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Your favourite EPIC cues


Quintus

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  • 1 month later...

I don't know if it's epic, but it felt that way to me at the time...the first piece of film music I ever fell in love with...Ben's Death and TIE Fighter Attack.  Such a perfect marriage of film and music that left an indelible impression on me.  It was because of the first 60 seconds of that piece that I bought the Star Wars soundtrack and it represents everything I got into film music for in the first place.

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55 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

It's a great piece of music, but I'm not sure "epic" is an adjective I'd use to describe it.

Well fuck you!

 

(Not really Bloodboal, but I've been led to believe this is the expected way to express disagreement here)

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5 hours ago, Selina Kyle said:

 

Even Pauline Kael gave it up for this epic fucking scene. It doesn't get any better than that.

 

Definitely my favourite piece of BATMAN music, ever! I remember being stunned when I first heard that...and every time since.

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On 10/20/2016 at 3:09 PM, BloodBoal said:

It's a great piece of music, but I'm not sure "epic" is an adjective I'd use to describe it.

 

Well, Quintus defined "epic" as follows in the first post:

 

Quote

Heart thumpingly stirring music is great isn't it. Whether it be the full triumphant blast as Williams sends us careering through Asteroids, or something much more quiet and abstract; music often juxtaposed against a vivid battlefield depiction - as Zimmer tackled the boots in the mud coda to Gladiator's thrilling opening sequence, it's all essentially what we enthusiasts, interneters and YouTubers often affectionately think of as being EPIC music. Loud or soft though, the properties of epic scoring are perhaps more nuanced and complex than one might automatically assume them to be. In its most basic form a standard epic moment in a cue will simply appeal to our innate musical desires to be satisfied by some harmonic brass and percussion as the hero has their moment to shine or a mythical locale itself is given deserved musical recognition. But other times the ethereal voice of a soprano as heard in Forth Eorlingas (from TTT) suddenly taking centre stage above the din of audio effects can affect the viewer (and listener) in a way which is profound and even in the moment interpreted as being downright poetic. The epic music we hear can take on a mystic quality which we feel in ourselves - keen that we are sometimes to project our personal yearnings into the music as we marry the sound to the imagery.

 

I think that this last bit leaves a lot of room for "epic" to be subjective, if we are using this definition. 

 

When I think of "epic" I think huge brass, maybe huge chorus too, probably like you BloodBoal ... but what Quintus mentioned near the end is a feeling I have often when listening to film music/watching films, and is much more important to me than "big" cues. Perhaps "epic" isn't the right word, though... 

 

Anyway I'd guess @Nick1066 was referring more to the "downright poetic" feeling than a feeling of sheer, incredible power ... although I could be wrong.

 

So just depends how you define epic.

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23 minutes ago, Will said:

Anyway I'd guess @Nick1066 was referring more to the "downright poetic" feeling than a feeling of sheer, incredible power ... although I could be wrong.

 

So just depends how you define epic.

That's actually a very good way to put it.

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I don't know.  I agree with you that "epic," like "genius" is an overused, and abused, term to describe something we really like.

 

That said, Ben's Death and Tie Fighter attack feels epic to me as a piece of music, as well as reflecting the epic quality of what's going on in the scene. An epic scene doesn't have to include armies marching or sweeping vistas. In that scene, one of the most consequential figures in the galaxy has just been killed by another of the most consequential figures in the galaxy. Two supremely powerful beings, legends from another era who used to be "good friends" before betrayal, have just finished a lightsaber battle on the most powerful weapon of destruction ever conceived. The ability of the Millennium Falcon to get away safely, spiriting the secret plans that were stolen in another epic battle, is crucial. The fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance.  During this epic moment, Luke Skywalker sees his mentor killed and reacts in the most personal, anguished of ways. Han Solo recognises the immediate priority...blasting that door closed and keeping those storm troopers at bay. Leia knows that have to get the f*ck out of there.  And all that happens in the space of sixty seconds.  And that's just what we know at the moment...when put in context of what we learn, the sheer epic quality as a turning point in the saga is revealed fully. In a sense, the PT ends with that scene.

 

Yeah, I'd call that epic. And Williams handles the moment sublimely. Reflecting, yes the action of the moment along with Luke's anguish, Han and Leia's urgency, the danger they're all in, the death of a legend and the consequences of what we just saw pitch perfectly. And while I agree that the music isn't what one would normally call "epic" in a traditional sense, to me in fact it's the poetry and consequence of the moment, reflected in the music, that makes it so epic.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

 

Ah, now you almost convinced me why that track is epic: it terminates the prequels!

On that we can agree!

 

I remember my parents watching reruns of this series when I was growing up, and thinking as a kid the main theme sounded SO epic, especially when it kicks into high gear at 2:25.

 

 

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  • 2 years later...

If there's a cue with the word "battle" or "chase" in the title that comes within the middle-to-last-third of a John Powell score, it gunna be gewd and pleasurable to my ears and very goosepimple-y. 

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I've noticed that when it comes to Starship Troopers, it's not socially acceptable on the internet to enjoy it purely for its sci-fi action and teen dramatics. No, this is entertaining because it has underlying meaning! Apparently if you just enjoy it for the tits and shooting aliens, you don't get it.

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It's pretty cool.

 

One thing i consider epic though it probably is *too flighty* for the power anthem crowd is Jerry's balloon escape form 'Night Crossing' because it packs such a wallop of exhilaration and pathos.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

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