The War of the Worlds' track titles make no sense

[Taikomochi 1,136]

M'kay, the stupidness of these track title has been bothering me for a while.

For starters, why does Prologue have Morgan Freeman's Narration, but Epilogue does not? You would think that Epilogue would have the epilogue as read by Freeman, but no, instead, it's just Williams end credits.

The Confrontation with Ogilvy? In both scenes that the music from this track score, Ogilvy is not involved. He either hasn't been met yet, or he was dead already.

The Separation of the Family. I kind of see why that title is there as it is perhaps meant to serve as a theme for the family, but that doesn't really make sense to have to music with the Martian dying at the beginning.

The Return to Boston BEFORE Escape From The Basket? If I had not seen the film, and was just reading the track titles, that wouldn't make sense. The return to Boston would have to be towards the end of the movie. But then Escape from the Basket would have to be before. Even just as a listening experience, it makes more sense to have Return to Boston after. It's very triumphant and caps off the action of the album well.

It shouldn't even be called Escape From The Basket. The last 2 and a half minutes are the basket, but the 7 minutes before that are two other scenes, that are related enough that they might claim the track title.

And these titles are extremely redundant sounding. Two "Escape from the..." track titles and two "The... Scene" titles. It sounds so bad to read them off. I hate them.

[Datameister 2,042]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Williams OSTs.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

The only one that completely baffles me is The Confrontation with Ogilvy. Not even if I had paid no attention to the movie would I name it that. That track is way more appropriate for the scene where they fight over the shotgun while the martians search the basement. Maybe he originally intended to have that on the soundtrack and just liked the title???

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

But he does have a special knack for them.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

I do think Williams does this a lot, but these titles stand out to me as particularly bad.

[Datameister 2,042]

But he does have a special knack for them.

Exactly. The problem isn't limited to Williams OSTs, but it's especially bad with his. Out of order, chopped into pieces, titles that don't correspond to the correct scenes...

[Ollie 1,059]

It's called the listening experience. That how he arranges his albums. If you think WOTW is bad just look at Qui Gonn's Noble End from TPM, how many cues are represented in that one?

But in the end it's all about the music and WOTW is actually put together well when compared to TPM.

I don't worry about the track titles.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

I know it's put together well, but the titles are just silly. I can deal with it, but it really makes me wonder every time I listen to it.

[fommes 153]

It's because they've messed it up and switched track titles if I remember correctly. Look up one of the threads which has the chronological order for War of the Worlds.

[John Crichton 4]

It's called the listening experience. That how he arranges his albums. If you think WOTW is bad just look at Qui Gonn's Noble End from TPM, how many cues are represented in that one?

But in the end it's all about the music and WOTW is actually put together well when compared to TPM.

I don't worry about the track titles.

The TPM OST is just an ungodly mess of the first order. It's the absolute low point, if you care about any semblance of chronological presentation.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Morgan Freeman narration...what a bad idea.

[Datameister 2,042]

The TPM OST is just an ungodly mess of the first order. It's the absolute low point, if you care about any semblance of chronological presentation.

Yeah, that was the first soundtrack I owned that really got me annoyed with the presentation. Somewhere in a closet somewhere, I probably still have the sheet of paper with my own timing notes for how to skip between different points in different tracks to get the right effect. Thank the Lord for Audacity. (Maybe someday sheet music will leak so I can finally muster up the courage to do a proper TPM edit...)

[gkgyver 1,645]

Morgan Freeman narration...what a bad idea.

It's like leaving Cate Blanchett's narration on top of LOTR's Prologue.

[indy4 155]

The track titles that annoy me are those that are named after a more abstract theme of the film as opposed to an actual scene. Hans Zimmer has these a lot. For instance, in Inception the title "528491" could be referring to several different scenes. Same with "Dream Within a Dream," "Radical Notion," "Waiting for a Train," etc. I think track titles should be functional first, clever second. I don't mind an artistic, moving, or funny title, but only if it also labels what scene it was written for. It's not a big deal since usually, unless I'm really familiar with the film, I don't know what scene I'm listening to regardless of track titles. But when you just bought a CD, or you're contemplating which track of a CD to buy on iTunes etc, then it's very helpful to have accurately titled tracks.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I'm listening now and the best stuff is still Refugee Status/Ray and Rachel/Return to Boston. Very nice material. All the action music is completely unremarkable. Flat out awful by Williams standards.

blah (blä) Informal

adj.

1. Dull and uninteresting.

2. Low in spirit or health; down: sat around all day feeling blah.

n.

1. Action sequence music from the John Williams score War of the Worlds.

[indy4 155]

I disagree. I used to feel the same way, but "Ferry Scene" and especially "Escape from the City" are two great action cues.

[Delorean90 42]

indy4: Inception is a special case, because there isn't a true "chronological version" per se--the best you could get would be a "film edit." I don't know how much music is still unreleased from it, but I'm curious to at least get a rundown of how much/what music he wrote, and what cues were used in what way in the film. Side journey there, but all that is to say that those titles may well be the original titles for the cues he recorded.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

From the moment War of the Worlds listeners pressed play, they were doomed. They were undone, destroyed after all the great works of John Williams that preceded it. For neither do men live nor die in vain.

[indy4 155]

indy4: Inception is a special case, because there isn't a true "chronological version" per se--the best you could get would be a "film edit." I don't know how much music is still unreleased from it, but I'm curious to at least get a rundown of how much/what music he wrote, and what cues were used in what way in the film. Side journey there, but all that is to say that those titles may well be the original titles for the cues he recorded.

I'm disputing that those are the original cue titles. I'm saying they could be used to title many scenes. For example, with "528491," it could be when Fischer first says the number, during the hotel sequence, or the part at the end. If somebody wanted only the music to any one of those three scenes, it could be difficult to know for sure what scene's music you are purchasing on iTunes.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

The track titles that annoy me are those that are named after a more abstract theme of the film as opposed to an actual scene. Hans Zimmer has these a lot. For instance, in Inception the title "528491" could be referring to several different scenes. Same with "Dream Within a Dream," "Radical Notion," "Waiting for a Train," etc. I think track titles should be functional first, clever second. I don't mind an artistic, moving, or funny title, but only if it also labels what scene it was written for. It's not a big deal since usually, unless I'm really familiar with the film, I don't know what scene I'm listening to regardless of track titles. But when you just bought a CD, or you're contemplating which track of a CD to buy on iTunes etc, then it's very helpful to have accurately titled tracks.

Yes! Zimmer always does this now. Since Batman Begins, it's just been irrelevant concepts or quotes unrelated to the scored scene.

I'm listening now and the best stuff is still Refugee Status/Ray and Rachel/Return to Boston. Very nice material. All the action music is completely unremarkable. Flat out awful by Williams standards.

Really? I love the action music in War of the Worlds. The Ferry Scene is a bit meh, but The Intersection Scene is just wonderful, especially at :37. I was so impressed by the eeriness of the music at the point when I saw the film. It worked so well in the movie. Same with Confrontation with Ogilvy. I think it sounds unusual for Williams, and I really appreciate that. Especially at 2:57 and there on. I was impressed even just hearing it in the movie and not having heard the album.

And of course, the action music in The Return to Boston is just plain epic.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Zimmer doesn't accurately name his cues. Recently he takes quotes from the films and uses whatever he feels matches the mood and tone of the piece. At least I know he did that with The Dark Knight.

[gkgyver 1,645]

It's still better than Giacchino's titles like "Flying Into a Trphlthdl".

[Taikomochi 1,136]

It's still better than Giacchino's titles like "Flying Into a Trphlthdl".

But seriously, somebody explain this track title to me.

[John Crichton 4]

When Kirk has numbtongue during the trip to Vulcan when he says "trap" it sounds like "trphlthdl".

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

Zimmer doesn't accurately name his cues. Recently he takes quotes from the films and uses whatever he feels matches the mood and tone of the piece. At least I know he did that with The Dark Knight.

Yeah, The Simpsons Movie comes to mind... What a mess XD

[Datameister 2,042]

I think track titles should be functional first, clever second. I don't mind an artistic, moving, or funny title, but only if it also labels what scene it was written for.

I agree. I love it when titles are funny or awesomely iconic-sounding, but at the end of the day, the point is to communicate what music is on that track in a memorable and unambiguous way.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Hlao-roo 389]

I'm listening now and the best stuff is still Refugee Status/Ray and Rachel/Return to Boston. Very nice material. All the action music is completely unremarkable. Flat out awful by Williams standards.

blah (blä) Informal

adj.

1. Dull and uninteresting.

2. Low in spirit or health; down: sat around all day feeling blah.

n.

1. Action sequence music from the John Williams score War of the Worlds.

It lacks the kind of robust, distinctive melodic scaffolding that by and large connected and supported Williams' action writing up through the early nineties (and that was briefly revived for his seminal The Lost World: Jurassic Park). As a result, the music bears far more the identity of the composer than of the film. (One might argue that with Williams, the balance has always been skewed more toward the former than the latter, but his recent tendencies make it only more so.) It traffics in familiar rhythms and instrumental coloring that are inevitable products of personal style -- a winning and highly sophisticated style, to be sure -- but shrugs off the melodic inventiveness that would render it seemingly fresh and new.

One of Williams' strengths in his peak years was his striking ability to impose a clear, confident sense of narrative on a sequence while remaining in perfect kinetic attunement with it. (Goldsmith's so-called "emotional penetration" approach emphasizes more of the former. This is not to take away from Goldsmith's ability to size up the rhythmic needs of a sequence and capture it just so. See Total Recall should you doubt.) As he has aged, and as cinema has, on many fronts, become more fragmented and frenetic, Williams has attempted to accommodate the latter while losing his grasp on the former. Some have suggested that Williams has stopped writing set pieces, but this is just not true. His action cues still feature recurring ideas endemic to a particular scene, but they are not consistently the organizing force they once were.

[crumbs 14,315]

Morgan's closing speech plays in the track before "Epilogue". In the traditional sense though, the final two tracks should just be named "Finale" and "End Credits", rather than "The Reunion" and "Epilogue."

Overall, a pretty uninspired score anyway. And horrible sequencing, as usual for most Williams OST's.

[Josh500 1,615]

I really don't care how the tracks are named, as long as the music is great.

In this day and age, everybody can rename the tracks on itunes or someplace similar.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

I think War of the Worlds is one of Williams best.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,528]

Morgan Freeman narration...what a bad idea.

You're quite right: Richard Burton is MUCH better.

All together, now:- "No-one would have believed, in the last years of the 19th. Century, that Human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of Space..."

[Wojo 2,453]

If you think WOTW is bad just look at Qui Gonn's Noble End from TPM, how many cues are represented in that one?

Wait, you mean Qui Gonn dies? Thanks for ruining it, Mark!

[Ollie 1,059]

The Titanic sinks too and Rosebud is a sled.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

The Titanic sinks too and Rosebud is a sled.

You see, I honestly wouldn't have known Rosebud was a sled if not for a Family Guy joke. I would have enjoyed that movie way more if I hadn't known the ending.

I think War of the Worlds is one of Williams best.

So do I! But few others do, I guess.

[Ollie 1,059]

Well I can't help you there, Citizen Kane has been out for 69 years.

Kinda hard to hide a spoiler for that long, plus that's the risk you take watching TV.

[Delorean90 42]

Yep, those poor saps who were born generations later shoulda just gotten off their butts and been born earlier. I don't get what their problem is!

[John Crichton 4]

Soylent Green is people!

[Datameister 2,042]

by the way, I'm wondering if a Zimmer OST exist where each cue has a clean beginning and a clean ending, and is not just inserted into a big suite !

Each cue? Doubt it, but there are certainly cues that are presented as their own tracks. Consider "...To Die For" from The Lion King, "The Medallion Calls" from the first POTC (even though the first part of the cue starts on the previous track), or "Too Many Notes, Not Enough Rests" from Drop Zone, which is a very long track that doesn't mess with the chronology of the film, as I recall.

[Richard Penna 3,688]

I really don't care how the tracks are named, as long as the music is great.

In this day and age, everybody can rename the tracks on itunes or someplace similar.

Yeap - if I care enough about making a score listenable I'll rename whatever I want. My edit of KotCS is almost unrecognisable.

I guess WotW is a decent score, but really never rises above the 'average' mark for me. Not an example to use if talking about Williams' genius.

[Ollie 1,059]

Yep, those poor saps who were born generations later shoulda just gotten off their butts and been born earlier. I don't get what their problem is!

Write the networks and tell them not to make any jokes about older movies and all your problems will be solved.

[Wojo 2,453]

I hated it when people in line told me how The Passion of the Christ ended. I wish they'd have kept some suspense.

[Ollie 1,059]

What's really got to suck is when the spoiler is in the film's title:

The Birds

The Towering Inferno

The Day The Earth Stood Still

Fall Of The Roman Empire

The Day The World Ended

Sink The Bismarck

[Delorean90 42]

Yep, those poor saps who were born generations later shoulda just gotten off their butts and been born earlier. I don't get what their problem is!

Write the networks and tell them not to make any jokes about older movies and all your problems will be solved.

Not terribly likely to have any effect, this is true. Nevertheless, I find that the whole "the movie's been out for __ years" line of discussion doesn't really have much practical application for the young film fan who is just now discovering the classics. I can't spend every waking hour catching up on all the classic film I wasn't around to see the first time out.

[Wojo 2,453]

The Titanic sinks too and Rosebud is a sled.

[Datameister 2,042]

[Jeff 10]

While we're on the subject do we have an official policy on spoilers? How old does the film need to be before we can talk about it openly?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

The Dakota Fanning rape scene was tough to watch. Good decision by Spielberg and Williams to go without music for that part.

[Koray Savas 2,251]