[Closed] Now Playing XLIV

It plays [spoiler]before Django and his wife meet again, while the maids are getting the tables ready for a dinner at Monsieur Candie's house[/spoiler].

Yes, it's rare, but composers do sometiems score films with similar or completely identical titles. I know there are more, but I can only think of one of the top of my head:

Howard Shore scored a film called "Spider". And he's also doing a film called "The Spider".




I'm not sure I got it -- let me see if I do:
Horner said at a seminar he was on this film, but did not mention it by title, giving instead only Ron Howard's name.

No. Horner said that he was asked to do a Ron Howard movie in 1991, but didn't have time to do it, so they gave the project to a composer, who had the same agent (aka Hans Zimmer). It was a scheduling conflict, simply.

I was just listening to Frank Sinatra at the Movies. It features five songs form the TV production Our Town. Now, I love Thornton Wilders play to pieces. There are few things in literature that have ever moved me so deeply as that play. And for the life of me I can't imagine how a song like "Love and Marriage" might coincide with the mood of that play! That production (1955) seems to be rather obscure albite Paul Newman starring. Has anyone ever seen that film?

Sadly I never saw any adaptation. My first one to go for would be the 1940 production featuring music by Aaron Copland ( starring William Holden and Martha Scott)

I should dig that one out, I've not heard it in years.

Star Wars - John Williams

Hell, why not? Haven't listened to it about a year, it looks like a party has already started one post above mine and I craved John Wiliams. Win, win and win!

Complete!!

That would be nice if the unreleased stuff is just as good as the released score.

I love BACKDRAFT (the songs too), but your description makes me a bit worried. It doesn't sound like the unreleased cues have much of a standalone value?

NP : WALKING WITH BEASTS - Benjamin Bartlett


Brilliant BBC series follow up score to WALKING WITH DINOSAURS, a selection of which is included on this CD as well as 3 tracks from the one off show THE BALLAD OF BIG AL ( about the life of an Allosaurus ), not a dud track on the album which has been amongst my most played since the day I bought it.

You all know I generally hate C&C presentations, so what matters to me is only that the overall listening experience flows well (and doesn't wear out its welcome). The original album is pretty damn fine the way it is, so I'm a bit hesitant. But I would definitely like to give it a shot.

Didn't want to admit here that I got the recent bootleg

Man Down was a track that I've been looking for since I first saw the movie. Yes, the thematic material recurs, there are actually more electronics (simply parts cut from the album mix). Would you agree that in a weird way the bootleg's version of the finale (Show Me Your Firetruck or Epilogue) foreshadows the end credits of Apollo 13?

I will write a longer post about it tomorrow.

Depends how you look at things (and we know how you do). The album presentation is weird, because as a short score, the idea for the album is remarkably good (theme to secondary theme, to build-up to action). From a score construction point of view it's plain stupid, because Hans released most of the build-ups without the release (the whole Man Down build-up is there - to those who saw the film, it's the scene a fire injures someone and he's rushed to the ambulance - but the desperate action cue is NOT there). Do check it out even for research purposes, but for the programming you may very well stick to the original album, because it was a rather painstaking process to cut stuff out. But you will seriously LOVE Late for Work.

Mix-wise, it's very interesting, because first, the orchestral performances are much stronger on the bootleg (however they did that, they cut the "meat" out of the brass performances) and the recording mix (it's a non-mastered recording session leak, something tells me that it leaked directly from RCP workstations) gives the meat back. An interesting moment is Fahrenheit 451, where the album mix is very balanced and the bootleg emphasizes the solo trumpet (to the point of having the rest of the orchestra somehow quieter), which there becomes more solemn. Much more solemn. Another thing - Fighting 17th and Show Me Your Firetruck feature unheard before synthesizer parts and no, they're not bad. There is both more orchestra and more electronics in cues even heard on album.

I've listened to a few 2012 scores that I hadn't been able to hear yet that I just purchased today.

BEL AMI - Rachel Portman and some other person I don't know

Pretty boring. Perhaps repeated listens will change my mind. I'm not too hopeful, though.

FOR GREATER GLORY - James Horner

Disappointing. I couldn't find much to like here, but plenty to dislike. The best part about it is the theme that reminds me of THE MISSING (a much better album, imo). "Cristeros" is the track that had the best version of that theme. I found the use of vocals on this score really grating! I didn't like the soloist, or the awful Spanish lyrics she was singing (seriously, those lyrics are terrible, and don't fit the timing of the melody at all), and I also disliked the AVATAR-like choir, which keeps popping up. I don't share the hatred of the four-note motif that some do, but after hearing it for the 42nd time on this score I was tired of it. As for Horner I far prefer his Spider-man score and BLACK GOLD over this.

THERE BE DRAGONS - Robert Folk

That's more like it! I'm only 6 tracks in, but I'm REALLY enjoying this. This is great music. Coming right on the heels of Horner's score it was even more impressive. I had heard people mention this when it came out, but that's been long enough ago, and here at the end of the year so few were mentioning it that I had pretty much written it off. Then Erik featured it on his show and I was really impressed. At this rate it will be in my top 10 for the year also. Thanks, Erik!

-Erik-

"Watership Down" and "Caravans" by Mike Batt