How good is King Kong score?

[nightscape94 965]

I definitely prefer Horner's TROY over Yared's. I didn't at first, but I've come to associate the images with Horner's score.

Well technically the images are only set to Horner's score, so that's bit of unfair statement to make for Yared's music. If the events were turned, you'd probably say the same thing about Yared.

Tim

[Vaderbait1 1]

While we're in a thread about Kong, I figured I'd ask. Does anyone have the score to King Kong Lives? I've been looking forever, and I suddenly had a thought, was it even officially released?

[David Coscina 3]

I've sync'd up Yared's Achilles' Destiny with the film and it works astonishngly amazingly. Better than Horner's. To the fellow who said he couldn't find anything thematic continuity or whatever in Yared's TROY, you obviously don't have the full score. I interviewed him for 2 hours and he went through each theme and variation on the piano. There's tons of development of his motives/themes. If you don't hear them, well, I don't want to be insulting so I'll just say, please listen again.

[King Mark 3,631]

While we're in a thread about Kong, I figured I'd ask. Does anyone have the score to King Kong Lives?  I've been looking forever, and I suddenly had a thought, was it even officially released?

I have the Finale and End Credits on a "Monsters Movie" Silva compilation.I like John Scott,does he still score movies?I wouldn't mind having the score to Greystoke.

k.M.

[AI 0]

You have to bear in mind, the studio can't tolerate any monkey business. The executives will be working their thumbs to the bone, it's all about the evolution of the film, a lunch-break is probably nothing than more than wolfing down a quick banana, then back to it, before something better looms on the horizon and the competitive chimpanzee mentality takes a hold.

[bondo 33]

I definitely prefer Horner's TROY over Yared's. I didn't at first, but I've come to associate the images with Horner's score.

Well technically the images are only set to Horner's score, so that's bit of unfair statement to make for Yared's music. If the events were turned, you'd probably say the same thing about Yared.

Tim

That might turn out to be true, but in any case, it hasn't turned out that way.

[Richard Penna 3,690]

I'm having a first listen of this now and I'm pretty impressed so far (NP: It's Deserted)

This really doesn't sound like a rushed score and what I think is the main theme (start of 'The Venture Departs') is pretty good.

Edit: And I love the love theme ( LOL ). 'Central Park' has one of the most beautiful beginnings I've ever heard and never loses it

My JNH fandom is fully restored after the travesty that was Batman Begins (I admit though I haven't seen the film yet so I probably don't fully appreciate it)

[bondo 33]

This is a score that has really taken 4-5 listens to fully appreciate. In my opinion, it has jumped from just "Good" at the very first listen to "Darn Good" since then. It's exciting, exotic, and heartwrenchingly beautiful (the last 2 tracks in particular). It may not be new or original, but that doesn't stop it from being enjoyable.

I'm really curious to hear what Shore wrote, because it doesn't sound all that removed from the LOTR scores.

[Vaderbait1 1]

You guys are making me more anxious to hear this score.

As for Batman Begins, it works really well in the film. But it's one of those cases where you think it's better than it really is. You think "oh, wow, that's great music, this would be a great soundtrack!" to thinking (after you buy it) "wow, this really sucks without the movie".

[King Mark 3,631]

There's this really fabulous unreleased motif in John Barry's 1976 King Kong score.I have the Mask c.d. made from the LP but it's not really on it.It's the really forboding music in the film just before (and just after) "Arrival on the Island" on the c.d. .In the film it's when they first cross the fog surrounding Skull Island and then when there's an aerial shot of the group trekking.The motif on the c.d. can be heard (not as well developped) in the track Blackout in New York.

I'm just pointing this out because I'm watching the movie on TV and I always specifically remembered this great music and just now realise it's missing from the album.

Anyone else know what I'm talking about?

K.M.

[Ollie 1,059]

Yes I do. 8O

There is also another motif heard at the beginning of "Breakout to Captivity" that is used throughout the Skull Island sequences that I wish was on the CD as well.

[King Mark 3,631]

Damn,now I know why I always remembered this score was so great.When I finally put my hands on the Mask boot,my first impression after listening to it was a rather vague... meh,that's it?

We need a Expanded Barry King Kong c.d. with the missing Skull Island music!

K.M.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Fat chance.

They just released the re-recorded album on CD.

[HPFAN_2 0]

Not that good, I got bored and stopped listening about nine tracks in and I haven't listened to it since.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

You got bored while listening to it for the first time and stopped and never played it again? I couldn't tell you on how many Williams and Goldsmith scores I'd have missed out if I did this.

Marian - who thinks "very good" is the most fitting of the three options.

[HPFAN_2 0]

You got bored while listening to it for the first time and stopped and never played it again? I couldn't tell you on how many Williams and Goldsmith scores I'd have missed out if I did this.

Marian - who thinks "very good" is the most fitting of the three options.

No Williams or Goldsmith score has ever kept me remotely uninterested longer than 2 tracks. But Newton Howard is a good composer I will listen to it again, since I know from experience that first listenings may not reveal everything. But yes that's my review of the score so far. As irationale as it may be.

[Vaderbait1 1]

The music is great, and it's a very fun listen, but no, it's not memorable. After a single listen, I was never bored, but I could never (even now) remember a theme. The end had some great action music, but nothing overly inspiring or creative. Chalk that part up to the tight schedule. Still fun, even great, but not memorable.

Whoever said that this sounded like something Shore should make was wrong. I heard lots of Williams-esque, classic Howard whimsical-ness (the strings), some Elfman, and lots of Goldsmith (or maybe Horner? Sounded kind of Star Trek-y). I would recommend buying it, but it's not going to be Star Wars memorable or anything.

[JMan 0]

King Kong has an awesome score!!!!! There is much conflict, action, and beauty in his music. He is most definatley number 2 in my book. I bought it with some returned Xmas gift money and I'm glad that I did. Im listening to the whole thing right now. From Track 1 to 21, the music is truly fantastic.

[Panthera 0]

This might be old news, but AOL has a full cd listen for King Kong and Memoirs of a Geisha available.

[JMan 0]

Too bad Memoirs did not make it that well at the box office. When Williams conducts Sayuris THeme in Pops Concerts next year, no one will know what its from.

[Vaderbait1 1]

Is Memoirs even out yet?

[GoodMusician 56]

I'm not sure where to ask this so I'm gonna ask it here...

Howard Shore makes an appaearance in King Kong... as the conductor of the small pit orchestra at Kong's Unveiling in New York.

Now, when I saw the movie opening night I nearly sprayed the person infront of me with soda in my mouth when I saw this and told my friends that the man conducting was Howard Shore, the guy originally called to do the score, but after he had recorded the score, it was turned down and James Newton Howard did the score...

they laughed...

So I then assumed that the music played by the pit orchestra was therfore re-written by James Newton Howard because Shore was off the project, but seeing the film again last night, I couldn't help but notice some of the eaither good film editing, or good composition on Howards part because it seemingly fit what was happening in the orchestra pit...

I would imagine he would have to match what was going on--ie, not have any violins playing when you clearly could see they were not...

But I just thought I'd make sure... what was played was indeed JNH right? They didn't use Shores stuff? It is definately in a different style then the rest of the film, but then again, it would have to be as to make sense in the story that music would have been composed over 50 years ago, and ergo, in the style of the times...

So is it indeed JNH's music played over Shores video? lol

And yes, Memoirs is out, I just can't find any theatres that carry it... like Brokeback Mountian, it seemingly didn't appear in any theatres. Well, brokeback was at a theatre in Miami but I'm not driving 5 hours to see it. I'll buy it when it comes out on dvd and have a showing in my house :-p

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

The music you heard during Kong's presentation was all music from Max Steiner's score to the original 1933 movie.

[GoodMusician 56]

OH! Well...

So, no matter who conducted it, it was still something neither of which wrote :-p

Ok, that works...

[Orson 1]

I think it's a quite decent score with some very good moments.

[Morlock 11]

I think it is quite a decent score with some very good moments, but also some very bad moments. The bug scene in particular. Terrible, terrible scoring of that sequence. And The captain and co. saving them needed a bigger, louder Indy type theme.

Overall, the quiet scenes are very well scored. And I like the NY music. The action scenes, I didn't notice anything noteworthy there. But it wasn't mixed all that loud.

An observation I had:

James Newton Howard has done some fantastic end credit segues. King Kong isn't one of the. The Fugitive- just as the film segues into the end credits, Howard begins his theme, saying more eloquantly than any words can 'It's over'. Signs- At the climax of a thrilling 9 minutes of music, the end credits start, and Howard scores that transition beautifully, really giving the sense of a fulfilling experience (whether or not you had one). The Village- The end credits have you leaving the theater remembering the emotion, the characters, Bryce Dallas Howard. Dinosaur- the film end, the music bursts out into a spirited version of the theme.

King Kong- the same not particulaly emotive piece of string writing continues straight through from the last scene into the 'Directed by Peter Jackson' credit, as if nothing has happened. For this film, the music NEEDED to acknowledge the fact that the film was over, now- here's who did it. For not ending it like that, I think people left the theater a lot more ambivilantly than they could've if the segue was acknowledged.

[Panthera 0]

I think Peter Jackson likes to have the same music played during the last scene continue through the end credits. I seem to remember that happening in each of the LotR movies.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

You can even notice that in Frighteners, where the end credits song starts during the final scene in the movie.

Marian - who thinks there's plenty of big, loud action music in the Kong score, and the bug sequence is refreshingly different from that.

[ChrisAfonso 186]

You can even notice that in Frighteners, where the end credits song starts during the final scene in the movie.

Same thing with Bad Taste.

[GoodMusician 56]

I have to say I enjoy James Newton Howard. I think tha the's an amazing composer and I've recently begun collecting some of his scores...

When I sat down to watch Kong, I wasn't sure what I was gonna see or hear--which is odd for me... I usually read a ton about th emovie and buy the score BEFORE I see it lol

Well, as the film started I was like "Yay... the music isn't half bad... then "King Kong" came across the screen... I nearly puked lol...

It was very ... monster movie-ish... which turned me off... but perhaps it was what the director wanted... I dunno...

For most of the film I felt that the music was pretty good.

I liked the use of the piano and light strings...

I LOVED the New York music--I'm sooo pissed it's not on the cd!!!! WTF?! None of it... except all of like..10 seconds of what is the New York theme played in another track...

I found myself overtaken by most of the film... I felt that they fit eachother well.

The scene with the bugs I actually did like the music played there. It felt soo ... hopeless... almost like a mournfull song... I wanted to leave because I couldn't stand the bugs... and the music deepened my sense of "their doomed"

I have to say the one part musically--besides the begining title--that sticks out in my mind is when she actually walks onto the Venture. I remember from the credits the music that played for that shot and felt it was really well done... and then watching the movie, I still havn't decided what to think or what I would do different there... I may have to see it again to decide...

and the only other scene would have to be Kong falling from the tower... I almost want to cry hearing it because of the emotion of it all.

Personally, I think it was a great score--especially for the amount of time he had to write the score in--and that the score isn't a complete flop and has some very catchy tunes--the New York music--and some memorable moments--the "love" theme and the central park scene--is a testament to JNH's ability as a composer to do his job and to do it well.

Had he been on from the begining I bet it would have been an amazing score, but as he was not, this is what he made... and it's not all that bad...

So... snaps for him :-)

ps: Why wasn't any of the new york music released :-(

[Morlock 11]

Anyone have a thematic deconstruction of the score? I counted one main theme, which is not so much main, it's just used the most, and not attached to anything in particular (though maybe it's attatched to Skull Island), another one for Kong (generally an ascending 4 note motif, although there was something else there I didn't quite catch), a theme for Kong and Ann (the beautiful piano theme I was talking about), and the NY music, kinda whittled down to a specific motif for the scene where Ann is dancing for Kong and briefly when we get back to NY at the end.

Any other major themes/motifs there?

[Richard Penna 3,690]

After a lot of listening, I've counted at least 6 recurring themes/motifs. Here are some approximate times:

'The Venture Departs' 0:04-0:16 - I've seen it referred to as the Skull Island theme

'Beautiful' 2:26-3:30 - the aforementioned love theme, reprised in 'Central Park'

'Tooth and Claw' 0:15-0:32 - the 4 note rising motif that appears throughout the action tracks

'Captured' 1:48-end - a definite theme (no idea what it stands for), also appears in/hinted at in 'Tooth and Claw' 0:31-0:36, 2:24-2:48, 4:20-4:53, 'Something Monstrous' 1:20-1:34, and a quieter violin versions opens 'Empire State Building'

'Tooth and Claw' 4:54-4:59 - I think Kong's theme, 4 note descending, immediately after the last quote in 'Tooth and Claw' above.

'Tooth and Claw' 5:13-5:20 - Falling & rising high strings theme, also in 'Empire State Building 1:19-1:26. Could be Ann's theme.

I'm finding myself humming a lot of these - it's a very thematic score and far more than I expected given the time frame. Captured and Central Park really took my breath away when I first heard them and they still amaze me.

Maybe I just love his music, but I think James really does flourish when under pressure

[JMan 0]

What wonderful music! The last couple tracks are stunning.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

That's a nice breakdown. Another I've noticed is what could be the director's theme - kind of a jazzy, 30's-sounding motif. It appears at 1:46 in "Defeat is Always Momentary" on the clarinet, and 0:11 in "Two Grand" on the horn, among other places.

Ray Barnsbury

[robthehand 3]

I've only listened to it once in full so far (not because I don't like it though).

Wouldn't "Two Grand" (1:57-end) count as a recurring theme?

[Richard Penna 3,690]

I think that's a version of the 4th one I listed above - same kind of structure. It's a good extended theme that seems to be 'morphed' into loads of forms.

[Vaderbait1 1]

I'm not as generous as some of you are in giving themes. I'm a bit pickier as to what I consider a theme, but on my fifth listen, I now recognize at least two themes that recur in a few tracks. The Main Theme and the love theme.

[Richard Penna 3,690]

Can you give a track time to what you consider the 'main theme'?

I often feel that films such as this don't have a specific 'title theme' so I'd be curious as to which you've identified.

[robthehand 3]

I think it's the same as the Skull Island theme.

So there are seven themes, no?

· “Main” Theme [skull Island theme?] (Example: track 6 – 0:04-0:19)

· Love Theme (Example: track 11 – 2:26-3:30)

· Action Theme (Example: track 12 – 0:15-0:32)

· [?] (Example: track 5 – 1:57-end)

· Ominous Kong Theme (Example: track 12 – 4:53-5:00)

· Ann’s Theme (Example: track 16 – 1:18-1:26)

· Denham’s Theme (Example: track 5 – 0:11-0:24)

- Rob, who loves this score

"Beauty Killed The Beast IV"

[Richard Penna 3,690]

Thought it might be.

And yep, I think that's all of them. I wasn't paying enough attention to the jazzy parts before to recognise Denham's theme.

- richuk, who also loves the score.

[Vaderbait1 1]

Can you give a track time to what you consider the 'main theme'?

Well, I havent' seen the film, so someone could probably give a better explanation, but the very first track, King Kong, has a theme running through it that pops up in other tracks. That's what I meant by "Main Theme".

[GoodMusician 56]

If I may, there was sooo much music that wasn't released on the cd.

I've seen the movie twice now and listened in full to the score only once...

but it seemed like every moment I liked from the film was not included on the score. Almost none of the music from the island is on the score and yet, we spend a great deal of time there, also, the return to NY has some music in it that wasn't released.

The Opening Night music that played is that kinda jazzy 1930's music, but at one point goes quite solemn and serene when Jack Black's character see's his old buddy up on the balcany staring at him... I can't remember if there is any theme playing then, but if there were, I would imagine that would be some a good place to put a reoccuring theme.. I can't remember off the top of my head though...

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

When Jack black lies there is a recuring string chord. It that a theme?

[pixie_twinkle 48]

It's okay.

I much preferred it to the ghastly Narnia score, but it didn't leap out and grab me. One very silly score moment was the fanfare at the theatre back in New York, right before Jack Black came out to make his speech. On screen all we saw was a huge violin section scraping away for all it was worth, but the score at that point was brass and percussion only! I laughed out loud in the cinema. What a bizarre mismatch of sound and visuals. However, a few moments later we got the sacrificial dance music by Steiner, so that made me happy.

[Ollie 1,059]

After listening to the score and viewing the film I can say that there are some nice ideas from JNH but the action music is generic and the CD loses it's steam after the Empire State Building cue. Frankly the whole sequence involving Kong and the planes could have gone without music, much like the original. The music sounds really rushed in those scenes with the exception once Kong dies and falls. Some lovely music with choir is played although I could have done without the boy solo.

The actual theme that supposedly represents Kong sounds like Herrmann's Cape Fear, which David Arnold also used for Godzilla. Although there seems to be a slight nod to Steiner's Kong.

The funny thing is that there are a quite a few moments in KK that sound like Howard Shore. I would really love to hear Shore's score to this film. I'm really curious as to what didn't click with Jackson.

[Vaderbait1 1]

However, a few moments later we got the sacrificial dance music by Steiner, so that made me happy.

That's in the film? Awesome, that's my favorite piece from Steiner's score. I also like how Howard threw Kong's theme (Steiner's) into the mix a few times.

Also, the airplane attack in the original had music, didn't it? There's a track on the score called something like The Aeroplane Sequence. I bought the film, but haven't watched it all the way through yet, and I don't remember from previous viewings.

Overall, I'd agree about the action music being generic. And the last two tracks are kind of generic, too. However, I think this only really applies to the finale, which is kind of sad, but the music is still good enough. Though I absolutely love Defeat Is Always Momentary.

[David Coscina 3]

What wonderful music! The last couple tracks are stunning.

That's because they are Howard Shore-styled pieces. Listen again and you'll hear The Prophecy theme from LOTR in them.

[bondo 33]

Initially I thought the last tracks sounded like Shore, but as I keep listening, they sound more and more like JNH. They wouldn't be out of place in one of his Shyamalan scores

[Vaderbait1 1]

I'm not a fan of hte last two tracks. Simple choral work doesn't make me sad or arouse any sort of feeling in me, which is why I never got into LOTR music. I think often choral work distracts from true emotion, but sometimes it can be used effectively, like in ROTS, along with the music. But yeah, I think that music is too generic, though the action tracks of Beauty Killed The Beast I-III are great, especially after seeing the film.