CYPHER

But Johnny and the Boston Pops kissed and made up though, right? Right??? CYPHER

Poster art. Der. That was basically my motivation as well. CYPHER

Ray, I agree with K.M. - the pleasure and enjoyment to be gained from The Phantom Menace: Ultimate Edition CD far surpass the other dissatisfying elements, such as the poor edits. My vote in this poll went to A.I Artifical Intelligence. I really love many of the scores on this list, but this score won out for the following reasons: 1. It's a refreshing and different score for Williams. It mightn't be particularly original in terms of classical music more generally, but there are a lot of welcome innovations on display here, especially certain minimalist flourishes, which I very much enjoy. 2. It tells a more cogent, effective and emotional story better than just about any of the other scores listed. And the fact that I can love the score and love the tale it tells, despite quite disliking the film, attests to the skill and quality invested in it. CYPHER

I watched a movie called Undead last night, a stupid, fairly inept Australian zombie film from 2002. In itself it is not worth mentioning here, except for the fact that the otherwise very mediocre score borrowed liberally from the "Montage" cue from Jaws. At first I thought it was a cute homage, as it played over seemingly idyllic scenes of family fun in the sun, but it ultimately turned out to be the film's quasi-main theme, which did not work at all. And there was neary a mention of giving John Williams due credit! CYPHER PS - saw Kill Bill: Vol. 2 on Thursday and quite liked it, though I much preferred the first.

I have never knowingly listened to any of Rota's or Carmine Coppola's music for The Godfather Trilogy. I may have heard some of it played on synthesised pan pipes in some mall, but a) I never particularly noticed it let alone remembered it and B) I never knew who wrote it or for what purpose. John Williams' music on the other hand I could not escape from. Am I the exception that proves the rule? I very much doubt it. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. CYPHER

In summer, closing the window isn't really an option. I bit of cross-ventillation is always nice too, y'know. But with winter approaching, I anticipate things being a bit quieter inside... Now if only my CD player wasn't being a total temperamental arse! I think I might need to get a replacement. CYPHER

That's too bad Morn. It was actually a pretty awesome concert. I was a little underwhelmed by "Soundings" at first, but now that I've had the opportunity to listen to it again a couple of times (on trusty, though ever so out-dated cassette) I really like it. It's crying out for a CD release though because a crisp sound recording is mandatory to get some appreciation of the acoustics of a piece like this... Most of the other film music was great too. I especially loved the themes from The Magnificent Seven, Vertigo and the very appropriate encore - an overture from How the West Was Won. The program also included the original commentary provided by Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and John Williams even said a thing or two (he sounds so young for his age!). There was this great line from Hanks, (who referred to Williams affectionately as 'Maestro') in which he sarcastically referred to Williams' otherwise successful career being unfortunately distinguished by his "complete inability to compose a forgettable melody." LOL CYPHER

I've actually managed to keep pretty much in the dark about all things Harry Potter. I've been exposed to various names and character designs etc but they have almost zero meaning to me. Maybe in about ten years time I'll know what everyone was talking about... CYPHER

I don't get it why you wouldn't be even slightly interested,you are a John Williams fan aren't you? K.M., I'm not going to watch any of the Harry Potter movies until I've read the books first. And I'm not going to start reading the books until 1) I've read other fantasy series I'm more interested in and 2) Rowling has finished writing the series. But rest assurred I own the soundtracks to both Harry Potter films and quite enjoy them. CYPHER

10. I, Robot - Haven't seen any of the trailers, but I have heard many of you guys bitching about it though... Considering I'd rather read the book before hand and that I'm probably not going to do that before the film gets released, I doubt I'll catch it at the cinema. 9. Collateral - Have never even heard of this one until today. Sure Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise, but Michael Mann is Michael Mann and I've really enjoyed every one of his films that I've seen. 8. Van Helsing - The premise of this film excited me but having seen the trailer I'm no longer so enthusiastic. It looks like a very trashy, sub-par League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which I must confess was a guilty pleasure) 7. Troy - I'll definitely see it with the intention of enjoying it, but I won't be suprised if it blows chunks. 6. The Terminal - Haven't heard too much about it, but it sounds about as uninspiring as Catch Me If You Can first seemed and I really quite enjoyed that, especially at the time. 5. The Day After Tomorrow - I'm not expecting too much from this film and if I didn't get around to seeing it, I probably wouldn't think twice about it. 4. The Village - I've been keeping myself in the dark about this one, but I am definitely going to catch it. Even Signs, which I thought was ultimately rather suspect was worth seeing, just in case I might have really enjoyed it as I did Unbreakable. 3. Shrek II - I'll probably see it, but all this green ogre stuff strikes me as exceedingly passe these days. 2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - I've never seen a Harry Potter movie to date so why start now? 1. Spider-Man 2 - The comic book geek inside of me will probably compel me to see this film, although my expectations will be very low. But it probably couldn't be any worse than the original... CYPHER

Well let me just add my belated two cents as well. HAPPY BIRTHDAY REN!!! Hope you had a good one! CYPHER

But what about aircraft noise, Morn? Surely that'd interrupt your listening to some extent if you were living under the flight path? Besides, there is always some level of noise outside and with the windows open, the sounds of the weather and the street inevitably trickle in... CYPHER PS - speaking of aircraft, my best friend said she saw a plane with the NASA logo on its tail land at Sydney airport last week. Wonder what that was all about...

Yep, this film was a fixture of my childhood too. I can still remember thinking how funny that whole urination thing was i.e. when the ship says to the boy "I don't leak. You leak." LOL Ah... how embarrassing 8O CYPHER

Perhaps. I guess this thread just doesn't have the same acoustics as the Walt Disney Concert Hall... 8O CYPHER

Thanks for posting that list Morlock. I'm surprised by the unfortunate absence of both Alex North and Bernard Herrmann. CYPHER

Rogue, I like your idea about an Amidala theme. She does definitely need one, but at this late stage, it might be a little irrelevant. That would just encourage Lucas to go back and edit it into her appearances in the first two prequels... I had hoped that the centrepiece theme for Episode III would be some kind of tragic number encapsulating the fall of Anakin Skywalker, the betrayal of the Jedi knights and the souring of his relationship with Amidala. Some kind of inversion of "Across the Stars" perhaps. Or there could be centrepiece themes for each of these, I honestly don't mind. CYPHER

Well there's an online listening feature on the website, but it would seem that this concert will not be available online because of the relatively small size of their web program and the fact that it's an overseas recording. Any other means of recording it digitally definitely sounds like a job for a more techno-savvy individual than myself. Morn, perhaps? CYPHER

Well Roman, I certainly like to think of myself as weather and environment sensitive when it comes to listening to classical music. If it's too rainy and miserable I may refrain from listening to anything, simply because I don't like the distraction of so much background noise. Bearing in mind that my CD collection is not very extensive, Snow Falling on Cedars would have to be my number one choice for rainy day music - I certainly could not countenance listening to it in the middle of a sunny day that's for sure! It'd just feel plain wrong. If it's overcast, cold and darkening (but otherwise relatively silent), I might like to put on A.I. Artificial Intelligence or Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line or some of Edelman's tracks from The Last of the Mohicans. Some Michael Nyman cues also go down well too, like certain tracks from The End of the Affair for instance. And of course the aforementioned "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" has a very wet and depressingly atmospheric sound to it (Master and Commander connotations methinks ). I guess most of the scores I own are more appropriate for other types of weather like a quietly sunny afternoon with a soft warm breeze and light filtering through the leaves outside... That's George Fenton, right? Coincidentally enough the most memorable musical moment of that film for me was that beautifully choreographed transition scene featuring close-ups of a soggy rice paddy with the music serenely matching the film's editting. It only lasts for about 20 seconds but I still remember it after all these years. It was very Terrence Malick, that's for sure. CYPHER

I saw an ad for this in the paper yesterday. It sure looks promising. Of course price is a major factor. Let's just check out the website... Okay. Adult tickets are going for $A 102.20 (Premium) and $A 82.20 (A Reserve). Tickets for children, pensioners and full time-student concession holders are $A 62.20 (A Reserve). My student card expired at the end of March. Yeah, there's no way I'm going. That's almost more money than I would've spent on all three albums (provided they hadn't been birthday gifts ). Should be a great opportunity for those who do go though. Yeah, I think sleeping overnight in a car is illegal ... I performed in a pantomime thingy in the Opera House with school when I was knee high to a grasshopper. I've seen a play there once as well (also with school), but that's about the extent of my experience - I've certainly never heard any live music there. All I remember is that its 70s style interior decor is wonderfully dated. CYPHER

This Sunday, 18 April, ABC Classic FM will be broadcasting the third and final concert of the Inaugural Gala from the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Performed and recorded on 25 October 2003, this is the concert devoted to film music and I am fairly confident that it will include the premiere recording of John Williams's "Soundings" piece, written especially for this occasion. Following from this there should also be performances of various classic Hollywood scores penned by the likes of Steiner, Korngold, Newman, Rosza, Bernstein, Goldsmith and Herrmann, with Williams himself conducting both "Soundings" and a suite from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Music is performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The music will play as part of Geoff Bennett's midday program, commencing at 12:05pm, though be sure to check local guides for confirmation and your ABC Classic FM frequency. Check out their website at http://www.abc.net.au/classic/ For those Australians such as myself who have still yet to hear "Soundings" this should be a fine listen indeed, especially if the last two concerts from LA have been anything to go by. Yesterday I heard the second concert in the series with Yo-Yo Ma performing the solos in Lutoslawski's Cello Concerto, plus the astounding premiere of John Adams "Dharma at Big Sur" for electric violin and orchestra. It was awesome. Enjoy CYPHER

Thanks for the link Jim. I find that I'm not so keen on Glass' choral stuff though... So Alex, what do you make of the Snow Falling on Cedars score after all this? CYPHER

So could someone explain to me what the problem with the standard release of this score is? Am I correct in understanding that it comprises score + period songs + dialogue and/or SFX? I saw the NASA sponsored, score-only CD in the shops a couple of months ago for like $A55 ($US43)!!! Sheesh. CYPHER

Awesome. I'm a Glass fan, but I've never heard of that piece. Is it available on CD? CYPHER

Well we've been having some miserably rainy days here recently, so my thoughts have turned to this score. I always recognised the major influence of Henryk Gorecki's "Symphony No. 3" on tracks like "Seven Acres" and "Susan Marie Remembers," but I missed the Vaughan Williams connection. There are some direct references in "The Evacuation" to Williams' brilliant "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" (as heard most recently to great effect in Master and Commander). CYPHER

I can certainly undertand why some people dislike Nyman's music. It's a somewhat acquired and peculiar taste. I also think this accounts for why Michael Nyman so infrequently scores films with larger audiences and therefore why fewer people have heard of him. Many film makers simply aren't willing to take the risk. Just looking through his recent and current projects over at imdb.com speaks volumes about the films he scores - many of these movies are either unreleased here or, well... French . But The Assassination of Richard Nixon starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle sounds intriguing. Ultimately I'm not concerned about the type of films Nyman scores. I just see there being a link between the popularity of the film and the availability of his scores, hence I'm more likely to find them on the shelf. Anyway, this discussion seems pretty dead at the moment. Thanks for your contributions everyone, especially Marian, and lets promise to come back and post here the next time we hear some more Nyman music we want to discuss, okay? CYPHER