The Wind Rises by Joe Hisaishi

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

NOTE: I searched for a thread but couldn't find it. If it exists please direct me there.

The Wind Rises is the final film from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. And he collaborates again with the great Joe Hisaishi whose score for Ponyo (2008) was a masterpiece.

This is the magnificent main theme from the score.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQntnZObfc0

I found it achingly beautiful.

The opening phrase of the theme seems exactly the same as the main theme from Ennio Moriccone's 1900 (Novocento) so much so that whenever I hear it I expect it to break into Moriccone's theme but it instead follows into Hisaishi's beautiful and lovely theme.

(at 2:53)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77LUb4z30oY

Also the interlude of Hisaishi's theme reminds of another italian giant, Nino Rota

(0:33-0:59 & 1:48-2:14)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQntnZObfc0

But overall I find this to be one of the loveliest themes of the year. You can listen to the entire score on youtube. It's gorgeous.

[filmmusic 1,823]

Yes, the soundtrack of the film is excellent!!

I wish it could be nominated for an Oscar, but this would be impossible..

[Koray Savas 2,251]

No it's not. Just not very likely because of Hollywood politics.

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

Frankly, the score nominations that the Academy usually does are absolutely vomit worthy. They just nominate whatever is up for Best Picture. They nominate unremarkable stuff like Argo, Social Network, 127 Hours, Hurt Locker, Michael Clyaton, Babel etc. etc.

Actually this should be much simpler. There are only about 236 members in the Music Branch. You require around 40 No. 1 votes to get a nomination.

If the studio is prudent and sends the CD to all the 236 members of the music branch and have them listen, this could get nominated.

But something like Zimmer will get nominated for 12 Years a Slave and/or Rush. Or some unremarkable Desplat or Santaolalla will get nominated.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Social Network, 127 Hours, The Hurt Locker, Michael Clayton, and Babel are are pretty great scores. The fact that they were nominated is not really the issue I have with the Academy's music branch. They actually do a pretty decent job of nominating worthy scores, it's the ones that win that are almost never the best.

If stuff like Pan's Labyrinth, 3:10 To Yuma, and Fantastic Mr. Fox can get nominated, that is against expectation, so can The Wind Rises.

[filmmusic 1,823]

If stuff like Pan's Labyrinth, 3:10 To Yuma, and Fantastic Mr. Fox can get nominated, that is against expectation, so can The Wind Rises.

Those were nominated in other important categories, so it helped the music nomination.

I think it's RARE (if nearly impossible) for a movie that is not nominated in anything else (or heard generally) to be nominated for music, even if it has a masterful score!

Who would have nominated the score of Pan's Labyrinth (although it's a good score), if noone had heard of this movie?

[chuck 154]

Well hopefully Miyazaki will get another (his final?) nomination for Best Animated Feature for this one...

[Koray Savas 2,251]

If stuff like Pan's Labyrinth, 3:10 To Yuma, and Fantastic Mr. Fox can get nominated, that is against expectation, so can The Wind Rises.

Those were nominated in other important categories, so it helped the music nomination.

I think it's RARE (if nearly impossible) for a movie that is not nominated in anything else (or heard generally) to be nominated for music, even if it has a masterful score!

Who would have nominated the score of Pan's Labyrinth (although it's a good score), if noone had heard of this movie?

Aside from a handful of technical stuff for Pan's Labyrinth, no they weren't. Alberto Iglesias' The Kite Runner wasn't nominated for anything besides score.

[KK 3,307]

I think a big exception was JNH's The Village. I feel that nomination came out of nowhere (based on the film's reputation alone). Probably one of those less common moments where the score gets recognized for score's merit alone.

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

Even Tintin's score was the film's only Oscar nomination.

The Social Network, 127 Hours, The Hurt Locker, Michael Clayton, and Babel are are pretty great scores. The fact that they were nominated is not really the issue I have with the Academy's music branch. They actually do a pretty decent job of nominating worthy scores, it's the ones that win that are almost never the best.

If stuff like Pan's Labyrinth, 3:10 To Yuma, and Fantastic Mr. Fox can get nominated, that is against expectation, so can The Wind Rises.

I thought they were horrible. And I had seen and loved Hurt Locker and when the nominations were announced it was the first I realized the film even had a score.

[chuck 154]

I think JW was the only composer today to be nominated by virtue of name alone.

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

The main theme played beautifully on the piano. Yep, I think this theme is gonna be a classic.

[chuck 154]

Nice.

[TownerFan 4,983]

Hisaishi conducts the main theme from The Wind Rises

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1iXC0NPcXc

Also, from the same concert, listen to Hisaishi conducting Beethoven's Symphony No.7 and Khachaturian's 'Waltz' from Masquerade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1A07GVllXE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCMWpt0S5zE

Fan-freakin'-tastic musician he is!

[Incanus 5,713]

Thank you for sharing those videos Maurizio!

[filmmusic 1,823]

I didn't know where to write this but I just read about an INCREDIBLE (and controversial I'd say) fact about the film's sound design!!! I think THIS IS A FIRST!

Most of the sound effects in the movie are produced by human voices only!!!

Here's an earthquake sequence:

http://www.allocine.fr/video/player_gen_cmedia=19541776&cfilm=197176.html

I'm not sure how I would feel about this until I see the complete film.

here's some comments on this:

The sound design in The Wind Rises is generally top tier, except in one reoccurring area. Sometimes, things like the wind, an earthquake, and a train engine are clearly done by someone making noises into a microphone instead of being a traditional sound effect. Worse still, not only are these mouth-made sound effects discordant with the rest of the sound design—and thus serve to pull the viewer out of the movie—they are also inconsistent in their use. Sometimes the blowing wind is a normal effect; sometimes it’s not. Sometimes the sounds of a plane engine is a normal effect; sometimes it’s not. This makes the mouth-made effects stand out all the more

http://kotaku.com/ghiblis-new-movie-is-beautiful-but-it-has-its-problem-876413696

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I honestly didn't notice, and considering there are several dream sequences in the film, could the mouth made noises be exclusive to those?

[filmmusic 1,823]

I honestly didn't notice, and considering there are several dream sequences in the film, could the mouth made noises be exclusive to those?

Oh, you have seen the movie?

Well, the earthquake sequence posted above is not a dream sequence I assume.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yes I saw it in theaters; and no, that sequence isn't a dream but I haven't re-watched it to pay attention to the sound effects.

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

Just randomly played this on youtube again. What a beautiful theme.

[Jay 37,322]

Great score!

[artguy360 1,843]

I couldn't disagree more with the Kotaku article posted above. The use of human voices during the earthquake sequence and as engine noises is incredible. There is a creativity to the overall sound design that is nearly impressionistic, especially the use of silence and voice. 

[Jay 37,322]

On 9/14/2013 at 12:50 PM, TheUlyssesian said:

The Wind Rises is the final film from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki

Heh