LSH

You might be right but I still need to digest this score a bit more. Those cues I mentioned stick out though.

The action writing is superb though, I agree. On par with King Kong and The Waterhorse, which contain my favourite ‘recent’ fully orchestral action music from Howard.
 
Also, like most have mentioned… how fantastic is it to have a score like this in a film-world dominated by Zimmer???
 
I’ll answer for you. It’s superb.
 
People over at FSM are complaining that it‘s too much of a Williams pastiche. That’s the whole point!  Piss off.

Just finished my second listen. It’s definitely growing on me. It’s a slow burner.
 
I reckon I’ll love this by the end of the week.
 
The ‘Market Chase‘ cue is my favourite so far. Lot’s of John Williams-esque channelling. Really REALLY good brass writing in there. Some of the best action writing JNH has done.
 
 
That mini-fanfare at 1:07 actually gave me goosebumps.
 
John Powell has his work cut out. 
 
‘I Want You To Rest Now’ is another banger. Howard is always good at writing finale or ‘resolution‘ cues… the kind that start gorgeously and end with a fanfare of sorts. Love it.

Indeed. JNH, Powell and maybe Giacchino are the only ones that still are allowed to write this kind of old-fashioned orchestral score. So it's very refreshing to hear scores like these in a musical landscape dominated by RC.

You might be right but I still need to digest this score a bit more. Those cues I mentioned stick out though.

The action writing is superb though, I agree. On par with King Kong and The Waterhorse, which contain my favourite ‘recent’ fully orchestral action music from Howard.
 
Also, like most have mentioned… how fantastic is it to have a score like this in a film-world dominated by Zimmer???
 
I’ll answer for you. It’s superb.
 
People over at FSM are complaining that it‘s too much of a Williams pastiche. That’s the whole point!  Piss off.

Just finished my second listen. It’s definitely growing on me. It’s a slow burner.
 
I reckon I’ll love this by the end of the week.
 
The ‘Market Chase‘ cue is my favourite so far. Lot’s of John Williams-esque channelling. Really REALLY good brass writing in there. Some of the best action writing JNH has done.
 
 
That mini-fanfare at 1:07 actually gave me goosebumps.
 
John Powell has his work cut out. 
 
‘I Want You To Rest Now’ is another banger. Howard is always good at writing finale or ‘resolution‘ cues… the kind that start gorgeously and end with a fanfare of sorts. Love it.

Now i've seen the movie (the movie's so-so),
 i can dissect the themes/motifs. 
And also i quite understand now why we feel like the themes are "underused", because it's tightly connected to the characters and what kind of scenes they play into.
Anyway, here it is:
 
 
Jungle Cruise's (Main Title) Theme
First heard, of curse, during the main title sequence, in this track:
(If you've seen the movie, i love how the theme plays (and how the scene is shot) similar to "To The Spaceport" track from JNH's Treasure Planet)
^^
There seems to an A & B part of the theme.
The A part ( i guess it is the "fanfare") as heard in the beginning of the clip above.
 
The B part starts here:
 
^^
If you hear closely, you can hear the B part plays around "Lily's theme" (heard later), or is it an elaborated statement of the Lily's theme, who knows?
 
 
 
 
Skipper's Theme
The theme represents The Rock's chracter, Skipper Frank (IMO, this theme is memorable and humable, it's sad that it is underused)
 
The theme's played in various statements, depending on the conditions.
"Swinging" mode:
 
Solemn mode:
 
Celebratory mode:
 
 
 
 
Lily's Theme
As above has mentioned, it's the "rising" idea in the beginning of the suite.
A little tease of the theme heard in this track:
 
Main statement:
 
Heroic mode:
 
 
 
 
"Tears of The Moon" Theme
Little tease, first heard in this track:
 
In its full, grandiose, main statement ( this reminds me of Atlantis):
 
 
 
 
Love Theme
First heard in this track:
( The theme reminds of Yoda's theme, tbh)
 
Main statement:
 
 
 
 
Arrowhead (MacGuffin) Motif
This reminds me of his Signs theme
A little sneak peek, in this track:
 
Long version:
 
 
^^
They are some that i can find, perhaps other here can add?
 
 

I'm interested...
 
What is your favourite 'Hornerism'?
 
Of all his numerous traits and stylistic doings - plagiaristic or not* - what repeating musical motifs or textures do you love the most?
 
One of my favourites is the 'rolling' final chord that always resolves a sentimental chord progression, usually with piano in there somewhere. Examples:
 
JUMANJI (immediately in this case):
 
 
More obvious in this one, from THE PERFECT STORM, again immediately:
 
 
*this will not become a debate about his 'stealings' from the classical repertoire... keep it civil
 
 
I have more, I just want to open it out to the forum...
 
By the way, is this worthy of a thread, if it hasn't been done already? Favourite 'isms'.

TITANIC - JAMES HORNER 
 
I've always loved this score and the stunning expansion has given us so much lovely stuff. 
 
That 2 ½ Miles Down cue is stunning. Giving us more than we even knew was written.
 
The action cues for the film's third act are all here, Trapped On D Deck being my particular highlight. A Building Panic is completely different to the identically named cue on the follow up album but is even better. That percussion. 
 
I LOVE THIS
 
 

I'm interested...
 
What is your favourite 'Hornerism'?
 
Of all his numerous traits and stylistic doings - plagiaristic or not* - what repeating musical motifs or textures do you love the most?
 
One of my favourites is the 'rolling' final chord that always resolves a sentimental chord progression, usually with piano in there somewhere. Examples:
 
JUMANJI (immediately in this case):
 
 
More obvious in this one, from THE PERFECT STORM, again immediately:
 
 
*this will not become a debate about his 'stealings' from the classical repertoire... keep it civil
 
 
I have more, I just want to open it out to the forum...
 
By the way, is this worthy of a thread, if it hasn't been done already? Favourite 'isms'.

TITANIC - JAMES HORNER 
 
I've always loved this score and the stunning expansion has given us so much lovely stuff. 
 
That 2 ½ Miles Down cue is stunning. Giving us more than we even knew was written.
 
The action cues for the film's third act are all here, Trapped On D Deck being my particular highlight. A Building Panic is completely different to the identically named cue on the follow up album but is even better. That percussion. 
 
I LOVE THIS
 
 

One of my favourite films ever. For that reason I try not to watch it too much... once a year usually. I felt that it was time, appropriately with some good wine to accompany.
 
Fantastic jazzy score from Rolfe Kent.

One of my favourite films ever. For that reason I try not to watch it too much... once a year usually. I felt that it was time, appropriately with some good wine to accompany.
 
Fantastic jazzy score from Rolfe Kent.

One of my favourite films ever. For that reason I try not to watch it too much... once a year usually. I felt that it was time, appropriately with some good wine to accompany.
 
Fantastic jazzy score from Rolfe Kent.

Yeah, you're right. The only one that springs to mind is AVATAR... and that blows everything else out of the water that year.

Yeah, you're right. The only one that springs to mind is AVATAR... and that blows everything else out of the water that year.

Another clip on youtube with more Indiana Jones-esque scoring:
 
 

Thanks!  The music in that clip was very good, especially at the end!
 
 
Oooh!  Here's a clip on youtube with really good JNH score!!
 
 

Interview with Thomas Newman on Leo Maltin’s podcast:
 
https://maltinonmovies.libsyn.com/
 
This was really enjoyable to listen to, and occasionally very funny.
 
A very refreshing composer interview. The hosts aren’t just slathering him with praise… they coax some really good insights and stories out of him.
 
Thomas is so bloody humble and speaks so articulately about his craft… it makes me admire him even more.

Interview with Thomas Newman on Leo Maltin’s podcast:
 
https://maltinonmovies.libsyn.com/
 
This was really enjoyable to listen to, and occasionally very funny.
 
A very refreshing composer interview. The hosts aren’t just slathering him with praise… they coax some really good insights and stories out of him.
 
Thomas is so bloody humble and speaks so articulately about his craft… it makes me admire him even more.

I always will love Thomas Newman. Even if his more recent output hasn’t really moved me. But I did really grow to like Tolkien and good chunks of 1917.

So Thomas’ next project is John Madden’s World War II drama Operation Mincemeat, expected early next year. 
 
They collaborated previously on The Debt and both The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films, the latter of which are some of my favourite scores from Newman in the past ten years. They really are lovely.
 
This new project will probably have more in common with 1917 perhaps? I don’t know. Newman often disappoints but occasionally provides something spectacular.
 
I’m not sure if the subject matter will offer much opportunity for the sort of thing we’d like to hear from him but DO look up the history of the subject matter… it’s one of the more bizarre yet successful moves from the Allies during the war that, admittedly, has been covered before but not on the big screen. Could be interesting.

Absolutely!
 
Yes, John Williams wrote some of the themes, but Powell makes them his own in the way he uses them.
 
It also features some of the best action music I’ve heard in the modern era. The complete Train Heist cue is 10 minutes of the best action music I’ve ever heard. Hands down.
 
There are very few composers at the moment who can write extended action music that is interesting and, more importantly, melodic at the same time. James Newton Howard can do it when he feels like it but Powell exceeds in this department.

If the world was fair, Zimmer would've won his Oscar not in 94 with Lion King, but in 98 for either Prince of Egypt or The Thin Red Line. Meanwhile, the 94 Oscar would've gone to Thomas Newman for Shawshank Redemption. 

One of the best scores from last year. My review here, for anyone interested.

Funny you mentioned this one... I was listening to it the other day after re-watching the film, first time in many many years.
 
Fantastic stuff. Shame Shearmur isn't or hasn't been more prolific because he's clearly very versatile. I love his score for REIGN OF FIRE... brutal dissonant stuff... the complete opposite of K-PAX.