karelm

It won't qualify. Needs to be at least 80% original score. A score shall not be eligible if "1. it has been diluted by the use of pre-existing music..." 93aa_music_rule.pdf (oscars.org)

This made me so nostalgic. Those films were reliably entertaining and always had fantastic scores. I miss Jerry and these movies! They were over the top and campy but fun.

Thanks, man! Very kind of you!

The first act was maybe stretched out a bit long for me, but the film became better as it went. By the end of the film, which is what really matters, it was a very satisfying emotional experience but yes, could have been tighten down at the first 30 minutes. Maybe 10 minutes too long. Again, don't expect the gravitas of a Spielberg great - it's a simple and poignant film. Very mature and respectful. Some will consider that boring because there isn't some great Speilbergian payoff.

Just returned from the movie and it was very lovely. Truly amazing how much Sammy embodied the young Spielberg. Really good film but might not be everyone's cup of tea. For me, I found it very personal and moving but there is no spectacle. It's just a family story and a letter to one's younger self (and a love note to their parents).

Ugh! The 1812 cannons are an American fourth of July invention! I believe they were introduced by Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops in 1974 during a televised July 4 concert and have become tradition from that.

Yes, lots but the origins are probably theatrical and reptation of non-words. Wagner's Valkyrie's cry for example. Others... Berlioz's "Chasse royale et orage" from Les Troyens (1863) and before...Weber's "Wolf's Glen" scene from Der Freischütz (1821) and I would argue the finale to Handel's Messiah (1741) too...it's almost entirely "ahhhhhh" from Amen. You might call me out on a technicality on the last one, but I'll counter back that's how this stuff originates. It's a syllable from another word extracted. In 1741, this was freaking avant-garde! A choral oratorio finale extravaganza based on two syllables!!!

Definitely, a big low brass kaboom that slowly turned in to the voyage cue before the musical kaboom ended. That's it from your second link but with a live orchestra it was a powerful orchestral wallop. Also quite memorable, a big low brass crunch on the hoover damn that I didn't remember before. I think all of it was in the film, just mixed with sound, it wasn't as impactful and spectral as it is live. For me, it didn't work on one browser but worked on the other so just a matter of switching browsers.

Yes exactly! They sounded absolutely fantastic, completely nailing all the nuances to a score I've heard millions of times. When Kal-El finally turns in to Superman was a major goosebump moment. Goosebumps also during Krypton at the start and when Lois is rescued from the falling helicopter. Here are a few seconds of the main theme to get a sense for how great they sounded. Titles Superman's first change Ending I hadn't seen the film in maybe 15 years so forgot much of it. One thing I realized is they seemed to use way more cameras back in the '70s. The editing was so great, they would flash between multiple cameras of the car flipping over in microseconds. Today, it would be shaky Cam. Also, the Smallville segment is so gorgeously shot. I don't know if it was a different cinematographer but it's absolutely beautiful and so well acted. Then again, this might be the first time I've seen it on the big screen since the 70's. JW was firing on all cylinders. One moment that had me tearing up (surprisingly) was when Clark was leaving Smallville. His mom's acting is so tender and beautiful. The music so nostalgic. It's hard to describe how this scene impacted me....I never felt it as much as I did last night but it was just so beautiful. I also thought to myself while watching how youthful everyone was and now, I think they're all dead except for our dear Johnny who is still working!!!!! I think this was the first superhero movie so kids raised on Marvel might find this quite jarring in its pacing, acting style was very comical (over the top) but it had hints of maturity and gravitas not expected (eg: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, the third act performance by Christopher Reeves was quite serious while act 2 was pure comedic).

Saw this yesterday...this was Super!

Don't be. He's very solid, talented, and a longtime collaborator (more than just synth) of Horner. Think Bill Ross to JW. He's very familiar with Horner the man and the composer and up to the job. I'm excited for this. We can be sure it will feel true to the franchise. I'm much more worried about the story and if it can maintain the films 3+ hours run time. Unlike Star Wars, the universe just wasn't that rich or deep for mining. There was no real mythos or rich history.

Yes, I found it very enjoyable. I love how Austin isn't just a game professional but a huge fan too!

Most would credit that to the performance of Tim Morrison, BSO trumpeter. He was selected for his tone. What JW didn't want was a military trumpet or a bold, triumphant trumpet nor mellow jazzy/noir style. He handpicked Morrison for that score for his sound. I think the score was recorded at Fox Studios (Neuman scoring stage) which was the same stage where Towering Inferno, Jaws, were recorded here too. The sequel trilogy was recorded at Sony (MGM) Streisand Scoring Stage. Soloists and mixers/engineers have a big impact on the final result. MGM has had some magnificent scores recorded there (Ben Hur, most Spielberg/JW films, Wizard of Oz) and so has Neuman (The Sound of Music, Star Trek the Motion Picture, Matrix trilogy. E.T., Schindler's List). Rooms definitely have a sound, but you can consider that if the stage is good enough, it's going to be great for most scores if in the hands of a great orchestra, engineer, and mixer. With that said, each room has characteristics unique to itself. Eastwood (Warner Brothers) isn't great for huge orchestras. Would sound fine for modest and jazz sized. Capital Records has a unique vintage reverb chamber. MGM is the largest so great for 100-piece orchestra with choir. Might overwhelm intimate. Fox is good for large and epic. Would be unwise to record a string quartet here. These stages all sound very different from concert halls which just have a different approach. The approach could be generalized by the hall's acoustics is part of the sound but in a film studio, the cinema is part of the sound and not a consideration for concert halls. After all these complexities, also add that the halls evolve over time. Neuman got a mid 1990's retrofit that altered its sound. MGM/Streistand did too at a different point in its history. One can say the same stage with all the same people before and after alterations have different characteristics. This is in part because different management takes control with different principals. I was the recording engineer and mixer for my orchestra for several years and got to experience the complexities of mixing in different locations with the same people and how mics, pre-amps, stage impacted the result. Sometimes the hall helps you and sometimes it hurts you. Same with the players, same with the tools and geers. You use these variables to help as much as you can. I won't claim to be on the same level of the top people but you get a sense for how having the same people and equipment in a different venue impacts the result and how you have to accomodate that problem. In JW's world, he can pick and choose these variables for each project and that doesn't always result in us appreciating each aspect. There are so many variables. Also important, JW would work with the recording engineers and mixers to create a sound specific for the score. For example, he wanted Star Wars hot in the mix. Eric Thomlinson made the recording distorts...a bit of borrowing from pop music where guitars frequently are distorting giving a rougher, edgier quality. This approach worked great for bold, brass heavy music but wouldn't have worked for Born on the Fourth which I think is quite understated.

An intriguing idea with many possibilities! Nice and gothic! Maybe throw in a judiciously used pipe organ too.

Thumbs down for not including Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice or Franck's Accursed Huntsman about a hunter condemned to be pursued by demons for eternity. Why not Goldsmith's Omen but Jaws is there?

What do you think of 2010: The Year We Make Contact? Though clearly not as transcendent as Kubrick's masterpiece, 2001, it has a fine cast, director (Peter Hyams other films include Capricorn One, Outland (oh how much better 2010 would have been had it been scored by Goldsmith!), End of Days, etc.), script, and continues the enigmatic story justly. What say you?

I really liked it! What is the deal with the library? What is it? I've given spitfire lots of money so get nervous when they come up with a new library that feels like left overs from libraries I already own. Regardless, what you did was engaging.

There are lots of entr'actes that you can immediately tell are pure JW. Like this one was quite memorable and probably the most epic/dramatic musical moment from Johnny up to that point before he started doing the blockbusters.

I just saw Fiddler on the Roof for the first time. Fantastic film! Excellent writing, directing, and casting. To anyone else like me who's never seen it before, please stop reading further till you see the film. The first 30 minutes or so were frankly jarring because of how over the top the acting was. It came across as silly caricatures. By the time "Matchmaker, matchmaker find me a catch" played around 30 minutes in to the 3 hours of playtime, I kind of wanted to throw up. But the film slowly shifted from silly to sweet and from sweet to intensely grim. There is so much to admire in this film. I absolutely loved how I expected it to be one thing (silly) and it turned out to be so rich and complex. Love it when films reward audience patience and time investment which is very rare! Topal is so freaking lovable in this role. How he wears his emotions on his face and acts so beautifully without saying anything, flawed as he is, he has a very sincere and kind heart. He truly loved his daughters and his trying so hard to balance progress with tradition. It is so beautifully encapsulated in his various monologues. Of course, at the start of the film, he narrates a lot but notice he doesn't at all in the third act. We get it. His face says it all. One of the most beautiful moments for me was when his daughter, Hodel, sang about her love and how Tevye (Topal) had this pained look on his face without saying a word. The look wasn't really pain - it was hurt...sorrow not pain. Not the same thing. It was such a tender and beautiful moment because he was losing his daughter to a strange man that challenged his tradition. As the film progressed further, each suiter challenged it further to the breaking point. Absolutely loved the Tevye's monologues and how it was acted and directed. Though I've never seen this film before, I believe Topal was born for this role, he embodied it so perfectly. By the end of the film, I felt it was a masterpiece of cinema, character building, and storytelling. I LOVED IT! I was sad when it was over because, so few films are so well made. The score was fantastic. As a lifelong fan of John Williams, I knew this was his first Oscar win. He didn't compose the score per se, but arranged the music and added additional cinematic moments that I think are immediately clear are his creations his style is so recognizable. A lovely film that like the very finest art, is still relevant and timely in its complex message.

That's so cool! I was at that concert performance. That's my friend playing an arrangement by my classmate of our former professor! Truth is he died just before we were students but his son, Peter Bernstein, visited frequently and conducted our university orchestra in the first tribute concert of his father's music which was an absolute joy to attend all those rehearsals and hang out with him. Very kind man, modest and also part of the Star Wars universe because he composed the score to one of those 80's Ewok movies when he was getting started. But more surprising to me, in a conducting workshop, Elmer's daughter, Emelie, was our yoga/Pilates teacher every morning! Along with Peter, she orchestrated on Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, basically her father's last decade of films. Both of them are absolute sweethearts and didn't mind us telling them how much we admired their dad.

Jay, did you play Return yet? If so, thoughts?

Thanks! Yeah, it's sort of a highlight reel. I generally don't believe most people listen to 30+ minute music they don't already know about.

Not sure if this is what you had in mind, but I hate how Lucas edited in the slow imperial march when Vader says, "Take me to my shuttle" and leaves Cloud City. It was literally the laziest needle drop in all Star Wars during one of the most intense sequences of the entire saga. To me, it makes the finest film of the entire saga, ESB, unwatchable.

Here are excerpts from my just completed seventh symphony, confusingly titled Symphony No. 6 because there is an unnumbered symphony too. It is 32 minutes long in three movements played without pause. Here are the first half of the first and second movements. The first movement is moderate tempo and moody leading to a very turbulent prestissimo second movement full of percussive tension. The last movement is generally tranquil and ultimately transformative. In the turbulent second movement, the tension builds up and eventually collapses into a false climax recalling material from the first movement. It is sort of an "eye of the storm" where after the calm, the calamity resumes but now even more intense! kes6o.mp3 KES6iiA.mp3

He's such a fantastic composer with incredible range! I've not heard anything from him that didn't impress me.