lot of classical music I would enjoy commenting

[Richard]

peer gynt - grieg

ahh... pure brilliance from beginning to end.

Who's with JW in the photo? I recognize JNH, but the other guys..?

[alicebrallice]

I listened to that a lot years ago. I mean a lot.

Maybe we could have a non-film music thread and have this only for film scores? There's a lot of classical music I would enjoy commenting

I remember seeing an official classical music thread somewhere... but yeah, it'd be nice with a thread like this but for all other music genres (or just classical)!

Who's with JW in the photo? I recognize JNH, but the other guys..?

Who are the people in your picture? I recognize J.W., and J.N.H., but who are the other guys?

jnh, newman, debney, kaczmarek and williams. not a big kaczmarek fan though.

[Richard]

Ta for that. Do you know where/when the picture was taken?

[alicebrallice]

Ta for that. Do you know where/when the picture was taken?

it was taken in 2005 at a reception hosted by the society of composers and lyricist.

Yesterday the Society of Composers and Lyricist hosted their annual reception to honor the Academy Award nominees in the music categories. Held at the Beverly Hills home of John Cacavas, in attendence to celebrate were many members of the SCL. Composers like Charles Bernstein, Bruce Broughton, Vic Mizzy, John Ottman, Terence Blanchard, and more were on hand to congratulate their peers for their nomination by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

http://www.soundtrack.net/content/article/?id=139

[Incanus]

The Ghost and the Darkness by Jerry Goldsmith

[Matt C]

Journey of Natty Gann - Horner

Such a rich, beautiful score. Not just the solo harmonica that made "Something Wicked" a treat, but he captures the soulful innocence and determination of Natty herself through the music. Very emotional and satisfying... this might surpass Horner's Something Wicked This Way Comes and Krull as my favorite early 1980s Horner score.