SUPERMAN (1978) - Live-to-Projection Concert

[Jay 37,351]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

I am insanely jealous, @karelm.

Where?

 

 

On 31/08/2022 at 9:35 PM, SyncMan said:

American Youth Symphony Orchestra. Carlos Izcaray, Conductor

Royce Hall at UCLA. Los Angeles, CA. Saturday, November 5th 2022 at 4pm

Tickets go on sale September 27th 2022

https://www.aysymphony.org/14-annual-hollywood-project-concert-2022/

 

[karelm 2,913]

8 hours ago, Jay said:

 

 

 

Yes exactly!  They sounded absolutely fantastic, completely nailing all the nuances to a score I've heard millions of times.  When Kal-El finally turns in to Superman was a major goosebump moment.  Goosebumps also during Krypton at the start and when Lois is rescued from the falling helicopter.  Here are a few seconds of the main theme to get a sense for how great they sounded.  

Titles

Superman's first change

Ending

 

I hadn't seen the film in maybe 15 years so forgot much of it.  One thing I realized is they seemed to use way more cameras back in the '70s.  The editing was so great, they would flash between multiple cameras of the car flipping over in microseconds.  Today, it would be shaky Cam.  Also, the Smallville segment is so gorgeously shot.  I don't know if it was a different cinematographer but it's absolutely beautiful and so well acted.  Then again, this might be the first time I've seen it on the big screen since the 70's.  JW was firing on all cylinders.  One moment that had me tearing up (surprisingly) was when Clark was leaving Smallville.  His mom's acting is so tender and beautiful.  The music so nostalgic.  It's hard to describe how this scene impacted me....I never felt it as much as I did last night but it was just so beautiful.  I also thought to myself while watching how youthful everyone was and now, I think they're all dead except for our dear Johnny who is still working!!!!!  I think this was the first superhero movie so kids raised on Marvel might find this quite jarring in its pacing, acting style was very comical (over the top) but it had hints of maturity and gravitas not expected (eg: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, the third act performance by Christopher Reeves was quite serious while act 2 was pure comedic).  

 

[HunterTech 990]

Wait, THAT WAS YESTERDAY? Fuck. I thought it would be later in November.

 

I think I can get away with holding the orchestra at gunpoint to perform it just for me.

(Admittedly, I was having trouble buying tickets the few times I tried, so that's on them for shitty mobile website management.)

[SyncMan 314]

@karelm  While your memories of that concert are still fresh, do you remember if there was music over this shot of the exploding Krypton planet?

 

It would be a tympani-roll followed by a one note crash-chord from the entire orchestra. Here's a sample all cued up.

 

That music would appear on the final 17 seconds of the LLL CD Track, "The Kryptonquake".  That portion of that cue was not used in either the theatrical cut nor the 2000 extended director's cut, but was used in the extended TV cut.

 

[karelm 2,913]

2 hours ago, SyncMan said:

@karelm  While your memories of that concert are still fresh, do you remember if there was music over this shot of the exploding Krypton planet?

 

It would be a tympani-roll followed by a one note crash-chord from the entire orchestra. Here's a sample all cued up.

 

That music would appear on the final 17 seconds of the LLL CD Track, "The Kryptonquake".  That portion of that cue was not used in either the theatrical cut nor the 2000 extended director's cut, but was used in the extended TV cut.

 

Definitely, a big low brass kaboom that slowly turned in to the voyage cue before the musical kaboom ended.  That's it from your second link but with a live orchestra it was a powerful orchestral wallop.  Also quite memorable, a big low brass crunch on the hoover damn that I didn't remember before.  I think all of it was in the film, just mixed with sound, it wasn't as impactful and spectral as it is live.

8 hours ago, HunterTech said:

Wait, THAT WAS YESTERDAY? Fuck. I thought it would be later in November.

 

I think I can get away with holding the orchestra at gunpoint to perform it just for me.

(Admittedly, I was having trouble buying tickets the few times I tried, so that's on them for shitty mobile website management.)

For me, it didn't work on one browser but worked on the other so just a matter of switching browsers.  

[Brando 1,863]

Very nice! Will listen to those samples you sent later. I've never had the chance to go see a LTP, but I would love to go see Superman this way just for the Helicopter Rescue alone!

[SyncMan 314]

This is a little more like it.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada.

February 16 and 17, 2024.

https://www.tso.ca/concerts-and-events/events/superman-in-concert/

[SyncMan 314]

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Thomas Wilkins, conductor

Walt Disney Concert Hall. Los Angeles, CA

March 15, 2024

https://www.laphil.com/events/performances/2471/2024-03-15/superman-in-concert

 

[SyncMan 314]

Dublin, Ireland
National Symphony Orchestra. Anthony Gabriele, conductor
National Concert Hall
Friday, June 16 & Saturday, June 17,

 

National Symphony Orchestra: Superman in Concert | Friday 16th and Saturday 17th June (nch.ie)

[Naïve Old Fart 9,516]

I've never been to Dublin...

[SyncMan 314]

From the CapedWonder website, here's a 9-minute video of select scenes from 'Superman' with audio from last June's RAH concert sync'd in.

 

https://www.capedwonder.com/concerts/CapedWonder-STM-first-night-clip-RAH-concert-audio.mp4

 

 

I find it hard to believe that there aren't any crowd-reactions in that audio--cheers, laughs, etc.  To those of you that attended that concert  @rough cut, @Omen II, @crocodile, @ciarlese-- do you remember the audience being that silent during those scenes?

[rough cut 1,714]

In London people sat pretty quietly for the entire performance.

[ciarlese 250]

7 hours ago, SyncMan said:

 

 

I find it hard to believe that there aren't any crowd-reactions in that audio--cheers, laughs, etc.  To those of you that attended that concert  @rough cut, @Omen II, @crocodile, @ciarlese-- do you remember the audience being that silent during those scenes?

 

This is just what I expect to experience in a symphonic music concert, especially when you pay nearly £100 for a ticket (and much more if you consider travel and accommodation) and you have the London Symphony orchestra in front of you.

Anything noisier than that would drive me crazy (happened to me a couple of times in other cities, however the Harry Potter concerts at RAH weren't  that quiet due to the average age of the audience, but nothing too bad).

So yes, it was that quiet.

[SyncMan 314]

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, October 21, 2023, 7:30pm

Heinz Hall. Pittsburgh, PA

https://pittsburghsymphony.org/production/86824/superman-in-concert

 

Tickets go on sale today.

[Tallguy 3,385]

31 minutes ago, SyncMan said:

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, October 21, 2023, 7:30pm

Heinz Hall. Pittsburgh, PA

https://pittsburghsymphony.org/production/86824/superman-in-concert

 

Tickets go on sale today.

 

That's annoyingly close. I have to remember that I hate these things. Then "I can't afford it" becomes less troubling.

[SyncMan 314]

2 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

That's annoyingly close. I have to remember that I hate these things. Then "I can't afford it" becomes less troubling.

I just found out about it this morning.  A friend of mine texted me about it during the night.  He had been monitoring that orchestra's website and noticed that they haven't posted any LTP concerts for the new season's schedule.  That orchestra had just posted those concerts in the schedule yesterday. 

 

I don't know whether that orchestra will still be in 'subscription' mode, where you have to buy, at least, three concerts to buy this one right now.

[Martinland 358]

On 14/04/2023 at 7:38 AM, Naïve Old Fart said:

I've never been to Dublin...

Me neither ... and I'm boarding the plane in an hour...

[SyncMan 314]

3 minutes ago, Martinland said:

Me neither ... and I'm boarding the plane in an hour...

Where are you coming from?

[Martinland 358]

43 minutes ago, SyncMan said:

Where are you coming from?

From Graz/Austria via Zürich. (hopefully ;D)

 

Will you be there too?

[SyncMan 314]

 

6 hours ago, Martinland said:

From Graz/Austria via Zürich. (hopefully ;D)

 

Will you be there too?

I'm from the USA so, no.

 

In the meantime, here's a rehearsal video of that Dublin concert.

https://fb.watch/lcGaHfjrPu/

[ConorPower 148]

Was at the Dublin concert yesterday evening. I'd probably rank it among the best LTP concerts I've seen. Brought a friend who had never been to one before, and he also loved it. The music just affects such a joy and exuberance that's matched by the film — particularly Kidder's and Reeves's carefully balanced performances. It's not a film or score I have particularly nostalgic feelings for as it wasn't among my go-tos when I was younger, however, it's quickly becoming one of my favourites. The "Leaving Home" sequence gave me chills; the introduction, Fortress of Solitude and The Flying Sequence are just colourful masterclasses in emotional storytelling and providing a longer musical coherence and structure over extended sequences. It was also great to see all the wonderful brass spotlighted by the horn, trumpet, and tuba solo moments. Sadly, the NSO and Anthony Gabriele didn't perform the credits — which I thought was a staple of such concerts(?) — but that didn't put a downer on the joyful evening. Nearly a packed out show too, with a good age range!

 

(Also, I know it's probably aged poorly and shouldn't make me laugh; but the sound of the slap, after the little girl whose cat was rescued from the tree, is uncomfortably hilarious.) 

[Nemesis 245]

At the world premiere in Lucerne, Switzerland they didn't perform the end credits as well. Probabely due to the length of the film and the musicians are only humans...

[ConorPower 148]

11 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

At the world premiere in Lucerne, Switzerland they didn't perform the end credits as well. Probabely due to the length of the film and the musicians are only humans...

Interesting! Yeah that makes sense; its fairly relentless for them all, not much breathing room.

[Martinland 358]

Thanks SyncMan for the link, 

and ConorPower for that 2nd 

sentence and glowing review...

 

...will not look at, listen to, or read 

anything until after tonight's 

performance though...

 

...is anybody of you forum

friends attending the concert 

this evening? We for sure could 

meet up at one of the 800+ 

pubs around here. :-D

 

O/

 

P.S.: ...like this next to my hotel and fairly close (presumably 9 minutes :D) from the concert hall:

 

 

:-D

[Brando 1,863]

2 hours ago, ConorPower said:

Also, I know it's probably aged poorly and shouldn't make me laugh; but the sound of the slap, after the little girl whose cat was rescued from the tree, is uncomfortably hilarious.) 

It is a funny moment😂

Also, I’ve never been to any LTP concert but I have heard for Superman they don’t do the credits since it’s basically the Main Titles, but damn that’s really unfortunate they don’t do the Love Theme live because that’s one of the best parts of the whole score.

[Martinland 358]

44 minutes ago, Brando said:

Love Theme

Was just going to say to @SteTorino:

 

Finally I am able to experience the love theme live like he did in Milano ... and to the film proper even...

 

It *is* only a couple of minutes from my hotel:

 

 

<3

[Tom 4,653]

5 hours ago, ConorPower said:

(Also, I know it's probably aged poorly and shouldn't make me laugh; but the sound of the slap, after the little girl whose cat was rescued from the tree, is uncomfortably hilarious.) 

The Lost World homage slap is also hilarious.  

[Martinland 358]

8-D

[Brando 1,863]

6 hours ago, Tom said:

The Lost World homage slap is also hilarious.  

Huh?

[Martinland 358]

Had a long talk with Maestro Anthony Gabriele afterwards; such an exuberant, joyful person and musician, and film music connoisseur...

 

...in short: for him films are live ballet...

[Tom 4,653]

3 hours ago, Brando said:

Huh?

your response prompted me to revisit the scene with the boy and the dinosaur in his back yard.  My (obviously mistaken) memory is that the parents slap him.  I swear there is a Spielberg movie where a kid is slapped in a Superman-homage sort of way.  Either that or I have completely lost my mind.  

[Brando 1,863]

4 hours ago, Tom said:

your response prompted me to revisit the scene with the boy and the dinosaur in his back yard.  My (obviously mistaken) memory is that the parents slap him.  I swear there is a Spielberg movie where a kid is slapped in a Superman-homage sort of way.  Either that or I have completely lost my mind.  

I...don't think so? Nothing that comes to my mind at least, and no in TLW the parents just argue about why he's not sleeping, no slapping

[Jay 37,351]

On 17/06/2023 at 7:24 PM, Tom said:

I swear there is a Spielberg movie where a kid is slapped

 

[Tom 4,653]

I'll take it.  

[pete 907]

So how does the music/concert end with no end credits music? 

[SyncMan 314]

12 hours ago, pete said:

So how does the music/concert end with no end credits music? 

 

 

 

On 29/07/2022 at 10:47 AM, SyncMan said:

Apparently, the end credits are shown during the concert, but no music is played as the audience and musicians are filing out the hall.

[Martinland 358]

14 hours ago, pete said:

So how does the music/concert end with no end credits music?

There is a coda of sorts that is added after Superman winks at the audience and flies off ... which brings the concert to a satisfying close, in my opinion. The quite extensive flying sequence still lingers in your mind at this point - a restatement of everything that went before, including that soaring live theme is not needed. (of course I would have liked to here it again ;-D)

 

There's also an added cadence after the Air Force One scene before the intermission, plus an intro or entr'acte if you will after the intermission.

 

The end credits play out visualky during the extensive applause and ovations for maestro Anthony Gabriele and for sections of the orchestra highlighted by him... ...I left early to meet him and indeed he told me that this was also done to ease the shear amount of music to be played for the orchestra members.

 

The first half contains like ~70 minutes of music - in one case ~15 minutes non-stop (!) from the calling of the crystal until Superman takes flight for the first time in the fortress, as he pointed out to me.

 

The second half still consists of ~50 minutes of music.

 

It all went by way so quickly (and it's a loong movie) as I was in the moment and a dream-like state ... had to snap out of it a few times to concentrate on orchestra members or even close my eyes and just listen...

[Tallguy 3,385]

7 minutes ago, Martinland said:

and it's a loong movie

 

2 hours and 23 minutes including credits! That's not long. That's pretty close to normal. (Is it really the exact same run time as Man of Steel? Wow.)

 

Anyway, glad you had a great time. Interesting that it had an intermission.

[SyncMan 314]

Over 4 years ago, I've made a video of selected scenes of the theatrical cut where I've 'sort of restored' some of the music that was dialed out in the film's final edit in anticipation for an eventual announcement of a LTP concert (this was not a full-on music restoration, as I had to trim music to fit the film's final edit)   In this quote, below, is one sequence. 

 

On 28/05/2019 at 7:50 AM, SyncMan said:

Here is a 10-minute sequence from the film's theatrical edit feature my music-edit with some dialogue and sound effects from the film's sound-mix.

Chasing Rockets/Superfeats with dialogue and sound effects

Here is the same sequence with isolated music track of my audio edit.  

Chasing Rockets/Superfeats Isolated Music Track

As I was assembling the music edits, I see in certain shots why Donner had eliminated the music in his final-edit.

For example, between 3:24 and 3:34 mark of this video: Lois pulling into the gas station and honking her horn for an attendant. 

Although the length of that footage, by sheer coincidence, fits the portion of the music where we hear the love theme followed by a trumpet melody, I don’t think it’s the footage that Williams had in his working copy of the film--especially when you hear the source music over the car radio and the car-honking sound.

 

 

@Martinland, while your memory is still fresh:

In the footage between this video's timestamps of 3:24 and 6:26 (where the music was dialed-out in the final-film edit, but I've added in this video), do you recall any music being played on stage for those unscored sequences--the quake sequences?

[Martinland 358]

7 hours ago, Tallguy said:

2 hours and 23 minutes including credits! That's not long.

Yes, for modern films that's quite true. (on the other hand, the golden era films Anthony Gabriele is also interested in, like "Vertigo" and especially "An American in Paris", his favourite, are a tad shorter)

 

But - we did discuss this too, it was a quite fascinating post-concert conversation - in the case of Superman the end credits were of epic proportions, considering the end of the 70s. Just think of Raiders, only three years later: Short and sweet end credits...

 

Another thing I have mentioned during that conversation: My first live-to-picture experience was "Koyaanisqatsi" at the Barbican around 2001, one of the most intertwined cases of music and visuals ... it lasts only for 89 minutes.

 

5 hours ago, SyncMan said:

In the footage between this video's timestamps of 3:24 and 6:26

...can't access the video on my phone right now; will try again later on my Linux notebook. [EDIT: still unable to open it]

 

As far as I recall, there was no noteworthy music during that quake sequence (the Krypton quake cue at the beginning was reinstated of course), BUT:

 

I also completely missed the music (entrance) during the mugger sequence as I was focused on the acting and character interplay; only noticed that the music had come in when Anthony Gabriele already signalled for it to end.

 

The magic of film music, actually!

 

That's the complicated thing with LTP: It is not a concert where you could concentrate on the music and musicians, but it isn't "just" a film screening either, where you would focus on every other aspect as well...

[Naïve Old Fart 9,516]

On 17/06/2023 at 7:24 PM, Tom said:

  I swear there is a Spielberg movie where a kid is slapped...

 

There's a Spielberg movie where some punk kid tries to goose someone's mother.

There's another Spielberg movie where a bunch of kids almost get eaten.

 

Seriously, though, it could be EMPIRE OF THE SUN.

[Martinland 358]

On 20/06/2023 at 5:52 PM, SyncMan said:

In the footage between this video's timestamps of 3:24 and 6:26 (where the music was dialed-out in the final-film edit, but I've added in this video), do you recall any music being played on stage for those unscored sequences--the quake sequences?

Thanks for your email with the link to your video!

 

Since I am quite familiar with say 90% of the score (never saw the movie until a couple of years back but have known the score since like 1990) I am almost certain that I would have noticed these extremely busy sections during the quake sequence. So, I think there were dramaturgical gaps...

 

...maybe @ConorPower can confirm this?

 

Now I wish to have attended both performances... LOL

 

T'was over way too quickly and you cannot possibly appreciate all aspects at once; as I said before:  LTP is as much a challenge as it is pure bliss for those who care... 

[ConorPower 148]

Just like you @Martinland, I don't recall noticing such music for the earthquake sequence; that being said, in those visually busier moments my attention often drifts from the orchestra to the screen — so I may have missed something. 

[SyncMan 314]

On 01/03/2023 at 2:54 PM, SyncMan said:

This is a little more like it.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada.

February 16 and 17, 2024.

https://www.tso.ca/concerts-and-events/events/superman-in-concert/

Extra date added:

February 15, 2024

 

Also, single-ticket purchases started today.

[SyncMan 314]

On 02/06/2023 at 8:41 AM, SyncMan said:

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, October 21, 2023, 7:30pm

Heinz Hall. Pittsburgh, PA

https://pittsburghsymphony.org/production/86824/superman-in-concert

 

Tickets go on sale today.

From the said link:

"Secure your seats now for Superman in Concert, and you're instantly entered for a chance to win a treasured piece of cinematic history! Not one, but TWO lucky ticket holders will be randomly selected to receive an authentic, signed page of the Superman score by the legendary John Williams himself!* But act fast – this exclusive offer is as fleeting as a speeding bullet! This spectacular giveaway ends on Saturday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. local time."

[Lockdown 238]

[Brando 1,863]

Awesome! Can you confirm something for me? I once heard that when Superman is performed live, they don’t play for the entire end credits, is that correct? Also, if it is true, why wouldn’t they play it, even though they play for other movies that are longer(music wise)than Superman.

[Jay 37,351]

21 minutes ago, Brando said:

Awesome! Can you confirm something for me? I once heard that when Superman is performed live, they don’t play for the entire end credits, is that correct? 

 

 

On 14/12/2020 at 1:31 PM, SyncMan said:

Mike M. said in the FSM forum that this cue won’t be played at the LTP concert.

 

https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=124036&forumID=1&archive=0&pageID=11&r=227#bottom

 

On 25/06/2022 at 5:18 PM, crocodile said:

No end credits

 

On 25/06/2022 at 5:44 PM, crocodile said:

Superman flies off the screen and it segues into the title card. The music transitions instantly to the very end of credits.

 

On 26/06/2022 at 5:52 AM, SyncMan said:

 This Facebook post has a video in the comments.

 

On 29/07/2022 at 10:47 AM, SyncMan said:

Apparently, the end credits are shown during the concert, but no music is played as the audience and musicians are filing out the hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

21 minutes ago, Brando said:

Also, if it is true, why wouldn’t they play it

 

On 26/06/2022 at 8:58 AM, TownerFan said:

Both Anthony Gabriele and Mike Matessino addressed this aspect in their respective interviews they gave to The Legacy of JW. The decision was to avoid getting into overtime for orchestra musicians (it's already a very long show)

[Jay 37,351]

22 hours ago, Lockdown said:

 

So, what'd you think of the show?

[Lockdown 238]

It is the definitive experience to watch a film in my opinion (for a film score fanatic). Hearing the score be in the forefront in the "mix" is not an experience you can really have at the theater or your home. It was amazing, and obviously I think the Pittsburgh Symphony did a terrific job as always. It's truly a one of a kind experience for score fans.