Uni

This is the process I went through as well. I thought it was horribly ugly at first . . . but after growing to like, and then eventually falling in love with, the show, it became quite a striking design. It was the people inside that ultimately gave it the appeal it finally had.

Whoops--missed that part! Sorry. Didn't mean to step on your toes. I just recall it being mentioned, and I didn't want to have to go back through and search for it. I figured we might take a little longer with this one for that reason. But I also figured that if people are listening through his works right now anyway, they might keep this ulterior motive bookmarked in the back of their mind while they're doing it. And there's no reason people can't talk their way through it here, too--sort of let the discussion help gel things in their decision-making process. I actually think we could probably guess what scores will comprise the list right now; it's the order that'll be really interesting. Frankly, I know most of what'll be on my own list already . . . but choosing which one gets the top spot? That's going to take a little time.

As I was considering the logistics of the Top 10 Horner Scores poll, I started thinking . . . while we're at it, why not dig a little deeper? We never did this one for JW, but Mr. Horner is a little more on everyone's mind right now, and a lot of us are spending some quality time digging deeper into the man's opuses anyway. I thought it would be interesting to see not only how his broader works compared to one another, but which individual compositions floated near the top in people's minds. There may be scores that don't make the other Top 10 list that have single pieces that would stand out to a lot of people here. The rules are pretty much the same here as on the other poll (post your list from mostest-favorite on down), with one extra guideline to keep in mind: what with so many different versions of some scores available out there, it would be best--though not absolutely required, I guess--to stick to OST titles and arrangements where possible. If a piece you want to list wasn't on the OST but did appear in a later release, that's fine, of course; but the point here isn't to see how various versions of the same piece compete against one another. If you like one portion of a piece but don't care for the rest, it should still be listed by the title of the entire piece, not as "the second half of 'Bird of Prey Decloaks' from 1:43 on" and the like. Naturally, commentary on these is also welcome and encouraged--and makes for a much better place to specify which parts of the piece you like best, along with the whens and whys of it. I'll publish the results of this poll at the same time as the other one (whenever that winds up being). And, like the other one . . . I haven't yet had time to sort through my own choices yet, but that's no reason to put off everyone else's tee time.

Someone in the "memorial" thread suggested we do our JWFan patented Top 10 poll for Mr. Horner, the same one we've done for Mr. Williams twice. No one else has volunteered yet to spearhead the project, and since I was always disappointed I couldn't put together the Film Composers' World Cup, I might as well be the one to kick things off on this. The process should be familiar enough by now: Post your ten favorite James Horner scores (or the ones you consider his best) in order, starting with your favorite first, second favorite next, etc. You can number them if you like; if you don't, I'll assume the order you place them in is how you want them scored. That's pretty much it. If you can't come up with ten you've heard, list as many as you know and like; the top spot will still be given the same score as anyone else's. We'll run this for a week or two. I'll try to keep up with the tabulation, so it doesn't take too long after time has been called to publish the results. (I haven't given deep thought to my own list yet, but I figured there's no reason not to let everyone start compiling their own.) One more thing: you're welcome to just post a list of titles if you'd like, but feel free to add some commentary on why you've chosen any or all of your scores, why you've ordered them the way you have, or even just how you react to the music when you hear it. It would make another nice memoriam for the man if we expanded on how each of us reached our conclusions.

That was just plain awesome.

I'm betting we're going to see a lot of new, expanded Horner releases over the next couple of years (and I certainly hope Willow will be one of them).

Polished off my next tribute video today. Wanted to get it done and posted by 9:30 PDT, but it wasn't to be. Oh, well. Of all the ones I've done so far, I'm most pleased with this one. I only used three pieces this time, but didn't have to edit the longest at all: "Preparations for Battle" sums up the story and mood for the entire picture so well it didn't need me to interfere. (It's also the piece I listened to at 9:30 this morning.) Hope it works for you as well.

It was "Preparations for Battle" for me again. Just can't separate that music from the man. I think it's his best moment all the way around. Now preparing to upload a tribute video for that score (I'd hoped to have it finished by the deadline, but couldn't quite get it done. . . .).

No. Not like this. He hasn't faced death. He's cheated death. He's tricked his way out of death, and patted himself on the back for his ingenuity. He knows nothing.

And liking Spock and Bones . . . isn't. I love the E as well. Wish I could get my hands on a (relatively cheap) model. But the Constitution refit will always be the Enterprise to me.

Oh, no apologies necessary. I was just having a little fun with the fact that we always seem to come full circle to Horner's predilection for self-replication. (And it caught my interest because it was the first example of it I ever noticed, back in my early days as a collector.)

Actually, that last shot is the Enterprise-A, which completely lacks the nuance of the more dramatically lit Enterprise refit (and therefore sucks). But the movie ship will always be the superior version.

Well, now we're getting into semantics. Really, when you think about it, even moderate, genuine laughter represents a slight loss of control. Robin Williams once said it's pretty much the same thing as an orgasm (rolling his eyes, he said in a goofy voice, "Is this fun or what?"). You're letting go and allowing yourself to look like a fool. In most cases, though, if something's really funny then everyone else around you isn't any more in control than you are. I saw Brian Regan in concert a couple of years ago, and it was like riding a wave of laughter. (You would've hated it—everyone there was laughing and crying at the same time.) I laughed my ass of at that movie. Hilarious. Of course it's not impossible. Most of the time in only lasts a few seconds. But it is a genuine reaction.

Actually, that's a full minute where "The Chase" from Cocoon is an exact replica of a minute from the "Genesis Countdown" in TWOK—complete with unique syncopated rhythms and everything. It's way to precise to be a simple example of a tune stuck in his head that wound up in another film; I have to think he was getting pressed for time and intentionally lifted that section because he liked the sound and it fit well (and, to be sure, there's no question it works in both contexts). So what profound conclusion can we draw from this? James Horner occasionally copied himself. Stop the presses.

See, I wouldn't call that an emotional reaction. It's a physical reaction—pure adrenaline. You don't have time to generate feelings (just excrement).

I'm not talking about uncontrollable laughter. I'm just talking about laughing aloud. Sharing that with an audience is part of the fun of watching a comedy. That, at least, is a sensible explanation (though it makes Australia sound like kind of a dull place). Cultural differences absolutely account for a lot when it comes to expressing emotion. There are those extremes again. No one's talking about waterworks or hyenas (although I will say that watching episodes of TNG at StarCons with other fans was one of the more raucous experiences of my life). But are you saying that the tears have never welled for you during episodes like "The Inner Light," "Darmok," "Family," "Tapestry," and the like? Not that you were a blubbering idiot, but just that you let it get to you? I just can't imagine experiencing that show without experiencing it fully. But again, that may just be my cultural upbringing being different than yours, nothing more or less.

Some of Horner's best tributes have come for those already dead. I felt the finale of TWOK was a more moving affectation of Spock's passing than the death scene itself. And the way Field of Dreams honors the relationship, regret, and reconciliation between Ray and his father throughout the film (and especially at the end) was magnificent. I was going to mention that example too! It was a fitting, mournful end to a "character" that had been around since the beginning. I've never seen anyone cry during a movie. People talk about it a lot, but I'm starting to think it's an urban legend.When I saw Titanic in the theaters, there was a group of junior-high girls a few rows in front of us. As Rose and Jack were saying their goodbyes on the wooden headboard, they were bawling. I mean, they were completely puddled out. It was pretty pathetic (and more than a little annoying). So I suppose it does happen to that extent once in a while. Those who allow themselves to experience emotions, yes. Why does it have to be one absolute extreme or another? When people talk about "crying" in a movie, they usually mean tearing up. Not crumbling to pieces (like the junior high crew). And not merely "almost-kinda-thinkin'" about a tear coming close to the surface. They manifest. We wipe them away. It means a movie's gotten to you (in the best kind of way), that's all. The laughing usually happens in the middle ground as well—although sometimes it's just a smile, and sometimes it's straight-up guffawing. Surely you've attended a screening where the audience is laughing out loud. You can't possibly be that sheltered. How very . . . touching. I would've thought the person who famously states "Star Trek is better than everything" would be basing the claim on his passion for the franchise. It loses a bit of credibility once you learn it's founded merely on statistical data.

Iris - A lot of Horner scores had variety in their approaches based on the content of the individual scenes—emotive stuff for drama, action chops for busywork, pensive material for thoughtful stuff. On the other hand, if you're looking for a score that's like immersing yourself in nothing but a pure, undistilled, scrumtrulescent James Horner milieu, Iris is the perfect fit. It's got enough familiar techniques (the piccolo runs from Spitfire Grill, that mellifluous, mellow horn, etc.) that you can't mistake it for anything but JH, yet he steers mostly clear of any melodic repeats of earlier material. In fact, there isn't much in the way of theme or motif here at all. It's all atmosphere, and gorgeous straight through. Its lack of variation makes it a bit of a long haul, but each individual piece is magnificent in its construction and execution. Another phenomenal work (for a film I still haven't seen).

"Docking" is essential. (For me, anyway.)

Definitely. The bits of dialogue in between pieces on the OST is fun, but did they really need to put long-since released songs in there as well, instead of more of this phenomenal score? One of his very best. The movie would not have been the same if it had been done by another composer.

Speaking of Black Gold . . . I consider that the first step in his new Renaissance. So disappointing to think that theory will never have a chance to be proven. Where the River Runs Black - Horner scored this obscure little film the same year he did Aliens and An American Tail. I think it had a lower budget for music, because he steered away from the full-orchestra approach and instead laid down a lot of synth material backed up by a small set of musicians. The result is interesting, in that it shows a lot of Horner's technique and proclivities in a different voice than he usually brought to his work. Tracks like "Magic Kitchen" have that sort of sprightly chaos he layered into Searching for Bobby Fischer, only with less instrumental range. The rest of it is a lot of the sort of synthetic rhythms Silvestri put into Romancing the Stone. Certainly not Horner's greatest work, but it has some value as far as comparing it to his other scores. Not the snare drum rhythm, I'm sure.No. They aren't even close rhythmically. Great, great movie. Tons of fun. Sort of the cyber-hack techno-thriller thing before "cyber" was even really part of the language, but with a clever, slyly humorous bent on all the proceedings. I watched it again recently, and even though the technology's older it still didn't seem at all dated.

I dunno . . . It's fairly omnipresent in Enemy at the Gates (though not as a centralized "theme"), and you have to consider how many times it's repeated—especially in buildup fashion—as Khan's theme in TWOK. In Troy it's the main action motif and used a lot in every battle cue. Had I started to add them up I would've lost count. I actually gave that project serious thought once—I mean, catalogue every instance of the danger motif in all of Horner's released works. A daunting task, to say the least (though it wouldn't surprise me if someone out there on the interwebs has already done it). I got distracted by other things at the time and never followed through. Perhaps one of these days. . . .

I dunno . . . It's fairly omnipresent in Enemy at the Gates (though not as a centralized "theme"), and you have to consider how many times it's repeated—especially in buildup fashion—as Khan's theme in TWOK.

They're probably up on YouTube (and well worth watching).

I loved Horner in those interviews. My proudest moment of him was when they threatened to find someone else to score the movie when he couldn't write the entire thing like overnight. He said, "Please do, because I'd love to meet the person who could pull that off." They backed down after that. Absolutely. I think this would be great fun (though the list would probably be pretty much as predictable as the JW one was). Inevitable. The same happens with in the literary world, too. Many of the "giants" only achieve their inordinate stature after their deaths. Most people here have done the same. We've had a few Horner detractors over the years—but we've seen nearly as many Goldsmith and even Williams snipers here, too. That's exactly what I thought when I read that! Might as well be saying, "It's not like he's intuitive or capricious; more like abstract, in an impressionistic, interpretive sort of way." Huh?!