Masters of the Air - Follow Up to ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘The Pacific’ From Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Production-wise looks good. Music is a little bit meh - it's nicely orchestral and patriotic but somehow isn't exciting me at all - by the end the plane sounds overwhelm it and it doesn't have the feel of a noble, majestic takeoff. Maybe it didn't even need music.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

First reviews are in and they are very positive!!!

[Jay 37,371]

 

1. Soar (Main Title Theme from ‘Masters of the Air’) (2:36)
2. Post Engines, Pre-flight (3:53)
3. Around the Clock (6:13)
4. Every Second is a Little Death (4:42)
5. I Can Fix It (2:19)
6. Rack ‘Em Up and Knock ‘Em Down (4:28)
7. Kind of Beautiful (2:10)
8. The Bloody Hundredth (3:23)
9. One Day in Hell (4:19)
10. The Enemy Below (6:45)
11. Punching Through (3:52)
12. Stories Over Poker (5:07)
13. Borrowed Time (1:51)
14. An Impossible Ask (6:31)
15. Transfers (5:07)
16. Long Winter March (4:10)
17. Horrors (3:57)
18. The Flag (3:25)
19. Surrender (3:58)
20. Celebrations (3:14)
21. This Is It (3:43)
22. Going Home (5:06)

 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/masters-of-the-air-apple-tv-original-series-soundtrack/1723905656

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CT94PMWM

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mO4E9n72vnC0o8ZqRZ-UUEgDYVxkX0Oek

https://open.spotify.com/album/5U7ptEceGT3fuGO5hCtmg6?si=GE7D8Td_SCCpoFTGkAjkoA

https://tidal.com/browse/album/337969861

[Gabriel Bezerra 302]

A 22-track album from Blake Neely? What year is this, 2014?

 

I'm surprised that there are no additional composers credits on IMDB, it's his usual team of editor/supervisor/preparation, but none of the additional composers, interesting.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

It's weird that the version of "Soar" on the album is different than what's used in tge episode titles.

[fenrik 36]

10 hours ago, Gabriel Bezerra said:

A 22-track album from Blake Neely? What year is this, 2014?

 

 

Was thinking the exact same thing  I suppose that "15 tracks max formula" was more a Water Tower thing than a Neely thing. 
Hated it! lol!

[Tallguy 3,401]

Watched the first episode. I'm loving it. I like the performances. Nothing has jumped out at me to say "NO! WHAT THE HELL?" Barry Keoghan looks and sounds like Buddy Hackett. It's an accent you don't hear anymore. Nice choice.

 

The effects are less than perfect. They're really good and for TV they're amazing. But there's some bits that just... Well, they're not real.

 

I went back and watched William Wyler's Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. Real life is just mind blowing.

 

Looking forward to episode two.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

On 26/01/2024 at 2:44 PM, JNHFan2000 said:

It's weird that the version of "Soar" on the album is different than what's used in tge episode titles.

 

Yes, an annoying trend amongst some (certainly not all composers) that no one needs to hear music as it's heard in its actual medium. Must be remixed or fiddled with first.

 

---

 

Quicky warming to the title piece - the melody is catchy and the 'B' section about a minute in does a good job of making me visualise a plane taking off. I wonder whether the orchestration there is maybe a tad too wild musically, but I like it. It's got something that The Pacific really didn't have for me, but I muse on whether we were hearing more Zanelli material on that one, and that I don't find his stuff as interesting.

 

I'm finally starting on a book club book today which is set during wartime (The Nightingale) so this is a nice concept album to try out in accompaniment. I don't normally like scores that are purely patriotic/tear-jerky brass but who knows what else he's cooked up!

 

On 26/01/2024 at 2:15 PM, Gabriel Bezerra said:

I'm surprised that there are no additional composers credits on IMDB, it's his usual team of editor/supervisor/preparation, but none of the additional composers, interesting.

 

This one seems to have been in production for eternity, and with the effects work, just possibly Neely just had the time to write it all himself?

[JTN 2,035]

My Spielberg-Hanks WWII Trilogy Main Theme Ranking (SPR not included of course):

 

1. Band of Brothers (Michael Kamen)

2. The Pacific (H. Zimmer, G. Zanelli, B. Neely)

3. Masters of the Air (B. Neely)

 

MotA has easily the weakest of the three themes, even more cheesy than TP. 

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Theme-wise, TP has the most forgettable piece of tat as its theme, in my view. I found it bland and predictable back then, and I still do. I'm actually a bit surprised that those here who yearn for Williams find it so interesting.

 

My initial impression of MotA is far better.

[Stark 316]

Masters of the Air OST, like its main theme, is very good by any standard except a comparison with the prior two scores.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Had this on in the background - all 90 mins of it - and it's not bad at all. A handful of bits that made my ears perk and take notice, although the majority of it falls into the pleasant-but-been-there-before sound. The action material that has a very specific sound, with percussion feeling a bit mechanical and clock-like to me. Possibly a candidate from which to select 30-45 mins of strong material because the strings/brass have started to tire a little by the end... there ain't a lot of variation.

[Thor 7,517]

Have to agree with that. I like the old-school nobility of the main theme (and a few other, similarly tinged tracks), but there's a LOT of stuff that is fairly straightforward genre tropes -- and a DUNKIRK inspiration or two. A decent experience may be found in a playlist somewhere, but that won't get priority right now. Meanwhile, I DO look forward to seeing the series itself, as previously mentioned.

[Tallguy 3,401]

Episode Two. Still loving this.

 

I'll agree about the score: I had it on yesterday and I certainly enjoyed it. But only a couple of parts jumped out at me. But I consider that the case for most television scores.

 

I still adore the main theme.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Here's an intial suggestion for a Varese style 30-minute sampler. (this will obviously reflect any changes I make in future)

 

Much of the latter half of the OST is just more of the same, and by the end it's just a lot of string/brass work and I can only handle that in small doses. I thought 'Soar' might work as a nice celebratory ending overture.

 

As already said, this is a fine score and there's nothing 'wrong' with it, per se, but all the music is just a slight variation on two or three ideas. Arguably not enough to sustain 90 minutes. Certainly, if you particularly like Saving Private Ryan and have a reasonable mentality towards hearing music not written by Williams, it's worth a shot.

 

 

[Tallguy 3,401]

THAT was a very intense hour of television. Wow.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

I haven't started yet, I'm thinking of waiting till all the episodes are out.

 

What is your advice?

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

Im going to wait

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

Same. Like Night Country and Shogun, I'll binge Masters of the Air when it's done.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

I'm enjoying Night Country as a weekly

[Tallguy 3,401]

I don't have that kind of patience. If you do, sure, wait. 

 

But this is my Saturday morning routine. 

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

I have a long flight to Australia coming up just after the final episode airs, so I'm saving it for that.

 

Though now that I think about it, Masters of the Air might not be the best show to watch on a plane... 🤔 

[Tallguy 3,401]

1 hour ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

I have a long flight to Australia coming up just after the final episode airs, so I'm saving it for that.

 

Though now that I think about it, Masters of the Air might not be the best show to watch a plane... 🤔 

 

Normally I don't have a problem with such things. But that said... Maybe not this one?

 

I think episode 3 is the Saving Private Ryan of aviation. And it's only THREE.

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

On 3/2/2024 at 1:51 PM, Tallguy said:

I think episode 3 is the Saving Private Ryan of aviation.

 

Funny, I always thought episode 2 of Band of Brothers, with the D-Day Airdrop, was the Saving Private Ryan of aviation.

[Tallguy 3,401]

26 minutes ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

 

Funny, I always thought episode 2 of Band of Brothers, with the D-Day Airdrop, was the Saving Private Ryan of aviation.

 

People who jump out of perfectly good aircraft are not "aviators". (She Who Is My Wife was in the 82nd. )

 

It's been a long time since I've seen all of BoB. Might give it a rewatch after MotA.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

I eventually bought the album and settled on around 2/3 of it, very slightly rearranged. What I dumped was basically the last 20 mins and a couple of other tracks that weren't doing a whole lot for me. Extremely effective score when heard in a curated manner.

[Tallguy 3,401]

Damn it. 

 

Spoiler

Barry Keoghan is going to be in the opening credits every week. 

 

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

4 hours ago, Tallguy said:

Damn it. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Barry Keoghan is going to be in the opening credits every week. 

 

Spoiler

But not in a bath.

 

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

On 5/2/2024 at 9:22 AM, Tallguy said:

It's been a long time since I've seen all of BoB.

 

Probably my favourite series of all time. I watch it once a year whether I need to or not.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

I'm currently at episode 4 of BoB.

 

Confession time, never seen it before. I was always too young and it was too much for me.

 

It's incredible! I have to watch an episode and then have a break for a day or 2 because it's just so heavy, but it's absolutely brilliant

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

For those watching this, how is it shaping up? I've been waiting to binge it, but I've heard mixed things.

[Tallguy 3,401]

Still loving it. One more episode to go. (Right?) This last episode tried pulling off a lot. It didn't blow my mind but it was good. One the one hand the Tuskegee Airmen is obviously enough for it's own show. So do you include it here? Does that mean that story ONLY appears where it's front and center? Or is it here because these men's stories intersected IRL?

 

I'm sure I'll have to go read the book.

[badbu 123]

Is it worth? 
Band of Brothers is my all time favourite! 

[Tallguy 3,401]

6 hours ago, badbu said:

Is it worth? 
Band of Brothers is my all time favourite! 

 

I think so.

[pete 907]

I’m loving it. Each episode seems to “fly by” in what feels like 5 minutes. And I have been enjoying the music more - there have been a few scenes where the music really stood out for me in a good way in recent episodes. 
 

i haven’t seen Band of Brothers since it was released, so it’s been a while but I really think the quality is similar. 

[Tallguy 3,401]

Wow. For people worried they wouldn't "stick the landing"? The landing was stuck.

 

The last episode was a roller coaster. Lots of perspectives. Most of the episode was just terrifying.

 

Spoiler

I don't see the point of the Sandra Westgate subplot. From everything I've been able to find it was entirely made up and Westgate was not a real person. It made me think less of the fictional Crosby (and more of the real life Crosby) and it didn't actually wrap up anyplace. We got to find out that she was behind enemy lines doing spy stuff but that went no place as well.

 

I have a bias towards the subject matter. I'm sure Band of Brothers is better. But I liked this more. I've never finished The Pacific.

 

There is a Robin Hood mug on the mantle (I think it was in last week's episode as well). Fantastic callback to one of my absolute favorite movies, Twelve O'Clock High. I'm not the only one who spotted it.

 

 

I'll probably watch this again with the rest of the family.

 

EDIT: Oh! The music! the music is top notch. Some of the last episode is reminiscent of The Real Hero from Avengers: Endgame. Which is fine by me.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Now that all the episodes are out, I've started the series.

 

Today I watched 2 episodes. I thought they were very good, but they didn't wow me yet like what happened with the first 2 episodes of BoB.

 

I'm very exciting to continue though and I really liked the performances from Turner & Butler especially

[Tallguy 3,401]

I've been thinking about this all day. (I'll watch the Hanks / Spielberg documentary on the Bloody Hundredth later.)

 

One thing to add: The FX in this final episode really seemed to level up. It started out well enough. Better than we would have dreamed of 20 years ago, but still with a bit of really great video game vibe. And I've seen B-17s flying in real life. (I got to ride in a B-25 once. Yowza!) But in this last episode there were shots that were as close to real as I could hope for. There's one shot of a B-17 taxiing where just the SHADOWS made me notice how gorgeous it was.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Woow. Episode 3 was fantastic!

Tense, high stakes, great visuals.

 

Butler really gives the best performance so far. He doesn't say a lot but his eyes and expressions tell you so much. He's a brilliant actor.

[pete 907]

18 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

Woow. Episode 3 was fantastic!

 

It gets better!

[Tallguy 3,401]

Barry Keoghan was the standout performance for me. Nate Mann (Rosie) is terrific as well. (You'll get to him.)

 

And yeah, I hope we look back on movies like this with Butler the way we look back on early Brad Pitt. "Hey, this kid's not bad!"

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Episode 4 was great again.

I was surprised that we also went with a story on the ground. I didn't expect that somehow. But it's already very tense.

[Tallguy 3,401]

2 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

Episode 4 was great again.

I was surprised that we also went with a story on the ground. I didn't expect that somehow. But it's already very tense.

 

Buckle up.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Stop teasing me like that. I'm already on edge

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Shees... Episode 5 down.

 

First episode that made me really emotional. The end was truly heartbreaking and quite honestly an almost unbearable gut punch.

 

The battle scenes, if you can call them that, it was more of a slaughter were probably the best yet. The way how fast all the planes got taken out after they dropped the bombs succesfully was a hard thing to watch.

Then the dogfight between the last plane of the 100th and the fighter pilots from the Germans was very well done. That slow motion shot was brilliant as fuck. I actually went back after the episode to watch it again. It was so cool and made such an impact.

 

So Bucky is now also on the ground. And we never officially saw what happened to Buck, so I'm holding out a glimmer of hope. Rosie is indeed a great character, can't wait to see more of him.

 

And it's funny, it took me 5 episodes to notice that the actor playing Colonel Harding also plays Prince Andrew in The Crown. He's great here btw. Lot's of presence and a real sense of command.

[pete 907]

13 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

Shees... Episode 5 down.

 

First episode that made me really emotional. The end was truly heartbreaking and quite honestly an almost unbearable gut punch.

 

 

It gets better

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Episode 6

 

This was excellent.

The way they showed the juxtaposition between Bucky's story and that of Crosby & Rosie was really well done.

I liked seeing Rosie go that place. It was a side of the war I didn't know excisted, so that was really cool and gave us some strong character work.

 

Bucky's parts of the episode were probably the most intense scenes this series has had yet. Loved the opening chase in the water. Then later the town was truly shocking and hard to watch. As was his escape from the wagon.

His interrogation was strange because the German had so much charisma that you get kinda confused on what he will do even though you know what he will do.

The train shot was horrible and the ending was weirdly cathartic. To have both that sense of joy of seeing Buck again, while still that feeling of them being prisoners was odd, but really well done.

[Tallguy 3,401]

I didn't realize the first time through how little time passes between Buck then Bucky getting shot down.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

2 hours ago, Tallguy said:

I didn't realize the first time through how little time passes between Buck then Bucky getting shot down.

 

 

Yeah, Bucky's mission is the next day right? Then suddenly between the end of episode 6 to the beginning of episode 7 months have passed. That was quite a shock.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Episodes 7 & 8

 

Two very strong episodes and I can't wait to watch the finale.

Love how these 2 episodes gave an even more intimate and closer look at the characters and the worlds they (need to) inhabit.

 

I loved the inclusion of the fighter pilots, though I wish they were used more, because they're incredible. They're flying sequence in episode 8 was fantastic!

 

Austin Butler remains fantastic. And I indeed love Rosie! He's a fantastic character and Nate Mann gives him so much heart and charisma.

 

I noticed I haven't commented on it before, but Neely's score is really outstanding. It's there when it needs to be and I'm glad to see the filmmakers knew when not to have music. Makes some scenes even more impactful.

 

Can't believe there's only 1 episode left. How is this gonna end??