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Jerry Goldsmith vs. James Horner


Josh500

Jerry Goldsmith vs. James Horner  

50 members have voted

  1. 1. Which composer do you admire more?

    • Jerry Goldsmith
      36
    • James Horner
      14
  2. 2. Do you own more JG or JH CDs? And how many of each, approximately?

    • Jerry Goldsmith
      32
    • James Horner
      18
  3. 3. Generally, which composer scored the better movies (movies that you personally enjoy watching)?

    • Jerry Goldsmith
      23
    • James Horner
      27


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Never got why the first one is praised so highly... it's mostly uninteresting suspense filler stuff and a few good theme statements.

FIRST BLOOD > PART II > PART III

For me, that "uninteresting suspense filler stuff" is Goldsmith's forte. Angular, metrically shifting ostinati, klangfarben-like passages, and textural writing. Up there with similar material from Coma, Papillon, The Final Conflict, Poltergeist, Cassandra Crossing, Alien, Outland etc. Screw the big thematic statements, this is Goldsmith at his best.

This alone is more interesting and evocative than anything in the sequels.

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This has become so off-topic with random silliness it has now turned totally unfunny. For that I apologise.

I mean why are there so many stupid smilies and images of game characters here when we should be discussing Goldsmith vs. Horner

Or the intricate LINK between Goldsmith's excellence :rock: and Horner's brilliance :rock:

That's what we should be discussing here.

Not at all these silly smilies and postings of images that aren't related to the topic at hand.

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A smilie?

Link is alright... I dare even call it fun even though it's considered at the back end of Jerry's genius talent. Some people even call it Jerry's worst.

Jerry's worst is still more impressive than some of today's best.

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Goldsmith could be achingly romantic. But it's expressed differently in his music.

This is slightly off topic and maybe a bit too girly for the room...but when I think achingly romantic one thing that comes to mind is Once Upon A December from the animated movie Anastasia. Both the lyrical and orchestrated version.

Sometimes it's expressed directly as well:

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Okay, today I acquired 4 JH soundtracks!

Willow

Legends of the Fall

A Beautiful Mind

Clear and Present Danger

I think that's it for this month! :lol:

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Yes I can't see you getting tired of them anytime soon. Very nice haul.

I can't even remember when I bought these CD's, apart from CAPD (the recent expansion).

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Yes, I was surprised to learn that when I googled Willow. Never heard of the movie, let alone seen it. So I'm going into this score blind, so to speak.

Might this be Horner's "best" score? :)

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It's just got that classic orchestral sound from the 70s through 90s that we all love so much, with strong main themes. Surprised it never entered your radar before. I think I first heard it on a Kunzel compilation.

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It's just got that classic orchestral sound from the 70s through 90s that we all love so much, with strong main themes. Surprised it never entered your radar before. I think I first heard it on a Kunzel compilation.

I'm sorry but this made me chuckle, considering your recent discoveries. :lol:

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Just came across 4 great scores for 5 bucks each, The Rocketeer for 10 bucks...

Planet of the Apes (JG)

The Mummy

Field of Dreams

The Rocketeer

However, I only have money to buy 2 of them... Which 2 should I buy?

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Rocketeer and Mummy

All right! That's what I was thinking too

too.

PotA is the OS, though, not the expanded release. It has only 10 tracks or so, but I'm thinking it might have value as a collector's item.

I recommend the more digestible symphonic scores to others.

Like?

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Oh yeah! I grab OSTs even if I have the expanded CD.

Yup. And I never get rid of the original soundtracks even when I get ahold of the corresponding expanded releases.

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Jerry Goldsmith - 2 cds

Not a very big collection yet... ;)

Which 2 you got?

Because sometimes they compress the audio in newer releases!

Well, I like collecting OS CDs. If an expanded version becomes available, that's a bonus but not a replacement.

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boys

. . . which is most of what we get around here, which is why it's nice to see a lady show up and offer a view from the other side of the fence. We don't get enough of a feminine presence here. :)

One wouldn't dare walk into a room of females talking about shoes and shopping and go, "girls," would one?!

Umm . . . sure. Why not?

Also saw Horner's Legend of the Falls at the store, which I didn't buy. Is that a must-have?

I'd say it's nearly indispensable, as Horner music goes. Not a lot of original sounds in it, but it remains one of his better epics.

Yes, I was surprised to learn that when I googled Willow. Never heard of the movie, let alone seen it. So I'm going into this score blind, so to speak.

Might this be Horner's "best" score? :)

Some consider it one of his best. It was one of the turning-point scores in his early career, and a fantastic adventure filmography—although it really does go best with an understanding of the film, which is also a classic adventure romp. You ought to see if you can track down the DVD for cheap (I'm sure you can). You won't regret it.

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@Josh - I don't "get" Goldsmith. I often like to watch the film of the score, and many of this things he scored I have zero interest in watching. The irony of the two I own is they are the only two he did for animated films - Secret of NIMH and Mulan. I like both films, and both scores--very strong melodic material.

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His music wasn't as "commercial" as John Williams, John Barry or James Horner, so his music might be a bit abrasive for some. Gruff, even.

I don't know if that's how I'd describe it. I mean that definitely goes for his earlier work in the 70s. But a lot of the 90s output was sadly lacking in that "gruff".

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LINK is not utter crap. The others...well, i think it's fair to say that the 80's were as crappy as the 90's - especially as the decade progressed. For me, Goldsmith hit rock bottom in 1987-1989 and then again for a while in the early 90's before he came back in 1995.

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His music became more linear and streamlined in the 90's. He learned to say more with less.

Yeah I'm not certain I agree. While he retained his melodic gift, and maybe that became more pronounced due to the sparser surroundings, his late period of ascetic writing is hard for me to swallow. It's often un-colorful orchestrally and harmonically, awash in reverb (when I complain about reverb you know there's a problem), and it's just so severe... I don't know, something like Insurrection is a really difficult listen for me. That whole period just kind of loses me. I was so happy that with Nemesis, he let a good deal of his former self back in. As anyone knows, I'm a proponent of minimalist approaches, but Jerry's really didn't work for me.

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I think that also goes for SUM OF ALL FEARS and even HOLLOW MAN. Though i wouldn't lump them all together, he occasionally had excellent or at least remarkable scores at that time, be it BASIC INSTINCT, THE EDGE, RUSSIA HOUSE, LA CONFIDENTIAL, THE HAUNTING - underrated - (the cheesy fun of the MUMMY, AFO and 13TH WARRIOR may not be for everyone). I may forget some things but they weren't all by the numbers-stuff like INSURRECTION.

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I still call Hollow Man his last great score.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action ;)

Lionheart was 1987 and I don't really call that rock bottom

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That's a good description of what I have heard. Unfortunately, "gruff" music isn't something I'm going to put in my collection.

What I mean by "gruff" is like George C. Scott gruff. Masculine but also sensitive. That's the music of Jerry Goldsmith.

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LINK is not utter crap.

No movie that featured a young Elisabeth Shue in the nude could ever be referred to as "crap."

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Yes. Elisabeth Shue appears nude in Link.

Oh—you meant a video link. Heh. I think they've got the entire movie on YouTube.

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Yes. Elisabeth Shue appears nude in Link.

LOL, I made a Google search and is this what you're referring to?? (NSFW warning as expected):

http://www.six-shooter.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bM3796-ElisabethShueJayneGrosvenorLink.jpg

You know I find it amusing to think that such classy gentlemen as Goldsmith or Williams would score nude scenes or even softcore porn flicks... :P:john::jerry::biglaugh:

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Goldsmith on all options.

I own 83 JG scores and 22 JH scores

Goldsmith might have scored more lousy films than Horner, but Horner didn't really score any film of the caliber of Patton, Chinatown, Papillon or Alien

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My knowledge of Horner's scores are not extensive, but did Horner ever composed a jazz or noir-ish score or a full-blown march?

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Yes. Elisabeth Shue appears nude in Link.

LOL, I made a Google search and is this what you're referring to?? (NSFW warning as expected):

http://www.six-shooter.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bM3796-ElisabethShueJayneGrosvenorLink.jpg

You know I find it amusing to think that such classy gentlemen as Goldsmith or Williams would score nude scenes or even softcore porn flicks... :P:john::jerry::biglaugh:

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My knowledge of Horner's scores are not extensive, but did Horner ever composed a jazz or noir-ish score or a full-blown march?

48 Hrs., Gorky Park, Battle Beyond The Stars

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