[Closed] Now Playing XLVIII

No way man. There's some dope brass writing in San Andreas that's far beyond what an MV composer could do. Much more complex.

Go listen to "Hoover Dam" again! (The first half...before the horn of doom bullshit starts up in the last minute ). Not the most distinctive action music in the world, I'll grant you, but there's some real ballsy snarling force in that brass.

Also, "Skydive". Still one of the best cues of the year. Even if it sounds like "Chevaliers de Sangreal".

NP: Army of Darkness - Joseph LoDuca & Danny Elfman

Great action scoring, beautifully lyrical in places and soaring chorus - nice! And a bit of Cape Fear thrown in as well!

NP: Saving Private Ryan - John Williams

This (along with the film) should have won the Oscar in 1998. "High School Teacher" remains one of the most heart wrenching cues Williams has ever written. Those three statements of the main theme are incredibly moving. Poignant stuff. And a wonderful recording by Shawn Murphy of the Boston Symphony.

-Erik-

^ Love the film. And the score as heard in the movie just adds to the terror! And I'm probably more forgiving to the score on CD because I love the movie. But the score is still creepy as all hell by itself.

-Erik-

I think that one of the things that has put me off this score in the past is the synth choral voices that feature. As with Glass' Candyman, it's an aspect of the score that grates slightly.

Ooo, I'm with Erik on this one. I love this score (for what it is, i.e. not a sunny afternoon's listening!), and those synth voices are creepy as hell (totally fitting the movie as well!)

While I deeply admire Bear, I kinda feel at this point that he's basically regurgitating material he's already written. I'm not sure if he's just overworked or has simply hit a stylistic plateau for the time being but I've been disappointed in his last few major releases.

(I think what he really needs is to move on to film. With some sympathetic collaborators (like what Giacchino has set up), I think he could really shine.)

NP: THE TOUCH (Basil Poledouris)

Great score for what seems like a very silly film -- the symphonics, the ethnics and the electronics! Could probably have benefitted from scaling down some 20 minutes, though.

I don't have to say what and who I think should have won in 1998, do I?

Harry Gregson-Williams - The Martian

If it took Ridley Scott to make HGW establish his orchestral action voice in full, it also took Ridley Scott to have him reinvent that.

That said, of course, The Martian is not an action score, not even really an action film. Scott is back on top form with this low-key survival story and so is Harry Gregson-Williams who gets out of his typical mold, while retaining his own style.

It's a very melodic, pleasant and atmospheric work. There is a main theme, which is presented in the first cue with a beautiful harmony and then it just doesn't let up in building a combination of serene atmosphere combined of course with the necessary tension, that a survival story demands. The film doesn't feature the metaphysics that Gravity (it is a redemption/rebirth story) and Interstellar do. But the serenity featured in both Price and Zimmer scores is also there. It's an added value for the film whenever the score refers to the vistas of the Martian landscape. At the end of the day, this is the biggest advantage of the music.The combination of tension (which is more low-key than in the downright oppressive Price score, which is, I think, close to a masterpiece on its own merits) and a sort of calming presence, also the modern touches that fit Mark Watney as a character so well (a somewhat flamboyant scientist) is just very good.

And then comes the most surprising aspect of the score. As I said, it took Ridley Scott to make Harry Gregson-Williams invent his epic orchestral action sound. And that's the way it was for some years. After Kingdom of Heaven it seemed like the guy was capable of two things: writing harsh electronica for his Tony Scott films (which most notably was expanded in the, IMHO, underrated The Equalizer) and, basically, rewriting The Battle of Kerak, whether it was a Persian prince trying to save the world or aliens attacking cowboys (Alien Air Attack). This time, first, the action is far more low-key. It's not very electronic, the action music is firmly written for an orchestra, expanded in context of the rest of the score (trumpets and more woodwinds, also bigger choral presence in the final act). But it's not at all The Battle of Kerak.

This leads us to temp-track influence. Whether the last track is influenced by The Matrix or John Adams himself (I'd personally lean towards the former) is probably disputable. That makes the action music, though, stand out from the rest of his career. Fans of James Newton Howard will definitely notice Lady in the Water in Build a Bomb. Crops Are Dead has a religious-minimalist tinge, but the bassoon (beautifully supported by a solo voice) solo harkens back at another Matt Damon tentpole - the Bourne trilogy (what's refreshing though is how it's NOT the action ostinato this time) and a slight Hans Zimmer influence, best heard in the latter half of the first track (the string writing in the cue).

All-in-all I think it's one of my favourite scores Harry Gregson-Williams ever wrote and it aches me it's not available on CD. The only downside of the album (and it's slightly better on album than in the film, I think) is that as heard on CD, the finale is a bit anti-climactic. One would want to hear a return to the main theme or at least a slightly longer expansion ("die-down") of the material.

It's Ok. You can say it. John Williams is the right answer.

-Erik-

As much as I like (and that's a lot!) Saving Private Ryan, I definitely prefer it as an album than the film score. It's not the lack of action music, of course. This decision is very much understandable and out of discussion. However, sometimes I do seriously wonder, how the film would play out if the only music in the film was Hymn to the Fallen over the End Credits.

Of course, this also leads to whether the cemetery scenes should be also scored, but in all honesty, I have to say that I consider them the weakest link of an otherwise brilliant film. While High School Teacher is beautiful, I do think that the music does more in the Omaha Beach sequence, where not only it adds poignancy and even some urgency to the overhead shots of the tragedy of the landings, but also leads the narrative during the writing of the letters and delivery of the information to Mother Ryan.

Not having the film scored would be a big risk in a Hollywood film of this type and age and I think that being even more sparse in the use of the music would be beneficial.

Not at all. Temp tracks need to be extinguished immediately. They're a crutch and incompetent little wiener directors are leaning on that crutch more and more and it's bloody annoying!

-Erik-