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I have the new 2021 issue CD of Dracula / Curse of Frankenstein by James Bernard. It's a great listen, sound quality is excellent to my ears. [It is newly recorded after all, not from the 50s]. When I saw that the album ends with a new bonus track written by a modern composer I thought "oh no, filler material!" but it is actually a really good track and rounds off the album beautifully. Does anyone have this CD, or know of a digital download version? I ask because I suspect there is a small fault on my CD but need to check. Have searched for an online preview for comparison but turned up nothing. Track 1 seems to crash in just a little too quick, like a fraction of a second is clipped off the front, but I'm not sure. I looked at the waveform in Audacity but am still not convinced either way. If I return it, would a replacement CD just have the same fault anyway I wonder?

Oh yes, the earlier 90s expanded edition had unreleased music (and alternates of some description IIRC) and was beyond anything I'd ever imagined would happen, then the late 90s expanded expanded edition had even more and was also amazing. The expanded expanded expanded edition should really be quite something.

Thanks for the info, I thought there must be a lot more actual recordings. A lot of it would be bad takes and false starts, but since the Anthology box set way back when had about five different Main Title takes on it - and all good takes to my ear at least - I've wondered how much good stuff they actually have hidden away! Those Main Title takes are all of course the exact same cue but very different and well worth hearing. If there's rights issues involved then that's a problem but maybe a few highlights could be cleared? The Anthology boxset felt like a miracle from above back in the 90s so maybe history can repeat itself!

When JW says there were 226 minutes of music recorded for Episode IX, any idea how he would reach that figure? It can't be all the music recorded on each recording day, there would be way more, right? Does that figure represent just the final (or preferred) takes of each cue, all added up? If they want to go the Beatles route and do super-deluxe versions of each Star Wars album with every cue plus alternate takes, yes I will pay for that.

Even the preview seems to be gone now. And I never heard it.

Certainly ST-TMP has one of the very best scores I've ever heard, and I also think the movie is one of the very best SF movies too! Makes no pretence at being a crowd pleasing action adventure, it's deep and philosophical, as well as being beautifully shot, designed, constructed. Comparing it to the other ST films is like comparing 2001 to Battle Beyond the Stars. Anyway, I'm hoping the collective wisdom of this board can shed some light on the situation regarding the release of a FULL version of the ST-TMP score. There's quite a bit of music that never made the CD album, plus a LOT of alternates. In some cases the alternate is the one on the CD while the movie version is unreleased. The Main Title is a prime example. While the concert version on the album is awesome, the movie version tops it for me. Superman now has a very thorough release, as do Alien and others; so is there any reason that Star Trek - The Motion Picture couldn't get the same?

Good to hear that the Episode III music is well advanced. As for a video montage, when I said that the structure of the suite would be better suited with Duel of the Fates at the end and a central action piece for the podrace, I didn't mean the exact podrace music (which was only a short tracked section anyway IIRC) but just a piece with some drama to it. Including sound effects and dialogue will smooth over that difficulty though, as any quiet sections of music can be covered by explosions, engines and blasters if necessary! (Although sections of the movie sound will usually already include music, as well as sound effects, so that becoming audible in the mix might be a problem? Unusually, the podrace wouldn't have much of a problem there, with so little music on that sequence.) Listening to the suites though, I'm still leaning to the view that they are far too mellow to accompany a condensed visual version of the saga. I do have the ROTS music DVD but only ever watched it once on the day it was new, so will have to dig it out and see what their edits were like. I'm probably imagining something quite different from the actual intent!

Wouldn't work very well in practice, unfortunately. Imagine scenes of the lightsabre duel, followed by an Otoh Gunga scene, and then Anakin and company arriving on Coruscant, which is followed by some podracing action... it would be a mess. All this cutting and pasting works fine for a musical montage, but for a storytelling montage the structure is far less flexible. Isolating one thread of the story and putting it to one piece of music would work - perhaps the Anakin and Padme storyline accompanied by "Across the Stars", for example. If real work wasn't so hectic at present, that's the one I would have a go at. It's on my "to do" list... Another significant problem with creating a long montage sequence is that a large quantity of shots would be unusable because they contain dialogue. Shots of characters talking with no sound coming out look awful in a montage (it's known as "goldfishing") and once you've discarded all of those, filling a 25 minute suite with shots from just one episode would be impossible. A pacey suite of the main themes (Duel of the Fates, Across the Stars, Imperial March, and the like) would lend itself to a story montage of the whole saga, but I get the impression it's the music that comes first on this project, and quite rightly too because I'm waiting to hear the other episodes' suites!

I'm always wary of fan-made efforts, but I have listened to these Episode I and II suites lately and found them very enjoyable. Would certainly recommend that fans of "Star Wars" music give them a listen. Noticed that the website mentions the possibility of structuring a narrative video edit of the saga to accompany the music suites. I've done a fair bit of editing myself, and to achieve a high quality end product the amount of work involved would be truly horrifying; no wonder the editor pulled out - I'd still be running now. IMO it couldn't work anyway though, because the music suites would need to have been edited with the narrative flow in mind beforehand. For example, "Duel of the Fates" would have to be at the end of the Episode I suite rather than at the beginning, there would need to be a bit of action music about midway for the podrace, and so on. In any case, I suspect that the tracks are also just far too long for a "music video"-style edit (even if the music were re-edited with the narrative in mind). A 25 or 30 minute track for the whole saga could work, I think, but editing a video for it would still be an unenviable task. Hope to hear about an Episode 3 suite before too long!

Crap. What was I thinking... Sorry about the error with the track number as I hastily put up that edit list together. I'll give it another once over to see if there are any more mistakes. Crap x2 I've just used the info to make the complete edit, so it can't have too many errors! Think I shifted some edit points by a second or two in the end credits but that may have been more to do with my unmusical ear trying to fit the sections together. I do recall the track order being slightly different. Rather than: 1 Main Title 2 Yoda's Theme 3 Heroics of Luke and Han 4 Imperial March 5 Training of a Jedi Knight I think it was: (Side 1) 1 Main Title 2 Yoda's Theme 3 Training of a Jedi Knight 4 Heroics of Luke and Han (Side 2) 5 Imperial March and then the rest the same.

A slight correction to the instructions for recreating the original 1980 "Empire" album: 11. THE CITY IN THE CLOUDS SE CD 1 Track 10 (0:00-2:05) Mix in SE CD 2 Track 3 (1:15-3:21) + SE CD 2 Track 3 (3:45-End) should be 11. THE CITY IN THE CLOUDS SE CD 1 Track 10 (0:00-2:05) Mix in SE CD 2 Track 5 (1:15-3:21) + SE CD 2 Track 5 (3:45-End) Took me a while to figure that out - many thanks to whoever worked the rest out in the first place because I'd never have got it all! Am I the first person in 18 months to attempt this edit and notice the typo???

No, you misunderstand... they can't spell licence... as in "Licence to Kill", the well-known film title... Oh, never mind... :roll: Almost forgot, one of my favourite title changes; the 1944 film "Fanny By Gaslight" was renamed "Man of Evil" for the USA. LOL (Probably funnier to Brits I expect!)

Another infamous title change for the USA (although applied worldwide for convenience); "Licence Revoked" was renamed "Licence to Kill" when research indicated that most Americans didn't know what revoked meant! (And they can't spell licence either! )

The Writers Guild of China also recently published their list of the greatest screenplays; they were all Chinese. Of course, the rest of the world just laughs at their blinkered attitudes, pitying those with such narrow views... When they become a free democracy, that will all change, won't it?

Screw being a classic "Star Trek" film, it's a classic science-fiction film! Intelligent exploration of scientific and philosophical concepts, and not a single laser battle in sight - pretty rare for a SF movie. (Plus both Kirk and Spock did have a great deal of the plot based around them. George Takei may not have had much of a look-in, but I can live with that!) The revised "Blade Runner" was an improvement on the original, too.

I only spotted two films not in English on the whole list! They were near the end, too. How lucky I am to have all the best screenplays ever made produced in my native language. I can now confidently ignore German and Japanese cinema, safe in the knowledge I'm missing nothing. (Presumably non-American writers were eligible for consideration since Christopher Nolan and Peter Shaffer, among others, are on there.)

Yes, I did. Apparently American kids wouldn't buy it, fleeing bookshops madly, their senses and intellect reeling with confusion and panic! But seriously, that clearly demonstrates the kind of mythic quality the Philosopher's Stone has in history, and to ditch that in favour of getting something unambiguously magical into the title is a little sad.

The use in "Star Wars" of the three-note strings piece ("The Madhouse") from "Psycho" was very deliberate. That particular cue was used at the same point on the "Star Wars" temp track and retained by Williams as a personal homage to Bernard Herrmann. The influence of the temp track on an original score is very interesting. Even I could spot the "Mars" and "Rite of Spring" similarities in early scenes of "Star Wars" (and I'm pretty hopeless musically), but assumed that they must have been on the temp track and therefore Williams was simply trying to provide the mood that the director wanted for those scenes with a similar sound, rather than ripping off the classics. "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a great example of this process (where of course the temp track ended up being actually used in the finished film, and the original score discarded). Since we now have both scores on CD, the influence of one on the other can be directly compared, and the similarities and differences of the Main Theme to Also Sprach Zarathustra in both melody and orchestration are fascinating. I know that the "Star Wars" temp track used "The Planets", "Rite of Spring", "From the New World", and other classical pieces (plus a little of "Psycho"!), but is there a more specific breakdown of what pieces would fit where? A trained ear could presumably pick out many references and hints, but I have trouble just telling one instrument from another on a pop track, so aside from the obvious Blockade Runner and Desert music I wouldn't have a clue! I think it's actually a lot more -- 8,916,100,448,256!!! And that's simply the order of notes - start varying the duration of notes within the patterns too and the figure may as well be infinite!

It happens all the time, doesn't it? A few examples spring to mind: "Quatermass and the Pit" became "Five Million Years to Earth" "The Quatermass Experiment" became "The Creeping Unknown" "A Matter of Life and Death" became "Stairway to Heaven" "Home at Seven" became "Murder on Monday" "Mad Max 2" became "The Road Warrior" "Baise Moi" became "Rape Me" "The Honorary Consul" became "Beyond the Limit" "Murder By Decree" became "Sherlock Holmes and Saucy Jack" and probably thousands more! The most infamous is of course the aforementioned "Philosopher's Stone" being switched to "Sorceror's Stone", completely removing the historical meaning of the phrase. It's like renaming "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as "Raiders of the Magic Box".

I have tried to make it clear that I'm specifically not referring to any "fanbase" view of what "Star Wars" is or isn't. You seem to be implying that an adult who went to see "Star Wars" becomes part of a fanbase by doing so. I would regard them simply as cinema-goers, and believe such people would class the "Star Wars" series as children's films. A parallel would be "Harry Potter"; books (and films) for kids, but loved by many adults. (In fact, if the "Harry Potter" story had started in the middle with "Goblet of Fire", and then later gone back and told "The Philosopher's Stone", I bet there would have been many people complaining that it had suddenly become too childish!) As I said earlier, I do think Lucas overplayed the Jar-Jar / Gungan content (considerably), and it is unfortunate because for some people the rest of the film is often totally overshadowed by it. My brother, for example, can't stand "The Phantom Menace" because of Jar-Jar; his wife and kids loved it though. So who's right? Lucas looks to have scored a hit with very many people. Not the kind of people who write magazine reviews, or visit messageboards, but normal ticket-buying punters. "Episode I" was a huge box-office hit; hype alone can't produce that. There has to be a product to back it up. In inflation adjusted terms, TPM gets into the Top 20 of all time. Not impressed? OK, but not one film released since 1999 has managed to overtake it (or even get close). I certainly wouldn't defend Lucas against any and all criticism, and I could easily complain about any "Star Wars" film (C-3PO really bugged me in the OT days, almost to Jar-Jar proportions, and ROTJ was a let-down in many ways). But from a more detached perspective, I have to say it's an achievement without equal in film-making. The exact nature of precognitive power granted by the Force is never made explicit, but apparently Qui-Gon could foresee Anakin's victory and there was little risk involved. This is confirmed by Watto's speech immediately at the conclusion of the race: "You knew the boy was going to win, somehow you knew it!". Of course, in simple character terms he's just being a bad loser, but in story terms the line is there to communicate to the audience that Qui-Gon had foreseen the outcome. Naturally, that couldn't be revealed before the race, it would have destroyed any dramatic tension in the scene.

Obsessives are not "everyone who's not content with a film", and I never said they were; there can be many valid and interesting reasons to question a film's worth. The obsessive term was first raised here in response to your statement that some fans think Lucas is a god. And some certainly do - I described them as "young male obsessive fans, generally" (which no-one has contradicted). It almost appears they are having a strange kind of adolescent love affair with the Lucas / "Star Wars" phenomena! Still, youthful enthusiasm, though often confused and misguided, is sort of endearing. Less endearing is the subset of fans who are compulsively drawn to "Star Wars" even when they don't like it - that's a true obsession, when there is some kind of negative feeling involved but you still can't help yourself. See a film you don't like? That's unlucky. Go see the sequel too, and think it's all wrong? Hmm, ok, but what did you expect? Then go see the next sequel and still think it's bad? Why are you doing this to yourself?!? :roll: Thank you. It doesn't actually need to be an obsession, or even take much time, to figure it out; you just ignore the received wisdom of fans, look at the films, and think for yourself.

Why exclude that? It is vital that Qui-Gon has a damn good reason to take Anakin away from his mother, otherwise he looks like a completely irresponsible meddler! A feeling that the boy can use the Force wouldn't be substantial enough, he needs evidence to justify it to himself (and the audience). The second use of the midi-chlorian "evidence" is to show just how complacent and blinkered the Jedi Council has become. They are presented with clear facts (not opinions, or feelings) showing that Anakin has the potential to be a greater Jedi than even Yoda, their leader. He is almost certainly the Chosen One of their ancient prophecy, and yet they still elect to turn him away. Thirdly, the midi-chlorian cells provide a mechanism to explain why the Emperor is so worried about Anakin's offspring, so convinced the "son of Skywalker" will become powerful, even to the point that he could destroy Palpatine, something even Yoda couldn't do. And contrary to what many say, isn't the Force still the same Force it was in 1977, regardless of how it is mediated?

No, obsessives are the ones who think "Star Wars" should be exactly the way they want it. They can't accept there's more to it than their own narrow view. Look at the fuss they make about midi-chlorians! (Which, incidentally, are there for at least three useful plot reasons.) But it didn't fit with some fans' preconceived ideas, and they throw their toys out of the pram, instead of accepting it as part of the story. You'd think Lucas had not only raped their childhood, but buggered their pension too! I think Lucas has certainly made some questionable choices, but in spite of all its perceived flaws, the "Star Wars" saga as a whole is far greater than the sum of its parts, and is an unparalleled achievement in film-making. Even Jar-Jar and Wicket can't change that!

Did you really think "Star Wars" was for adults before "Phantom Menace"? The people who went into Episode I expecting "Star Wars" (Ep IV) were fooling themselves - as I said earlier, I always expected it to be far closer to "ROTJ", and in that frame of reference it works much better. Lucas was trying to explain that post-TPM, and saying the saga was always for kids is perfectly accurate. If you'd asked almost anyone about it in the 70s or 80s or even 90s (not a fan, they have a very warped view of the world!) they would have told you "Star Wars" was really a kids' movie. Adults enjoyed it, but basically it's for youngsters. It was similar in appeal to "Doctor Who" at the time; made for bright 11-12 year olds, but loved by adults too. There isn't, and need not be, "one episode of heavy drama". But it's necessary at some points for the story to get darker, or more heavy / adult. Stories cannot maintain a constant level right through, or if they do they will be very dull stories. Fairy tales have their darker moments (sometimes very dark), but are still stories for children. "TPM" and "ROTJ" are slightly more appealing to children, "ROTS" and "TESB" slightly more appealing to adults, but overall they can be enjoyed by anyone. The phrase "for children aged 8 to 80" expresses the kind of sentiment that would often crop up in reviews of "Star Wars" on original release. Since you have mentioned you were still only 11 when "Jedi" was released, perhaps a lot of earlier press coverage was getting past you? Lucas definitely said the plots of the prequel trilogy were far more political. The comment intrigued me greatly, and I remember it for the exact reason you give - it doesn't sound like the plot of a kids' movie, but I knew he would have to make it so. That must be it, yes. Comparing the movie as released to the script as published (which was the way Lucas had cut the film), the climax is more than trimmed though. The sequence is crucially changed to switch the climactic "bang" from Anakin destroying the control ship and returning to Naboo, to Obi-Wan killing Darth Maul and Qui-Gon dying. It may sound a small change, but it makes a huge dramatic difference. (Out of curiosity, I re-edited the last act of TPM to follow the script order as closely as possible. It's remarkable how small changes can make such a difference.) I've found where I saw that reference to Jar-Jar being killed on Alderaan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chang...ars_re-releases True or not, it's a comforting thought. Oh, and finally: Ahh, you were talking about success in the eyes of those obsessive young males I mentioned, weren't you!

We didn't have messageboards then did we, so I had to think about it for myself! The whole saga is one story. Lucas has often said stories start simple, get dark in the middle and then resolve. He's hardly unique there, the three act structure is very widely used. The first episode would be similar in tone to the final episode, they frame the whole story. He's hardly going to end the saga with Ewoks and start it with heavy adult drama. The story would then have to get dark in the middle - in my imagination Episode II was always called "The Clone Wars", and dealt with them (sort of got that right). I called Episode III "Revenge of the Jedi"(!), and we all knew that would be about Anakin's fall to the Dark Side. Episode IV has a generally optimistic feel, but still Obi-Wan is killed and Alderaan destroyed. "Empire" is commonly seen as the darkest of the OT (strangely though, I think it's the only film of the whole saga where no significant character is killed). And then "Jedi", the "happy ending". Although I always expected "Episode I" to be a light, happy affair, it wasn't quite like the "Episode I" we got! Anakin was a young, but adult, Jedi apprentice who went on a glorious mission with his master, met a beautiful girl, and married her in a big celebration at the end. In plot terms, TPM is actually far darker than I expected. Even when the OT was being made, Lucas said the prequels would be far more about political machinations, but I didn't expect that until II and III. I think perhaps all the Jar-Jar and Gungan nonsense is partly down to Lucas, knowing it had to be light, over compensating for the heavy plot (with the cutesy Anakin, too). He just fell in love with Jar-Jar and couldn't be objective about his overuse. And who was going to say "George, that sucks...err, please hire me again". Wasn't it when Spielberg finally saw the movie that late and drastic editing was done to try to shift the focus more to the Jedi? Probably greatly improved the movie - screwed the music though! Fans on messageboards may not have figured out much about it, perhaps because fans are often far too focused on trivialities to see the bigger picture. They worry about whether stormtroopers are clones, or who Sifo-Dyas was. Without trying to pick out tiny details, the overall shape wasn't very hard to see. I did used to think about "Star Wars" a great deal back then; I still have a story I wrote in school aged 12 using "Star Wars" characters. In it, Darth Vader turns back to the good side of the Force and helps defeat the Empire. It's dated 1979. We didn't even know Vader was Luke's father then, he was the ultimate icon of evil. Maybe I just have a finely tuned "Star Wars" centre in my brain? Could do with freeing up the space, but it's too late now...