AMISTAD (1997) - NEW! 2-CD 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition produced by Mike Matessino (2022)

[Jay 37,271]

5 hours ago, WampaRat said:

@Jayforgive my ignorance, but can I ask what your role in this release (and subsequently the newest JP release) is/was? Do you function as kind of a consultant due to your plethora of spreadsheets and breakdowns etc? Hopefully that doesn’t come across as demeaning…

 

I've been assisting Mike on various titles since 2016, so far all of them John Williams titles.  Amistad will be the 20th title released that I contributed something to.  You'll see my name in the booklets under Project Consultant, Project Assistance, Production Assistance, or Special Thanks, depending on the title and what my contribution was.

 

How I've helped has been different for every project.  It ranges from just proofreading the PDF of the booklet at the very end of things, to being involved before the audio work begins to help make sure everything is accounted for.  In other words: in a perfect world, the material that the studio sends over contains everything recorded, and Mike has time to listen to every take of every cue and assemble a new album containing the the main version of every cue, and every interesting alternate he heard as well.  But we have learned that sometimes what gets provided is not entirely comprehensive, and more up-front work has to be done to track down all the material needed to hopefully make a release definitive.  Also, some projects have very tight schedules, so Mike does not have the opportunity to spend time listening to every single take of every single cue, and instead has sometimes sought my assistance to figure out what music should be attempted to be located and included.

 

In between those extremes, there could be other things, such as proofreading the official excel file that has to be filed for every title; listening to a first pass mastering of some tracks (or a final mastered album) and providing feedback; having some back and forth discussion about how to present a wealth of material in the best way (WOTW had a lot of this); discussion of track titles; researching dates or articles/interviews about scores; loads of other things.

 

For the Jurassic Park reissue, Mike brought me on board the project to see if we could make it as definitive as possible.  This led to him making new builds of 2 cues that had been a little different on all prior albums compared to the film (Journey To The Island and Dennis Steals The Embryos), and also a dive into unused takes for a variety of cues to see if anything interesting was recorded that could be included.  For that I relied on the knowledge of some JWFanners who had found differences in the sheet music compared to the final versions of some cues, and made sure they got thanked in the booklet.  In the end, none of the differences seen in the sheet music were recorded, so they all must have been worked out and changed during rehearsals - but it was great to know that definitively.  I then provided feedback on the new mastering, and made some proofreading passes of the new booklet.

 

For Amistad, I was not brought on board until after Mike had already assembled and mastered the album, but I provided feedback on volume levels - I can't remember if this was before or after he had sent it to JW for approval.  For one track that needed a new title, Mike used one of my suggestions for it.  I gave feedback on the excel file.  Much later, I contributed something else I won't reveal just yet, and proofread at least two passes of the booklet.  I also chose the samples that will be posted on Tuesday, and assisted with the official press release wording.

[Bespin 8,472]

@Jay you're the best and I'm happy for you, it's well deserved.

 

I dont know if you remember, but one of the very first thing I asked when I joined this forum was: "OK, WHO HERE CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEW JOHN WILLIAMS PROJECTS?".

 

And the answer at the time was: ewww... nobody!

 

If it's like my contributions with Universal France, it doesn't necessarily pay cash, but it's very rewarding.

 

Congrats!

 

[filmmusic 1,822]

9 minutes ago, Jay said:

For one track that needed a new title, Mike used one of my suggestions for it. 

Why it needed a new title?

Didn't the sheet music cue provide one?

[Faleel 5,326]

2 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Why it needed a new title?

Didn't the sheet music cue provide one?

Maybe the title was unfit for album use

[Andy 4,071]

@Jay, I have some recollection of you alluding to a release you wanted us all to hear because it was so incredibly awesome.  Is this it?

[Jay 37,271]

14 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Why it needed a new title?

Didn't the sheet music cue provide one?

 

Well, that's an interesting story, and comes down to a genius programming decision Mike made in order to fit everything on two 79 minute discs.  That's all I'll say for now.

 

10 minutes ago, Clockwork Angel said:

Maybe the title was unfit for album use

 

Not in this case

 

10 minutes ago, Andy said:

@Jay, I have some recollection of you alluding to a release you wanted us all to hear because it was so incredibly awesome.  Is this it?

 

Yea

[Bellosh 3,369]

I always had a feeling that when this score eventually got the expanded treatment, it will enter my top 10 from JW. 

 

Hoping and thinking that will be happening.

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

Ahhh one less Williams 90's score to crave for

[Andy 4,071]

Thanks Jay. I’m super excited to hear what I’ve been missing.  This looks like a real gem. 

[Jay 37,271]

23 minutes ago, Bellosh said:

I always had a feeling that when this score eventually got the expanded treatment, it will enter my top 10 from JW. 

 

I have a strong feeling that will be happening.

 

It's an amazing score.  I continue to be impressed by it after countless listens.

 

It definitely gets my pick as one of Williams' most underrated scores, though in fairness, it's not like it was possible to really understand everything that the score was doing only going by the old score album.

 

 

For just one example, the score has 4 major themes that run throughout it.  

 

One of the themes, Williams only included on the album in a single track (that wasn't even in the film). 

 

Another one (the John Quincy Adams theme), Williams only included in 3 tracks.  One of those was was a concert arrangement, and the other two just do not convey the journey that his theme goes through in the course of the full score.

 

This meant the old album relied heavily on the Cinque and Freedom themes, with Cinque's theme appearing in 8 of the 14 tracks, and the Freedom theme appearing in 8 of the 14 tracks.

 

 

The entire score has an amazing balance of all 4 themes, and many many brilliant non-thematic moments in between

 

One of my favorite cues in the entire score is non-thematic.

[Holko 9,491]

1 hour ago, Dr. Rick said:

Hope we get a podcast discussing this!

O my god yes please, it's been forever!

[Jay 37,271]

If I may humbly suggest to anyone who already knows they are buying this, to experience the new album when it arrives when you have 2 1/2 hours to set aside to give it a dedicated listen.  Well, or even just the main program, which is only 1 hour 45 minutes.

 

Listening to clips on a podcast or even the samples that will go live on Tuesday will only spoil that once-in-a-lifetime experience you can have, it you have the willpower to avoid them before that first listen.

 

Conversely, if you are thinking the OST is enough for you or you haven't liked this score at all in the past, in that case I strongly recommend listening to the samples on Tuesday, as they might just reveal aspects of this score you weren't aware of before.

[filmmusic 1,822]

Well, it's not in my top 10 scores of Williams, but maybe the expanded edition changes that. We'll see..

[Datameister 2,034]

I have the OST but mostly only listen to "Dry Your Tears, Afrika." Sounds like this release might be worth grabbing, though, if the score presentation is as transformational as you say, Jay. (I've never seen the film.)

[Jay 37,271]

The film is a mixed bag, but absolutely worth seeing at least once.  The cast is fantastic and the story is interesting.  And the context you'll get for the film score makes the score more rewarding to listen to, at least in my opinion.

[Marian Schedenig 8,160]

3 hours ago, crocodile said:

You mean the "happier" Emperor's theme?

 

Augie?

50 minutes ago, Clockwork Angel said:

Maybe the title was unfit for album use

 

Qui-Gon's Noble ****

4 hours ago, crocodile said:

You mean the "happier" Emperor's theme?

 

 

[WampaRat 1,105]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

 

I've been assisting Mike on various titles since 2016, so far all of them John Williams titles.  Amistad will be the 20th title released that I contributed something to.  You'll see my name in the booklets under Project Consultant, Project Assistance, Production Assistance, or Special Thanks, depending on the title and what my contribution was.

 

How I've helped has been different for every project.  It ranges from just proofreading the PDF of the booklet at the very end of things, to being involved before the audio work begins to help make sure everything is accounted for.  In other words: in a perfect world, the material that the studio sends over contains everything recorded, and Mike has time to listen to every take of every cue and assemble a new album containing the the main version of every cue, and every interesting alternate he heard as well.  But we have learned that sometimes what gets provided is not entirely comprehensive, and more up-front work has to be done to track down all the material needed to hopefully make a release definitive.  Also, some projects have very tight schedules, so Mike does not have the opportunity to spend time listening to every single take of every single cue, and instead has sometimes sought my assistance to figure out what music should be attempted to be located and included.

 

In between these 2 ends there could be other things, such as proofreading the official excel file that has to be filed for every title; listening to a first pass mastering  of some tracks (or a final mastered album), and providing feedback; having some back and forth discussion about how to present a wealth of material in the best way (WOTW had a lot of this); discussion of track titles; loads of other things.

 

For the Jurassic Park reissue, Mike brought me on board the project to see if we could make it as definitive as possible.  This led to him making new builds of 2 cues that had been a little different on all prior albums compared to the film (Journey To The Island and Dennis Steals The Embryos), and also a dive into unused takes for a variety of cues to see if anything interesting was recorded that could be included.  For that I relied on the knowledge of some JWFanners who had found differences in the sheet music compared to the final versions of some cues, and made sure they got thanked in the booklet.  In the end, none of the differences seen in the sheet music were recorded, so they all must have been worked and changed during rehearsals.  I then provided feedback on the new mastering, and made several proofreading passes of the new booklet as it got shaped into its final form.

 

For Amistad, I was not brought on board until after Mike had already assembled and mastered the album, but I provided feedback on volume levels - I can't remember if this was before or after he had sent it to JW for approval.  For one track that needed a new title, Mike used one of my suggestions for it.  I gave feedback on the excel file.  Much later, I contributed something else I won't reveal just yet, and proofread at least two passes of the booklet.  I also chose the samples that will be posted on Tuesday, and assisted with the official press release wording.

Incredible! Thanks for such a detailed and thoughtful response. And thanks to all the JWfans who contributed!

I was on the fence initially. I’ve enjoyed the OST (and the film) But I’m excited to be blown away and discover this gem anew. Looks like Amistad and TNND for me!

 

[Romão 2,274]

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Augie?

 

Qui-Gon's Noble ****

 

 

 

 

I knew I couldn't be the only one making that connection

[Marian Schedenig 8,160]

59 minutes ago, Romão said:

I knew I couldn't be the only one making that connection

 

It's in Lost, too.

[BrotherSound 2,242]

Wow, I was not expecting so many alternates for a score from JW’s extremely busy 1997! I mean, The Lost World only has the alternate end credits intro, and Rosewood has none at all one. And we’ve got some major cues that were completely dropped from the film (Retribution and Steering East). And on top of that, excellent music that’s in the film that was missing from the OST.
 

This looks like a fascinating listen!

[artguy360 1,842]

I'm definitely gonna pick this up. All the unreleased material and full score presentation will likely improve my opinion of a score I already enjoy a great deal.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

It makes sense that the alternates are concentrated around the idiomatic African material, instead of the more familiar (to JW) Americana stuff.  It probably took some finetuning to get it right.

[Jay 37,271]

1 hour ago, BrotherSound said:

Wow, I was not expecting so many alternates for a score from JW’s extremely busy 1997!

 

Here's how busy Williams was from late '96 to early '98

 

November 26-27 '96: "Victory Celebration" recorded for Return of the Jedi: Special Edition (film opened March 14 '97)

December 1,2,4,6 '96 - Rosewood score recorded (film opened February 21 '97)

(unknown date) - Seven for Luck composed for soprano Kathleen Battle intending to debut some time in 1997 in Washington (ultimately debuted July 25 1998 with Cynthia Haymon instead)

March 18-21 : First half of The Lost World recording sessions

March 24: 69th Academy Awards ceremony ("Best Original Dramatic Score" nomination for Sleepers, lost to Yared's English Patient)

March 27,28,29, April 2 - Conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall (includes The Five Sacred Trees)

April 18-22: Second half of The Lost World recording sessions (film opened May 23)

(unknown date) - DreamWorks SKG logo music composed and recorded (debuted with The Peacemaker, September 23rd)

May 23,24 - Conducting Boston Pops at Symphony Hall (includes "A Twentieth-Anniversary Celebration of Star Wars")

May 29,30,31 - Conducting Boston Pops at Symphony Hall

June 3,4,5,6 - Conducting Boston Pops at Symphony Hall ("The Lost World" concert debut)

July 5,6 - Conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood

July 12 - Conducting Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra at Tanglewood (includes Star Wars celebration)

July - Seven Years In Tibet score recorded (film played September 13 at TIFF, then opened October 10)

August 5 - co-conductor for Tanglewood On Parade night at Tanglewood

August 29-30: Hollywood Bowl "Star Wars 20th Anniversary" concert

(unknown date)  Elegy for Cello and Piano composed, and performed at the memorial service by John Williams on piano and John Waltz on cello

October 6-26: Amistad score recorded (film opened December 25)

December 27-28: Conducting Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra at Symphony Hall

February 21-23 '98: Saving Private Ryan score recorded at Symphony Hall (film opened July 24 '98)

May 22-23 '98 -  Conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall ("Dry Your Tears, Afrika" concert debut)

 

Amistad was recorded almost a year after Rosewood, and only 4 months before Saving Private Ryan

 

Looks like its another score he would have written while living in Massachusetts for a month for Tanglewood season

 

 

Looking at this again, it seems crazy that Spielberg was even able to fit in Amistad in between The Lost World and Saving Private Ryan!

[Andy 4,071]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

One of my favorite cues in the entire score is non-thematic.

This cue is not on the OST I’m assuming?

[Jay 37,271]

All 14 OST tracks have one of the four themes in it

[MrJosh 892]

Amistad has always been score that when I listen to it, I enjoyed it quite a lot, but then wouldn't return to it for some time. 

 

I'm very excited and amazed to see so much unreleased music. I'm so excited to hear some late-90s-era Williams music that I have not heard at all before, and the rest of it that I'm just not all that familiar with. Should be a fantastic experience. 

 

I've never seen the movie, maybe I will try to catch it before the CDset arrives to me. 

[WampaRat 1,105]

I recommend the film to all. It’s not the pinnacle of “Historical Spielberg”. But it’s a tale well told. It would be the top of the list in any other director’s filmography.

 

For some, the film can feel a bit bifurcated. Imagine the intensity of something like “12 years a Slave” intersperse with the court room proceedings of “Lincoln”.  But the intense/violent episodes help give the court room portions more importance It can be a bit jarring/dull for some. But I think Spielberg manages to blend the two pretty well. It’s a much more epic feeling story than something like “Lincoln” which was a smaller character piece ( and admittedly…a bit dry. Masterful performances. Well made. But dry.)

[Edmilson 7,376]

33 minutes ago, WampaRat said:

It’s not the pinnacle of “Historical Spielberg”.

Yep. That would be Empire of the Sun for me. Many other people may choose Schindler's List, which is an excellent movie, but I always had a soft spot for EotS (and its JW score).

[lairdo 726]

What great news, and thanks @Jay for the info which is fascinating in itself.

 

I had long expected Amistad would eventually be expanded, so not surprised. And really if there had only been 1 more cue and the source music (although I knew more was missing), I would have been pleased. The score needs more airtime, and I do think that Dry Your Tears Africa and the entire score really made the move better. So, to get so much music, that really is something to be thankful for. I had not speculated on what today would bring so it was still a nice surprise.

 

(And really, La-La Land's slate for this year is pretty much beyond reproach. All 5 are ones I will order.)

 

 

 

[WampaRat 1,105]

15 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Yep. That would be Empire of the Sun for me. Many other people may choose Schindler's List, which is an excellent movie, but I always had a soft spot for EotS (and its JW score).

Absolutely. My personal favorite as well! I first saw it around 13-14 years old and it had a profound impact on me. A terrific piece of filmmaking.

[Amer 2,078]

Jay, I'm only curious since they did a high resolution transfer of the entire score; the OST album could have also been done as a disc 3.(The OST is a great listen on its own too) So was that considered during the production? 

[bruckhorn 105]

Probably only as long as it took someone to think, “Gee, do we really wanna hear the fanboys bitch about having to rebuy the original OST?”

[crumbs 14,287]

I personally don't see the point of including OST assemblies unless there were major mixing or mastering differences to the film score. And I can't think of a single instance where an OST sounded better than Mike's modern masters anyway.

 

If the OST can be assembled using everything else in the LLL presentation, that's fine by me.

[publicist 4,643]

The movie is a pious abomination and Williams' ever-present score strengthens its shortcomings immeasurably. But i'm kinda interested if the african material gets more spotlight here, it's the only reason to get this.

 

'Amistad' has an awful scene etched forever into the annals of movie awfulness: Djimon Hounsou, sitting in the dock with his band of fellow prisoners, has secretly learned english (and read the holy bible, what else) suddenly gets up and shouts 'Give us free!' to the movie-astonishment of the frocked present whites. On cue, a huge chorus swells into a molto-vibrato edification of the main theme while the camera lovingly feasts on the whole embarrassment. And it would be embarrassing even for an old Bible movie from the 50s. Unbelievable.

 

[pete 902]

49 minutes ago, publicist said:

On cue, a huge chorus swells into a molto-vibrato edification of the main theme

 

Is that the choral section at the end of OST track The Middle Passage? - I've only seen the film once, and that was a long time ago. And for those in the know, is the choral piece its own track on the new release? The Prisoner's Song, perhaps, as it's about the same length?

 

I have some fond memories of this score, in particular Dry Your Tears, Afrika. I travelled around Africa a few months after the soundtack was released, and I'm certain it's what I gave this kid a listen to on my Sony Walkman:

 

[publicist 4,643]

28 minutes ago, pete said:

Is that the choral section at the end of OST track The Middle Passage? - I've only seen the film once, and that was a long time ago. And for those in the know, is the choral piece its own track on the new release? The Prisoner's Song, perhaps, as it's about the same length?

 

Yes and no idea. 

 

Where in Africa were those pics taken?

[pete 902]

Uganda, south west, not far from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire at the time). We saw the mountain gorillas a few days later. One of the highlights. Might as well post pics.... I listened to parts of The Lost World while on that trek. I was seriously worried about being eaten by raptors.

 

[Amer 2,078]

3 hours ago, crumbs said:

I personally don't see the point of including OST assemblies unless there were major mixing or mastering differences to the film score. And I can't think of a single instance where an OST sounded better than Mike's modern masters anyway.

 

If the OST can be assembled using everything else in the LLL presentation, that's fine by me.

A very good example is WAR OF THE WORLDS. My preferred choice in the new set. The new presentation and sounds quality is pristine there.

[Incanus 5,713]

1 hour ago, publicist said:

'Amistad' has an awful scene etched forever into the annals of movie awfulness: Djimon Hounsou, sitting in the dock with his band of fellow prisoners, has secretly learned english (and read the holy bible, what else) suddenly gets up and shouts 'Give us free!' to the movie-astonishment of the frocked present whites. On cue, a huge chorus swells into a molto-vibrato edification of the main theme while the camera lovingly feasts on the whole embarrassment. And it would be embarrassing even for an old Bible movie from the 50s. Unbelievable.

That is undeniably a pretty egregious moment in the film.

 

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

30 minutes ago, pete said:

Uganda, south west, not far from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire at the time). We saw the mountain gorillas a few days later. One of the highlights. Might as well post pics.... I listened to parts of The Lost World while on that trek. I was seriously worried about being eaten by raptors.

 

 

 

I would have been more worried to have been attacked by bloodthirsty grey gorilas...  from the City of Zinj 

[crumbs 14,287]

1 hour ago, pete said:

And for those in the know, is the choral piece its own track on the new release? The Prisoner's Song, perhaps, as it's about the same length?

 

No, I think this is something different.

 

In the film there's a scene where the prisoners sing as they're marched through the town and see the Amistad in the harbour. It's placed in the same position in the tracklist as in the film.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

3 hours ago, publicist said:

'Amistad' has an awful scene etched forever into the annals of movie awfulness: Djimon Hounsou, sitting in the dock with his band of fellow prisoners, has secretly learned english (and read the holy bible, what else) suddenly gets up and shouts 'Give us free!' to the movie-astonishment of the frocked present whites. On cue, a huge chorus swells into a molto-vibrato edification of the main theme while the camera lovingly feasts on the whole embarrassment. And it would be embarrassing even for an old Bible movie from the 50s. Unbelievable.

 

Imagine that scene unscored, how disillusioning it could come across: Djimon Hounsou gets up and shouts - silence. The white folks just staring at him, not in awe, just confused, until the prosecuting attorney demands him to shut up and sit down. He believed that it could be of any help for him, but it just isn't that easy and neither the film nor the score imply that action being of any merit. Sadly, Spielberg never really dared to enter the reign of disillusioning his viewers.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I think that scene works better in the film than the usual suspects are giving it credit for.  It works well juxtaposing the different cultural norms of the prisoners and the Americans (very much including the black Americans) while also cutting through those norms.  I like the cuts to the different people in the courtroom, both black and white.  All look mildly embarrassed and uncomfortable but you can see the power of the words reflected in the black faces.

 

And yes I think the music enhances the juxtaposition with the images.  The emotional stakes against the absurdly byzantine court proceedings.

[Jay 37,271]

8 hours ago, Amer said:

Jay, I'm only curious since they did a high resolution transfer of the entire score; the OST album could have also been done as a disc 3.

 

There'd be no reason to do that since everything on it has a happy new home in the new main program or bonus track section 

 

8 hours ago, Amer said:

 

(The OST is a great listen on its own too)

 

Oh man, I couldn't disagree with that more. He chose many of the right highlights, sure, but left off so many others, repeated music, and worst of all chose an order to put the music in that does a disservice to it all. I can't stand the old album presentation any more. 

 

 

3 hours ago, publicist said:

But i'm kinda interested if the african material gets more spotlight here

 

One of the score's four themes represents Africa, and Williams only included one arrangement of it on the score album, in one track. The themes goes through several fun variations across the whole score.

 

3 hours ago, publicist said:

 

'Amistad' has an awful scene etched forever into the annals of movie awfulness: Djimon Hounsou, sitting in the dock with his band of fellow prisoners, has secretly learned english (and read the holy bible, what else) suddenly gets up and shouts 'Give us free!' to the movie-astonishment of the frocked present whites. On cue, a huge chorus swells into a molto-vibrato edification of the main theme while the camera lovingly feasts on the whole embarrassment. And it would be embarrassing even for an old Bible movie from the 50s. Unbelievable.

 

Spielberg must have been unsure about this scene because Williams recorded not one, not two, not three, but four different options for this scene, and they are not all as over the top as the one that went into the film. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

13 minutes ago, Jay said:

Oh man, I couldn't disagree with that more. He chose many of the right highlights, sure, but left off so many others, repeated music, and worst of all chose an order to put the music in that does a disservice to it all. I can't stand the old album presentation any more. 

 

I have to agree.  Much like Azkaban, it's this weird thing where it's one of my most listened to Williams OSTs because I love the score so much, but have always been dissatisfied with the program that just seems to jump around nonsensically.

[Holko 9,491]

16 minutes ago, Jay said:

Spielberg must have been unsure about this scene because Williams recorded not one, not two, not three, but four different options for this scene, and they are not all as over the top as the one that went into the film. 

Huh, I'm not seeing 4 versions of any cue in the tracklist - are they combined creatively? Or are they really not that interesting after the first 2 and it just has the most different one?

[Jay 37,271]

5 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I have to agree.  Much like Azkaban, it's this weird thing where it's one of my most listened to Williams OSTs because I love the score so much, but have always been dissatisfied with the program that just seems to jump around nonsensically.

 

Adam's theme gets introduced quite late on the album, and doesn't really evolve due to which cues he chose to include with it. 

 

And opening with the song instead of building up to it is really unappealing to me. 

 

2 minutes ago, Holko said:

Huh, I'm not seeing 4 versions of any cue in the tracklist - are they combined creatively? Or are they really not that interesting after the first 2 and it just has the most different one?

 

All four are incredibly interesting and all included. 

[crumbs 14,287]

1 minute ago, Holko said:

Huh, I'm not seeing 4 versions of any cue in the tracklist - are they combined creatively? Or are they really not that interesting after the first 2 and it just has the most different one?

 

If the tracklist roughly follows the chronology of the film, the music for that scene would feature at the end of Tales of Horror. So presumably a combination of alternates features in Tales of Horror (Alternate Excerpt).

 

There isn't a consecutive 7 minutes of music in the film there however, so there's either unused music or another alternate has been bundled into the main program.

[blondheim 1,157]

Nice. I love when the new program is created with the album listen in mind. This is the most exciting track list I have seen since Close Encounters

[publicist 4,643]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Spielberg must have been unsure about this scene because Williams recorded not one, not two, not three, but four different options for this scene, and they are not all as over the top as the one that went into the film. 

 

Interesting, that makes his final decision fit my old theory that he often uses Williams as the last safefguard on the soundtrack - when he's afraid the 'masses' (whoever they may be) are either confused or don't get it. Which Williams probably does with clenched teeth in some of the cases.

 

2 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

Imagine that scene unscored, how disillusioning it could come across: Djimon Hounsou gets up and shouts - silence. The white folks just staring at him, not in awe, just confused, until the prosecuting attorney demands him to shut up and sit down. He believed that it could be of any help for him, but it just isn't that easy and neither the film nor the score imply that action being of any merit. Sadly, Spielberg never really dared to enter the reign of disillusioning his viewers.

 

The whole movie stinks, it's completely disproportioned in favour of eloquent speechifying and instead of dealing with the victims, the reality of slavery and systemic racism, he boils it down to 'courtroom drama', 'moralizing monologues' and - well-tempered - 'political outrage'. That the few gripping scenes dealing with the Amistad slaves themselves got in is a minor miracle.