mrbellamy

To be honest, though, that ship sailed a long time ago. Even a "Deathly Hallows" score by John Williams himself would probably end up resulting in little more than a novelty, as far as musical continuity is concerned.

Ah, but then, it wouldn't play when Gryffindor scores during Quidditch.... or it would play when both Gryffindor AND Slytherin scores Don't forget it also plays very specifically exactly when Ron and Harry get sorted into Gryffindor. Though, interestingly enough, it doesn't play when Hermione gets sorted. Point taken. Then I guess it would be a joint Hogwarts/Gryffindor theme since the two are so closely intertwined in the film anyway. Or maybe a general majesty/victory theme. Or maybe Williams just doesn't understand the concept of leitmotif In the end, it's just a feel thing. We can analyze it and try to pinpoint specific reasons for why certain themes are placed in certain sections all we want, but if it feels right, it feels right.

Agreed on this, and I think it's also important to consider that Harry and all of his friends are Gryffindors, so obviously everything we see onscreen that is related to Hogwarts, 9 times out of 10, it's going to be through the eyes of a Gryffindor student. That doesn't mean that the theme is actually about them, it's about Hogwarts as a whole. Ultimately, I think the labels on the OST or in the children's suite are entirely irrelevant. If they fit, great, but if not, they're just titles. We should really just pay attention to how Williams establishes these themes in the film itself. "Hedwig's Theme", for instance, appears several times in the opening minutes of the film, long before we're even introduced to Hedwig, which indicates that in the film, at least, it's less about the bird and more about the picture as a whole. Likewise, "Nimbus 2000" first appears in playful variations during the zoo scene, and then again when Harry learns to fly. These two scenes don't really have much in common, which indicates that it is not really attached to anything specific and is, as was said earlier, more of a flexible and interchangeable mischief/action theme. Conversely, in the 2nd film, "Fawkes the Phoenix" appears a number of times and is consistently attached to appearances of that character, which means that it would have been jarring to hear it used when Hagrid returns. And "A Window to the Past" appears repeatedly in the 3rd film, and is consistently associated with very distinct, emotional moments, usually of nostalgia or longing. So, obviously, a playful pizzicato version during the Malfoy snowball fight would have been inappropriate.

The LA Times just posted a behind-the-scenes look on the creation of the score: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2010/10/27/harry-potter-countdown-exclusive-video-on-the-making-of-hallows-music/

How great that due to my effed up computer I can't listen to it. Are there other sites that have the samples?

The movie audience knows Dumbledore died in Film 6. In Film 7, we will see him buried in a tomb just outside Hogwarts, with his wand. It's really not necessary at all to see the burial itself, the audience will be able to put two-and-two together. Anyway, love what I'm hearing, so far. Seems that little ascending, 4-note motif at the beginning of the "Obliviate" sample is going to be the primary musical identity of the film, it keeps popping up in the other samples. I just hope Desplat has found ways to extend it, or has written a longer theme that we just aren't hearing. I feel like those 4 notes could get incredibly irritating after 2.5 hours...

That makes a lot of sense about the dance, Once. I forgot they added that, and it at least keeps it all chronological, presuming that's where the scene is.

This is confusing. These two tracks are presumably taken from the same scene in the film (part of an opening sequence that shows the central trio preparing for their journey, and features Hermione "modifying" her parents' memories, giving them new aliases, and sending them off to Australia for protection from Voldemort), so... - Why are there two separate tracks? - Why is "Hermione's Parents" placed in the middle of the album and so far away from its companion, when the rest of the tracks seem to be arranged chronologically? - Moreover, why do Hermione's parents land the honor of the longest piece of the album, clocking in at just under 6 minutes (!!!) when, by all accounts, they are never mentioned again in the film and their only scene is merely part of a handful of small, emotional beats before the title? - Why?

To be fair, that's really the only function it served in Williams' POA score, as well. I've found the minimal use of the theme appropriate, personally. Everyone knows the theme and recognizes it as the musical identity of HP, there's no use in beating a dead horse, and I actually appreciated Doyle's attempts to give it a fresh sound. I have more of a problem with the total disappearance of the other motifs and themes. Where's "Nimbus 2000"? Where's "A Window to the Past"? "Family Portrait"? What about the three-note loop? Where's Doyle's "Harry In Winter" theme? It's all so piecemeal.

Effort makes me respect the composer...but not the composition. At the end of the day, all that really matters is how effective the music is. (And although I do enjoy some parts of the score, there's something about it that kinda rubs me the wrong way.) Yeah, exactly, it's irrelevant as far as the objective listener is concerned. Nicholas Hooper put plenty of effort into his Potter scores, as well. He started work on them even before production of the films themselves started, and both scores are the result of 18-months work on his part. It took a tremendous amount of effort, but that's not the point. The point is that the scores themselves (while fun) are just not anywhere near the same standard that Williams was able to set with one-sixth of the time and effort Hooper put in.

Yeah, the script has all the bad language in tact. I don't know how much of what was told is true. The way I saw it in the film, Zuckerberg had a huge ego and pretty much just wanted the attention of his ex-girlfriend. i.e. "Have you heard about this totally awesome new website, Facebook? Yeah, I invented that while I was drunk one night. Be impressed." Yeah, I just watched it as a piece of entertainment sort-of inspired by true events. Just about everyone involved in either the movie or the actual events portrayed on-screen have asserted that everything in the movie is either totally made up or wildly twisted for dramatic effect, with only small details being accurate. By all accounts, Zuckerberg is actually a very nice guy, and as far as the ex-girlfriend subplot goes, I don't think it has any credence at all, considering he has apparently been with the same girl since long before he started Facebook.

Yeah, I love it. It's like a little glimpse into the recording studio, and I've never found it particularly intrusive to my overall listening experience. If anything, it adds to it. Finding something in the recording is no less exciting than finding something in the music itself, for me. My personal favorite sound would be those deep, sharp intakes of breath from a wind player during a solo

Actually, I was going to say that it looks like the Violin I part of Hedwig's Theme, rather than the celeste. Still, no idea why it's written in common time... And just because it's Track 3 and not in the opening seconds of the film doesn't necessarily mean it can't be Hedwig's Theme. Nicholas Hooper included a couple rather bold statements of the theme in his score for the sixth film (one can be found on Track 4, "Ginny" of the OST), and neither appeared right at the beginning. And I believe Desplat has said he's planning on using the theme quite a bit throughout his score.

Michael Apted's 21 Up. Working my way through the whole series. Loving it so far, the various changes and developments (or lack thereof) in the kids are pretty fascinating to see.

Agreed on this. I'm a fan of the books and the films, as well as a completist, so I just get a strange pleasure out of seeing all six albums side-by-side on the shelf, regardless of how good the music itself is. And while I agree with the majority that Doyle and Hooper's scores aren't anywhere near Williams', musically, they still serve their respective films perfectly fine, and they're a hell of a lot of fun on album, at least for someone like me, a Harry Potter fan who is always interested in hearing new music based on JK Rowling's universe. I'll take what I can get