Alexandre Desplat's THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (2023)

[JTN 2,030]

I really like this score, I agree that it’s one of Desplat’s best in recent years, maybe one of his best ever.

 

And I like Clooney as a director. His first three films were very good.
The Monuments Men could’ve been made by an old Steven Spielberg. 

[Jay 37,369]

I really liked Monuments Men a lot - film and score - and didn't understand why it wasn't a bigger hit

[JTN 2,030]

Me, neither. Maybe it was a little too slow (intellectual) for mainstream audiences? 

[Will 2,215]

22 hours ago, Jay said:

 

Wow, that is crazy to hear.  The ending passage is the highlight of the score and album.  What was Clooney thinking?

 

Yeah, perplexing. To be clear, this is the part that I think goes unheard in the film:

 

 

A real shame. (I also really like the prior portion -- the one that gets repeated -- but the awkward tracking disrupts the flow.)

 

22 hours ago, Jay said:

Fascinating!  I'd love to know the full chronological order of the whole album if you can figure it out.

 

Unfortunately it's hard for me to remember exactly where some of the album tracks fit chronologically (in part because, in a few cases, the album tracks seem to combine multiple distinct cues). But I'm fairly certain about these ones (in order):

 

The Boys in the Boat

The Team

Pacific Regatta

First Win

Boat Ride**

Poughkeepsie

Check From Cal

Berlin

Qualifications

Olympic Final

We Were Never Eight

USA Rowing Team (Alternate Version)

 

The end credits are just an edited-down version of the first track, FWIW.

 

**I think this is the right placement for the portion that underscores the big kiss scene:

 

 

The delicate portion at the start of the track was probably intended for a romantic boat ride scene earlier in the film, but seemed to have been replaced with a tracked piano portion of "Love Letter."

[JTN 2,030]

This score is one of the best scores of 2023 for so many members. Maybe we should nominate it for an Oscar.

[Will 2,215]

Very nice video breaking down the second of the three race scenes in the film (heard on the album as "Poughkeepsie" -- see order in my post above):

 

 

As I recall, the entirety of "Poughkeepsie" (except for maybe the opening quiet passage) is heard in the film. The piece starts during the lead-up to the race and then covers the race itself too. You can see some nice video of Desplat speaking and conducting beginning at 10:32 in the above video.

[Stark 316]

I really don’t hear what all of you hear, haha. There was a couple pretty tracks…

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Film is available on PVOD. 

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Clemensen's review

 

https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/boys_boat.html

 

[LSH 969]

Just listening to this for the first time and I’m pleasantly surprised. I understand the hype.

 

The first Desplat score in many years to hold my interest.

[Thor 7,508]

14 hours ago, LSH said:

Just listening to this for the first time and I’m pleasantly surprised. I understand the hype.

 

I don't. I find it flabbergasting.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Nor me. I heard one of the upbeat tracks posted somewhere and didn't really get it.

 

But I've fairly easily established that outside of one one two scores, Desplat isn't my thing.