What is so great about James Newton Howard?

[Sandor 797]

Everyone seems to love JNH.

For some reason, I don't see what is so great or special about his music... I noticed that the score I listen to most is Lady In The Water! That can't be a good sign.

Perhaps some the JNH-fans can "enlighten" me, so hence the question: what is so great about James Newton Howard?

What music should I really check out?

Thanks.

[Romão 2,274]

Signs and the Village. If those can't convice of this JNH's talent, I'm afraid he simply isn't your thing.

[indy4 155]

Signs, Dinosaur, and Treasure Planet are great too.

I have yet to hear The Village, but I'll be seeing the movie soon.

[Sandor 797]

The Egg Travels is a great track.

[crumbs 14,345]

Almost every track in The Village is stunning. Dinosaur is fantastic. Signs is masterful. The man is a genius.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

I also really like Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Hidalgo. Some great action music in there, adventurous music and beautiful music.

[Ollie 1,059]

I'd suggest Waterworld and The Fugitive.

While I don't consider him in the same league as John williams or Jerry Goldsmith, he does write some very solid action music and some of his tender thematic music can be quite lovely.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

One post from Greta, and we'd have no need for further discussion in this thread.

James Newton Howard is my second favorite composer. His music is so varied and colorful, and though his themes aren't as iconic as Williams', I think a lot of them are very good. There's real heart in his music, and he's a master of atmosphere. My favorites of his include Lady in the Water, The Man in the Moon, Peter Pan, The Village, Signs, and the CGI Disney scores.

[Romão 2,274]

He only scored one CGI disney film. Treasure Planet and Atlantis were both traditional animation with some CGI elements. Three great scores though.

[King Mark 3,631]

I ask the same as Roald.

Sure ,I like a few cues here and there,but overall I can never really remember a theme after I have listened to one of his scores.

K.M.

[MrScratch 294]

I don't know much about JNH either, but I do like Unbreakable a lot. "Goodnight" is superb, a Herrmann-esque nocturne.

[Josh500 1,615]

I'd suggest Waterworld and The Fugitive.

Yeah, Fugitive is the score that made me notice him!

[Morlock 11]

Unbreakable, Signs, The Fugitive, The Village, Dave, Restoration are IMO really special stuff. Most of his scores are good. But he is lacking a unique voice in a lot of his scores, and, seeing how brilliant hecan be, a lot of his scores are dissapointingly Unspecial, remarkably listenable though they might be (Hidalgo, King Kong, Waterworld, among several others).

[Delorean90 42]

One thing that I find unique about JNH is the wonderful way his compositions tend to be simultaneously traditional and contemporary sounding. It's hard to explain exactly. I would say "The Village" would be a pretty good example, although there may be a better one. I'm, sadly, not as familiar in-depth with a lot of cues the way I am with Williams, for instance, so it's hard to give specific examples. I would definitely go along with the above recommendations, though.

[Red 75]

I agree with most of the sentiments regarding Howard and his music. He is really one of the best working today, and it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful his music is, you just have to take the time to appreciate it (not that you're not entitled to your own opinion).

I recommend The Village and Peter Pan.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

All his scores are simply fantastic. Ray Bransbury's statement is the best description I find. Signs, The Village, Lady In The Water, The Sixth Sense, Peter Pan, Dreamcatcher, Michael Clayton, The Fugitive, Snow Falling On Cedars, and of course Big Trouble. The man is a modern genius.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

I should also add that I think he often has a pretty distinct action style, at least as far as his orchestral scores are concerned. Very compelling stuff.

[Richard Penna 3,704]

My favourites from JNH are Signs, Snow Falling on Cedars (an incredibly mature, heartfelt score that I consider his greatest achievement in film), Sixth Sense and King Kong. I find it hard to describe what sets him apart actually, apart from that you can give the man any genre whatsoever, and he'll give the film the best it could hope for.

[indy4 155]

One of the best parts of JNH is, just like JW, his variety. From the tender strings of Signs, to the rhythmic sounds of Dinosaur, JNH has a very varied mind.

This is even heard in his scores. If it weren't for the quiet statement of the main theme in Hand of Fate Part 2, I might not be able to guess that the same composer wrote the main titles for the very same movie!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Has anyone heard Big Trouble? It is an amazing score that fits the film flawlessly. Unfortunately it was never released due to a lack of music, but the end credits is a suite of everything in the movie. I took it from the DVD and enjoy it greatly. It's another example of how varied he is. Drama, action, comedy, family, JNH can do it all.

[Hitch 57]

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Discussing film composers is boring? Are you on the right forum?

[Hitch 57]

[Delorean90 42]

[Koray Savas 2,251]

That was oddly disturbing, Hitch. Patrick Stewart and the truffle shuffle.

[Henry B 50]

I really like the main theme from The Prince of Tides. The score is pretty repetitive, though.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Indeed, that has a great main title. The very definition of lush!

[Morlock 11]

Has anyone heard Big Trouble? It is an amazing score that fits the film flawlessly. Unfortunately it was never released due to a lack of music, but the end credits is a suite of everything in the movie. I took it from the DVD and enjoy it greatly. It's another example of how varied he is. Drama, action, comedy, family, JNH can do it all.

It is a very nice little score. Hardly amazing, but a wonderful little score the creeps in under the radar. And JNH can do it all. But not all of it in a special way. Comedy- fantastic. Dave and My Best Friend's Wedding are two of my favorite comedy scores. Debney uses the same same to far lesser affect (I wish JNH had done all of Liar, Liar. Nice little theme, totally uninspired use by Debney). He has a rather generic sound with action- totally Goldsmithian. His family stuff is very good, but, like all family scores, it takes a lot to not be too bland or too sugary. Those are at least good for themes, though (I love the Flying theme from Peter Pan). Drama is his real forte.

[mahler3 478]

My favourite JNH score is Wyatt Earp - worth listening to Roald & KM - one of the best scores of the '90's

The Prince of Tides as already mentioned is sublime and one of the best in the genre, Peter Pan's flying theme that we always hear in those Euro Disney ads is delightful. Outbreak features one of the best action cues ever in A Little Resistance and Alive has some lovely themes too.

So reading back, IMO the early to mid 90's featured his best output.

[Morlock 11]

Wyat Earp is another one of his obvious scores. Pleasant, good main theme, some nice material in there (I love the jig in 'Railroad', or whatever the track is called). I don't understand the big deal made about the finale. I find it quite uninteresting. Never heard Outbreak or Alive, or Snow falling on the Cedars. The last two are high on my list.

[Sandor 797]

Outbreak features one of the best action cues ever in A Little Resistance

Didn't JNH just write the main theme for Outbreak?

[Ollie 1,059]

JNH composed the entire score for Outbreak. For Dante's Peak he wrote the theme only and I believe John Frizzell composed the rest.

Another good JNH score to check out is Vertial Limit.

[mahler3 478]

Wyat Earp is another one of his obvious scores. Pleasant, good main theme, some nice material in there (I love the jig in 'Railroad', or whatever the track is called). I don't understand the big deal made about the finale. I find it quite uninteresting. Never heard Outbreak or Alive, or Snow falling on the Cedars. The last two are high on my list.

The end credits are a big deal as they feature a very exciting suite of the scores key moments that were especially recorded and regrettably unreleased. I have never heard of the finale being particularly noteworthy as you are right it's not that amazing?

You should certainly get your hands on Outbreak & Alive yes, Cedars doesn't do that much for me actually

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

How could I forget Wyatt Earp? The main titles are fantastic, and an excellent example of how he creates rich atmospheres, without having to use themes all the time (though the cue does contain some good statements of the main theme, particularly in the opening French horn solo). I also really like the cue "Dodge City," a great Western track.

[Richard Penna 3,704]

While I find Wyatt Earp does have a few dull parts, its good parts are really good. The main titles are indeed an almost tranquil piece of music. I also love Home From the War and Railroad

I guess Cedars needs some patient listening at high volume to listen to - it's got a lot of atmosphere and is kind of haunting and beautiful at the same time. I agree with Morlock that drama is his forte, and I think his collaboration with Shyamalan has produced some of his best scores (2 of which are now out there in complete form - Sixth Sense & The Village).

Also, ignoring the complete failure of the film, I find Waterworld to be a stunning score - exhilarating action, several memorable themes and some amazing atmospheric music (Swimming, The Atoll). I think that along with Kong, it's one of his great replacement scores.

[vmw331 2]

JNH is one of those composers who has a huge amount of respected work behind him, but I just haven't got into listening to him as much as other composers like Williams, Goldsmith, Barry, Morricone, Elfman, and others.

That means that I've only listened to about maybe 10 of his scores, but out of the ones I have heard, I would say that the following scores are in the same category as the solid works from the composers that I listed above: "The Village", "Waterworld", and "Vertical Limit".

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Snow Falling On Cedars is a quiet score, and takes time to really get into, however, once you do it is very worthwhile. When I first bought it I didn't like it much as I listened through the first tracks. Once I got to the End Titles I pretty much had my mind made up about the score, but those last 6 minutes blew me away. I don't want it to be, but deep down I think it's my favorite JNH piece. It's so haunting and beautiful, and it captures almost all styles of his work, there is a little The Village, Signs, etc. incorporated in this track. Once those drums rolled in, shivers ran down my spine. It is one of the best end credits pieces ever.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

I need to revisit that score...I got it this summer and listened through a couple times, but it's been so long that I've forgotten a lot of it. I know it was very atmospheric though, in a serene way.

[Saxbabe 28]

I hardly have anything to add! You guys have mentioned the scores that definitely comprise his very best work, I would only add a couple more of interest...

One very notable one is Grand Canyon, a urban drama score with classy, gritty use of electronics and electric guitar, and an fantastic ending fanfare.

Another is The Postman, which is in the same vein as Wyatt Earp, a broad western type score. And Devil's Advocate is also quite good, spooky, dramatic, atmospheric.

Just wanted to say - nice to see other people love Outbreak! A Little Resistance is really an awesome cue, especially the last minute is impressive. Another favorite there is the cue Finding the Ship. The brass playing (the horns!) in that score is phenomenal, real let-'er-rip stuff.

What makes JNH great: I think he's very versatile, he writes well-crafted music with interesting details, even in his scores that aren't his best there are things to appreciate about the writing. He can be a master of subtlety. And when he is at his best, he's superb - especially in stuff like the Shyamalan scores where he's given more freedom and time, his fantasy scores...swashbuckling scores...etc.

It's mindboggling to me why his works aren't performed more by orchestras, or why concert suites of some of these fantastic scores haven't been created!

[mahler3 478]

Another is The Postman, which is in the same vein as Wyatt Earp, a broad western type score. And Devil's Advocate is also quite good, spooky, dramatic, atmospheric.

Just wanted to say - nice to see other people love Outbreak! A Little Resistance is really an awesome cue, especially the last minute is impressive. Another favorite there is the cue Finding the Ship. The brass playing (the horns!) in that score is phenomenal, real let-'er-rip stuff.

Yes, forgotten about The Postman (understandable considering the film for which it was written!), some exciting writing in that and I agree with you re Grand Canyon - he really captured the cool LA sound so well.

Devil's Advocate featured a brilliant dramatic cue with chorus, percussion & brass for the scene that accompanies Keanu Reeves walking down the deserted street, very striking.

I've been inspired, so my car's CD multi-changer will be featuring JNH for a few days so I can catch up again!

[Saxbabe 28]

Yes, I'm inspired to give Dinosaur a spin again too, after reading this thread! I dearly love that score, Egg Travels was the cue that first got me into JNH. And Wyatt Earp and Hidalgo I must dig out too...JNH scores have the great quality about them of still being enjoyable after tons of listens (like JW).

(BTW, Tim, love your Bernstein quote and avatar!)

[mahler3 478]

Thanks Greta Impressed with your recent playlist at lastfm - good to see Mahler's 1st Movement from Symphony 3 in there!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I haven't heard Wyatt Earp enough yet to judge it, really.

What should I expect from The Fugitive?

[Morlock 11]

You've never seen the movie?

It's a terrific urban thriller score. It's got a couple of terrific action cues, some exellent almost atmospheric cues the develop into something interesting (including one relativly big motif that I love), and a really fantastic main theme, that just sums up the Harrison Ford character. Howard is a wiz at wrapping things up, and when this theme plays at the very end of the film ('It's Over') it's just the perfect ending for it, that melancholy theme....I love the film, and I love the score. I feel after this score, Howard streched his urban vocabulary far too thin. A lot of his later scores are the same sound, without the pizzaz this one has.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I've seen the film once, years ago, and I wasn't paying any attention to the score.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

"I didn't kill my wife!"

[Morlock 11]

Harrison Ford did it better. And, now that you mention it.....I haven't seen your wife around recently. Somewhere, Jimmy Stewart is watching you from across the street. Beware- your cheap theatric won't fool him!

[Ollie 1,059]

I've seen the film once, years ago, and I wasn't paying any attention to the score.

Morlock was correct in his review of the score, it's well worth it to give it a listen.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I'll do so then.

[Morlock 11]

Indeed. There must be something to it if myself and Mr. Olivarez agree on something.