Uni

Saw it. Loved it. Further comments reserved for the spoilers-allowed thread.

29 pages already. Gawd. Having seen the movie (unexpectedly) on opening weekend, I thought I'd be able to do a quick read-up on people's impressions before offering my own. Not to be. I may just have to do my own write-up and respond to everyone else's later. . . .

Tickets purchased for Saturday. It's been a long, long time since I've seen a film in the first day or two of its release (these days, we just eventually get around to seeing movies . . . if we wind up seeing them at all). I like the idea of being part of a record-breaking opening weekend. The only review I've read so far was in USAToday. The critic gave it four stars, and affirmed what I've most been hoping for: that this feels like a classic Star Wars movie (unlike the prequels). Even if it can't surpass the OT, I just want a chance to go back to that place. The critic also called Williams' score "sparkling." Nice that they're still paying attention to that particular detail. I would like to say I'm approaching this calmly, like an adult, no big deal. But the kid in me--who remembers vividly what it was like playing as Han Solo in the corridors of the Death Star during recess in elementary school in the years following the first movie's release--is bouncing off the walls trying to get out. I can't remember the last time I looked forward this much to going to the movies. That's been my protocol as well. There are folks around here who actually think it's funny to spoil movies for people. No way I'm taking that risk.

I've often wondered that. There are undeniable similarities. . . .

Still waiting. Tick tock, tick tock. . . .

Thanks much. Hope you enjoy it!

It's up and running. Click on the link in my signature to take a look.

I've been trying to get a new page up on Facebook for about a month and a half. Haven't had enough time to polish it off . . . until now. I'm looking to launch it tomorrow. It'll focus on film scores--release news, trivia, bits 'n' pieces about scores present and past, and a daily sampling of music from scores both popular and obscure. The idea is to inform and educate, to get more people thinking about the music they probably love without being aware they love it (like many of us were in the days before we became collectors), maybe even nurture the hobby in a few people already on the edge of the idea. And it's a chance for me to get to talk about this subject I adore so much. I've wanted to pursue . . . something like this for a long time. My main conundrum was the format. I have neither the time nor the energy to do a full-blown blog, mostly because I know I wouldn't be able to resist all the bells and whistles that would inevitably gobble up hours every day (not to mention all the effort that goes into promotion). I thought this would offer a better compromise, something that would require only a few hours a week but still provide plenty of content. It's taken me this long to develop an "assembly line" that'll make rolling material out a short and simple process, but I think I'm ready to tackle this thing. I'll post a link here once the page is published. It would be nice to see some of you there, perhaps even commenting and contributing once in a while.

What the hell is pre-emphasis (see what I did there)?

"Didn't your mother ever wash your mouth out with soap?" "Yeah. Didn't do any fuckin' good." Another great character actor lost. He was always so . . . comfortable in the shoes of the people he portrayed. He's another one who'll be missed.

This is what I get for not getting over to the JW forum for a while. How the hell did I miss this one. . . ? I knew about Jaws 2, and have been appropriately excited about getting my copy of it. I wonder if, when I glanced over the list of new releases, I misread "JAWS 2-CD" to mean Jaws 2. On CD, I guess. (Please don't ask me to explain how my brain works.) This is great news as well, though I have to say for once I'm slightly less interested in the new material than in the new sound of the old material. I've always thought this had something of a distant, "dusty" sound to it, not completely inappropriate for an ocean mystery but sadly inferior to so much of JW's usual Golden Age sound. It gave some cues (like "Ben Gardner's Boat," for instance) a sort of melancholic, almost disinterested manner, like the orchestra was too distracted to put a complete effort into their performance. I know that wasn't the case, and I'm thrilled to get to hear what it should've sounded like all along.

IT'S ABOUT %&$#@! TIME!!! I've been waiting for an expanded release of this score for years. My favorite Barry work, by far (and one of my favorite films). Can't wait to get this one. I agree that--ironically--the main theme (meaning the John Dunbar Theme) is the relative lowlight of the score. Much as I love the work as a whole, this piece never did much for me . . . and it irks me to no end that this is always the piece played on radio programs and in compilations. Just about every other theme is so much better: the Journey to Fort Sedgewick, Two Socks, Rescuing Dances With Wolves, The Buffalo Hunt, and the ever-pleasant and satisfying Buffalo Robe theme. This is one of Barry's richest thematic palettes, and most people can't think past the main character's ballad. What a waste. Theatrical cut or director's cut? Y'know, somehow I just assumed both cuts would be included on the blu-ray. No idea why I did that. Checked Amazon and it looks like I got the director's cut. It's for the best. If you're going to do it, then take the whole journey. This is one four-hour experience that never felt longer than a standard-length movie to me.

Most people here are. Most folks out there who know JW only from his Golden Age scores won't have a clue. That's unfortunate, but hardly unexpected. Sabrina is indeed a gorgeous theme, and one of his best romantic works. I think one of the reasons it winds up on the back burner for most people (even many JW fans) is the movie it's correlated with. The original was so much better. As much as they tried to recreate the magic, Ormond wasn't able to come close to projecting the bright innocence of Hepburn, and Ford just wasn't gruff enough to match Bogart's portrayal. You expect Ford to be the romantic lead who gets the girl (no matter how old he is); audiences weren't sure it would be Bogey who won out back in 1954. It dampened the story, and that impression--at least for me--prevented a true appreciation of the music for a while. I've grown to love it, though. And now I'm going to listen to it again, just 'cause you put it back on my radar, William. (Welcome to the boards, by the way. . . !)

Brilliant recording artist. Another one lost from a passing age. . . .

Most of it, yeah. The "New Worlds Theme" breaks out of that mold, and remains a pretty impressive piece. But the rest of the score has grown (for me, at least) pretty pedantic.

Wow. I didn't expect this to be the case, but based on the information in Ricard's post I guess I win the prize. One of the earliest soundtrack CDs was actually my very earliest CD purchase. I got my first CD-playing stereo in 1987, and the first disc I bought was 2010. I thought the outer-spacey sound would be cool on the new technology. And I wasn't wrong; when the first, steady notes of "Earth/Space" ponged out of the speakers in absolute clarity, I was hooked for life (on the format--not the score, which has since become a pretty badly-dated synth effort from the distant past). That was followed closely by Return of the Jedi, Close Encounters, Explorers, and other varied and sundry Varese releases (most of my library in those days was solid maroon).

I'm not sure what you're specifically disagreeing with in my statement. I can believe that British music listeners, being so much closer to the European roots of classical music, perhaps have a greater appreciation for that genre of music in general (though I think you greatly overestimate Americans' disinterest in it). But the fact that the top 5 on their list is made up entirely of "gateway" scores--the term I use for popular and high-selling soundtracks that awaken people who previously ignored film music to the merits of the art form--tends to suggest I wasn't all that far of the mark. However "historical" and "intellectual" the Brits may be, they still voted for the titles most listeners to classical stations in this country would choose.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. When you know what 6 out of the 10 scores are going to be, what fun is the list. . . ?

Okay, folks. Time to get back to it. You've had the length of an entire season and more to give this some thought. Those of you who haven't settled on your Top 10 Jerrys need to start doing some prioritizing. The list so far is interesting, but needs some more votes to settle things (particularly the end of the list, which has a lot of room for flux at this point). For those of you who've already voted, you still have a chance to review your choices and decide whether your opinion has changed on anything. The floor's still open to both submission and revision.

Not completely unrelated (I did bring up the JW list, after all). I had in mind to follow up in the way some folks had suggested, starting another poll sometime around the beginning of the year. Seems appropriate enough. In the meantime, I've been meaning to bump the Goldsmith Top 10 poll, which never got finished and which everyone in the world seems to have forgotten about. Maybe we'll wrap that up around the time we launch the next Horner Top 10. Yeah, but then the list would've been right.

Ditto. I love what I've seen so far, but one of my greatest fears, apart from getting hit with spoilers from outside sources, is that I'll wind up spoiling it for myself by putting too many of the pieces together. And anyway, I don't need any more trailers to tell me this is going to be great. I just want to get to the damn greatness already. . . !

Bah. A half-informed audience voting on the small pool of music they've heard in the past, no doubt with a few actual collectors in the mix somewhere. Gladiator's presence in the top 5 undoes a lot of credibility here. (Not that it's a bad score by any means, but . . . #3 All-Time? Please.) The appearance of Out of Africa on the list is interesting, though it probably represents nothing more than continuous playback by Classic FM. The import of LOTR winning for the last "six years running" is no great surprise, either. Polling the same audience once a year isn't going to lead to greatly varying results. After all, we voted here on JW's best scores twice; the two polls were done years apart, and while a few pieces traded places, most of the same titles appeared on the list (with ESB taking the win both times). Do they really think another poll of the same listeners--most of whom only hear the small sampling Classic FM gives them from week to week--a mere 12 months apart is going to yield a new winner? Ultimately it makes for a pretty useless exercise. Exactly. They've been programmed by what they hear on the station. I'm sure whoever hosts the film music program has a more thorough knowledge of film music than their listeners. Who among us, if we were hosting a show like this, would favor Gia over Jerry on a regular basis? Obviously not. The only Williams most (nearly all) of them have ever heard of is John, not Vaughan, who's even more obscure than the likes of Victor Young and Erich Korngold (who they probably don't know any more of than Vaughan Williams). Nor should they necessarily know much about any of them, either. Not everyone delves as deeply into this particular hobby as many of us do. Some people just like hearing music from the movies they know. I think I need Barbara Billingsly to translate. . . .

So if Luke's Lieutenant Dan, that makes for an interesting rethinking of Lando, there. From "I'm the administrator of this facility" to "That's my bowt." Life is like a Cloud City under Darth Vader's protection. You never know what you're gonna get. The radar dish might've been knocked off, but in close-up shots of the Falcon you can still see where he painted the name "Jenny."

So if Luke's Lieutenant Dan, that makes for an interesting rethinking of Lando, there. From "I'm the administrator of this facility" to "That's my bowt."

The Main Theme from The King's Speech. For days now. Such a pleasant, relaxing little tune.