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Film Score Monthly announces the Blue Box - Superman.


TownerFan

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Thanks for the feedback.

Neil

Good work, Neil. Don't care about this score/release nearly as much as most folks here, but I enjoyed the read and am looking forward to the next part.

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Lukas Kendall wrote on the Film Score Monthly Message Board:

There are less than 600 remaining of the 3,000-qty. blue box first edition. There WILL be a second edition but we are waiting on a few answers from our manufacturer before a final decision about whether it will be the same format as the first. Also, the second edition may not be in stock for a couple of months so you may want to purchase now to avoid the dreaded "backorder" notice.
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Thank god you finally got it KM, I was getting concerned about your well being...:blink:

I'm really happy for Lukas and FSM that this has sold very well, although I imagine some of those boxes will be ending up on eBay.

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Great interview! Looking forward to more, especially on the sequel scores as I'm not nearly as familiar with those as I am with the original film.

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Anyone else love "United Nations" from S:IV? That's the best track so far, but I'm not all the way through that score yet.

I'm in the process of renaming a lot of these tracks for my media player, I appreciate all of the original cue titles being used but I'd rather the tracks given real names and cue titles being explained in the book. "Villains Take Lex and Lois to Fortress/School Games" we'll just call that "Fortress Stalemate".

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The sound quality on Superman The Movie alone was worth the $100. I am pretty sure there are extra music bits too that I don't remember hearing from the Rhino release (which I listened to intently prior to the Blue Box arrival).

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I'm in the process of renaming a lot of these tracks for my media player, I appreciate all of the original cue titles being used but I'd rather the tracks given real names and cue titles being explained in the book. "Villains Take Lex and Lois to Fortress/School Games" we'll just call that "Fortress Stalemate".
Could you please share your work on that once done? I also want to change my tracknames; they're waaay too long for my liking.
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Anyone else love "United Nations" from S:IV? That's the best track so far, but I'm not all the way through that score yet.

.

Well,yeah.I posted about it a few pages ago.

I remember it in the theater ,and I REALLY wanted it. I think part of it was cut from the TV version of the film,and I was beginning to think it was a track I imagined.

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Unfortunately the last three tracks on my Animated series disc skip...a lot. It's weird becuase there are no scratches on the disc. I'll have to email them...

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Unfortunately the last three tracks on my Animated series disc skip...a lot. It's weird becuase there are no scratches on the disc. I'll have to email them...

i plan to listen to that once only

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Could you please share your work on that once done? I also want to change my tracknames; they're waaay too long for my liking.

In a lot of cases I'm picking one cue title for the whole track, like just "Aerial Battle" instead of "Aerial Battle/Zod Throws Slab/Superman Saves Spire" and "Superman vs Zod" instead of "Superman Saves Petrol Tanker/Superman Fights Zod/Superman Flies Off". "President Kneels Before Zod" I just called "Kneel Before Zod". Once I settle on more definitive track titles I'll post them all, but its still a work in progress.

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In a lot of cases I'm picking one cue title for the whole track, like just "Aerial Battle" instead of "Aerial Battle/Zod Throws Slab/Superman Saves Spire" and "Superman vs Zod" instead of "Superman Saves Petrol Tanker/Superman Fights Zod/Superman Flies Off". "President Kneels Before Zod" I just called "Kneel Before Zod". Once I settle on more definitive track titles I'll post them all, but its still a work in progress.
Thanks very much! :blink:
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there is one detail i have always noticed about Superman 2

I love the string counterpoints when the main superman march comes in the main titles (3:56 of Superman 2 track 1)

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I've had the box set for about 4 days now, and I'm only just starting Superman II! I'm taking my time with each disk :) You watch, in a month when I finally get to disk 8 I'll find it's all messed up! :D

No wait, that's not funny...:blink:

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Unfortunately the last three tracks on my Animated series disc skip...a lot. It's weird becuase there are no scratches on the disc. I'll have to email them...

i plan to listen to that once only

The music on the disc didn't thrill me, so i really don't plan on listening to it much in future but it just bothers me to have a faulty disc in a $120 set.

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Good work on that interview, Neil! I look forward to the rest of it!

I listened to Disc One over the course of a few days, and now I'm planning to listen to Disc Two tonight, and if I'm lucky I'll move on to Superman II. If not, though, it shouldn't be a big deal--looks like we're getting snowed in here in Louisville! :blink:

-Ben, who can hardly wait to get to Superman IV, but is also looking forward to hearing the Thorne scores as they were meant to be heard.

EDIT: It's 11:56 PM Louisville time, the snow is thick. Me, my Dad, and my siblings walked down the street in the snow around an hour and a half ago, and it's just fantastic. I felt like I was in the middle of It's a Wonderful Life! Marvelous!

And speaking of marvelous, I've just finished Disc Two, and, though I had sort of just taken it for granted that Superman was a classic Williams score, and one of his best, I'm now reassured--this should be a must-own for Williams fans! What a terrific score, and FSM has done a first-rate job in this release. I must say, though, being such a stickler for the composer's complete original intentions, I was surprised at how used to the film version of the end titles. The opening title was much easier to get used to, and I have no problem accepting it (especially with the pitch change in the film version). "The Prison Yard/End Title" was different, though. Good, but more different from the film version than the original main title is from its film version, if that makes any sense. It's late, and I apologize if I wax incoherent. Basically, though, I highly recommend it. If anyone likes the original score at all, and you miss the first run, I highly recommend you look to purchase the set the second time around (of course, with Lukas talking about the possibility of a different arrangement for it, so who knows what will come of that--single score releases?). A classic Williams score is given deserving treatment here. Can't wait to get into the other scores! :D

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All right, I just ordered it. Are you all happy now?!

Listening to that two-part radio show interview with Matessino changed my mind about it.

Hopefully I'm not heading for "back order hell...."

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GOT IT!!! GOT IT!!! GOT IT!!! ;)

Today is one of the happiest day of my life. The Blue Box arrived in the morning and I can't emphasize enough what a treasure it is. This is definitely one of the greatest soundtrack releases of all time and one of the best things that could happen to a true soundtrack junkie such as me. :D This box is almost too good to be true, I feel that every disc for itself and the book alone are all worthy the price of the whole boxset. Amazing. :wub: All kudos and respects to everyone and anyone who had anything to do with it. :P

And the best thing is that today is Saturday, I have all the time I want to immerse myself into it all (though at the moment I feel like taking a two weeks' vacation from the job :D) and I didn't even have to pay any additional taxes for it, being marked as a gift book for 10 $. :joy:

Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, I have a beautiful feeling - everything's going my way! :D

:cool: Jonathan's Death

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I just listened to Superman II. I'm not as familiar with the film--I've only really seen parts here and there--so this is more new for me. I would have to agree that this is not as bad as its reputation. The brass is the weak point, although there is something of a bareness to the sound in spots as well, and I'm assuming that simply has to do with the size of the orchestra. Nonetheless, even the brass pulls off some really nice parts, as in "Return of the Green Crystal" and the moon attack sequence; it still manages some power. There is some good original material here as well. "To Bed" is a terrific working of the Love Theme, with a very nice cello passage at the end of it (as noted in the book), and I was impressed with the "Clark to Fortress" cue. Additionally, the reworking of the Williams material is well done. If you're going to adapt previously composed music, this is how you do it. "Lois Climbs Tower" is a thoroughly enjoyable suspense cue reworked from "The Rescue of Jimmy," and "Mother's Advice" is a fantastic expansion of Jor-El's farewell speech from the first film. Additionally, some of the arrangements have their own charm, although retaining the orchestra and its sound from the first film would have been preferable. The clips on the SAE page really don't do the sound quality justice here, either. I wasn't too keen on the first track when I listened to it online, but upon hearing it on CD a second time, I actually liked it.

Thorne reworked and placed and expanded and arranged in such a way that it keeps it interesting, even though you know what it's from, adding bridging material, putting a twist on it here, making an unexpected transition there, so that it all remains enjoyable, and a worthwhile listen. Definitely not a frisbee or one-time listener, I'll enjoying coming back to this one. Two thumbs up! :cool:

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Sheesh... Superman IV is 100 x's better than I had originally imagined. The original Williams themes really come through. I always loved Nuclear Man's theme when I first saw the movie back in '87 or so, and now we finally have it on CD. As much as I liked II and III, IV really feels like a long-lost Williams score. Awesome. Man, that movie was hacked into oblivion judging by the liners. Wow. Almost makes me wish they'd restore the original like they tried to do with Donner's II.

II and III are even better than I remember. I was so eager to get 2, 3, and 4 that I didn't listen to the original yet. Next I plan to do that. The brass is that much better, eh, KM? Time to play it.

Also, I have to add because I just read it: Great interview, Neil!

Sheesh, between the liners and the interview, it's amazing how much we know about the Superman scores now.

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I finally listened to Superman II, and I admit, it does sound much better with this remix.

And The Quest for Peace is awesome. It almost makes me want to watch the film again. :)

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And The Quest for Peace is awesome. It almost makes me want to watch the film again. :)

It actually did make me want to watch the film again, which I'll probably do today. :lol:

And Neil, when can we expect the 2nd part? :)

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How can I be original after so much praise? :\

Oh, heck...

It's an excellent interview, Neil! Very interesting on all points-- the project, the restoration, the music, the mysteries, the alternates, ... Sort of a very good summary of /teaser for the book's detailed notes (I ought to receive it this week).

Funny thing: I'm playing The Blue and the Gray (disc 1); while I was reading the interview, it sometimes felt like Superman music; it must be the Americana feel of it, which I must have subconsciously associated with "Leaving Home".

obsupes001.gif

PS:

How about a new thread, devoted to the music ?

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The only weakness of the box I've managed to discover so far is the somewhat poor book binding. Although I've only managed to read first 30 or so pages of my book and handled it ever so carefully, the binding is already kind of starting to come apart. :lol: Has anybody else also experienced this? :)

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