Desplat13

Whoa, hold on there, Blumenkoh. National Treasure tries its hardest to be 'epic' sounding, and the biggest and best thing since sliced bread. But that is the main reason it fails: Everything is so epic that nothing is epic (that and it is so repetative). Beauty and the Beast is great BECUASE it is not epic and world changing. How many world-changing stories can you have before they get boring? I think restrained can beat epic any day of the week, if done well. I am sure Mulan is just wonderful, but Beauty and the Beast is just plain great, and succeeds without the help of the world resting on this one story. Colin Thomson

Is 'epic' the measure of great?

Biggest problem with Cars was all the popular songs used as music. Oh, and it was a boring movie. Though it had one really great quote, something like: "The only person who could pull that is Big Al" "But Big Al died ten years ago" "Than why are you bringing him up?" Sorry, that just really made me laugh, and I have no idea what the number of years was. Colin Thomson

My how the tables have turned You really need Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. Some of the best music ever written for a movie. At least, Beauty and the Beast is. Colin Thomson

I will place myself firmly on the side of the Menken supporters, and go much further by calling myself a fan. I don't have hunchback yet, but am hoping to get it soon. Both Mermaid and Aladdin are pretty good, but Beauty and th Beast is not only the best animated movie I know, it is perhaps the best movie I know. Can't really think of anything that can top it. And whoever said that the chef's song and Be Our Guest were pretty much the same, perhaps you should listen to them again. Some similarities maybe, but not much. Of course the songs in Beauty and the Beast are great, and they always get recognition. But the score is simply incredible, and each and every cue is great. Battle on the Tower is my personal favorite, especially the second half where Menken turns from the cartoony scoring to more of the dramatic type. And when the theme that is played in the beginning intro is reprised in the middle of it, between action, it is simply amazing. Then the theme he uses for Bells wanting adventure (the "new and a bit alarming, who'd have ever thought that this could be?" music) comes in as the Beast climbs towards here, and simply soars. Of course, the ending is great. Overall, that is perhaps my favorite track on iTunes. Colin Thomson

Hilarious. Perhaps I should clarify, though: I find computer animation synthetic and false. That's the bottom line. I prefer cartoons. However, another issue I have with Pixar films is their dull scores (Ratatouille is an exception... sort of). It's not that they're bad; they're just nondescript and unambitious. Pixar films are good but absolutely not great. I am anything but a Randy Newman fan, and have found most of his Pixar scores unmemorable. But Thomas Newman did some really nice work with Nemo, and I love Giacchino's Incredibles and Ratatouille scores. Colin Thomson

I would have to agree with thegreateye on this one. Pixar has made some really great movies.

Wow, that does look nice. I didn't know the story was going to be on that sort of scale. I thought it was going to be more of a return to bugs life toy story finding nemo sort of preportions. It sort of looks like they are heading in the opposite direction. Colin Thomson

That was a cue used in the teaser trailer and not the full one above. Oh, ok.

Soundtrack.net says it was: Brazil (1985): "Central Services / The Office" - Michael Kamen Oscar and Lucinda (1997) - Thomas Newman Here is the link if you want to look at it yourself http://www.soundtrack.net/trailers/?cid=W&mid=29575 That site has a very comprehensive list trailer music. Colin Thomson

I might be going to the Boston concert. I might just try the getting there early thing and see what happens. Colin Thomson

Last I counted, I had 44 JW soundtracks (plus two compilations). You should get a ton more JW scores, particularly the Indy scores, Home Alone, Catch Me If You Can. . . . Of course I want all of them. Who wouldn't? I am trying to slowly build my film music collection, as my funds cannot really support anything more than a slow build. Oh, and Indy is amazing. But it is out of print, and so very expensive. I was very tempted to at one point, even with the unreasonable price. But that was right after having seen Raiders, and I only barely held my sanity long enough to convince myself that it was too much money, and that a better price would come around if I waited. Which is what I am doing... Colin Thomson

My complete John Williams collection: Star Wars (all 6) Schindler's List Jurassic Park (#1) Hook E. T. Main Titles from Indiana Jones and Jaws (from iTunes) Movies scored by John Williams I have seen: Star Wars (all 6) Jurassic Park (#1) Raiders of the Lost Ark Part of Hook I think that is pretty much it. Hopefully that makes you feel better. What really is much more important is the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack. :cool: Colin Thomson

Here is something I wrote a little while back: http://www.badongo.com/file/7989258 Colin Thomson

That's incorrectly labeled. It's a demo. Ok. cool. Thanks very much. Colin Thomson

Also, what is "Be Our Guest (Score)"? That says album only on iTunes. I'll get the whole thing if I need to. What is that track of? In the chronological list for Beauty and the Beast, it says Wolf Attack form Music from the Magic. Is that different from the West Wing wolf attack music? Colin Thomson

This is what I have: http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Beast-Origina...9906&sr=1-4 If you look there it says 4:45 for west wing. I thought it was the original. Thanks for the help, Henry. Colin Thomson

Are you sure? On iTunes special edition it says 4:25. In my original edition it says 4:25. Did they replace old music with new? Colin Thomson

I have the original soundtrack to Beauty and the Beast, and love it. I was looking on iTunes, and saw that the only difference between the special edition and the original is the 'Human Again" song, another version of "Be Our Guest" (not sure where from), "Beauty and the Beast worktap and demo" and "Death of the Beast early version". If I bought these individual tracks on Itunes, would I be getting everything from both albums? Thanks in advance. Colin Thomson

Atonal does not mean music that is less traditional. Like Henry said, it just means that it does not center around one tone. So perhaps there could be a better word than 'atonal', but that is the one we are stuck with to describe not music that sounds weird, but musc that does not center around one tone. Colin Thomson

This is interesting stuff. It's not really atonal, more like free tonal. Right. Berg used Schoenberg's 12 tone scale, but he also did not shun using more familiar methods for producing emotion. Sometimes he even has hints of a semi-tonal melody line, but they are always short, and the larger part of his music I would definitely call atonal. So perhaps over-all, his music is free-tonal, because parts get close to tonality, but other parts are firmly atonal. Colin Thomson

Though not a film music composer, Alban Berg is a good example of atonality. And if you want to listen to some of his stuff online, there are demos for VSL of three of his pieces. Go to the link below and scroll down to the pieces by him, and click on them. Not a fan myself, but, hey, maybe you'll love the stuff. http://vsl.co.at/en/67/3920/4687.vsl# Colin Thomson

That is interesting. Liszt's tritone usage in the 'Inferno' movement from his 'Dante' symphony is another good example. It is interesting to me how these associations go. At one point both the fourth and fifth intervals were considered dissonant, and a tritone was the worst possible nightmare. Now, every seventh chord has a tritone in it, and we know how common they are. Colin Thomson

Probably my favorite 'classical' composer (if the term is applied very losely, as it seems to be here) would have to be Franz Liszt. It is amazing to me that there still seems to be a little bit of the prejudice against him that was around during the end of his life. In reality, he was the pioneer of some of the modern techniques Wagner is given so much credit for. I believe Liszt actually used the double-dissonance 'Triston und Isolde' chord that Wagner is so famous for in one of his pieces before Wagner did. He basically invented the 'rock star' (perhaps not a good thing, but still history-changing), as well as the symphonic poem and many other things. Also, he was really a like-able guy, who tought tons of students and never charged anything for the lessons. At the end of his life, when he had fallen out of favor with the critics, he told his students not to perform his pieces because he thought it would hinder their career. Also, he was a big promoter of other people's music, unlike many of the people who's music he premoted. He helped Wagner when the police were after him, and conducted Wagner's music when it was out of favor, thus introducing to the world the music that would have such a revolutionary effect. Best of his music: All Hungarian Rhapsodies All Symphonic Poems Totentanz Opera piano transcriptions, especially 'Reminescences de Don Juan' Liebestraum Funerailles Rigoletto Paraphrase La Campanella Piano Sonata In B Minor Harmoonies du soir from '12 Etudes d'execution transcendante' (though the rest are probably good, I have yet to listen to them) Faust Symphonie Dante Symphonie But then, I am a pianist, so I can't help but love his stuff. Colin Thomson

I think the original post specified the finale of a film or a concert work. But it's not like the distinction is important. Yeah, I think that is what I said. But it doesn't matter, any finale that you love. Colin Thomson