orrakul

No one will know whether the ROTS score is a failure until they've seen the film. I refuse to listen to the score first; I'm going to see the film, and then go and buy the CD...

OK, so I'm also new to the site, but I'm blown away by the original post... Is Tom Petty still alive, and why would anyone think that he's at the pinnacle of musical composition? The suggestion that film music is inadequate or inferior because it's not in the Top 40 is ridiculous; Bentley's don't sell anywhere close to what Ford pickup trucks sell, but which would you rather own? Popularity is not necessarily an indicator of quality. I also deny that John Williams writes simple tunes. If you listen to the strings, horns, woodwinds etc. separately, there's a lot of different things happening that sound amazing when combined. At best Tom Petty had to do 1 set of drums, a guitar, base guitar, lead vocal and backup vocal. Tom Petty's stuff sounds pretty much the same doesn't it? You can't say that Star Wars, Close Encounters, Schindler's List, Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can all sound the same. You know what you get when rockers try and compose film music? You get the scores for "Dune" and "Ladyhwake"...

I can see JW getting $2+ million for a score these days; I heard that he got $1 million for each of the "Indy" films. He also gets a percentage of CD sales (apparently James Horner got $20 Million just for the CD sales on Titanic). I also heard that a composer's fee usually includes all costs for the orchestrators amd musicians; it's a package deal for the producer. Why would anyone pay Danny Elfman more money than JW?

I think that Connery and Brosnan were the best Bonds. By "A View to a Kill", Roger Moore was just a joke; more of a disco bond than the tough character that Connery created in "Dr. No". Can't imagine why they are considering Orlando Bloom - this is almost as stupid an idea as when there was a rumour that they were going to make Bond a female... John Crichton's right, Bloom's just the flavour of the month...

No, Spielberg's films aren't too sentimental. His films may be evoke emotion, but isn't that what great cinema is supposed to do? I must admit that I wondered about the "I could have done more" scene in Schindler's List. But you take the bad with the good: what about the scene in Private Ryan where the mother finds out 3 of her sons have been killed? There's no dialogue - just music and acting: cinema at its purest. What about these scenes - I think all of them are great?: Last scene of Color Purple; Last scene of Close Encounters; all of E.T. - these all evoke emotions without going overboard.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I've enjoyed all of the versions, but prefer the original 1977 release to all other versions. I think it's one of Spielberg's greatest films. 2001 is artistically/technically magnificent, without a doubt, but it's not a very engaging film - it leaves me cold.

Living Daylights - no contest. Great movie and an even better score...

In no particular order: Close Encounters Blade Runner Vertigo Star Wars (Episodes 4 to 6) Apollo 13 Cinema Paradiso E.T. Temple of Doom Signs Lawrence of Arabia Back to the Future Trilogy

Hadn't heard of Giacchino until I just saw "The Incredibles" DVD. I loved the score. It created such an excellent feeling for the film. Will certainly be keeping my eyes (and ears) open for more work by this guy.

What about George Fenton / Andy Tennant?

I like the score a lot. Apparently, it's one of the scores that a young Steven Spielberg admired, and caused him to want to work with John Williams. I find the music has a very "American" feel to it; it's got energy and a sense of potential...

"Catch Me If You Can" - the more I listen, the more I like it + "The Incredibles" - a really good score

ST-321 raised a good point, but I always wait until I've seen the film before I listen to the score... I find that if I know the score too well before I see a film, it kind of takes me out of the film experience...

Yes, the first poster is definitely the best. When Star Wars (Ep. 4) was released, George Lucas was likely much more idealistic; this was evidenced in the poster and the film itself. I wish I could like the new Star Wars films as much as I did the original 3 - but they, like George Lucas, are just very cold, calculated and corporate. Has George Lucas become Darth Vader?