Tom Guernsey

Finally got round to seeing it albeit not in IMAX or at an especially astonishing cinema but it still looked and sounded great. Totally didn’t recognise Austin Butler but as someone pointed out, no matter how bald you think he is in this film he’s even more bald than that. Quite. He’s seemed to have got lots of plaudits for his performance but it didn’t seem any more than a somewhat standard sneering villain (good though he was). The more nuanced villain roles were more engaging even if they looked less good topless. My biggest issue with the film was that it was one of those films where I just couldn’t give two shits about any of the characters. Not through bad acting but it’s just a film that’s more about the ideas (how cults and messiahs are built, and prophesies willed into being etc). Timothy Chalamet was great as the lead and he certainly had the charisma to lead such a big movie but it was all so portentous that his journey from being relatively innocent and well meaning to someone fuelled by messianic zeal didn’t make as much impact somehow. It didn’t help that there were a few points where the narrative seemed to jump just a bit too quickly for the story to unfurl naturally (and not ashamed to admit I wasn’t quite sure who was where and how they got there a couple of times). It also almost felt like there was an obligation to put in some humour just to stave off the whole thing seeming like it was totally up its own arse but it wasn’t really enough for my liking. Plus some of the bad people seemed to just be dicks for the sake of it. They’d have been killed in an uprising years ago acting like that. Hans’ score had its moments but I don’t think the apparently endless themes are presented in a way that makes it possible to readily identify them with people or places or ideas beyond a few of the bigger melodies/ideas. I’ve read the posts, listened to the album several times and seen the film and I can’t say I could identify what theme represents what. Spoiler bit, although it’s one of those things you can see coming a mile off which is why I’m mentioning it for being so lame, but…

That’s no Klingon moon!

It is. I just listened to the suite and it really doesn’t do the score justice at all, whereas the suite for the first one is a belter. Just have to listen to the whole thing then. Oh no… 😮

Fucking hell it’s great reading so many positive comments in this thread and not just vacuous “they’re great” but plentiful reasons as to why they’re great and those details that make them great not just because they have good themes or are exciting or are beautiful or whatever, but an appreciation of all the craft that’s gone into them.

Quite. That whole cue is full of amazing textures (I can’t for the life of me work out why it’s not in the suite on the Serebrier album as it’s clearly one of the standout tracks of the score both musically and within the film).

Agree. And also above YouTube clips so if it’s not available where someone is, you can at least look it up elsewhere.

I’d agree. It’s a lot more natural sounding in the expanded edition. The extra music also makes it a more balanced listening experience (same with Solo) and gives the music room to breathe. One thing i especially love about the HTTYD scores (and other Powell scores of course) is how glorious the performance seems to be. Rich brass, especially the horns and absolutely gorgeous use of orchestral colour which is so vividly captured. I’ve mentioned it before but when the horns bring in the main theme in Test Drive about a minute in, I’ve rarely heard horn chords sounding so rich and resonant. Compare it to the (very well performed) Serebrier conducted compilation and the sound in that track isn’t nearly so gorgeous (and the Philharmonia is an excellent orchestra). Maybe he and Gavin Greenaway drive the orchestra harder for those sections but the results are wonderful.

Aha thank you. Clearly I was being dim. Makes sense now. Hopefully it’ll hit the target!

I backed at the third tier level. Figured I may as well take the opportunity to add a signed Christopher Young score to my collection and support what sounds like an amazing score. I must be being dim (no comments please…) but I couldn’t see where it explained the need for this to have a kickstarter (that @Richard Penna seems to have seen!).

Maybe this’ll inspire someone to do a new recording then… I always thought it was a pretty great score.

I’ve not seen the film but it seems like the “nice” person of Gen V. By coincidence I listened to the score the other day but honestly can’t remember a thing about it. Fun but pretty unremarkable.

I still can’t forgive them for calling the first one Jurassic World when it’s literally the first movie in the series about an actual operational park.

Yeah but did you enjoy it? 😜

Or to put it another way, are there any tracks on the OST that aren’t on the full score programme?

Honestly I was just making a lame joke in my original comment and not attempting any profound insight. I only wanted to defend the accuracy of who said it as I was correct! It doesn’t seem entirely clear what Mahler meant but i always took it to mean that a symphony should be a world unto itself which for his I think is the case but any great symphonist makes the movements into a whole. Especially post Beethoven. But I digress. Dune? Never heard of it.

Sorry to go off topic but it was definitely Mahler to Sibelius… “Sibelius said of the symphonic form, “I admired its style and severity of form, and the profound logic that created an inner connection between all the motives. . . . Mahler’s opinion was just the opposite. “No!” he said, “The symphony must be like the world. It must be all-embracing.” I think it’s one of those famous quotes that is (for a change) not apocryphal. However, they are two of my favourite classical composers. Think I have more sets of their respective symphonies than any other classical composer.

The Hooklet, if you will.

Yeah the Creator was really good. I need to listen to that one again. Funnily enough I listened to D2 again this afternoon and The Emperor track came on after I’d posted and I noticed the strings which made panic if maybe I’d just not noticed the orchestra elsewhere but apparently not! That was a particularly good cue but that synth and orchestra combination (a spice melange if you will…) I found more effective than just the synth (albeit with some acoustic solo instruments and vocals etc). That does seem to be the case. God between him and Nolan…

I’ve given it a couple of listens having enjoyed the first score more than expected (his soundscape stuff doesn’t typically do much for me) and like much of it. The fact that it does at least have (fairly) recognisable themes and some incredibly effective sections is quite welcome, plus it had its own distinctive sound world (just like Mahler told Sibelius a symphony should have… even if Hans is no Mahler or Sibelius). Having said that (and knowing it’s bad form to review something as to what it’s not) but part of me kinda wishes it was more of a fusion of synths and orchestra where each puncture through the overall texture as and when appropriate. There are just times when it’s some strange synth noise and I’m craving an orchestra. Perhaps I just want it to sound more like Intersetellar…

Aha nice. Although inevitably not available in my country lol.

So the Horner re-recordings have been announced! The Hand and The Dresser… kickstarter link below… https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robes/james-horners-the-hand-and-the-dresser-complete-re-recordings

So the Horner re-recordings have been announced! The Hand and The Dresser… kickstarter link below… https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robes/james-horners-the-hand-and-the-dresser-complete-re-recordings

Probably not many anyone outside of the U.K. but sad news… https://www.instagram.com/p/C37XITSoqhC/?igsh=cXcwOTkzOGMxM3A0

According to a recent episode of the BBC radio music quiz Counterpoint, the Carpenter’s last album includes an instrumental cover based on Star Wars and CE3K. Anyone heard this?!

My bad, I just looked at the track listing and, given the length, assumed it was a single disc (which it almost certainly could be as far as I understand it). Even more inexplicable to miss out a couple of relatively significant cues if space isn't an issue. Glad it's not just me imagining things and not confirmation bias if at least two other people hear it. It doesn't even sound like a split second has been clipped off the end (which would suggest an editing error) so much as someone pulled the fader down too quickly resulting in an unnatural rate of decay, which would be an odd thing to do. It might be that the digital files have the issue (for... "reasons") but the CD will be fine so guess we'll have to see/hear when people get their copies. I'm sure it's relatively obvious when you get the sound file in Audacity or something. I certainly don't remember there being any such issues on the OST. As I say, maybe the CD release will be fine and the wrong digital files were provided to online retailers.