Fancyarcher

Kingdom of Heaven is fantastic, and it's a score I'd really love to see get a proper expansion some day (so much is missing). If HGW could bring that same sort of Orientalism and heroic nature to Mulan that would be great. 
 
 

Kingdom of Heaven is fantastic, and it's a score I'd really love to see get a proper expansion some day (so much is missing). If HGW could bring that same sort of Orientalism and heroic nature to Mulan that would be great. 
 
 

Kingdom of Heaven is fantastic, and it's a score I'd really love to see get a proper expansion some day (so much is missing). If HGW could bring that same sort of Orientalism and heroic nature to Mulan that would be great. 
 
 

Oooh, that's a bunch of pretty great scores right there! Sinbad most of all for me.
But Kingdom of Heaven was also clearly quite inspired and I especially like how the Christian and Muslim themes seem to be actually the same one.

I pretty much disagree with most, this is a very good score, as was Infinity Wars and the first Avengers. Elfman managed to save the second film’s score.
 
Given everything going on, all the characters and action onscreen, Silvestri did a very good job. 
 
This is far from generic, that’s DC’s territory. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I mean, to be fair it's hit or miss! "Love Thy Neighbor" was a superb episode, but I wouldn't describe any of the other four we've seen that way. But they are all perfectly watchable with quite likable recurring characters -- particularly Chester, who sadly won't be around for Jerry's final excellent score written for the 12th season of the show. But I hope you do revisit some of the show, particularly that one great episode at the very least. So glad you had fun listening to the podcast.  

@karelm, do let me know your thoughts after you listen to the David Newman podcast from earlier this year. We do talk about TMP but other Goldsmith scores he played on including one of my favorite often-overlooked favorites (and his first time playing on a Goldsmith score): Contract on Cherry Street.

I just recorded another Odyssey Interview with a veteran composer who knew Jerry and had a few places of overlap with him. @Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @El Jefe @Modest Expectations @Laserschwert @publicist @BrotherSound @Modest Expectations @Jay -- anyone care to venture a guess who I spoke with this past Friday?
 
Yavar

I have an example I thought I'd share:
 
http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/23371-the-definitive-john-williams-plagiarismhomage-thread 
 
http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/30624-plagiarism-or-inspiration/
 
VERDICT- Plagiarism

And the episode is now up!

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1958638-episode-22-gunsmoke-love-thy-neighbor-old-faces-1961
 
There's lots of exclusive good unreleased Goldsmith western music here, and in music-only form thanks to a generous collector at FSM (Ron Burbella), who shared them with us. We also discuss one of the best episodes of television we have come across yet!

I can't wait to hear what you think of it, @Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @El Jefe @Modest Expectations @Laserschwert @publicist @BrotherSound @karelm @Modest Expectations @Jay

Yavar

Yeah we decided to leave that bit in (and some other similar ones) so it was clear I didn't just forget to ask him about it.
 

I'm glad we left the Leonard Part 6 Main Title in, then. We considered leaving it out because 1) it had those weird sound effects and 2) it wasn't very representative of the score on the whole, which was overall much more traditional orchestral (with one really strong action cue) -- but we couldn't do any of those cues because there was even *more* intrusive sound effects plus a lot of Bill Cosby voice! It really is a pretty good score and deserves a release, as does everything Elmer wrote of course.
 

You're welcome, and thanks for posting what you did! So you performed in this concert?
 

Can you say more about what it was like, working with Peter?

Yavar

Just listened to the whole interview. Really interesting. Peter Bernstein had a lot of funny insights into his father. I was a little disappointed he didn't have more to say about The Black Cauldron, but I guess for him it was just another day of work.
 
I've been a big fan of Elmer Bernstein's music since I watched How to Kill a Mockingbird in Jr. High. While his music is very noticeable and his own, there's a lot of richness and variety in there, to go from The Great Santini to Zulu Dawn in the same time period shows a lot of versatility for example. Of the unreleased sampled theme tracks that I heard, Leonard Part 6 interested me the most just because I've never heard him compose something that "rocking sounding" in the eighties, especially for such a bad movie. I know Peter mentioned that Elmer originally hired him so he could work on more band instruments like guitars, but it just stood out to me.

@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @El Jefe @Modest Expectations @Laserschwert -- if any of you are also fans of Elmer Bernstein, I hope you'll give my latest conversation a listen even though Jerry is only briefly touched on...


http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1746388-odyssey-interviews-peter-bernstein

The next regular Odyssey episode is a good 'un by the way (it's in the editing feedback phase right now, and should be released later this month).
 
Yavar

I feel like limiting Elfman to just one essential score isn't doing his overall oeuvre justice, but if there's one Elfman score I return to the most it's Batman Returns.There's just something about it that really clicks to me. I also love Sommersby, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Big Fish.
 
 
Black Beauty was a recent wonderful discover for me. I never knew Elfman was capable of writing such beautiful "personal sounding music" until recently. Now that I've listened to a lot more of his work I feel stupid for even questioning that. I love the "sheer joy" that comes from this track.
 
 

I feel like limiting Elfman to just one essential score isn't doing his overall oeuvre justice, but if there's one Elfman score I return to the most it's Batman Returns.There's just something about it that really clicks to me. I also love Sommersby, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Big Fish.
 
 
Black Beauty was a recent wonderful discover for me. I never knew Elfman was capable of writing such beautiful "personal sounding music" until recently. Now that I've listened to a lot more of his work I feel stupid for even questioning that. I love the "sheer joy" that comes from this track.
 
 

Nightmare Before Christmas is his magnum opus and utterly brilliant, but perhaps not for all tastes. My favorite Elfman score however is Black Beauty, and I can’t fathom why anyone wouldn’t fall for that score’s incredible beauty. So that would be my recommendation.
 
Yavar

Good idea, @publicist, thanks!
 --
And hot off the editing presses, my latest conversation on Odyssey Interviews was with none other than Brian Tyler, who discusses a host of fascinating subjects including his relationship with Jerry Goldsmith, the behind-the-scenes of Timeline, re-arranging Jerry’s Universal Fanfare, and incorporating Jerry’s music into his own Rambo scores. We also discuss his early concert music before he came to Hollywood, and play two substantial samples of this work, including a piece that premiered in Boston and got him noticed by John Williams himself! Whether you're a Brian Tyler fan or not, I think you'll really enjoy this conversation...



http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1693987-odyssey-interviews-brian-tyler

@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @El Jefe -- I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Yavar


P.S. I almost forgot! He also generously shared some exclusive tracks from Rambo: Last Blood with us — don’t miss your chance to preview his fine work before the film comes out next week!

Literally the first response in the comments section:
 

 
A-fucking-men.

True. I get sad thinking of the people who are no longer with us, some of whom like Nick Redman only left us recently. David Newman is trying to put me in touch with a legendary long-time Hollywood musician who worked with Jerry on numerous projects. I don't want to jinx it by mentioning his name, but I'm crossing my fingers.

I think the first director collaborator I'll try to interview will be Joe Dante. Of all Jerry's collaborators still living, he's the one who worked with him the most, and I think he'd be more open to sharing "interesting side information"  . The next interview to be released will be Brian Tyler, who I spoke with on the occasion of Rambo: Last Blood coming out in a month. I think even non-Tyler fans will enjoy that conversation.

Thanks to you and @Fancyarcher for weighing in with your thoughts!

Yavar

Just finished it. I've been waiting for this episode for a while now, and it didn't disappoint. A really thoughtful examination of what I consider one of Jerry's finest half-hours of television composing. Admittedly the actual discussion about the episode could have come sooner, but I enjoyed the interview, and discussion on Goldsmith's scores prior. 
 
Really interesting too. You mentioned him using an electronic organ, and I had no idea. I also think the lack of theme adds to the eeriness of the episode. It makes it seem "otherworldly", which is a huge part of why I think it's his accomplished TZ score (admittedly maybe not his most listenable). It helps that I'm a big fan of the episode. Those strings you mentioned too, actually frightened me when I first saw it. Just a really masterful example of the music matching the images on screen. 

Thanks for the compliment, Jefe!

Our latest (and perhaps greatest) regular episode of The Goldsmith Odyssey has now arrived at last, two months after actually recording the conversation!
 
Oscar-nominated composer/conductor David Newman returns as special guest, and acclaimed author Jeff Bond joins us for the first time as co-host! I am exceptionally proud of the latest foray of The Goldsmith Odyssey, as it is probably our most epic and ambitious examination of Jerry Goldsmith’s work yet, for the monumental conclusion to his contribution to the original classic Twilight Zone, “The Invaders”.   In fact, calling this installment “regular” is fairly misleading, because, similarly to our first Thriller podcast with Leigh Phillips, we begin with a substantial hourlong conversation with Jeff and David, who a decade ago became the only other person in history to have conducted this complete iconic Goldsmith work, since Jerry’s original recording session back in 1961. (Jeff afterwards joins us for our usual cue-by-cue deep dive into the score.)   If you love Jerry Goldsmith, The Twilight Zone, or great conversations about film music, I don’t think it gets much better than this! I hope you will share your own thoughts, after listening.   http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1569241-episode-21-the-twilight-zone-the-invaders-1961

    Also, in case you missed it (because I was super busy when it was released and didn't get around to sharing it here, we also put out another Odyssey Interview of mine at the end of last month, with Jerry's longtime recording engineer, Mike Ross-Trevor, who worked with him from Legend through The Mummy:

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1470520-odyssey-interviews-mike-ross-trevor

  @Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @El Jefe & @publicist -- I look forward to hearing your thoughts!   Yavar

It's also just the kind of quirky detail that has no bearing on the plot but gives the movie character.  The kind of thing that was largely missing from Force Awakens, as breathlessly entertaining and quick-paced as that movie is.

I hope MacAuly Culkin returns as a grizzled mentor figure who shows the protagonist the ropes of trap making and wacky hijinks.  

Rutger Hauer passes away aged 75.
 
 

Happy for those of you who want this, and happy for my wallet.  We all win!

No. It isn't.  I never saw the remake btw.
@Fancyarcher thank you for your film reviews. They are a treat as i appreciate your personal take on film reviewing.