THE BFG OST ALBUM Discussion

[mrbellamy 6,287]

Copying Jay's request here since I just buried it

 

10 minutes ago, Jay said:

FYI if samples show up for the OST, whoever finds them first start a new thread for it instead of adding here, thanks everyone!

 

Anyway, went back and looked at that Cannes video again and I really love what little can be made out of this melody at 15:25. Very typically Williams in that kind of sweet, comforting mode. Seems like that could be a secondary theme of some kind, or possibly derived from the "main" theme.

 

 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Another positive mention of the score in Edward Douglas' review.

 

Quote

You can generally do very little wrong when you hire John Williams to compose your score (as Spielberg often does), and the music does a better job instilling any sort of emotion in the viewer than anything happening on screen.

 

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

It's so exciting to be this close to another Spielberg/Williams release. It's a feeling that I'm glad I'm still able to experience, because there isn't anything quite like it. 

[mrbellamy 6,287]

It's an institution! Better than Christmas!

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

Better than sex!

[rough cut 1,714]

It's cool that we're receiving new Williams music! Can't wait! (Yeah, just chiming in with the overall excitement!)

 

....but I have zero interest in the movie. It looks like a total CGI-fest to me. It seems even the studio doesn't know how to market it (The poster even has an "From the makers of E.T."-blurb on it. I mean, come on, E.T??? Really? That's a movie that came out 35 years ago! Surely there must be some more recent feature that they can compare it to? Aimed at parents taking their kids to the cinema for sure, but wouldn't it be better to get the kids excited as well, not just mum & dad?)

 

I'd like to see it in the cinema though, just for the experience of hearing Williams music in a big a way as possible, but I am very hesitant as I have a feeling it might be a bitter sweet experience....

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

What a load of whining! Bowooohoooo! I'm scared to watch this in the cinema because maybe my feelings and sensibilities will get hurt!

 

Man up! It's a Spielberg film, based on a book by Roald Dahl, scored by John Williams!

[Sandor 797]

Track times revealed: http://www.universal-music.de/various-artists-family/diskografie/detail/product:350174/the-bfg

[Lewya 360]

Wow, a 10 minute cue! A 8 minute one as well.

 

Is that one of Williams's longest ever cues ever? 

[Alex 2,835]

An 8 minute long end credits suite? Yessssss

[Incanus 5,714]

So the album is about 65 minutes.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

1 hour ago, Lewya said:

Wow, a 10 minute cue! A 8 minute one as well.

 

Is that one of Williams's longest ever cues ever? 

 

No

[crumbs 14,316]

Just shy of 65 minutes. Assuming the film is heavily spotted that's a lot of unreleased music, especially considering 8 minutes of the OST is the end credits suite.

 

The FYC is gonna be a goldmine for this score.

[Tom 4,658]

All JWfan's life has it looked away...to unreleased cues, to micro-edits.  Never its mind on what music it had.  What it could be enjoying. 

 

 

[mrbellamy 6,287]

2 hours ago, Stefancos said:

 

No

 

I think it's been awhile since we had a score cue i.e. non-end credits on an OST that was 10+ minutes, though. Was Zam the last one?

 

Even more excited to hear that Dream Country stuff. Most people have been mentioning that sequence as a highlight and a few specifically mentioning the music, so hopefully it's a great setpiece.

[nightscape94 965]

A 10 minute cue called "Dream Country" by John Williams?  Yes please!

[mrbellamy 6,287]

It could be amazing. Even if it's 3-4 minutes of magnificence bookended by a lot of unassumingly "magical" atmosphere, I'll be happy as a clam.

 

Also looks like that Overture isn't anything elaborate. Probably just logos and the title or something.

[rough cut 1,714]

4 hours ago, Stefancos said:

What a load of whining! Bowooohoooo! I'm scared to watch this in the cinema because maybe my feelings and sensibilities will get hurt!

 

 

Jeez man, lighten up! Are you really that insecure that when someone offers an opinion that's different from your own that you have to act like a complete dick? Or is it too hard to offer some kind of intelligent reply? Chill out, grow up and get a grip.

[Wojo 2,453]

3 minutes ago, rough cut said:

Are you really that insecure that when someone offers an opinion that's different from your own that you have to act like a complete dick?

 

So the man's long history of selfies amounts to years of dick pics?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Selfies suck!

[Will 2,215]

Well, it seems that the "Overture" is really short, which is a bit of a disappointment. But with the 10-minute "Dream Country" and 8-minute end credits cue ... this is gonna be awesome! 

 

 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

It's a shame that the non-Giant Country cues are so short.  

[Tom 4,658]

It is a shame that none of the track titles focus exclusively on the B or the F. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

3 hours ago, Bill said:

Well, it seems that the "Overture" is really short, which is a bit of a disappointment. But with the 10-minute "Dream Country" and 8-minute end credits cue ... this is gonna be awesome! 

 

 

 

I've seen this with many soundtracks. They call a *very* short opening track "Overture" when maybe "Prologue" or "Introduction" would make more sense.

 

Although even in classical music there's no universally agreed upon definition for what an "Overture" is even supposed to be other an introductory piece of music so I guess it doesn't matter the length.

[Loert 2,511]

I'm guessing 'Dream Country' will be the music referred to in this review then:

 

Quote

Aesthetically speaking, it’s a downright hypnotic sequence, giving longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams the richest moment to heighten via a fully orchestral score that manages to enchant without relying so heavily as usual on a simple recurring musical theme.

 

It will be interesting to hear what "without relying so heavily as usual on a simple recurring musical theme" sounds like.

[artguy360 1,843]

4 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I've seen this with many soundtracks. They call a *very* short opening track "Overture" when maybe "Prologue" or "Introduction" would make more sense.

 

Although even in classical music there's no universally agreed upon definition for what an "Overture" is even supposed to be other an introductory piece of music so I guess it doesn't matter the length.

I feel like we can expect this to be an actual overture in the musical sense. JW has used "prologue" and "opening" for 1st track titles before I believe so using "overture" here will probably make musical sense as well.

[crumbs 14,316]

Prologue from Hook never appeared in the actual film did it? Overture could just be a piece he wrote to open the BFG's OST (unlikely, but you never know).

[Incanus 5,714]

1 hour ago, crumbs said:

Prologue from Hook never appeared in the actual film did it? Overture could just be a piece he wrote to open the BFG's OST (unlikely, but you never know).

Prologue from Hook is in a sense just that as it was trailer music. Williams also retitled Hedwig's Flight from the Children's Suite as Prologue for the OST album of the first Harry Potter and that was a pure concert version, which he must have felt to be a perfect musical curtain opener.

 

I am not too concerned with the track lengths. Shorter cues are a common enough film music occurrence, even in John Williams scores. I am a bit surprised people are so dismayed by that.

7 hours ago, loert said:

It will be interesting to hear what "without relying so heavily as usual on a simple recurring musical theme" sounds like.

Yes! I am really looking forward to this and hoping for some impressionistic sound painting from old JW.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

So I'm guessing that the "Overture" will play over the logos.  Perhaps Williams will do another rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star"

35 minutes ago, Incanus said:

 

Yes! I am really looking forward to this and hoping for some impressionistic sound painting from old JW.

I hope so too.  Perhaps we'll get something like "The Mecha World".  That's another Williams "journey" cue that doesn't rely on a recurring musical theme.

[Josh500 1,615]

I'll watch any movie scored by JW in the theatre, and this won't be an exception.

 

Can't wait!!!

 

I think this score will sound like a hybrid of Tintin, E.T., and Hook. So it'll become another classic, I bet. 

[Quintus 5,399]

21 hours ago, rough cut said:

It seems even the studio doesn't know how to market it (The poster even has an "From the makers of E.T."-blurb on it. I mean, come on, E.T??? Really? That's a movie that came out 35 years ago! 

 

It makes perfect sense for them to stick ET on the poster. What would you have done then? 

[Thor 7,504]

Even though I wasn't impressed by what I heard on the red carpet in Cannes (beyond the wonderful main theme), I still have high expectations for this. A mammoth, James Hornerish 10-minute cue sounds brilliant, although I'm dreading the amount of "whimsicals" and the lack of a focussed thematic base.

 

Bring it on!

[crumbs 14,316]

Why have I got the feeling Dream Country will echo what Horner did with Pure Spirits of the Forest in Avatar? Either way, I'm bloody excited!

[Incanus 5,714]

23 minutes ago, Thor said:

Even though I wasn't impressed by what I heard on the red carpet in Cannes (beyond the wonderful main theme), I still have high expectations for this. A mammoth, James Hornerish 10-minute cue sounds brilliant, although I'm dreading the amount of "whimsicals" and the lack of a focussed thematic base.

 

Bring it on!

What ever gave you the idea of lack of a focused thematic base? The reviewer might infer that the main theme is not continually stated during that particular sequence. Something like Among the Clouds from Always runs for 8 minutes and despite not being endless stream of main themes it is a fantastic impressionistic sonic painting at its best.

 

And I am totally fine with whimsical.

[crumbs 14,316]

And no critics were able to decipher Rey's Theme from their first viewing of The Force Awakens, either. I have no doubt BFG will be rich in thematic ideas, just like every other Spielberg/Williams score since War of the Worlds (which was probably the most dissonant score he's done for Spielberg).

[Thor 7,504]

1 hour ago, Incanus said:

What ever gave you the idea of lack of a focused thematic base?

 

A combination of what I heard and what that reviewer said. And the fact that it's been Williams' modus operandi in a lot of music in the 2010s. But I'm hoping I'm wrong. I'm still hoping he has another HARRY POTTER 3 in him, which was the last time this part of him really shone.

[Jay 37,364]

7 hours ago, crumbs said:

Prologue from Hook never appeared in the actual film did it? 

 

And it was never intended to. "Prologue" was just an album title for the original teaser trailer music cue.

 

 

[crumbs 14,316]

7 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

And it was never intended to. "Prologue" was just an album title for the original teaser trailer music cue.

 

 

 

How cool that even back in the 90's Williams was getting billing on the same page as Spielberg! 

[Pieter Boelen 740]

Still quite a fantastic teaser trailer, that!

A true teaser if ever there was one, but with that cool map and amazing music, it fits the intention of the film possibly better than the actual film itself did.

 

And I do like the film....

[JacksonElmore 69]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

Even though I wasn't impressed by what I heard on the red carpet in Cannes (beyond the wonderful main theme), I still have high expectations for this. A , James Hornerish 10-minute cue sounds brilliant, although I'm dreading the amount of "whimsicals" and the lack of a focussed thematic base.

 

Bring it on!

You should be impressed just by the fact that we have another "wonderful main theme"

[crumbs 14,316]

Wonder how accurate this quote is in relation to the length of music JW wrote for BFG:

 

Quote

After a heavy schedule over the past 14 months, writing three hours of music for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and another two for Spielberg’s “The BFG,”

 

It accurately mentioned the 175 minutes of music for TFA so presumably this film is pretty heavily spotted, even if the OST is on the shorter side. 

[natedog 7]

how long before 30 second track previews are released, do you reckon?

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

I will skip the 30 sec samples. It worked wonderfully with TFA, so that's my new procedure as long we will have these new scores by Johnny.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

12 minutes ago, hornist said:

I will skip the 30 sec samples. It worked wonderfully with TFA, so that's my new procedure as long we will have these new scores by Johnny.

 

This!

[rough cut 1,714]

10 hours ago, Lonnegan said:

 

It makes perfect sense for them to stick ET on the poster. What would you have done then? 

 

I can appreciate that Spielberg hasn't directed a kids movie in a while. The last one would be Hook in 1991? I just think - out of a marketing perspective - that the choice to promote a new film by comparing it to a movie that came out 35 years ago is an odd choice. Do people in general still care about E.T. enough to drive them into the cinema seats? Wouldn't it make more sense to just say "From one of the most visionary directors in our time" or something like that?

 

Either way - I am looking forward to the album! It's always special looking forward to a new Williams release isn't it?

 

There's a positive side to the comparison that I'd like to bring up, though... if the music (and the movie as well, I guess) captures just a tiny bit of that E.T.-magic then we've got another classic on our hands! : )

[Tom 4,658]

From the director of Duel, Jaws, and episodes of the Night Gallery comes BFG.  

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

3 hours ago, hornist said:

I will skip the 30 sec samples. It worked wonderfully with TFA, so that's my new procedure as long we will have these new scores by Johnny.

I'll try too.  Though if they were to be released today or so, I'd probably fail 

 

[Quintus 5,399]

1 hour ago, rough cut said:

 

I can appreciate that Spielberg hasn't directed a kids movie in a while. The last one would be Hook in 1991? I just think - out of a marketing perspective - that the choice to promote a new film by comparing it to a movie that came out 35 years ago is an odd choice. Do people in general still care about E.T. enough to drive them into the cinema seats? Wouldn't it make more sense to just say "From one of the most visionary directors in our time" or something like that?

 

 

With respect, I can tell you're fairly young. ET's greatness and appeal is as timeless as The Jungle Book and The Wizard of Oz before it my friend. They're going be comparing new family friendly movies to ET for many years to come. As long as parents show it to their children the film will be relevant. 

[Thor 7,504]

2 hours ago, rough cut said:

 

I can appreciate that Spielberg hasn't directed a kids movie in a while. The last one would be Hook in 1991?

 

TINTIN? Or perhaps you don't count animated films.

[Wojo 2,453]

Tintin counts.