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The Adventures of Tintin It's been a while since I listened to it, and it's one of my absolute favorites. The freshness of it, the instrumental performances, the thematic writing, this whole thing oozes class and panache. It's just a terrific display of talent. And those two first tracks are absolute killers

It goes both ways. Many Americans adore Japanese anime and other aspects of their culture. And many rock bands in Germany and Sweden make music as if the era of 80s hair metal never ended.

This is an excellent interview by the Hollywood Reporter's Ray Bennett, which I can't see posted anywhere here yet. Some really good insights about Altman, Hitchcock and Sinatra: http://www.thecliffedge.com/?p=3049

Body Heat by John Barry (Varese LSO & McNeely re-recording): A truly enjoyable throwback to the classic film noir sound filtered through Barry's sensibilities. The score is sultry and languidly seductive with few moments of more explosive material to provide variety and nuance. A small jazzy ensemble and string section dominate the orchestrations, saxophone conjuring up strong genre memories with its smoky, alluring tone. This is also an amazingly accomplished recording given that it was recorded just in one day by the LSO.

6 (originally TBD). HANS ZIMMER I’ll let that name soak in for a bit. Whether you adore him, despise him, want him killed, think he’s a god, or just like a couple of his scores, the name conjures something within you. Your mind will hear one of his iconic themes. Pirates Of The Caribbean, or maybe Gladiator, or the relentless power of his music for Christopher Nolan. The Lion King perhaps, Sherlock Holmes, or The Prince Of Egypt. His name and more importantly his style are instantly recognizable to fans and detractors alike. I don’t care if you think he single-handedly, or rather leading an army of additional composers, destroyed the music genre you hold dear. I don’t care if you think he’s the greatest film composer ever (assuredly no one on this message board). The fact remains is that Zimmer transcends our niche market. His music has the ability to reach millions of people, and not only reach them but to be received well by them. This is a feat that few composers can claim. He bridges the gap between us and them. The film score enthusiasts and the general moviegoing public. He innovated action scoring in the 90s, defined the modern warfare genre, and redefined the film scoring process, all within 20 years. He’s a major influence to young filmmakers and composers, whether that’s good or bad is irrelevant to the simple fact that he inspires creative thinking to the masses. I’m one of them. I wouldn’t be the film and score fan I am today without The Rock in 1996. I’ve been following Zimmer’s work ever since, and the man continues to surprise and delight me with everything he does. That’s not to say every score is perfect, great, or even good, but that he’s always experimenting, always changing, always refreshing yet always grounded within his unique musical stylings. I think the biggest disappointment I have with traditional film score fans and just the people here and on FSM, is that no one attempts to appreciate an approach that steps outside their boundaries of what film scoring is or what it can be. Whether it’s the use of synthesizers, collaborative composing, writing away from picture, textural soundscapes, or a lack of themes and motifs… if it doesn’t check off a certain amount of boxes on our lists, it doesn’t make the cut. Even if one attempted it, stepped out of their comfort zone and still came out the other end saying no, that’s great and perfectly fine, but it seems to me that they always go for the usual suspects. Batman, Inception, Sherlock Holmes, Pirates Of The Caribbean, the big blockbuster scoring, which while great (to me), doesn’t even begin to define Zimmer as a composer and an artist. There’s great beauty in scores like The Thin Red Line, Beyond Rangoon, The Burning Plain, Driving Miss Daisy, An Everlasting Piece, Frost/Nixon, The Last Samurai, Matchstick Men, Hannibal, The Da Vinci Code, Pearl Harbor, The Holiday, As Good As It Gets, Tears Of The Sun, The Pledge, Black Hawk Down, and The Power Of One. How many people here have even heard of A World Apart or The House Of The Spirits? Pacific Heights or Radio Flyer? Zimmer has scored an incredible amount of films, from high budget war films to small comedies and unknown dramas. Not to mention his foray into video game scoring, bringing back his infectious 90s thematic writing with Modern Warfare 2, and exploring more of his recent sound and focus on violin with his theme for Crysis 2. Then there’s his charity work, like “Who Are The Roma?” “Aurora,” and “Save An Angel.” Cues like “Journey To The Line,” “CheValiers De Sangreal,” “Leave No Man Behind,” “Now We Are Free,” “A Small Measure Of Peace,” “Heart Of A Volunteer,” “Mother Africa,” “Cameroon Border Post,” and “Weather Man” all move me in a way that no other composer can. These aren’t just scores that I listen to, these are scores that I experience and relish in, scores that make me think and make me feel. If you don’t like him, I beg you to just try and discover some of these not talked about titles. Give one or two a chance, go to YouTube, I’m sure they can be found there. Repress the thoughts that come along with his name, and listen to the music. If you still come up with the same conclusion, I thank you for your time. I joined this board in 2006, and my first post was a topic about Media Ventures. I’ve been talking, positively and negatively, defending, arguing, joking, anything you can think of regarding Zimmer, I’m sure I’ve responded to it. Six years later and still the same conversations pop up from time to time, although definitely not as much as they used to. There are members that agree with some things I have to say, and there are definitely those that don’t. Whatever it may be, let this be my final post about Hans Zimmer. I’ll let his music speak for itself.

Superman March - Marion’s Theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark - Three Selections for Chorus and Orchestra Call of the Champions - “Dry Your Tears, Afrika” from Amistad - “Duel of the Fates” from The Phantom Menace - Cal State University Singers - Finale from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - ENCORES: Luke and Leia from Return of the Jedi - Main Title from Star Wars - The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back -

Thanks for the tip! okay I will try again. Hopefully it works. I have finally compiled my videos into a list in order of the program for your convenience. Enjoy! CONCERT PROGRAM A Salute to the Olympic Games - Bugler’s Dream/Olympic Fanfare Theme - Song for World Peace - The Olympic Spirit - “Dartmoor 1912″ from War Horse - “The Duel” (“The Adventure Continues”) from The Adventures of Tintin - Presenting Gil Shaham “Por Una Cabeza” (from Scent of a Woman) - “Remembrances” from Schindler’s List - Excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof - ENCORE: Theme from Laura (Not listed on the program) - INTERMISSION

Parts of Hook are perhaps some of the busiest, dizziest orchestration in their whizzing and buzzing and plucking enthusiasm. And certainly parts of the exuberant score would sound weird indeed for movies and moviegoers of today. Hook is a score that is still strongly linked to the 1980's Hollywood wunderkind style of moviemaking aesthetic, which was slowly but surely passing by the time Hook appeared in the theaters. It would be too much for most modern films, so colorful, extrovert and indeed unabashedly rambunctious it seems.Spielberg's changing directions certainly left a mark on the score, as he was pondering different approaches to the story. The near-musical, opera sans libretto as he calls it in the original liner notes, is really what Williams achieved in the end with the score, Korngoldian opera without singing. All the song styled long melodic lines, the balletic and colorful and indeed forefront approach could feel schmaltzy to most modern ears. Hook is also a score of interesting contrasts. It contains that opening dreamy, gentle music for the nostalgia of childhood, followed by the energetic and vibrantly dazzling music for the wonders of Neverland, the pomposity of the pirates, the wacky jollity of the Lost Boys, the warm and lyrical discovery music of childhood and a finally Williams pits elements of all that has gone before against each other in the Ultimate War and draws everything emotionally together with the Farewell to Neverland. The constant variety actually makes the score very strong as a whole and the themes tie everything together in a wonderful way. And I can certainly see why not everybody likes the score. It is just so energetic and busy and dazzling and buzzing and whizzing much of the running time it can wear you out. There is such a sense of many things going on it might irritate people who like more lean approach and larger arcs instead of dense writing.