YOUR ALL TIME FAVOURITE FILM SCORE ALBUMS!!!

But I think they're simply the best!
Better than all the rest, in fact.

I love Crimson Tide, but to be honest, it's a score best assessed in its film. It's one of these scores (and yes, no matter the composer actually) where I could write a full essay about why it's so effective in its context.

One thing I admire about you, Pawel, is that there are few things, if any, that you could not write a full essay about.

Volker

I really, really like it (though I have to admit that I saw it for the composer, in my second year of my score listening!). There are logic leaps, but it's not a military action film, as it was regarded in the day.

It's actually a bit of a psychological thriller with a good atmosphere and very good visually (even if a bit tame for Tony Scott; he got the most he could from a submarine!). Tarantino did some script ghostwriting on it, if you dig such culturally-charged dialogue, but the saving grace is probably the acting duel between Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman (in his best performance since The Unforgiven!). Both are at the top of their game and actually they are both allowed to shine, both in all-out rage and very understated scenes.

The big stand-off in the middle between Hackman and Washington is just joy to watch. For a director who mostly made pretty mindless action stuff often involving cars toppling over for random reasons (yes, it's you I'm talking to, Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 and Unstoppable!), it's surprisingly low-key, tense and character-heavy.

I'd say that alongside Man on Fire, Spy Game and True Romance it's Tony Scott's best film.

Yeah, there was a bit of ridicule, but mild and good natured, I think. Nothing that should stop you from sharing any thought you want.

I'm one of them but I would call it gentle mickey-taking rather than ridicule.

I'd recommend you his more intelligent material. Spy Game belongs to my all-time favorite espionage thrillers, being much more intelligent than people give it credit for, True Romance of course is a Quentin Tarantino script (with the only change being putting the events back in their sequence) with some brilliant supporting performances (when Gary Oldman heard that his character is "a white guy thinking he's black,. And a pimp", he signed up immediately; the to-and-fro between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper is just brilliant). Man on Fire is an acquired taste, but if there can be arthouse genre cinema, this revenge thriller is quite radical and one of my all-time favorites (I prefer it to the Scott Glenn film, though they're simply different). Unstoppable was a total surprise in how much tension he could get from such a very simple premise.

I'm a bit of a fanboy. I own

Reservoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction
Jacky Brown (my favourite)
Kill Bill 1+2
Inglourious Basterds (least favourite)
Django Unchained

No, I thought Timmer was referring to Quentin Tarantino. Oh, well, now you all know what Tarantino films I have in my DVD collection. What the heck!

Pawel is right. I was talking Tony Scott films I own.

I have those Tarantino films too.

It seems a bit old fashioned to say "I own such and such films" as though it were an achievement in an age of instantly available downloads.

Go download yer arse

As soon as they crack that technology, you can rest assured I'll be the first to. You can have the honour of being number 2, of course.

In my case a lot of my film purchases aren't just about the film itself, but about the extras. I love all the making-of, commentaries, everything like that I can get. When I love the movie, I don't want to just watch it for my pleasure, but also know how it was made .

Since film analysis has been my profession for all these years (whether as a student, teacher or journalist), I've found that I'm able to switch between the two on will -- either just get engrossed in the film or analyze it on a meta-level. I wouldn't be without either ability.