Shearmur’s Count of Monte Cristo (20 years old!)

[WampaRat 1,105]

Watched this Kevin Reynolds adaptation of the Dumas classic tonight. This film and score remain a sentimental favorite of mine. Just a sincere, wonderfully mounted and cast production (even though it differs from the book  ) I can’t believe it’s 20 years old! Any other fans on here? 
 

The score isn’t necessarily “swashbuckly” in the vein of say Cutthroat Island or even Kamen’s Three Musketeers. But it’s wonderfully composed and a terrifically spotted film. (Had Kamen scored this film I imagine it would have sounded similar btw) Beautiful little textures and flashes of instrumentation that remind you of the time and setting without going overboard. “Invitation to the ball” is of course a standout. I’ve personally always loved “Edmunds education” with the light percussion ticking away during the montage and the pizzicato strings adding mischief and intrigue as Dontes and Abbe Ferria attempt to dig out of the dungeon. It’s probably a score that means more to the listener if they loved the film (which I do and highly recommend) I’d love for an earnest and sincere swashbuckler like this to come out today 😊

 

Supposedly there’s an RS leak out there. Not sure how much it adds to the ost (which is going for in$ANE prices on the secondary market! I still have my original dinged-up version I bought from Walmart back in 2002 lol)

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Very good score, my favourite of the few Shearmurs I know.

[WampaRat 1,105]

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Very good score, my favourite of the few Shearmurs I know.

Yeah. I need to see if I can get into “Sky Captain” again. Never connected with me.

 

He seems to have done a decent amount of work in the early 2000s and then has faded :/ 

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Sky Captain is a fine score, but it was a lot to take in even in its original album configuration.

[Jay 37,364]

I've seen a lot of people say that about CutThroat Island, too

[Jim Ware 526]

16 hours ago, WampaRat said:

Yeah. I need to see if I can get into “Sky Captain” again. Never connected with me.

 

He seems to have done a decent amount of work in the early 2000s and then has faded :/ 

 

Check out Reign of Fire too.

[crocodile 8,016]

Thing about Sky Captain expansion is that it doesn't feel as oppressive. There's bit more quiet stuff in between the setpieces. The original album felt more relentless.

 

Karol

[WampaRat 1,105]

2 hours ago, Jim Ware said:

 

Check out Reign of Fire too.

Yeah that was another that didn’t click with me lol. I remember the opening titles being pretty cool. But other than that, not much. Time to reevaluate!

[thestat 348]

Shearmur is such an unfortunate casuality of the Hollywood system - clearly someone who could do absolutely anything, from newage-y stuff to Korngoldian swashbuckling. Not sure why his career never truly took off - he was more or less in the same 'class' as Gia but MG managed to build a relationship with JJ Abrams and Brad Bird whereas Shearmur was fraternising with .... not them.

 

This track from Monte might remind some of a much more infamous composition that came a year later and took the world by storm:

 

[WampaRat 1,105]

3 hours ago, thestat said:

Shearmur is such an unfortunate casuality of the Hollywood system - clearly someone who could do absolutely anything, from newage-y stuff to Korngoldian swashbuckling. Not sure why his career never truly took off - he was more or less in the same 'class' as Gia but MG managed to build a relationship with JJ Abrams and Brad Bird whereas Shearmur was fraternising with .... not them.

 

This track from Monte might remind some of a much more infamous composition that came a year later and took the world by storm:

 

Yep indeed. I remember sitting in the theater opening night of the first Pirates film back in 2003 and thinking “Hey! I wonder if they listened to Shearmur’s Count of Monte Cristo before they wrote that little jig…” 
They aren’t identical . Buuuut pretty similar. And only a year between. And the first score was a mad rush. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was “inspired” by it  

[Tallguy 3,392]

The similarity is undeniable, but at the time (not knowing this score) I thought Pirates was just a step away from Gladiator as well. 

[HunterTech 994]

Given the trailers for Pirates 1 had cues from two scores that were most definitely temp tracked into the film (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Drop Zone), I'd almost say with certainty that Monte Cristo would likely be on that list too. The whole rushed nature of the production and the general "MV's greatest hits" feel of it probably didn't help there.

[Tallguy 3,392]

48 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

Given the trailers for Pirates 1 had cues from two scores that were most definitely temp tracked into the film (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Drop Zone), I'd almost say with certainty that Monte Cristo would likely be on that list too. The whole rushed nature of the production and the general "MV's greatest hits" feel of it probably didn't help there.

 

Dracula was one of the most disconcerting temps that I can think of.

[Bayesian 1,363]

Listened to this album for the first time today. Where the hell has this score been my whole life?? How did I manage to miss this (and the movie it was written for) for two decades?? And why hasn't it been expanded yet by a specialty label??

 

Count of Monte Cristo was directed by the guy who made Waterworld -- one of my favorite action/adventures of all time -- and Robin Hood PoT. Theoretically, I should have been all over this movie (and its score) from day one. Now I wish I had been.

[Edmilson 7,457]

Shearmur has always been supremely underrated.

 

I remember seeing the movie with my family when it aired on TV when I was a kid, I liked it quite a bit.

 

I miss those days when we had swashbuckling adventure movies based on old literary classics (Robin Hood PoT, 1993 The Three Musketeers, The Mask of Zorro, The Man with the Iron Mask, Count of Monte Cristo, etc).

[Tydirium 1,167]

This is a score that I really hope Intrada gets their hands on for a future release.

[Bayesian 1,363]

2 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Shearmur has always been supremely underrated.

 

I remember seeing the movie with my family when it aired on TV when I was a kid, I liked it quite a bit.

 

I miss those days when we had swashbuckling adventure movies based on old literary classics (Robin Hood PoT, 1993 The Three Musketeers, The Mask of Zorro, The Man with the Iron Mask, Count of Monte Cristo, etc).

No kidding. Maybe with superhero fatigue finally setting in and a bit of luck, we might soon see studios pivot back toward literary sources again for story ideas.

[Tallguy 3,392]

6 hours ago, Bayesian said:

No kidding. Maybe with superhero fatigue finally setting in and a bit of luck, we might soon see studios pivot back toward literary sources again for story ideas.

 

During the "superhero era" haven't there been like three or four Three Musketeers movies? (Honestly, there have been enough that I haven't seen all of them.)

 

But sure. That would be very cool. OTOH, one of my favorite movies of the last 10 years is The Martian: A very faithful adaptation of a book.

[Bayesian 1,363]

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

But sure. That would be very cool. OTOH, one of my favorite movies of the last 10 years is The Martian: A very faithful adaptation of a book.

Ah, yes, the Martian. A great Ridley Scott movie. You know, since Thanksgiving, almost all of my music and motion picture entertainment discoveries (outside of LLL’s Hook) are due to my newfound fascination with Sir Scott. After Napoleon came out, I realized I really didn’t know the man’s work outside of his biggest four or five films. By way of Napoleon, I learned about the Duellists (great movie)—and the terrific music of Howard Blake— and about Bondarchuk’s Waterloo from 1970, and then about other movies featuring Napoleon, including, just today, Count of Monte Cristo. Which then led me to learn about the music of Ed Shearmur. It’s been an interesting and rewarding few weeks.

[Tydirium 1,167]

17 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

Which then led me to learn about the music of Ed Shearmur.

Have you heard his Sky Captain?

[Thor 7,506]

My favourite Shearmur score will always be K-PAX - as a synth head, a gorgeous, largely electronic score. But yes - he shines in purely orchestral landscapes too. MONTE CRISTO is a great score. Not a type of score I gravitate towards anymore, but it was lucky to come out in a period where I still did, so it has that connection to me.

[Tallguy 3,392]

3 hours ago, Thor said:

My favourite Shearmur score will always be K-PAX - as a synth head, a gorgeous, largely electronic score. But yes - he shines in purely orchestral landscapes too. MONTE CRISTO is a great score. Not a type of score I gravitate towards anymore, but it was lucky to come out in a period where I still did, so it has that connection to me.

 

To me this is THE Shearmur score and only secondarily Sky Captain. 

[crocodile 8,016]

16 hours ago, Tydirium said:

This is a score that I really hope Intrada gets their hands on for a future release.

Absolutely. Really solid score.  Kamen has taught him well.

 

I also hope for the re-relases of K-PAX, Johnny English and The Reign of Fire.

 

It's unfortunate he never got to do a Star Wars project. It's funny actually, as his late wife produced some of the early Disney-era projects. He is EXACTLY the kind of person they should be going for.

 

Karol

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

K-PAX; MONTE CRISTO; REIGN OF FIRE; SKY CAPTAIN; these are all fine scores, but no-one has mentioned THE WINGS OF THE DOVE, a great score, from a great film.

[Bayesian 1,363]

13 hours ago, Tydirium said:

Have you heard his Sky Captain?

I haven’t, but it’s on my to-do list, alongside K-pax and the others mentioned above. 👍🏻

[Thor 7,506]

43 minutes ago, Slipperman9 said:

K-PAX; MONTE CRISTO; REIGN OF FIRE; SKY CAPTAIN; these are all fine scores, but no-one has mentioned THE WINGS OF THE DOVE, a great score, from a great film.

 

I need to check out THE WINGS OF THE DOVE, thanks!

 

REIGN OF FIRE is massive! It's like Don Davis on steroids. A bit too much for me, but I can see it appeal to others.

[TheAvengerButton 175]

On 02/09/2022 at 6:34 PM, Tallguy said:

 

Dracula was one of the most disconcerting temps that I can think of.

Is the Dracula temp taken from the Storm que? That's the only similarity I can think of between the two scores off the top of my head.

[Tallguy 3,392]

5 minutes ago, TheAvengerButton said:

Is the Dracula temp taken from the Storm que? That's the only similarity I can think of between the two scores off the top of my head.

 

There was a bit that was pretty clearly based on Vampire Hunters. IIRC it's somewhere in the Isla de Muerta bits. But yes, The Storm is in there as well.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

1 hour ago, TheAvengerButton said:

Is the Dracula temp taken from the Storm que?

 

 

[TheAvengerButton 175]

*cue whoopsie.

 

3 hours ago, Tallguy said:

 

There was a bit that was pretty clearly based on Vampire Hunters. IIRC it's somewhere in the Isla de Muerta bits. But yes, The Storm is in there as well.

 

Oh, I think I know exactly what you're talking about. I can see the similarity for sure.