Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Any offers? I have two favourites: "Raise The Titanic", and "The Swarm". Both risible films, both superlative scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Inchon, apparently. Hell you could include a lot of Goldsmith's 80's output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 Sad, but true. "Supergirl", "Poltergeist II", "Rent-A-Cop", "Night Crossing": the list is almost endless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,983 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I think Damnation Alley is probably the epitome of Goldsmith doing a marvelous amazing work for a truly awful movie. Watch if if you dare: Oh, and The Swarm as well, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 These are all good movies mentioned! Gruesome Son of a Bitch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 2,835 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Cutthroat Island - John Debney The Legend of Zorro - James Horner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Are those bad movies or just mediocre ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,331 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Damnation Alley has black bars and Goldsmith music? How bad can it be?! I already love the opening shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Alex, if 21:9 TVs became mainstream, would you lament the loss of black bars and complain that 2.35:1 movies look too TVish and not cinematic enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,331 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Not seen one of those TVs yet. The aspect ratio sounds good for 21:9 content but not for 1.85 or 16:9 Know what I'm saying? I think I still would prefer a 16:9 TV. It's the best choice for all sizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,352 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 There are way too many examples to ever list. How good or bad a score is doesn't seem to necessarily directly relate to how good or bad the film is - composers can do their job and find inspiration anywhere, usually! Star Trek 5 would fit the bill for a lot of people (I know many here love the film, of course) The Star Wars prequels Indiana Jones 4 Jaws 2? (Never seen it) The Hobbit movies Waterworld for a lot of people ( I happen to like the film) And as mentioned half of Goldsmith's output... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 1 hour ago, Stefancos said: Are those bad movies or just mediocre ones? Of course, the term is relative, but, sometimes, the discrepancy between a score, and its film (the dichotomy, if you will) is so apparent, that one would think that the score was somehow hijacked from another - better - film. Perhaps another way of looking at it would be "the score is too good for the movie". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,006 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 James Newton Howard wrote his career defining scores for M. Night Shyamalan. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,352 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Oh yea! SIGNS would be my #1 choice BAD film, BRILLIANT score! Sharkissimo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TownerFan 4,983 Posted July 11, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted July 11, 2016 31 minutes ago, Richard said: Of course, the term is relative, but, sometimes, the discrepancy between a score, and its film (the dichotomy, if you will) is so apparent, that one would think that the score was somehow hijacked from another - better - film. Perhaps another way of looking at it would be "the score is too good for the movie". This is actually an interesting topic concerning the nature and the subtleties of the artform. Does a bad movie deserve bad music? There's the famous story about Bernard Herrmann yelling at Jerry Goldsmith in the studio during the recording of Lonely Are The Brave "Don't use that music--it's too damn good for this picture! You save it!". Herrmann was probably right (he probably felt the same for himself several times, I guess), but this actually reveals a lot about the integrity and the kind of "blue collar" attitude that composers like them (and we must also include a lot others) always had toward their job. No matter how good or bad, great or awful, high or mediocre the film in front of them was, their guiding principle has always been to squeeze the best out if it and produce music that made sense and could somehow be good as pure music, and not just functional musical accompaniment. Also, people like Goldsmith, Williams and many others never had the habit of biting the hand that fed them and always faced any opportunity as a job to do with the best tools at their disposal, with a great sense of commitment, avoiding any kind of artsy-fartsy attitude toward their own job. Naïve Old Fart, Jay, Cerebral Cortex and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,352 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Hahaha, Bernie was one of a kind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 'Lonely are the Brave' is not a bad movie by any means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 19 minutes ago, crocodile said: James Newton Howard wrote his career defining scores for M. Night Shyamalan. Karol This is true outside of The Sixth Sense, which I still think is a tremendous movie and is also my favorite score JNH wrote for MNS Also, titling the last track on the OST "Malcolm is Dead" is still a move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Dear ol' Bennie was talking out of his ass, as he often did. Far and Away A Beautiful Mind The Da Vinci Code Angels and Demons Rush I'm in a Ron Howard mood. publicist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 11 minutes ago, Jay said: Hahaha, Bernie was one of a kind! It's not Bernie, it's Bennie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,352 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post crocodile 8,006 Posted July 11, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted July 11, 2016 The Hobbit films don't deserve Howard Shore. The guy is way too clever for this type of assembly line way of producing films. Yes, his music is not as distinctive/focused as his work for The Lord of the Rings. But then, the films weren't really helping either. I couldn't tell what they were supposed to be about. But you can't say Shore wasn't trying. He clearly cares about Middle-earth and made sure to expand his palette in that world: create new avenues in his thematic tree and add some new colours. He worked his ass off to make this whole project credible. And, of course, they ended up screwing up his work. The first film neglected his original pieces in favour of The Lord of the Rings nostalgia references. The second film fared better but was strangely edited, with all those bizarre ins and outs. But the third film is a total abomination of film music editing. The score virtually made no sense in context. I don't know whether these are brilliant scores. Probably not. But way too much work went into creating them to dismiss Shore's work right away. And I wonder how much blame can be put on the excessively long regular albums. Perhaps with a bit more trimming they would reach a wider audience. And keep the SE for hardcore fans. Karol Sharkissimo, Cerebral Cortex, Once and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 2 hours ago, Stefancos said: It's not Bernie, it's Bennie! Bennie also said "a waltz has no place in a death-train" (or words to that effect). 2 hours ago, publicist said: 'Lonely are the Brave' is not a bad movie by any means. There's the rub. What makes a bad movie? The two that I mentioned, while not in danger of being admitted to the AFI, anytime, soon, are still quite watchable, if only from a kind of schadenfreude perspective. It is interesting that composers often pour their heart and soul into complete dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I guess when you've watched any given scene 5 or 10 times you aren't really able to distinguish between good and bad, anyway. You get used to it. Look at this messageboard for ample proof. Dixon Hill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 2 hours ago, Stefancos said: It's not Bernie, it's Bennie! Paging Mister Herman, Mister Herman you have a telephone call at the front desk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 27 minutes ago, WojinPA said: Paging Mister Herman, Mister Herman you have a telephone call at the front desk. Sorry, Woj, but Stefan is about to be all over you, like a cheap suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Batman Forever Batman and Robin Revenge of the Sith 1492: Conquest of Paradise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 4 hours ago, Alexcremers said: Not seen one of those TVs yet. The aspect ratio sounds good for 21:9 content but not for 1.85 or 16:9 Know what I'm saying? I think I still would prefer a 16:9 TV. It's the best choice for all sizes. They were around for a while several years ago. Philips made them. They quickly went away once people figured out they were basically useless for watching regular TV and that movies come in more sizes than 2.35:1. They were discontinued in 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,306 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 The Village Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 11 minutes ago, Romão said: Batman Forever Batman and Robin The Goldenthal Batman scores are a good example. Although I personally consider those movies to be campy classics, great for a drink and a laugh with friends! I'm going to say: Jumanji Great score from Horner for a truly horrendous movie, not even a "so bad it's good" situation for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 The Chronicles Of Narnia Not brilliant scores from Gregson-Williams, but much better than the quality of the films themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerebral Cortex 3,357 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Really disliked Man of Steel, but I quite enjoyed Zimmer and Junkie's score to it. Another one that comes to mind is Marc Shaiman's score to the second City Slickers film. Pretty mediocre film, but the score itself I find to be a fantastic tribute to the Western films of old, as well as a great expansion of his work on the first film. Very underrated scoring effort IMO. publicist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 1 hour ago, Koray Savas said: The Chronicles Of Narnia Not brilliant scores from Gregson-Williams, but much better than the quality of the films themselves. What about the Arnold score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Haven't listened to it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,283 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 7 hours ago, Jay said: Jaws 2? (Never seen it) It's not really that bad, though the score is the best thing about it. The movie is dumb and of course pales in comparison to Spielberg's, but I didn't think it was exhausting or anything. From what I hear the series truly gets bad with 3 and 4. 4 hours ago, publicist said: I guess when you've watched any given scene 5 or 10 times you aren't really able to distinguish between good and bad, anyway. You get used to it. Look at this messageboard for ample proof. I imagine composers' perceptions of the films they work on must get very technical very quickly. I'm sure they recognize if they're working on something good or a piece of shit, but they probably can't be that focused on the quality of the movie most of the time while they're trying to match everything. I feel like the only time that something being poor quality would get in their way is when they can't even really figure out what the tone of a scene is supposed to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Bruce Broughton once told a story how he became overcome with grief upon watching 'Monster Squad' because Count Dracula was trapped in perpetuity in his undesirable undead state. Even the bad stuff gets you! (though scoring a 2,5 hour cut of 'The Swarm' is still a one-of-a kind achievement for JG). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 At least "Jaws 3", or " Jaws 3D", or "Jaws Whatever", has Denis Quaid...oh, and young women all walking around in Speedos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,006 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 2 hours ago, Richard said: What about the Arnold score? This is a weird one. The score is competent and it brings the series into a more traditional fantasy setting. David Arnold went back to the style that made him popular. There is a collection of 6-7 themes and each one of them plays its part and receives indivudual moment. Arnold quotes a theme of HGW as welk and does it better as well. The album is a solid representation of the score and contains pretty much everything you need. It does everything right and covers all the bases. And yet... it just doesn't cut it. And to this day I have no idea why. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 I kind of feel the same way about "ID4"; it's brilliant, but it doesn't move me. Give me "Changing Lanes", any day, my personal fave DA. Sharkissimo and crocodile 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will 2,215 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 As soon as I saw this thread title I cringed because I was expecting heavy doses of mostly undeserved prequel bashing. Luckily it has been kept to a minimum. I've also seen a couple other films I like being called bad (for example, Jumanji). To each his own, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Undeserved? The Prequels are all terrible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melange 446 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Quote Bad film, brilliant score Off the top of my head I can think of two Poledouris ones. Under Seige 2 (1995) by Basil Poledouris OK, the sequel was 'fun' as hell (so I'm reluctant to call it bad) but very corny. The music was 'seriously' fantastic. Yes, I know what the start reminds you of and the part from 1:33 onwards is a real favourite of mine. Reminds me of Goldsmith's 'The Mutant' Lassie (1984) by Basil Poledouris? With this, I admit to having never seen the movie so I can't really claim it is 'bad'. I just assume it is standard 'lassie' fare. However, I purchased the CD years and years ago and the score has some very pleasant moments. Look (or listen, rather) for the 'Deep Space Nine' - ish moment Sharkissimo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,478 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Just doing last 5 years because otherwise the list is endless. So 2011-2015 Jupiter Ascending Fifty Shades of Grey The Hobbit films The Amazing Spider-Man John Carter The Legend Of Hercules Brave Super 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 25 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said: Just doing last 5 years because otherwise the list is endless. So 2011-2015 Jupiter Ascending ... Super 8 I agree with you so strongly at the start and then disagree so strongly at the end. Both are fantastic Giacchino scores, but I love Super 8 the movie. Cerebral Cortex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stempel 136 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Krull Hook Star Trek TMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck 154 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend is another one like The Swarm for Goldsmith. That Goldsmith score... That crappy film... And how Goldsmith find inspiration to craft one badass action score for this is mind-boggling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I saw that movie, Baby, once as a child and liked it, but I never went out of my way to watch it. I'm not entirely sure it's scientifically accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck 154 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Well you can say the same about Jurassic Park as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 You Only Live Twice Cleopatra Tora! Tora! Tora! Prophecy The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Interstellar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Most films which are commonly described as "bad", have, at least, some good points - usually technical (the photography, the SFX). Like I said: bad is relative. Truly awful? Now, that's a whole new ball-game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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