alicebrallice 134 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I really think the british composer Rachel Portman deserves some recognition in here!I've heard people call her style "girly"... I don't know about girly, but her style is definitely defined by all her upbeat, funny, happy, sensitive scores. She hasn't composed too many scores, but she's still one of my favorite composers. Her score for The Cider House Rules is my absolute favorite.Anyone enjoying Portmans music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,478 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 She has some absolutely fantastic themes, but the albums tend to be a bit repetitative (basically repeating that theme over and over again). The non-thematic cues aren't very interesting either, IMO. But we really need more female composers, and she's really talented. I just wish there was a BIT more versatility in the overall compositions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 She's a very safe composer. I'd be willing to listen to something that wasn't composed for a period piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I wanna see her score a Michael Bay action film! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,988 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Maybe he'll hire her for next Bond.Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Bay for Bond????Shut your filthy mouth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicebrallice 134 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 She has some absolutely fantastic themes, but the albums tend to be a bit repetitative (basically repeating that theme over and over again). The non-thematic cues aren't very interesting either, IMO. But we really need more female composers, and she's really talented. I just wish there was a BIT more versatility in the overall compositions.I definitely see what you're saying... and in some moments different scores/themes/cues sound a bit the same. don't know if I agree that the non-thematic cues aren't very interesting, though!I wanna see her score a Michael Bay action film!haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fommes 153 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 While the rest of her scores I feel pretty much neutral to, I very much like The Cider House Rules - I love the tone of the score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 She's a great composer. I was also very fond of her latest score for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Great stuff.As mentioned before, we need for more female composers out there. Debbie Wiseman is another example of someone whose kicking ass (her action is awesome, with Aresene Lupin and Lesbian Vampire Killers). Also more recently, you can hear newcomer Pinar Toprak's score for the Wind Gods on her site. That scores really deserves a full album release.http://www.pinartoprak.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicebrallice 134 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Also more recently, you can hear newcomer Pinar Toprak's score for the Wind Gods on her site. That scores really deserves a full album release.http://www.pinartoprak.com/never heard of her before! listening to wind gods right now, not too bad! thanks for the tip:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I shall never, ever forget her mischievously creepy score to The Woman in Black. That shit scarred me for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Love her work for Addicted to Love. I grew up in my teenage years loving the movie, and she was a big part of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maglorfin 196 Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I like her work, especially Chocolat soundtrack which I listen to quite regularly - such a lovely, relaxing music - which of course also matches the movie perfectly. To finish with, I need to quote Thor:But we really need more female composers, and she's really talented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Yeah, she is okay, I guess. But you left out the one score that many Rachel Portman fans consider to be her best!Only You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 1,823 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm just listening to Never Let Me Go (not for the first time).I am generally not into the Rachel Portman sound but this score is definitely a masterpiece!Should have been nominated for an Oscar. A perhaps overlooked gem (I don't know how many here have listened to it).A Rachel Portman with a mature voice!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlTjn7mBI9c Dixon Hill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Nicholas Nickleby is charming, even though the young Charlie Hunnam looks positively slap-able in that picture. I shall never, ever forget her mischievously creepy score to The Woman in Black.That shit scarred me for life.Damn it. I squealed like a wee lass. I'll have to find the rest of that score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hlao-roo 389 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'd enjoy hearing a Portman action cue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Is there such a thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,507 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Great in "Leon"; not so great in "Ep. III". Sharkissimo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 That's Natalie Portman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,319 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Humor. It is a difficult concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 That's Natalie Portman.I loved her in West Side Story. Sharkissimo and Naïve Old Fart 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightscape94 965 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I haven't listened to it in a long time but I remember enjoying 'The Lake House' score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Humor. It is a difficult concept.Richard can be sarcastic? The old coot barely knows how to use a computer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Lovely film Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,507 Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Humor. It is a difficult concept.Richard can be sarcastic? The old coot barely knows how to use a computer!OI !!!! less of the "old", if you please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,473 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 A good performance of themes from Portman's Chocolat - an outstanding score. Once 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,395 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 I love her score for Belle, it's very touching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,478 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 19 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said: A good performance of themes from Portman's Chocolat - an outstanding score. Theme, yes. Score is a little samey, like I pointed out in my 2012 post above. I wonder what happened to alicebrallice, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,473 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Thor said: Theme, yes. Score is a little samey, like I pointed out in my 2012 post above. I wonder what happened to alicebrallice, btw. I actually think it is has a lot of variety. Some standalone scene specific cues. And I might be mistaken - but I think at least a half dozen themes, probably more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerateWohl 4,343 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Does anybody know her The Little Prince musical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yavar Moradi 2,590 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 3 minutes ago, GerateWohl said: Does anybody know her The Little Prince musical? It’s an opera, and it’s one of her greatest works. My favorite Portman film score is easily Never Let Me Go, which has quite a bit more depth compared with her other (usually perfectly charming) work for film. Yavar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riotengine 3 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 Anybody listen to her album, Ask The River? A non-score album that's a collection of intimate pieces for violin, cello, and piano. I just picked it up as a special request for my wife's birthday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yavar Moradi 2,590 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 My wife got it for me for my birthday. It was lovely but kinda went in one ear and out the other the one time I listened. But I definitely recommend it to her fans. Yavar riotengine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,033 Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 On 10/21/2020 at 9:19 AM, riotengine said: I just picked it up as a special request for my wife's birthday. On 10/21/2020 at 7:23 PM, Yavar Moradi said: My wife got it for me for my birthday. I sense a conspiracy going on here. Yavar Moradi and riotengine 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Alicebrallice doesn't live here anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riotengine 3 Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 12 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said: I sense a conspiracy going on here. Um...maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,319 Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 Kronos has put Still Life back in print on physical CD for 300 copies http://www.kronosrecords.com/K50.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will 2,215 Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 I'm gonna resurrect this thread to sing the praises of Portman's Godmothered score from December 2020. The opening of this cue gives the general flavor of the excitement and optimism of the score (and reminds me a bit of Williams' Home Alone brass and strings writing): This score was what introduced me to Portman a couple months ago, and it's still by far my favorite score of hers (and one of my favorite non-Williams scores by any composer over the last few years). The main theme is simple but catchy, and the orchestral and choral writing is glorious and majestic to an extent rarely heard in modern film scores: If you want music to lift your spirits, this is it! Two other glowingly optimistic cues: Anyway, virtually every cue in this score is a delight to listen to. Definitely a five-star effort -- and I dearly hope Disney gives Portman more opportunities to score these sorts of silly fantasy films that really give her a chance to unleash the orchestra. Edmilson and JNHFan2000 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 It's alive! It's alive! Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,338 Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 Godmothered is good until you ask yourself, what would Horner, Howard, MCNEELY, Powell, Doyle or Williams have done? JTN and Jurassic Shark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tom Guernsey 2,280 Posted April 3, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted April 3, 2022 1 hour ago, bollemanneke said: Godmothered is good until you ask yourself, what would Horner, Howard, MCNEELY, Powell, Doyle or Williams have done? Ouch, harsh but fair. I kinda like Portman but her stuff is somewhat samey after a while, although she has finally moved away from everything being a clarinet melody over chugging strings. For a really lovely Portman Christmas score, Beauty and the Beast 2 is a creditable follow up to the original (Alan Menken at the top of his game would be a hard act for anyone to follow). It's a shame the album has barely a suite's worth of score, although the songs are pretty decent, even if the big production number, As Long As There's Christmas is yet another variation on Sibelius' 5th Symphony (see also The Polar Express and Spirited Away, amongst others). Better represented on disc is The Adventures of Pinocchio which is tuneful and a lot of fun. My favourite Portman is probably War of the Buttons which is absolutely terrific, particularly the thrilling Battle Of Bunduff Castle. Of her more adult scores, her Oscar winning effort for Emma is of course lovely (although I do think Patrick Doyle was robbed as his score for Sense and Sensibility is miles better), The Road to Wellville is quirky and fun that uses her trademark style to great effect and Chocolat is great, although you do kinda remember the Django Reinhardt more afterwards. bollemanneke, Will, JNHFan2000 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTN 2,002 Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 My favorite Rachel Portman scores are THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, EMMA, CHOCOLAT, MONA LISA SMILE. My problem with Ms. Portman is that she writes a rather simplistic theme and she keeps repeating it over and over again throughout the score. Her themes are not developed enough and her orchestrations are very similar. I like her work, but after a while it gets repetitive and boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,338 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 I think she's great in adult dramas (Chocolat, The Duchess), but her children's material isn't great. Dolphin Tale 2 was downright terrible. Didn't even know there was a B and the B sequel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Guernsey 2,280 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 9 hours ago, JTW said: My favorite Rachel Portman scores are THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, EMMA, CHOCOLAT, MONA LISA SMILE. My problem with Ms. Portman is that she writes a rather simplistic theme and she keeps repeating it over and over again throughout the score. Her themes are not developed enough and her orchestrations are very similar. I like her work, but after a while it gets repetitive and boring. But definitely one of the top ten film composers of all time ;-) That's pretty much my problem with her music, it's lovely but you don't need much of it and it's fairly simplistic. Cider House Rules is pretty nice too, but like most of her scores, I never really think to listen to it! 1 hour ago, bollemanneke said: I think she's great in adult dramas (Chocolat, The Duchess), but her children's material isn't great. Dolphin Tale 2 was downright terrible. Didn't even know there was a B and the B sequel. It's certainly not a patch on Isham's original Dolphin Tale score, although I seem to remember thinking it was enjoyable enough. Beauty and the Beast 2 was during Disney's direct to video sequel phase (to go with Mulan 2, Hunchback 2 and the Aladdin spin-offs). I think it's technically a midquel (or whatever they call it these days) in that it occurs while Belle as at the castle but while the Beast is still a beast. I've not seen the film but the music is actually pretty nice and it's a shame it's never been expanded as I expect it's probably worth a listen. I guess when you're writing songs for a film, you end up with more thematic material to work from, which undoubtedly helps. I would still highly recommend both Adventures of Pinocchio and War of the Buttons that I mentioned earlier, they are really good indeed. What's everyone's thoughts on The Storyteller? Having been really excited by the release (I loved the show as a kid and remembered really liking the theme music) I kinda listened to it once and didn't feel any pressing urge to revisit it and any discussion about it quickly tailed off! JTN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverTrumpet 638 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 I once dated a girl who had nothing to do with film music at all except she owned Portman's score to Chocolat. I never really took the score to be that mainstream that someone who didn't know the first thing about film music would own it. That Godmothered score is very nice. I remember listening to it when it first released. As far as most film music these days goes, it's really top notch (again, compared to most film music these days). JTN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,033 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 6 minutes ago, SilverTrumpet said: I once dated a girl who had nothing to do with film music at all except she owned Portman's score to Chocolat. I never really took the score to be that mainstream that someone who didn't know the first thing about film music would own it. It's got a nice cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianagirl 298 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 I always really liked this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTN 2,002 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 3 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said: But definitely one of the top ten film composers of all time ;-) That's pretty much my problem with her music, it's lovely but you don't need much of it and it's fairly simplistic. Cider House Rules is pretty nice too, but like most of her scores, I never really think to listen to it! She has a clear style, but she cannot deviate from it. It's like every theme is a variation of her initial theme composed for her first score. I stopped listening to and buying her scores after the 10th score sounded almost exactly like the previous one. I think her score to EMMA (which is a prime example of her monothematic scoring) won the Best Original Score Oscar because the Academy wanted to give the award to a woman. So she made Oscar history. But imho if you heard one Rachel Portman score, you heard them all. I have yet to discover a truly great female film composer. Shirley Walker is pretty good, as far as her writing a good theme goes, her theme for SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES is excellent. 1 hour ago, SilverTrumpet said: I once dated a girl who had nothing to do with film music at all except she owned Portman's score to Chocolat. I never really took the score to be that mainstream that someone who didn't know the first thing about film music would own it. She probably liked the movie so she bought the score. Tom Guernsey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 I think we’re offering her films that have a specific genre, which not always require 6 themes and 14 leitmotives, like a Star Wars movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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