BLUMENKOHL 1,068 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Consider this list:E.T. The Extra TerrestrialStar WarsEmpire Strikes BackReturn of the JediThe Phantom MenaceAttack of the ClonesRevenge of the SithStar Trek The Motion PictureStar Trek Wrath of KhanStar Trek The Search for SpockStar Trek The Final FrontierStar Trek The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek First ContactStar Trek InsurrectionClose Encounters of the Third KindTotal RecallBack to the FutureAlienAliensPlanet of the ApesThe MatrixMatrix ReloadedMatrix RevolutionsIndependence DayJurassic ParkThe Lost WorldSignsTronTron: LegacySupermanMinority ReportSuper 8John CarterThe Day the Earth Stood StillThe ThingRobocopGodzillaGattacaLogan's RunStarship TroopersFahrenheit 451AvatarAI Artificial IntelligenceThe Iron GiantKrullBattle Beyond the Stars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Superman is not sci-fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 1,059 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 It has aspects of sci-fi in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Superman is not sci-fi.Then what is it? It's certainly no fantasy. Jor-El tells us that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 It's a Superhero movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy 4,085 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Much like The Thing, it's about an extra terrestrial who sets up residence in the arctic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 It's a Superhero movie.Would you not consider, then, Robocop to be also a superhero? What makes us think that the central nervous system of a dead man could ever be successfully transferred to a cybernetic body?And even within their own movie universe, Jedi are something of superheroes, making the Star Wars films glorified superhero movies.So extend Blume's argument to superhero/comic book movies, and you can absorb the Superman franchise, the classic Batman films, the Spider-Man movies, and most of the X-Men movies.It's because fanciful images on the screen lend themselves well to having vast symphonic music to further stimulate the imagination. Before Star Wars ushered in a symphonic score revolution for science fiction, a lot of science fiction film makers relied on electronic beeps and boops because that's what they thought the audience expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Robocop definetly follows the pattern of the Superhero film closely. I would certainly consider it one. But with sci-fi elements.Sci-fi is has a very broad definition. Several titles Broc gave are debatable, but I don't think Supes is sci-fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 You've completely missed Blume's point! Instead, you'd rather split hairs, which is rather wasteful of hairs if you ask me. Blume lists 46 movies and you can't overlook one of them, a measly 2% of the list.At any rate, Kal-El is an alien being that looks, walks, talks, eats, sleeps, etc. just like a human being. He comes to earth and the energy of our sun touches his biology in such a way to make him invincible. I can live with calling this science fiction. Who cares if he flies around with a silly cape and tights? The "fantasy" is that he fights for truth, justice, and the American way instead of establishing himself invincible emperor of this silly planet.It's no less plausible science fiction than a dormant egg on an otherwise dead planet that waits for a human host to come along, fuse with its biochemistry, and then explosively spawn a vicious alien creature that kills everything in its path.I would consider "superhero" movie a subset of the very wide sci-fi/fantasy genre, which can still cross over into action, drama, adventure, western, comedy, romance, and horror genres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy 4,085 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Stan Lee's writing blurred the lines of the superhero and science fiction genres pretty well I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Science Fiction inspires the imagination of artists working in most art forms, I'd have thought. It's only natural that a major talent like John Williams should give the fantastical a deeply thought out musical soundscape - the same as concept artists might relish the opportunity to envision a universe on canvas.I don't really think the answer to this question is all that illusive or profound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Sci-fi has the potential of creating both stunning visuals and interesting ideas or plots.It's a good opportunity for music to become evocative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieC 13 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 It's the most philosophical and real of all the genres... Big ideas = opportunities for big music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Consider this list:E.T. The Extra Terrestrial ****Star Wars ****Empire Strikes Back ***1/2Return of the Jedi ***The Phantom Menace ***1/2Attack of the Clones 1/2Revenge of the Sith 3/4Star Trek The Motion Picture ****Star Trek Wrath of Khan ****Star Trek The Search for Spock ***1/2Star Trek The Final Frontier **Star Trek The Undiscovered Country **Star Trek First Contact **1/2Star Trek Insurrection **1/2Close Encounters of the Third Kind ****Total Recall **1/2Back to the Future **1/2Alien ***Aliens ***1/2Planet of the Apes ***The Matrix **Matrix Reloaded **Matrix Revolutions **Independence Day ***Jurassic Park ****The Lost World ****Signs ****Tron **Tron: Legacy **Superman ****Minority Report **1/2Super 8 **1/2John Carter ***The Day the Earth Stood Still ***(original)The Thing ***1/2 (original) *** morriconeRobocopGodzillaGattacaLogan's Run **Starship Troopers ***Fahrenheit 451Avatar ****AI Artificial Intelligence ***The Iron GiantKrullBattle Beyond the StarsNOT ALL THE ABOVE LENDS ITSELF TO HIGH QUALITY MUSIC.some of it was quite ordinary or bad. Some don't even get ranked because they did not break into my memory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I can only spot one bad score in that list and one I've never heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 aotc, rots are bad scores from JW, there are several which I find very overrated. Some just arn't worth even listen too. I'm not sure if blume meant Godzille old or new, old is a cool score but I don't own, and the new is nothing I care about at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I was thinking more along the lines of in comparison to what we're are putting up with in new movies made today. I'm not AotC biggest fan, but it still absolutely annihilates 90% of what Hollywood's soundtrack factory has become happy to churn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I'd rather listen to Hanz zimmer than aotc Koray Savas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Oh shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Don't be getting any ideas, he's just being dramatic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Superman; space, space ships, exploding stars, humanoid aliens, parallel dimensions, futuristic crystalline technology. Not sci-fi at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck 154 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 The Last StarfighterThe SwarmLeviathanBlack HoleSpaceHunter: Adventures In The Forbidden ZoneJust listing other sci-fi scores not in the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt C 452 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 You also forgot the obvious: Harry Mancini's amazing score for Lifeforce. It has elements of sci-fi in it, as well as horror, so wouldn't that count too?And since your topic seems broad, wouldn't that include sci-fi shows too? I'd like to throw in Shirley Walker's Space: Above & Beyond and Joel Goldsmith's Stargate Atlantis work too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brónach 1,301 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Superman; space, space ships, exploding stars, humanoid aliens, parallel dimensions, futuristic crystalline technology. Not sci-fi at all.That's just aesthetics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uni 306 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 The answer's already been given: Imaginative work yields imaginative music. There's just more to work with.The same should be true of fantasy . . . but, oddly, that genre seems more hit-and-miss than sci-fi. Weird.You also forgot the obvious: Harry Mancini's amazing score for Lifeforce. It has elements of sci-fi in it, as well as horror, so wouldn't that count too?You beat me to that one. This goof-fest of a movie had no business with such a fine score . . . but I'm glad it got it.And since your topic seems broad, wouldn't that include sci-fi shows too? I'd like to throw in Shirley Walker's Space: Above & Beyond and Joel Goldsmith's Stargate Atlantis work too.Why not? I'd list Stu Phillips' score for Battlestar Galactica as one of the best sci-fi scores any T.V. show ever received.- Uni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig 1,120 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I would second those above who say that imaginative and fanciful images inspire imaginative and fanciful music. I would add, though, that even though the trend for big original orchestral scores with fantasy movies really took off with Star Wars, it did exist much earlier, even as far back as the early sound films. In that light, I find it interesting that Max Steiner, one of the pioneers of film music, once said:"Some pictures require a lot of music and some of them are so realistic that music would only hurt and interfere."He seems to be saying that the films that require a lot of music are those that are less realistic, i.e. fantasy. It's no coincidence that Steiner's first lengthy orchestral score that became widely known was for King Kong (1933), a fantasy film that the producers were afraid was going to tank because the giant ape didn't seem scary enough. Steiner's music certainly helped and is IMO a high quality score even if it seems a bit dated now.I think the Errol Flynn swashbucklers scored by Erich Korngold are other early examples of these high quality fantasy scores. And they are such a tremendous influence on Williams that they certainly deserve mention, scores like Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, and The Adventures of Robin Hood from the late '30s and early '40s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Don't be getting any ideas, he's just being dramatic!I'd rather listen to Gladiator, Pirates, Hannibal than aotc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Well, I agree with the two on either end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSM 126 Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Consider this list:E.T. The Extra Terrestrial ****Star Wars ****Empire Strikes Back ***1/2Return of the Jedi ***The Phantom Menace ***1/2Attack of the Clones 1/2Revenge of the Sith 3/4Star Trek The Motion Picture ****Star Trek Wrath of Khan ****Star Trek The Search for Spock ***1/2Star Trek The Final Frontier **Star Trek The Undiscovered Country **Star Trek First Contact **1/2Star Trek Insurrection **1/2Close Encounters of the Third Kind ****Total Recall **1/2Back to the Future **1/2Alien ***Aliens ***1/2Planet of the Apes ***The Matrix **Matrix Reloaded **Matrix Revolutions **Independence Day ***Jurassic Park ****The Lost World ****Signs ****Tron **Tron: Legacy **Superman ****Minority Report **1/2Super 8 **1/2John Carter ***The Day the Earth Stood Still ***(original)The Thing ***1/2 (original) *** morriconeRobocopGodzillaGattacaLogan's Run **Starship Troopers ***Fahrenheit 451Avatar ****AI Artificial Intelligence ***The Iron GiantKrullBattle Beyond the StarsNOT ALL THE ABOVE LENDS ITSELF TO HIGH QUALITY MUSIC.some of it was quite ordinary or bad. Some don't even get ranked because they did not break into my memoryAlso one should consider the following:- some films on this list might not qualify as sci fi accoridng to one's definition.- one could make a similar list of any genre and come up with comparably long lists.- the amount of movies made in a certain genre. Say if a certain genre is overrepresented within a total body of films, this would give a higher amount of corresponding scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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