Desplat13

The original Star Wars movie (can't I please just say A New Hope?) doesn't sound at all painful to your ears? The other two are not bad, and pretty good for their time.

OK, than, we agree completely.

Recording technique.

That does not mean it cannot serve itself as well. And should, if it wants to be called music. The sign of a great film composer is to work in the confines of a film, and create meaning through his music. Meaning in music is what makes it good on its own. It is not a matter of style and what is listenable on cd, but what has meaning. If a score fits a movie well, but has no meaning, than that means that the movie has no meaning. I mean, really.

Attack of the Clones may not really be the best mix-wise, but it is lightyears ahead of the Gregson-Williams Debney Powell Zimmer stuff. And, of course, any of the OT Star Wars (but that is just age).

Well of course it has to work on album. Why else would it be called "music"? This, of course, doesn't mean it should be easy listening material. But it should have musical meaning. Otherwise, in my book, it doesn't qualify as music. And besides, who wants to sit through all these boring movies anyway?

Keyword being subtle.

Not really. Lots of people like to double a real orchestra with samples, so as to get the realism of a real orchestral performance, and then add the 'lush' sound of 200 violins all playing the same note. Needless to say, I disapprove. Now, I do think it is rarer in the big budget film score scene, 'cause they can usually afford to get 200 or so violinists. I guess Zimmer just wants 400 instead... This is why I love Attack of the Clones. Which is funny, because scores with both orchestra and samples DO NOT sound lush and huge. They sound like they're small and trying to be huge. Exactly.

Not really. Lots of people like to double a real orchestra with samples, so as to get the realism of a real orchestral performance, and then add the 'lush' sound of 200 violins all playing the same note. Needless to say, I disapprove. Now, I do think it is rarer in the big budget film score scene, 'cause they can usually afford to get 200 or so violinists. I guess Zimmer just wants 400 instead... This is why I love Attack of the Clones.

Wow. That sounds excellent.

Are you saying Handel failed? Actually, I can't even remember now what it sounded like. Just seemed like a fitting title.

Yes, I think Herrmann would have been great on this. I think a John Williams War of the Worlds-esque score would have actually been pretty good. At least that direction of scoring.

Music for the Royal Fireworks, by George Frideric Handel.

2.5 Not a bad score, really, but sort of average fare. Not much of interest. Mushy recording, homophonic harmonies. While "Epilogue" certainly has a nice melody, it just demonstrates the simplicity and kind of boringness of the score. Builds to a nice climax, but the melody is so minorly diatonic, it doesn't hold interest greatly. That said, not a bad score. The Passion is a far better effort from Debney.

Me four.

Saw the movie today, and I am still trying to process exactly what I thought of it. But so far, I think it has packed the biggest emotional punch of any Pixar to date. I thnk the folks at Pixar just decided to write themselves into the biggest challenge they could find: A romance between two robots that the audience cares about. Needless to say, they delivered.

His "great late 70's and 80's work" set the tone for what too many fans want from him now. Anyone who dismisses this is nowhere near the Williams fan they claim to be. Well, everyone else was having fun tweaking it... Colin, who doesn't really know what the argument is about, but is ready to jump in.

Just kiddin' ya'. No hard feelings. Obviously, we disagree, and that is, after all, what this forum is built on.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! *breath* AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!! *cough* *hack* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *sucking air* BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!! *now really desperate* AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! *deep breath* *sigh* Phew! That's priceless. Got any more?

It's back online! Oh yeah! Sooo very happy.

You know, I wish Zimmer would do what he says he is doing, and write something different for these movies. They deserve it. I honostly liked the lack of 'cool' action scenes in the first one. It is, so far, by far my favorite recent revival of a comic superhero into a movie. It felt like it had more heart. But the score sounded so recycled. I really think there are times when more of a minimalistic approach would have been great. It would have fit the different style of movie-making, and made it stand out musically. Instead, the movie stands out in every way except music.

Franz Liszt...Would be hailed early in his career for the fun and adventure of his youthfull and exuberant film music. As he got older, his music would change and become better and more insightfull, but the world would spend the rest of his career wishing he would write in his old show-off style. Much like someone else in the film music industry today...

From Tracksounds interview with Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard:

Of course not. I was just wondering if it would have in the case of Star Wars, given the talent on-board.

OK, I haven't seen it yet, but folks keep on comparing it with Beauty and the Beast, which is, in my mind, without a doubt THE best animated movie EVER made, and, to tell you the truth, I cannot think of a better live-action film either. So far, no Pixar has even come close, even though most have been pretty good. So, really, is this thing comparable to THE standard for animated (or live-action) story-telling? I'll see it, but can't say when. Maybe ya'll just don't have quite as high an opinion of Beauty and the Beast as I do.