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What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)


Ollie

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"The best". I said "the best". ;)

But you've got a point here. At this stage, I started to rate film music almost as a separate thing from films. Can't be bothered to watch those anymore. Film music on its own gives me certain pleasure that films don't anymore. It almost always is more satisfying experience for me - I can track down all the motifs and details that connect to each other. It seems this it is a product of considerably more thorough planning than the film script itself. Strange, but true.

One the same basis, I think Man of Steel as heard in film is terrible. But I do enjoy the album.

And Lincoln was one of the best of 2012, even though, most of it even isn't there.

Karol

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I've really grown used to the MoS album and rate it highly, but I might yet agree that it was less effective during the movie. I've only seen it twice and my memory of the score's effectiveness is increasingly vague. I'll have to wait to watch the blu again to see what I think, to see if Zimmer was as successful as the album suggests.

After all, it's worth bearing in mind that it's only ever the greats of film music which leave their indelible impression on the listener after a single, initial viewing. I'm not about to go hard on a composer and his efforts if he fails on that incredibly high level. Sometimes a movie soundtrack's qualities only become apparent after a while, I find. But I would never call MoS as heard in the movie "terrible", that's for sure. Evil Dead stood out much more in that regard.

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So what was wrong with Evil Dead as heard in film then? Too bold and loud? Missing the point? Or is it just the type of music that doesn't appeal to you?

:music:The Amazing Spider-Man by Horner

Karol

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I too haven't seen the film, but the music sounds like something that would actually be effective in context. It's definitely great stand-alone music. Creatively creating and playing with various sounds in a completely organic setting. You don't get that in modern day horror scores anymore. It's good old fashioned fun, and I agree its one of the best scores of the year.

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So what was wrong with Evil Dead as heard in film then? Too bold and loud? Missing the point? Or is it just the type of music that doesn't appeal to you?

It's too try-hard. It goes out of its way to be noticed, it gets in the way. IMO. A sign of inexperience.

Christopher Young's Drag Me to Hell shown previously how it should be done, in this kind of movie.

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The score is the only thing that made Evil Dead watchable for me. It doesn't go out of its way to be noticed, the choral pieces are just mixed really loudly, to the film's benefit, in my opinion. Though I honestly don't remember much of the middle, just the prologue and the superbly scored finale.

As for Explorers, it's one of those albums that I blind bought and was initially disappointed with. However it grew on me very nicely after some listens. It's a very strong effort from Goldsmith, great score, that doesn't have a catchy main theme to draw you in but becomes more rewarding the more you listen.

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I find that additional music actually makes it better. Some more snippets of Cap America theme here, Black Widow's theme fleshed out a bit more. It's a decent score, but I didn't like it initially.

Karol

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Yeah, I like how he saves it almost exclusively for the third act and you can hear only bits and pieces before that.

Apparently, SHIELD theme was supposed to be the original main theme. You know, the one that opens last track. It was a demo track originally.

Karol

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I noticed that. Having never watched Captain America, I thought Silvestri was just a bit lazy there. Glad to know that the music represented the Tessaract in Captain America as well.

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Marvel is at least getting better now. Not amazing, but better.

I mean, The Incredible Hulk main theme? Iron Man 1 theme? Iron Man 2 theme? Thor started the trend somewhat. In a slightly RC fashion and simplistic, but at least the melodies were there and had some sort of visible dramatic impact.

At least now you're getting something you can vaguely remember. A good sign?

And yes, KK the cube material is used in both films to represent the same McGuffin in both stories. But in The Avengers it seems to be also Loki's theme.

Karol

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With Bates scoring GOTG and Jackman rumored to score Winter Soldier instead of Silvestri returning. I feel Marvel's taking a step back in the wrong direction. But who knows what they'll come up with. Might be amazing or might be terrible. I'll try to give them both the benefit of the doubt as tough as it might be for me.

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So Koray, what are your thoughts on planes - can you elaborate?

It's an excellent old-fashioned score with a dash of contemporary blood in it. It feels like Powell when he was in his prime. The electronics are more New Age-y than Powell, akin to maybe Horner's use in The Amazing Spider-Man, though definitely not as prominent. They also add to the slight rock vibe the score contains. It's just pure orchestral driven action music, with several standout melodic action cues that remind me of Giacchino's Speed Racer in how they aren't necessarily threaded with the main theme but feel distinctly different from one another. Some minor ethnic instrumentation and vocals, which I presume is for the character Ishani (going purely on the track title).

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I've just finished listening to my custom (exactly 2-hour long) compilation of the music from Michael Kamen's Die Hard trilogy.

Die Hard

1. Main Title

2. Terrorist Entrance

3. Santa

4. Assault On The Tower

5. I Had An Accident

6. The Vault

7. Message For Holly

8. The Battle/Freeing The Hostages

9. Helicopter Explosion/Showdown

10. Happy Trails

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

11. Tai Chi

12. Crashing The Jet

13. John Picks Up Doll

14. Army's Arrival/The Idea

15. John Punches Esperanza

16. Shootout And Snowmobile Chase

17. Chasing The Jet

18. Fight On The Wing

19. Fight On The Wing Cont.

20. Finlandia (Finale) Jean Sibelius

Die Hard With A Vengeance

21. Taxi Chase

22. The Subway (Part 1)

23. The Subway (Part 1) (Alt. Segment)

24. Infiltration

25. Bank Invasion

26. Panic

27. Hooking The Boat

28. Bunny And Fire Devil

29. Escape

30. Holly/Celebration

31. Oh, Canada!

32. Johnny Comes Marching Home.

33. Ode To Johnny.

It makes for a pretty solid and streamlined listen, representing the best (in my opinion) of the three excellent scores.

Karol - not sure why he's sharing this ;)

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Thank you for sharing very much, I've been meaning to make my own similar cut down of the three scores, I was gonna do it under 80 minutes though. I'll give your version a whirl (you seem to have captured all the highlights that immediately come to mind)

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Here is the 79 minute version, but that doesn't really work. You miss out on some shorter emotional tracks and I had to get rid of Oh, Canada! as this is a note-to-note reprise of material from the previous film. But then again you could delete Fight On The Wing Cont. and keep the other one. Also, no point of having Johnny Comes Marching Home, when you get Bank Invasion.

Die Hard

1. Terrorist Entrance

2. Assault On The Tower

3. The Vault

4. The Battle/Freeing The Hostages

5. Happy Trails

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

6. John Punches Esperanza

7. And Snowmobile Chase

8. Fight On The Wing

9. Fight On The Wing Cont.

10. Finlandia (Finale) Jean Sibelius

Die Hard With A Vengeance

11. Taxi Chase

12. The Subway (Part 1)

13. Infiltration

14. Bank Invasion

15. Bunny And Fire Devil

16. Escape

17. Holly/Celebration

18. Ode To Johnny.

But, in my opinion, this kind of playlist needs to be at least 90-minute long to do those any justice.

Karol

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It's not clear that it was written for any particular scene in DH3, though, it might have just been something he recorded for fun

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GalaxyQuest.jpg?1335232289

One of David Newman's best scores, imho. It's a shame he doesn't get offered movies of this scale often. I would love to hear what he could do with an MCU film COUGHGaurdians Of The GalaxyCOUGH.

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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

I'm listening to the Concord release, and it's still one of the biggest and boldest Williams has done -- in terms of orchestration and scope. Every track encompasses a true musical journey, and it's alternately exciting and timeless. Not surprisingly, Kate Capshaw's rendition of "Anything Goes" really starts things on a high note -- the song has never been better arranged and enjoyable than here -- and things get bigger than that. "Slave Children's Crusade", "Nocturnal Activities" and "Bug Tunnel/Death Trap" never get old.

The album encompasses all the music I wanted from the film, and nitpicks aside, it's a fine album arrangement.

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It has action music in it!

So Lee needs his set piece action cues to be able to appreciate a score.

Sigh...

Nope, but I do like a good lengthy action cue for compilation purposes, listening in the car etc. Which is why I originally referred to such cues as suites.

Titanic has a whole host of amazing action tracks which work great for that. ToD, in my opinion, doesn't.

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Totally. ToD is a great all out bombastic adventure score, but my favourite John Williams scores are the ones rich in pathos and emotional arc. His Last Crusade made me feel the relationships in that movie, which is why I'll always prefer it. I think it's stunning how was able to instil such human qualities into what is otherwise a throwback to simple Saturday morning serials.

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Titanic has a whole host of amazing action tracks which work great for that. ToD, in my opinion, doesn't.

Really? When i got this cd i thought 'what's going on with all this simple stitched-together-ostinati-stuff?' Hardly any arc or structure and the orchestration is really the pits considering Horner's considerable talents in that field.

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I don't know, as mindless and crude it might sound with all the anvils and shit, the iceberg crashing cues was one of the most effective Horner tracks ever. The marriage between the film and music is impeccable here.

Karol

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The marriage between the film and music is impeccable here.

Karol

That's for sure, movie-wise it works. It still was the kiss goodbye to Horner's usually beautiful classically structured long action tracks. But with all those department store elevator tin whistles and pop aesthetic, the action music was the least of TITANIC's problems. That Horner rose to fame with that is cruel proof that the world is indeed an absurd place.

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The marriage between the film and music is impeccable here.

Karol

That's for sure, movie-wise it works. It still was the kiss goodbye to Horner's usually beautiful classically structured long action tracks. But with all those department store elevator tin whistles and pop aesthetic, the action music was the least of TITANIC's problems. That Horner rose to fame with that is cruel proof that the world is indeed an absurd place.

Horner didn't always be a ridiculous, fat, self-parody. Check-out his scores for "Brainstorm", "Gorky Park", and "The Name Of The Rose". There is real imagination, there.

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