What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)

[Delorean90 42]

I mean, it works, but in a lowest common denominator sort of way. It feels more shallow. With Davis's cue, I get more of a sense not only that there is more to come, which you get with "Wake Up," but also the sense of Neo's journey, the satisfaction of the stopping point in the story that the first film's ending offers. I think you get the full package with Davis, whereas the RATM song just feels like the frat-boy ready to see some ass-whuppin'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWOF0i3oDiI

[Jay 37,603]

Interesting... I like the RATM version better

[Quintus 5,399]

Agree with Steef's review, but not so much about the score. I think Don Davis provided one of the most wholly unique and immersive scores ever written. The music feels organic, its aesthetic a perfect match for the design and unravelling of the movie. Great stuff.

[Brónach 1,303]

I prefer Davis' score for the rescored scenes.

[Delorean90 42]

Jay, I found it particularly noticeable when watching the full film. Going through the whole experience, particularly coming to the climactic section of "Anything is Possible," there's just a sense of a symbiotic build in film and score that just doesn't reach its destination when the Davis gets switched over to the song.

I actually found the usage of non-orchestral material far more organic in general in the sequels, whereas the songs in the original feel much more commercial on the whole.

[crocodile 8,126]

I mean, it works, but in a lowest common denominator sort of way. It feels more shallow. With Davis's cue, I get more of a sense not only that there is more to come, which you get with "Wake Up," but also the sense of Neo's journey, the satisfaction of the stopping point in the story that the first film's ending offers. I think you get the full package with Davis, whereas the RATM song just feels like the frat-boy ready to see some ass-whuppin'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWOF0i3oDiI

That's what you hear in the live to projection performances, apparently.

Both versions are fine by me.

Karol

[filmmusic 1,918]

WOW! I love this! hadn't seen it! Is it custom made?

i prefer it 100 times more than the other one!

[Delorean90 42]

Yeah, someone made an edit of it. It's just the entirety of "Anything is Possible" as originally scored. This ending segment was dialed out in favor of Rage Against the Machine's "Wake Up."

[Uni 306]

Agree with Steef's review, but not so much about the score. I think Don Davis provided one of the most wholly unique and immersive scores ever written. The music feels organic, its aesthetic a perfect match for the design and unravelling of the movie. Great stuff.

Gotta go with Quint on this one. It's a score that fits the movie perfectly, in tone, atmosphere, and layering.

Both versions are fine by me.

Annnnnnd . . . I'm inclined to side with Karol on this, too. I think both versions work--though for entirely different reasons. I'm fine with the "Wake Up" version, which fits the commercial slant of the film (which didn't make the mistake of using too much of this kind of music). At the same time, "Anything is Possible" is one of my favorite pieces from the entire Matrix series, and it works beautifully here.

- Uni

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Man of Steel tells a much larger, more epic story than The Lone Ranger, so the running time is justified.

How do you know? You haven't seen it.

Man Of Steel involves an entire planet's complete destruction, a lone survivor's growth over 30+ years on a foreign planet, and other survivors of the original planet intending to terraform the entirety of Earth, killing all 7 billion people on it.

The Lone Ranger is about 2 good guys fighting a handful of bad guys in the old west.

You're implying that runtime is directly related to events in a story and its scope. Ever watch The Good, The Bad And The Ugly? It's about a guy with no name trying to find a grave full of gold before 2 other guys.

"Handful of bad guys" is probably a huge exaggeration.

[Uni 306]

Yeah, someone made an edit of it. It's just the entirety of "Anything is Possible" as originally scored. This ending segment was dialed out in favor of Rage Against the Machine's "Wake Up."

 

Actually, very few people know the real story behind this. Originally, Don Davis had actually composed and recorded an entirely different piece for this final scene in the film. It started a little quieter (as a follow-up to the resolution from the previous scene), then moved into a much more adventurous romp as a way to potentially set up future installments. They were that close to rolling with it, until someone brought up that it resembled a little too closely the music from another film (not sure which one). So the studio forced Davis, on short notice, to rescore and rerecord the entire segment on short notice. Ultimately, out of spite for having to spend extra time and money on Davis's mistake, the studio dropped his revision in favor of the Rage Against The Machine song.

 

Which was total BS, if you ask me. We've said it on this board a thousand times before: all music resembles something else, no matter how much you try to vary it. It's impossible to create anything that's absolutely new.

 

Anyway, I managed to dig up a rare copy of the segment with the alternate, alternate ending. Frankly, I like it even better than the other two versions:

 

 

 

 

- Uni

[A24 4,377]

The Matrix

Still looks and feels just right. The only things that really dates it is the ENORMOUS mobile phones they are using.

The story is of course the same one that was used in Star Wars years before. Harry Potter at around the same time, and many, many similar "becoming of the hero/Messiah" tales.

It is however extremely well told. The blend between action and philosophy is just right. (something neither of the sequels pulled off).

This really isn't an actors kind of film, but a good cast does make a huge difference. Reeves spends most of the film reacting to others or too his situation. But when he does take charge, you believe him. Fishburne is just right as Morpheus, and gives depth and weight to the philosophical angle of the film.

Hugo Weaving's off kilter line delivery and mannerisms make for an effective and creepy villain.

The effects still hold up. Mainly because they aren't supposed to look super realistic. The bullet-time is great here. Because it's not overused. Fight scenes are expansive, but they don't last an hour. The use of slo-mo is very well done.

I'm not the greatest fan of the score. but Don Davis does manage to give the film a distinct voice, somewhere between the Wagnerian and modernist techno. Plenty of lifts though. From Horner, John Adams, even Brad Fiedel (the movie does sometimes have a James Cameron/Terminator feel).

This movie was a huge success, imitated till we got sick of it, and it was followed by two sequels that just told the same story, but with more of everything.

But this one is a classic.

**** out of ****

And looks great on Blu-ray! I enjoy it better than Star Wars, it feels less dated.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,278]

It's the 90's Star Wars, without a doubt.

Score isnt as good though.

The blu I have looks tweaked. more green tinted then the DVD

[A24 4,377]

Yes, Star Wars has a classic score but some of the action in Star Wars (1977) doesn't really work anymore. The garbage compactor scene, for instance.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,278]

Compare it to a similar scene in Temple Of Doom a few years later, you can see why Spielberg is famour for directing action and Lucas....isnt.

[Quintus 5,399]

Just as music and its mischievous orchestration I quite like the garbage compactor cue. It has that distinct golden age Williams feel, which is plenty good enough for me.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,278]

Oh the cue is very good.

[A24 4,377]

Compare it to a similar scene in Temple Of Doom a few years later, you can see why Spielberg is famour for directing action and Lucas....isnt.

It's not really the direction, it's the concept of the scene that is dated. A closing contraption that will flatten the heroes. I was already bored with this scene 20 years ago. The same scene does reprise in different shapes and colors in the Indiana Jones movies and its various copycats.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,278]

It doesnt ad much to Star Wars. I mean how often is the scene discussed?

[A24 4,377]

True. It's no longer as suspenseful as it was the first time in 1977 and it isn't interesting to talk about over tea. I think the best part of Star Wars (and what it really does well) is not the adventure itself but the anticipation of adventure. The feeling of 'destiny'. There's a whole universe out there. Who knows what it has in store for you?

What I didn't like about the sequels is that everybody is connected or somehow related (sister, brother, father, cousin, niece ...) and that the universe is a very small place. The feeling of vastness, chance and randomness was gone.

Alex

[Ren 77]

2 hours 30 minutes for Man Of Steel? No problem there? Man I just can't sit an extra 10 minutes in the theater, ugh!!!

It's a western; any fan of Leone, Scorsese, Jackson, Tarantino, and Nolan should have no problem seeing a movie under 3 hours.

Man of steel was an hour too long.

[Quintus 5,399]

For me I'd say it could afford to lose about 15-20 minutes.

[JoeinAR 1,950]

wow, Alex doesn't find a scene from a movie in 1977 as suspenseful as it once was.

Maybe it's because he's seen it BEFORE.

[publicist 4,643]

It couldn't possibly more boring than the desert scenes.

[Quintus 5,399]

Apart from the dull domestics inside aunt and uncle's house they're probably my favourite scenes. Certainly the most enchanting and enduring.

[A24 4,377]

Well, I like the desolate atmosphere of Tatooine. Plus, those scenes do what I've described earlier. The scenes on Tatooine have a strong feeling of expectancy and anticipation. That is something that Star Wars does well and it's something that doesn't get dated. The garbage compactor scene is just about suspense. I don't see how it still could work after you've seen it.

[JoeinAR 1,950]

it works well enough as comic relief. Granted I cannot tell you the last time I actually saw Star Wars, it's been at least a decade I suppose.

[Quintus 5,399]

John Williams and some astonishingly frugal direction from George Lucas make the desert a deeply tangible place soaked in atmosphere. It's crazy to think the Phantom Menace guys also did that.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The blu I have looks tweaked. more green tinted then the DVD

That's because they tweaked it to match the sequels.

[A24 4,377]

I'm a sucker for deserts and icy landscapes. I do have a problem with trees.

[Quintus 5,399]

You're not alone - that's why pretty much every video game ever features such environments out of an obligation to males/boys imaginations.

[A24 4,377]

Boys are males.

[Quintus 5,399]

Introduce sci-fi and males are boys.

[A24 4,377]

Deserts and icy landscapes work better than trees because it's less familiar and common looking. It also combines well with high tech, aesthetically. We tend to associate trees with the natural world, strangely enough.

[Quintus 5,399]

Trees are best reserved for horror/slasher movies really. Spielberg did make them look great in The Lost World, as well.

[A24 4,377]

Trees work good in Fantasy. Some of the scenes featuring trees in Game Of Thrones look wonderful.

[Wojo 2,453]

So it's easier to accept human life on thousands of alien world's, but not trees and other plants?

[JoeinAR 1,950]

go into one of the great Sequoia forrests and tell me it looks normal or average. When the damned tree trunk is 30 foot wide it changes your perspectives.

[A24 4,377]

So it's easier to accept human life on thousands of alien world's, but not trees and other plants?

I accept trees on other planets but that's not what I was talking about.

[Wojo 2,453]

I accept trees on other planets, even if modern science hasn't gotten with the program.

[Quintus 5,399]

E.T. Has some of the best woods in cinema.

[JoeinAR 1,950]

so does ROTJ.

[Quintus 5,399]

There's not much in the way of mood there though, is there? They're serviceable trees!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,278]

I agree with Alex and Amanda. They are just trees!

[Wojo 2,453]

E.T. Has some of the best woods in cinema.

So did Once Upon a Time in America and West Side Story.

[crocodile 8,126]

"Just trees?" asked John Towner.

Karol

[JoeinAR 1,950]

There's not much in the way of mood there though, is there? They're serviceable trees!

no they are fantastic trees, the bike chase scene is still stunning, of course they are pretty much the same trees as in ET.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,278]

The trees are great, but the way they are shot is just pretty ordinary. No sense of wonder, or mystery, or anything alien.

[JoeinAR 1,950]

The trees are great, but the way they are shot is just pretty ordinary. No sense of wonder, or mystery, or anything alien.

oh RIGHT, because trees over 300 feet tall are everywhere world wide.

[Quintus 5,399]

The same trees were always gonna look better through the Spielberg lens.