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Which score do you prefer: Temple of Doom vs. The Lost World


Edmilson

Second scores by JW  

63 members have voted

  1. 1. Which score do you prefer?

    • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
      41
    • The Lost World: Jurassic Park
      22


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On the 1980s and 1990s, John Williams followed one beloved adventure score (Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park) with a sequel that is darker, more aggressive and has more action than its predecessors. 

 

So, what score do you personally prefer: the exotic adventure of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? Or the wild jungle rhytms of The Lost World? Vote now!

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Ooh, tricky.

 

TEMPLE OF DOOM is heads and shoulders beyond THE LOST WORLD if you take the OST into account. If, however, you use the expanded version, it's miles behind the THE LOST WORLD OST. TOD simply crumbles in an expanded format. As does the THE LOST WORLD, for that matter. But in a straight comparison between the two OSTs, TEMPLE OF DOOM wins. And, I would argue, as a score-in-context. So I voted that.

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4 hours ago, Thor said:

TEMPLE OF DOOM is heads and shoulders beyond THE LOST WORLD if you take the OST into account. If, however, you use the expanded version, it's miles behind the THE LOST WORLD OST. TOD simply crumbles in an expanded format.

 

You've listened to the expanded versions?

 

TLW for me.

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The Lost World for me. There is something about  Temple of Doom's feverish over-the-top high-80's show-off act that doesn't sit with me as well these days. It's just bit tiresome to listen to because it wants to keep that energy for two hours. Same reason I can't really listen to Hook anymore. On the other hand, second Jurassic Park might not share the same kind of thematic brilliance but it does sound like nothing else in Williams' career.

 

Having said that, I would welcome the expanded Indy sets. Someone needs to do it right.

 

Karol

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20 hours ago, Thor said:

TOD simply crumbles in an expanded format. As does the THE LOST WORLD, for that matter.

How can you prefer THE LOST WORLD OST over the expanded release? How is that possible?

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3 minutes ago, Chewy said:

How can you prefer THE LOST WORLD OST over the expanded release? How is that possible?


It’s Thor. He will ALWAYS prefer the OST. 
 

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Wow, no one gets so mean, when Drax is spreading mental litter all over the Coronavirus thread.

 

Nevertheless, TLW is one of the strongest complete score experiences ever. One of very very very few examples that doesn't need to be cut down.

TOD suffers from its lack of variety on the expanded version. There's a ton of loud action cues that get rarely interrupted, because the softer and more atmopheric cues from the film are not included on the release. Still much better than the awfully short OST. The latter epitomizes underrepresentation.

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16 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

 

Wow, no one gets so mean, when Drax is spreading mental litter all over the Coronavirus thread

 


Nobody takes Drax seriously though. He’s a parody of a parody. 

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Oof, this is a tough one for me. Both scores initially disappointed me by being so different from their predecessors, and both are now among my favorites for the same reason.

 

I definitely listen to TLW more often. TOD is so hyper that I'm not always in the mood, whereas TLW (in complete form) has really high re-listenability for me. Of course, in terms of themes, TOD wins hands-down; themes are simply beside the point for most of TLW. What TLW does offer is a musical journey quite unlike anything else in Williams' career.

 

TOD is a clever, fast-paced ballet through soundscapes both delightful and hellish. TLW is a moody jungle of a score that somehow feels like it's saying something profound about the dinosaurs, and it's certainly the "grooviest" Williams score I've heard.

 

Today I'll give it to TLW. Ask me tomorrow and it could go the other way.

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1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

No, that's Jurassic Park.

 

Musically, what I get from the first film about the dinosaurs is that carnivores are scary and dangerous while herbivores are noble and beautiful. (Nothing wrong with that!) But TLW feels different. The new four-note motif is haunting and a little ambiguous. It's used for carnivores and herbivores. For me, it hints at a more naturalistic interpretation of the dinosaurs. It's about the dinosaurs as they actually are, not as humans perceive and react to them. As Grant says I'm the first film, they just "do what they do." This would have been especially driven home by the final moments before the credits, had they not been replaced by the much more bombastic island fanfare.

 

To be clear, I'm not denigrating the first score. I probably still prefer it over TLW, and I have plenty of love for TLW. I just find the difference in musical perspective to be stark - and fascinating.

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13 hours ago, crocodile said:

The Lost World for me. There is something about  Temple of Doom's feverish over-the-top high-80's show-off act that doesn't sit with me as well these days. It's just bit tiresome to listen to because it wants to keep that energy for two hours. Same reason I can't really listen to Hook anymore. On the other hand, second Jurassic Park might not share the same kind of thematic brilliance but it does sound like nothing else in Williams' career.

 

Having said that, I would welcome the expanded Indy sets. Someone needs to do it right.

 

Karol

This. Temple of Doom is just too much; I admire the technique behind it all but I really don't want to listen to most of it. The Lost World is unique and I like that it sort of stands out in his work. It's another example of why 1996-2005 is second only to 1977-1983 (and it's close) in how I rate the periods of Williams' career.

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I listened to TOD yesterday, and while it's indeed a classic score, it's also... just too much. Too much action, too much playfulness, too exaggerated, etc. 

 

Meanwhile, TLW features one of my favorite JW themes, and also what for me is one of his top 5 (maybe top 3) action tracks: Visitor in San Diego. This cue is just amazing!

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Considering the expanded editions I voted for The Lost World. Temple of Doom comes very close but I think The Lost World is a more varied score, with more ideas and better arrangements. 

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10 hours ago, Edmilson said:

I listened to TOD yesterday, and while it's indeed a classic score, it's also... just too much. Too much action, too much playfulness, too exaggerated, etc. 

 

The Lost World is an impressively balanced score in complete form. Temple of Doom is undoubtedly overflowing with ideas and energy (not to mention superb themes) but it's excessively scored... but that's part of the charm and definitely intentional.

 

So it depends entirely on my mood but TLW is the more rewarding chronological listen to my ears. I'll be curious to hear TOD in complete form once Mike fixes the situation. The music we have via the Concord isn't an accurate representation of JW's intentions.

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11 hours ago, Edmilson said:

I listened to TOD yesterday, and while it's indeed a classic score, it's also... just too much. Too much action, too much playfulness, too exaggerated, etc. 

 

That's why we have the OST.

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If you only had 60 minutes to fill, you might be able to make a better listening experience out of TOD than the Lost World. But as complete scores go, I find The Lost World to be a more rewarding experience

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TOD is a human descent to hell.

TLW is a dark safari in hell.

 

TOD has more flashy highlights and greater entertainment value, but boy, JP02 could accompany the most serious films ever made, and has some really terrifying moments. I can see why it is the connoisseur choice. Voted accordingly.

 

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Once we a have a definitive, decently put together "MM like" expanded edition of ToD, ToD will be. But since we don't have that yet, then I'll vote for ToD.

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I know right?  Such an amazing theme.  I also really love the smaller theme for the stones, especially in the original version of the Old Priest's Tale

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Yes, the oboes (or similar sounding woodwind instrument playing it) really gives it an eerie feeling.

 

I hope when MM tackles with it, those precious bytes from the digital recording tapes are all intact.

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2 hours ago, Jay said:

Oooh boy.  Two of my favorite scores of all time.  How can I possibly choose!?

I ended up choosing TOD for the poll but could have chosen TLW.

 

These are two scores I listen to more frequently than almost any other scores in my entire collection.


And both scores are ones that are greatly improved by listening to the complete score over their original albums.

 

I find it curious that so many posts are saying that TOD is too relentless.  I think this could be partially because the 2008 Concord expansion was sort of not well though out in its track selection.  They took the OST than added mostly additional action music to make that new disc 2 of that box set, leaving much of the moodier underscore either on the 5th disc, or still unreleased.


If you listen to the COMPLETE TOD score, with every single cue all in order, it's not this big unrelenting action fest.  It has a real nice ebb and flow as the story goes forward, with of course many action highlights... but it's not too overwhelming.


Someday MM will get to tackle this score, and hopefully it will change some opinions.

This! 100%!

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  • 2 weeks later...
16 minutes ago, Bellosh said:

I appreciate The Lost World didn't rely on the 'Journey to the Island' and 'JP' themes.

 

But all the different themes in Temple of Doom are just untouchable.  Nobody can make a score like that anymore.  Nevermind his ABSOLUTE GRIP on the Raiders March in ToD. 

 

2:45-end.

 

 

One of the greastest build-up for a theme for its full glory. Yes, no one does it better!! 

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