[Closed] Now Playing XLVII

Yep, his story checks out. That is indeed what he said. I haven't listened to that score for a long time, so thanks for the reminder!

Alien Jerry

Best Alien film, best Alien score. If you believe otherwise, you're mistaken.

I agree with you but I still play Aliens more.

For such a dark (and at times majestic) score, Alien is something I'm rarely not in the mood for. My brain and my heart loves it. Horner's is not far behind, mind you.

Completely understand that. It's so effective in its aims, that you'll largely either love it of hate it as an album. But I can't get enough of it, truly one of the great scores.

While Goldsmith's original main title cue is a beauty and I understand his pride in it, I think I prefer the final version (he himself hated), because of the character of Ridley Scott's cinema. Scott wants to immerse from the first shot, something he's been a master of, and he needs the music to convey a certain atmosphere.

It's an interesting issue to research from the perspective of what the composer wants and what the director wants. Where I disagree with the liner notes of the Intrada release is that Matessino doesn't look at the whole project from an objective point of view. He is releasing the score, obviously, and he's a score fan, so he talks from the Goldsmith perspective very clearly, but I think the problems Goldsmith had with Ridley and Ridley (then an inexperienced director with that kind of fare and also with working with such a renowned composer as Jerry Goldsmith was) had with the communication could be boiled down to this Jerry quote, as given in the liner notes of the Intrada album:

"Ridley is a brilliant filmmaker, he's a brilliant visualist (...); the message I was getting from him that he wanted me to be visual with the music". I would put it in different terms. I'd say that Ridley wants to be atmospheric with the music which also reflects the later notions of what Ridley Scott says about sentimentality in his commentary to Black Rain.

Sentimentality, says Scott, is unwarranted emotion. The music has to be "with" the movie and while obviously it is supposed to foreshadow things (which Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams and many other composers are masters at), for him the music shouldn't overshadow the picture. Ridley is renowned for specific approach to music (which James Southall hates for example), but I think for that specific kind of "non-zero-style" approach he takes to his visuals, it's all about immersion. It's about throwing you in a world (yes, I'm mimicking a certain philosopher here, Martin Heidegger namely, but I don't think that the theory of artistic immersion is that Heideggerian... I'd have to seriously get into it) and keeping you in it. Goldsmith wanted (a valid approach, but obviously not for the director) to establish the beauty of space and then unleash hell. I just don't think it's a Ridley Scott cinema thing to do. Ultimately I would defend the change in the main title cue.

I think someone ought to write a thesis analyzing the length of time between when somebody mentions a film or score directed by either Ridley Scott or Terence Malick and the inevitable essay-length Pawel post that follows.

For many, actually

From what I know, the usage of Freud in the score was the producers', not Ridley's wish.

Same with Legend. Ridley seriously regrets what happened on that one, but that was a producer decision and Ridley's fault was the didn't defend the Goldsmith score (which was retained in Europe and in the later director's cut, which I have seen) rather than deciding to toss it from the picture.

It was. It's right there in the interviews on the DVD/BD set.

Wolf Totem Horner

Got home today to find this waiting for me, just finishing up my first listen. I absolutely love it, big, beautiful, emotional music!

Snowy Owl and the Tortoise of Beijing (or something like that) - Javier Navarette

I expected to like this a lot. Another Monkey King perhaps, or something like that. Sadly not. Some good parts, but a lot of noisy Zimmerish action nonsense.

NP: The Legend of Iya - Magnus Gangstad Jørgensen

Pleasant mix of orchestral, electronics and vocals elements for this game score from 2014. I think he goes under the artist name, Philter.

Thor, have you come across him?

I think he's Norwegian. He may be more widely known by the name Philter.