pixie_twinkle

Vaughan Williams: Hodie, A Christmas Cantata Bach: Christmas Oratorio Hely-Hutchinson: Carol Symphony (containing the theme from "Box of Delights", a wonderful BBC Christmas fantasy miniseries from 1984) Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (full ballet) The Carpenters: Christmas Portrait The Torero Band: Tijuana Christmas (STILL not available on CD! Grrrr) Bert Klaempfert: Christmas Wonderland CD And many others, too numerous to mention. I love Christmas!

No, 5.1 downmixed to our TV. I fully expect that it's more to do with the setup of our TV than any fault on the disc itself, but the mono was fine for Thunderball. Steef, I don't recall any issues with the Thunderball DVD, but I haven't watched it since we got this TV anyway.

Just watched OHMSS as part of my one-a-week chronological Bond Blu Ray viewing experience. Once again I am blown away by how wonderfully directed this film is. Even though I've seen this film countless times I still get choked up during the wedding scene (Moneypenny catching the hat) and the final scene of the film. It's simply a stunning film, and it looked and sounded fantastic on Blu. I was able to listen to this with the 5.1 stereo (I don't have a surround set-up, just my TV) and it sounded great (unlike Thunderball in which the music and sound effects were mixed much louder than the dialogue, frustratingly).

Where does the music come from?

The idea of Star Wars episodes episode VII, VIII, IX is not new at all. As a kid I remember Lucas talking about his "trilogy of trilogies" in interviews promoting The Empire Strikes Back around 1980. Then Mark Hammill said something similar in a guest appearance on a kids show (Blue Peter, maybe?) back in 1980 or 81. After the prequel trilogy was made though, and it was so very Anakin-centric, it seemed to me that the 6 episodes were all about the rise and fall of Darth Vader, and so how can it continue after Vader's death? Wouldn't episodes 7-9 just seem like an epilogue?

Oooh, this is coming out soon! I didn't buy the 132-minute DVD already available, and it'll be great to get the full-length 142-minute European version on Blu. I have the Criterion DVD set, which is great except for some inexplicable reason the widescreen is non-anamorphic. Are most Criterion DVDs non-anamorphic? Seems at odds with their mission.

Good point. I think the writers are keeping it simple for the viewers. They want us to focus on one Doctor at a time. When the show came back for a one-off pilot episode back in the 90s the writers made the mistake of showing a regeneration 20 minutes into the show, when we're just starting to get to know the 7th Doctor. Then suddenly the viewers (who are already trying to get to grips with the world of Dr Who) have to accept this new guy as the Doctor before they really got to know the guy who'd just died. It was a huge error of judgement on the part of the production staff/writers. When RTD brought the show back in 2005, he brilliantly decided to introduce the Doctor through the eyes of the character Rose. We don't know who he is when he first appears, and we gradually get to know him as Rose gets to know him. Wisely, no mention was made of his ability to regenerate until right before the moment when it actually happened. Thus the show and it's ways is introduced to the new audience in much the same way as it was originally, back in 1963. The original series didn't make much reference to previous Doctors until it had been running for 10 years, and we got The Three Doctors special story as an anniversary treat. Other than that, I think the production team want to focus all attention on the current Doctor and not complicate things too much.

Watched Thunderball last night. Amazing picture and sound, but the 5.1 mix was really unbalanced on my TV. The music was deafening and the dialogue and sound effects were buried so low in the mix it was hard to understand what anyone was saying. I switched to mono and it sounded fantastic.

I'd be very happy with an expanded TSWLM. Not too fussed about Licence to Kill. I'm not all that impressed with the music on the current CD release, so unless the unreleased cues are significantly different I'll probably pass on any expanded release. (No I wouldn't, who am I kidding...) In spite of the dreadful song (music AND lyrics) and it's over-use throughout the score, I'd still welcome an expanded release of TMWTGG. There's so much great music in there. Also I wish they'd rerelease Casino Royale and include the movie version of the Cornell song. Apparently it's never had an official release yet, and it's by far the best version of that song. It really needs to be on the soundtrack CD, especially as it's quoted throughout the score. Speaking of song quotations, I wonder why Arnold didn't quote the Die Another Day theme song in the score. It would just be one note repeated over and over...

Just picked up Iain Ballamy's score to Mirrormask. Excellent music, with a folk/jazz vibe. It's like a more saxophone-led darker version of Tiersen's score for Amelie.

I said it was "less obviously Bond" (than the Arnold scores). I didn't say it wasn't still very obviously a Bond score. Seriously, it may not have that Barry sound, but neither do the Bill Conti, George Martin and Marvin Hamlysch scores and yet they are still clearly Bond.

And I can't argue with that. The Serra score is less obviously Bond, but for that one film I think that's ok.

It's better than all of Arnold's scores. No, it isnt. Really? Why? What makes TWINE a better score? I'm curious to know what I'm missing here. Well, for one, TWINE doesn't sound like 70s electronics sans orchestra expanded to a full score. No, it sounds like 90s electronics expanded to a full score. It's not bad (and I really like the Cuba cue), but overall it's way too generic. The love theme at the end is dangerously close to "You Only Live Twice" title song. And not in a good way. Again, don't get me wrong I like what Arnold did for the series as a whole, and the score to TND is fantastic. I just don't think his scores are better than Serra's Goldeneye score. Very often his music is just "there". It is exactly what you'd expect in that particular scene, which is ok for the most part, but I like to be pleasantly surprised in a score by something a bit more unusual, or something that lifts the score out of the purely "functional".

Really? Why? What makes TWINE a better score? I'm curious to know what I'm missing here.

NP.

I would use a slur with tenutos. That is completely clear. The performer will slur the two notes together but slightly reaccent the second note. String players will use a single bow, wind players will use the same breath.

Indy, if they are out of stock pm me.

All this hate for the Goldeneye score! Listening to the scores in sequence I was surprised how good that score is. I much preferred it to the previous Kamen score to Licence to Kill, which just doesn't really have much to say. On a purely musical level I'd even go so far as to say I prefer the Goldeneye score to several of the David Arnold scores, particularly The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day, which rely a little too much on by-the-numbers Bond action music. The Serra score is fun, bouncy, and quite beautiful in places, like a good Bond score should be. It also works extremely well in context of the film IMO. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the Arnold scores, they just seem a little uninspired at times. Very effective in the movie, very Bond-like, but not hugely original. Having said that, Tomorrow Never Dies is a pretty awesome score.

Option two. I'd love to have flying powers. And X-Ray vision of course, but then all men would like that.

Oh, but you are missing the genius of Licence to Kill. It is such an incredibly clever story (as far as Bonds go) in that Bond attacks the villain not directly with guns and bombs, but by framing all the villain's so-called loyal henchmen, thus undermining his confidence in his own people. It's an inspired film. I agree that it feels very different from all the other Bond films, but I think it's a good thing. Licence to Kill is definitely in my top five Bond films. (In case anyone's wondering: 1) On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 2) From Russia With Love, 3) The Spy Who Loved Me, 4) Casino Royale, 5) Licence to Kill. Honourable mention to 6) Goldeneye. Yes, my top six Bond films feature all six Bond actors!)

Watched "From Russia With Love two weekends ago. Last weekend we watched Goldfinger. My wife has never seen most of these early Bonds before. Quite interesting that she really enjoyed the first two, but didn't rate Goldfinger very highly. I must confess it's never really been a favourite of mine either. It's clearly a classic, and has so many great scenes, but for me it just lacks the momentum of the first two films. Overall I much prefer the three Terrence Young films to the four Guy Hamilton ones, Goldfinger included.

Absolutely. The Spy Who Loved Me is a phenomenal score. Kudos to Marvin Hamlisch for coming up with something so different from any other Bond score, and yet is so perfect for the film. I'd give pretty much anything to get an expanded release of that score. Even the cues on the existing CD are remixed. I was especially disappointed that the bassy synth notes are missing (or buried in the mix) on the Pyramids scene. The Bond CDs that are expanded are: From Russia With Love Goldfinger Thunderball (AMAZING score and great CD release) You Only Liive Twice On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Also amazing score and release) Diamonds Are Forever Live And Let Die For Your Eyes Only The Living Daylights It's really too bad that the score cues from Dr No are no longer in existance. It may not be the best score in the Bond cannon, but there are a couple of great cues (the tarrantula scene for one), and I still think this score like the movie has a really cool vibe all its own.

So I'm listening through all the Bond scores in anticipation of the new film and soundtrack, and it got me wondering why only a handful of the scores were released in expanded editions. I really wish scores like The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Octopussy etc had received the same expanded treatment as On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Thunderball (two excellent CD releases). Does anyone know the deal with this? Also, does anyone know why Licence to Kill wasn't reissued with the other pre-Brosnan scores in 2003?

Maybe you missed that memo. A big deal was made of that back in 2006 when Torchwood was first introduced. I don't remember exactly when I found out, but I certainly didn't figure it out for myself.

I read all five books in one month over the summer. My brain hurts! Trouble is, having had the huge advantage of there already being five books by the time I started reading the series, I now have to wait five or six years for the next book along with everybody else!