Movie/TV/Game Scores Through The Ages - Alan's Personal Favourites

Oh dear! Start at about 1:30.

All these recent scores are right in the middle of "my time", my "Golden Age" if you will.

This was the time I was regularly going to the cinema and hearing these scores "live" in the films. Hence they tend to be more conventional and mainstream choices. It takes an exceptional score to replace these favourites. This period of time will probably end around the early- to mid-nineties - at this time my trips to the cinema became less and less frequent. Consequently it will be the music again that mainly decides my favourite rather than any music-film connection.

Interesting, because your "phase-out" period was my "Golden Age". My SERIOUS film interest started in the late 80's, but the film music interest didn't really kick off untill the early 90's. It's something about those seminal teenage years, I think (I was 13 in 1990), and I'm guessing there is about 10 years difference between us.

Sorry to briefly go back to 1973 but I missed my favourite score from that year which is Philippe Sarde's LE TRAIN which would definitely have been my choice with Papillon an extremely worthy second.

Anyway, back to 1980.

The pressure's on me now!

There's a funny dynamic with this topic. Early on when there were fewer titles to choose from and the majority were "classics" there was more discussion (particularly from Tom, yourself and the like) of my choices. Even from the younger posters who had obviously been recommended a significant number of these early titles.

And as you say Tim, there's going to be more discussion again in the coming years because it's getting to a time when more of the members were actually born! And with a huge increase in the titles actually released there's more choice and more of a chance of me choosing something other people will disagree with. And I've not even mentioned my "weird" tastes!!

At the moment there seems to be a lull in comments, probably because we seem to be going through a period of time when John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith were producing quality compositions seemingly at will.

Even with 1981 it seems to be a duel between Williams and Goldsmith!

Is the exclamation mark included for the same reason it's included in the title of movies such as Airplane!, Attack of The Killer Tomatoes! and Mars Attacks!? Or can't you believe that this could be the choice for 1981?

And looking at 1982, that's another tricky year!!

you're right Erik but I'm in your corner on this one so it is 2-2.
Thomas

1982 goes down as one of the greatest years ever for film music. I'm torn between Conan and E.T and Wrath of Khan. Read this article and drool.

-Erik-

Are you just skipping over any comments for 1981 now that we are not friends?

It's a fine piece, but like Orff's "O Fortuna", it's been overused in films and popular culture in general over the years. So it's lost much of its impact in that regard.

No comment on The Final Conflict over Raiders. Like I said The Final Conflict is a worthy choice. Now if you had of picked For Your Eyes Only over Raiders then I would have had some issues.

Now that we are sharing our first experiences with Raiders I'll add my two cents but I think some around here have heard this story before.

Raiders was one of the first movies I can remember seeing. My parents had rented it over the weekend... some time in the early 80's... but my father thought it would to intense for me to watch. I think I was 6 or 7 at the time. Well, on Monday I was ill so my mother kept me home from school. At some point she told me about the movie they had watched and thought I might like it. She told me it has some scary parts but for the most part was a movie she wouldn't mind showing me. I remember sitting on that old couch in the basement of my old home in Toronto gitty as can be. When Indy steps out of the shadows after whipping the gun out of Barranca's hand I was sold! And the sound of Williams' score enhancing the moment.. those low brass bursts... phenomenal! I had no clue as to what was coming next but it resonated with me like no other film... Ok, well maybe Star Wars (I had seen Jedi in the theatre around the same time and that knocked me on my ass, too) But there as something else that made Raiders much more special. Maybe because the picture felt more adult oriented... blood, swearing, guns, fist fights, etc. The music also stayed with me... my mother wanting to turn the movie off as the credits began but I distinctly remember telling her not to. Ah hearing that theme for the first time.

A few years later Temple of Doom came out and I remember seeing some of the ads on TV. I only saw Raiders that one time so I couldn't believe there was going to be another Indiana Jones adventure. I begged my parents to let me see it but that's when the new PG-13 rating came out (all because of Temple of Doom) so they said no. Boy was I pissed. My parents eventually did see it leaving at home with my siblings and the babysitter. When they returned a few hours later they told me all about it (bugs, chilled monkey brains, rafting down a mountain, etc) so I stormed off to my room almost in tears. That year the Read-A-Long adventure book came out so my parents bought that and the official story book for me. I got to read about the film. Many years later I finally saw Temple of Doom. This was around the same time Last Crusade was coming out! Temple of Doom blow me away... so much so that I watched it again right after it finished it the first time. Raiders also came on TV around the same time so my Dad taped it for me. I now owned the movie that triggered my imagination so many years ago. When I finally saw Raiders for the second time it just confirmed that it was my favorite movie of all time.

When Last Crusade came out the whole family got to go see it at an old theatre in downtown Hamilton. What an experience. While waiting in line I stared at Drew Struzan's painting trying to figure out the plot. When I finally got into my seat and the projectionist flicked on the picture I was glued to my seat for the entire 2 hour playing time. However, the opening confused me... when I saw that other guy dressed like Indiana Jones during the Young Indy sequence I thought they had recast Indy. But as things progressed I final understood the meaning of the opening sequence. What an experience. At least I got to see one Indy film on the giant screen.

My first Indy soundtrack was Last Crusade given to me by a friend who was moving and didn't want to bring his tiny cassette collection of soundtracks with him. He also gave me Alien3, Batman Returns, Aliens, and something else. Those were some of the earliest soundtracks I had in my collection. When DCC announced the release of the expanded Raiders album my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. I wrote about the purchase HERE! I picked up the Japaense Temple of Doom at HMV in Toronto for about $35 many years later.

Whew! That was more then what I wanted to write and I'm sorry for hijacking your thread, Alan.

Anyway, Williams was robbed of an Oscar that year. While Vangelis wrote a dynamite theme for Chariots I find the rest of the score to be grating and terribly distracting in the film. Spielberg was also robbed for the Best Director Oscar and the film should have won the Best Picture Oscar as well. Raiders is the true definition of what going to the "movies" is all about!

-Erik-

As stand alone music... yes, but as a film score... I'd say no... but maybe if the music was translated to a live playing orchestra... that might have made all the difference. Vangelis' synths are cheesy beyond belief (even by 1980's standards) and cheapen the film the score was written for. The same thing happened with Alexander. Most of Vangelis' music, especially the action music, is laughable in the film.

-Erik-

Believe me, back then the synths were not considered cheesy.

As for the film, well, I've never seen it and to be honest it doesn't interest me, the music is fine on album though.