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I have 2.0 ears. I have 7.1 toes after the snapping turtle got me last summer.

I am personally disappointed this score didn't come out on a stentophone disc or phonograph cylinder.

Unfortunately, recent history would seem to suggest that he'd insist on flying Air Force One himself ... and crash it.

1977 - 1981

In Dreams (Goldenthal) - My favorite Goldenthal score. Awesome all the way through. The Lion in Winter (Barry) - See above; swap out Barry for Goldenthal.

"55 years of material from John's six decades as a film composer" 60 minus 55 = 5 years not represented. Why? Which five years don't they like?

Well, another one bites the dust here. Finally decided to start watching this show a month ago, naively thinking it would be something I could pick at till maybe the summer. Of course I heard it was addictive, but I've never been a huge binge-watcher, even Twin Peaks took me several months to finally get around to finishing. Needless to say I just finished watching "Rabid Dog" through "Felina" last night. Obviously everybody pretty much covered everything in this thread but yeah, incredible! Biggest surprise for me right off the bat was the near-perfect linearity with minimal time jumps, I was pretty tickled by the novelty of picking up S1E2 directly from the morning after the bedroom scene, and then quickly settled into that being the norm. Also was pretty surprised how quickly everything was set into motion by the end of the Pilot. The intimacy of the show was also a great surprise for me. Between all the "You're goddamn right" and "I am the one who knocks" memes and the "All hail the king" posters and such, I had been under the impression that Heisenberg became this sort of OTT legendary kingpin....I basically took Vince Gilligan's "Mr Chips to Scarface" line literally and assumed everything was just going to keep getting bigger and more "explosive" and I guess in some ways it did, but it also became far more personal (also funny in retrospect that I never considered Walt wouldn't actually do drugs himself....Gus's "Never trust an addict" mantra introduced an interesting dynamic to that kind of corporate drug distribution.) So I was kinda surprised Gus lived as long as he did, because it meant Season 5 didn't progress nearly like how I would have imagined at the beginning. The shift in tone to a much more muted kind of personal drama was unsettling, especially with Walt's relationships with Skyler, Jesse, Mike, and Hank, and "Heisenberg" never became the sort of larger-than-life omnipresent villainous persona that I assumed. When the famous "Say My Name" cold open finally rolled around, I realized just how little the name had actually been mentioned up to that point, and I realized its significance was much more internal, like when Hank whispers it to Walt's face in the garage, angry and haunted. Similarly, I also had heard a bit about the much-discussed "Ozymandias" shootout/confrontation going in, but didn't realize how personal the stakes would be at that point in the story....I had previously assumed that showdown was going to be over some sort of massive deal, but the drugs and the money had long become an afterthought (again, which made removing Gus Fring from the equation for Season 5 so interesting, coupled with Walt leaving the business....Gus's character/status was actually a lot like how I originally presumed Walt/Heisenberg would evolve into, but I then realized he was never going to be that, because how could he? Instead I was gratified to see the focus move away from the business and into the unraveling of these personal relationships.) That was something that occurred to me as well as I was watching "Felina".....knowing how big and popular this show became, Vince Gilligan et al never seemed to lose the big picture. Of course I'm sure there are things that happened in the last couple seasons that they technically may not have been able to accomplish with their resources in Season 1, but the scale always felt appropriate even at its most outlandish, and always tempered with its keen, often wonderfully perverse sense of humor and drama (the very matter-of-fact presentation of Gus's death for example.) Part of me wishes I could have been watching along with everyone else because I know how much fun hype and speculation can be, but there was also something very satisfying about being able to run straight through this particular show, taking all the twists and turns as they came without weeks or months in between to overthink the details or predict what would happen. Not to say I was completely spoiler-free.....along with the stuff I'd heard before through memes/discussion (I knew about Hank's death already, unfortunately...or maybe fortunately), I have to confess that sometimes the suspense and heartbreak were too much to bear Never actually watched anything ahead, but sometimes I would go to YouTube and peek at a search results page to see if it had brought up anything ("Walt tells Jesse he killed Jane") or not ("Jesse Pinkman death scene") or Googling things like "Which season Walt tells Skyler he's cooking." Sorry, I'm weak! Anyway, hell of a great yarn. Probably gonna go back and skim through again soon to watch key episodes/moments. And I hope Jesse made it to Alaska.

The "ah come on! It's not THAT BAD!" viewpoint is becoming less and less relevant now. While these people apathetically wait for Trump to do to the singular, super-duper, irredeemably bad thing, the administration is gradually checking off each mark in their agenda. I fear that by that time it happens, it will be too late.

"55 years of material"?! Geez! That's a fucking long concert!

I just asked you what the gauge was reading. AND YOU DON'T KNOW!

Damn, he was one of those dudes that made anything he was in a little better. Damn!

Here are the last couple of films I had to watch over the last few weeks to catch up for the Oscars. Hidden Figures Typical sentimental dishwater film, pandering to Sunday afternoon TV audiences at best. Like most of these Oscar-bait types, it boasts a talented cast, but has nothing to say with it. Add to that the annoying Pharell songs that keep popping in, and its archetypal cardboard characters, and you have a bit of a snoozefest. It's moronic that this got a Best Picture nomination. That category should go back to 5 films again, or at least have nominated Nocturnal Animals in place of this one. Hacksaw Ridge At times, impressive. Gibson's craftsmanship and competence as a director is at best displayed in the war scenes, which are beautifully shot. And there is an enjoyable old-fashioned sensibility to the whole affair. They don't really make war films like this these days. Having said that, it's often more sentimental than you'd like. But more importantly, Hacksaw Ridge often came off rather conflicted. For a film centred around a pacifist and his firm belief against violence, Gibson sure resorts to a lot of chip violent thrills, especially in the third act. And while they're entertaining enough, having Vince Vaughn comically pulled on a sled while shooting down a bunch of Japs, while spiritual Bible passages are being recited and corpses are piling up....it all just doesn't mesh well together. Or at least it seems to play against the protagonist's code. Overall, probably my least favourite of Gibson's directorial efforts. Silence Quiet, subtle, harrowing and powerful. It may just be my favourite of the year, alongside Manchester. This is an important film, and it's a shame it mostly flew under the radar this season. Garfield should have been nominated for this over Hacksaw. Also, this might be the most beautiful looking film of the year. It's often like watching a painting come to life. Score on the other hand, was inconsequential or non-existent, but this wasn't a movie that needed music. Kubo and the Two Strings Beautifully made and visually dazzling. The mythology of the story owes a lot to the animators for bringing it to life. And Marianelli's score works wonders in film by the way. He should be getting more work like this. This should get the Oscar for Best Animated feature, but I'm sure it'll lose to the lighter Zootopia. Lion Not bad. The film is shot very well and is carried by a strong cast. Kidman stole the show for me, but Patel was quite good and I hope this film allows him to get more diverse opportunities. Still, when you look back at it, there really isn't much meat to the narrative arc. Feels like a Facebook story bent to meet your usual drama-fare beats. Hell or High Water Solid Western thriller. Small and intimate, but well-made. Cast is great.

Don't you mean: What an exciting toy. A radar dish.

This is cannon.

That's why I did not include her in my list. Donna came back, but not as a companion.

Who the fuck would confuse the smashing black Martha Jones with those crusty old white women?

maybe it's the "weird years" 1994-1999

Stop avoiding the question! Come on, we are between friends, you can tell us anything. Nobody will tell you you are wrong if you pick the wrong one...

Everything on the OST is Goldsmiths

I like the bad girl geisha who isn't in the movie nearly enough. What kind of ruins it for me is how the story is ultimately of a young woman hooking up with an older man she met when she was a little squirt. It's just too creepy. Now, if it's the other way around, it's alright. Which brings me to my last-watched film: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones I loved it. This movie is almost as bashed as President Trump. It's really an odd thing because it was fairly well-received at the time it was released, which wasn't that long ago. People were saying it was the best one since Empire and that Star Wars had been redeemed. These fools have been saying the same thing since Disney started releasing their fan service cash grabs. I can understand some of the criticism. It's a very odd film, to say the least. Performances are all over the place, I admit, but I think that adds to its charm. It really is like a B movie. It cannot be denied that's what Lucas was going for. I especially enjoy the scenes on Tatooine. It's a brief but poignant diversion from the main story with neat visuals and music. Actually, it's one of the few times where the score is able to really come alive. I also really love the arena scene. One thing about this movie is that it's mostly what Quentin Tarantino would call a hangout movie. It picks up about an hour in, then becomes a hangout movie again, then picks up again. In the last half hour, it becomes exciting with all the characters uniting in a a climactic battle. You want it to keep going, but it suddenly ends. I always have fun with it, so I won't criticize it much. It is a damn shame what happened to the music. The original stuff that made it in there is not only mixed extremely low, it's constantly chopped to bits with no apparent good reason. This thing must have been edited to hell and back. My only other real complaint is the editing of the ending in the Blu-ray version. It's extremely sloppy and I don't understand it since the original cut was better.

It's great when you get to miss a month of high school.

Zelda is better because at one time, it had the incorrect honor of being written by John Williams back when Napster was legal.

All of us are just wildly speculating, but here is another wild speculation. Johnson began editing the film in August. There is a good chance Williams is scoring a near-final edit. Any other film would require no more than 3 months of editing and be locked. It is just that SW has a weird release date that there is more time between post-production and release. Accustomed to Lucas's and JJ's indecisiveness, people here are assuming any director would keep making substantial edits over that period, which would affect the score. Maybe Johnson is not Lucas or JJ (or maybe he is, again, just speculating).

Exactly. But there are people on one side who will always listen to the music, and other people on the other side that will always listen to the sound. I feel deeply sorry for the second category of people!

Well, he's not done just yet. The Doctor returns at Easter ... kinda like Jesus, but considerably more fun and probably easier to believe in.

It's about as good as Breaking Bad.

Your logical conclusion then seems to be that people should just shut up. And i'm not sure if that is exactly a great starting point for moving forward. Also you wilfully bend the context of two events that do not really share any DNA - as i wrote earlier, the fiendish logic behind the Trump administration's strategy was completely lacking in the Obama example. So let's be grateful if now people gradually wake up to the erosion of the few sturdy pillars the system has.

So were you in Sweden by any chance last week when the horrible and appalling attacks happened?

I've never understood why, in an age of surround sound speaker systems, soundtrack releases are only stereo. Why not have a 7.1 surround mix that replicates the orchestra's recording environment in the studio?

I really love Michael Daugherty. This work is very compelling to me because it mixes so many influences in such a unique way. In this work you get vintage sci-fi, John Adams style post minimalism, modernism, old school melody, etc. I don't think I've heard a piece from this composer that I didn't enjoy. Hell's Angels is a concerto for four bassoons and orchestra. I might be mistaken about this but I believe that Daugherty's background is as a rock musician first who went classical and I think that mix is part of what makes him so interesting. He LOVES pop culture (for example his Metropolis Symphony is based on Superman comics but is a massive symphony) but is very skilled in concert music so the combination is so engaging to me and others since his latest recording (also great) just won the Grammy. I met him at the Cabrillo festival a few years ago when they played one of his works and he is very down to earth and charming. But have a listen and let his music speak for itself.

By "grown up responsibilities", obviously you mean having kids, which is something I'd rather dodge. Like Vietnam and the draft.

I'm just as concerned as you. But here's the thing: I always have been. Most people bitching about Trump haven't raised an eyebrow at every check that was marked before even Trump. I'm angry with those who were fine/ignorant with this stuff when it was done by people who they agreed with. They were willfully blind to the underlying damage it did to democratic foundations. Now that the purveyor of questionable actions is someone they don't like they're suddenly crying for freedom. And it goes both ways: there are plenty of Trump fans who are cheering this behavior with nary a concern for the implications to the underlying system.

I was anticipating it for many months, but waiting until the time of release to judge it. The prototype images can end up being nothing like the final product. Look at the highly-anticipated Last Crusade figures Hasbro produced years ago. The prototype images looked incredible. Like 4-inch scale NECA figures, actually. But aside from Henry Jones Senior, the figures as released looked really wonky. A similar thing occurred when Mattel released new figures based on the Tim Burton Batman movies a couple years ago. The only one that didn't look wonky was the Penguin. But this is a huge nearly 18-inch figure. It's safe to say that the final figure exceeds my expectations. She went from a figure that looked pretty cool but I was unsure I wanted to spend over $100 on to an incredible work of art that I'd spend hundreds of dollars on. She does come with an alternate head with her mask intact, but I have to say the likeness is somewhat off on that one. She's really meant to displayed with this head, as the suit is modeled on how she looked in the finale of the movie when she goes to assassinate Max Shreck for the second time. It looks just like her! Now if only NECA would produce some Titanic figures.

Well sure, in some parallel reality the former POTA probably also acted like a retarded bully and declared war on a huge number of conservative media outlets tweeting #shamFox! every 2 hours.

Good call - I agree. It's strange, though, that he calls it Vader's theme when it doesn't occur with his big entrance and when it does occur with him onscreen, it's usually pretty subdued. Perhaps he thought the motif better suited to underscore than big presentations, especially since he seems to associate it with softer, muted sounds as he says in the notes. And that's probably why (in addition to Vader's larger role in the film, as he has said) he felt the need to write Vader a new theme for the sequel - thank goodness!

Agreed!

The statement of the Rebel Fanfare with Vader after the explosion can be misinterpreted if viewed out of context. The theme is more than just a "good guy" theme, it's more of a "good guys in trouble" theme. This is how it appears in most statements in the film, especially the most prominent ones like in the opening sequence or as the Falcon gets caught in the Death Star's tractor beam. There are one or two statements where it appears with the good guys alone, like after the big Force theme statement in the binary sunset scene, but these only reinforce its good-guy association. With all this in mind, hearing it with Vader spin out of control at the end would only suggest how the Rebels have struggled against him, not that it somehow signifies the Empire. By the way, in the liner notes to the original LP for Star Wars, Williams identifies several "themes" from the score: those for Leia, Luke, Ben, and the Death Star, but he also identifies a theme for Vader (by which I presume he means the music with Vader's entrance) and the Jawas. It's strange that he doesn't mention the Rebel Fanfare or the Imperial Motif (or even the Stormtroopers' music) but does mention music that probably doesn't register as a theme for most here (Vader) and another span of music that, while fulfilling the criterion of returning in the score, isn't one of the film's most prominent themes (Jawas). This is why the saga could really use a clear and comprehensive, Doug-Adams-style treatment of all its themes.

Star Wars Celebration Will Start With 40th Anniversary Tribute http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-celebration-orlando-kicks-off-with-epic-tribute-to-sagas-40th-anniversary Complete score release announcement?

Really? Awesome if that's the case.

Indeed, self. I thought of this thread (and another which has vanished) when I was obsessively listening to this part over and over again today. Then I realized I'd already declared this my favorite non-Williams short musical moment. Let me also say that the entire piece and score is great and very likely my favorite Goldsmith and Trek score. 1:53 It truly is one of the greatest moments ever. It's the very essence of Star Trek, Jerry Goldsmith, film scores, music and indeed life itself. It's better than everything.

This is too cool for words.