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Post by Captain Nemo on Dec 22, 2007 20:40:26 GMT -5
Let's hear about you're favorite movie, and T.V. music...
Here's some of my favorites, in no particular order...
Blade Runner
Medicine Man
Logan's run
Forbidden Planet
Psycho
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Jaws
Amadues
Star Trek misc. movies & t.v. shows
Ed Wood
Godzilla Movies
Army of Darkness
The Big Chill
Desperado
Just to name a few, I would like to discuss these, as well as others so please Post Away!
C.N.
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Post by thomasallencummins on Dec 23, 2007 14:05:33 GMT -5
Um...dude....you named them all.
Okay. I'm a big Danny Elfman fan so I'd have to mention both Batman & Spiderman and of course the theme to the Simpsons.
All the music for the X-files was great.
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ram
Magpie
randomly avoiding mainframes
Posts: 571
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Post by ram on Dec 24, 2007 18:13:09 GMT -5
Vast topic! My favorite movie music: Star Wars (A New Hope) and Empire Strikes Back - the other SW films had decent scores, but for my money, the music was never better than in ANH and ESB. These two contain some of the best film music ever written, imo. Along with the classic title music (aka Luke Skywalker's theme), ANH had great stuff like the spooky Jawa music, the charming Mos Eisley Cantina Band, Leia's bittersweet theme, Ben Kenobi's noble "Force" theme, and the powerful Death Star battle music. Then along came ESB which gave us Yoda's tender theme, the menacing and exciting Hoth Battle music featuring those lumbering (and lovable) AT-AT Walkers, the exhilarating Asteroid chase music, the exotic Cloud City music, and of course the awesome Imperial March (aka Darth Vader's theme). Superman: The Movie - after Star Wars, composer John Williams performed magic again with the Man of Steel. The main Superman theme was just as inspired and powerful as the Star Wars theme, and the rest of of Superman's score wasn't anything to sneeze at either. The "Destruction of Krypton" music was stark and frightening, the "Leaving Home" music had tremendous romantic sweep, the "Fortress of Solitude" sequence was eerie and otherworldly, and the music that accompanies Superman on his exploits perfectly expresses his heroism. Star Trek: The Motion Picture - all right, so the movie itself tends to be ridiculed by Trek fans and non-fans alike, but I don't think anyone would deny the greatness of Jerry Goldsmith's score. There's the assertive Main Title (later used as ST: TNG's theme), the propulsive music that follows the Klingon battle with the alien cloud, the majestic music that follows Kirk and Scotty as they (and we) see the newly refurbished Enterprise for the first time, the enchanting theme that represents Ilia, the vast and reverberant music that speaks for V'ger, and the rapturous music that accompanies the cosmic melding of Ilia and Decker. Raiders of the Lost Ark - yes, John Williams again. Not as many epic individual music sequences as the above-mentioned films, but exciting all the same. The highlight is perhaps the virtuoso "Desert Chase" music that accompanies Indiana Jones as he fights off the Nazis for control of the Ark-bearing truck. Tron - who needs an orchestra when you can just have a rogue genius like Wendy Carlos sitting at a synthesizer dreaming up crazy stuff? Ethereal, sublime, nightmarish and whimsical, Carlos's score for Tron is one of a kind in the history of cinema - like the movie itself. And I love every minute of it. 2001: A Space Odyssey - totally different from all the above mentioned material, but I love Stanley Kubrick's seemingly perverse mish-mash of "traditional" classical/romantic music with avant-garde 20th century music. The ballroom grace of Johann Strauss Jr's Blue Danube waltz mixes it up with Gyorgi Ligeti's haunting music like Lux Aeterna (Eternal Light) or the bizarre Atmospheres, which follows Dave Bowman in his journey into the Star Gate. Okay, I'm pooped from typing all that. Maybe more later...  |
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Post by thomasallencummins on Dec 26, 2007 7:12:04 GMT -5
All great choices, ram and I agree with your reasons.
John Williams has a knack for creating memorable melodies that seem to "capture" the essence of a film and its themes and content better than anyone else. He might be considered the "POP" master of symphonic/classical soundtracks.
After re reviewing the good Captain's list I noticed Forbidden Planet. I love the film but the soundtrack, though quite interesting, gets on my nerves after a while. I never want a sound track to burrow under my skin and lay flesh eating larva. ;D
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ram
Magpie
randomly avoiding mainframes
Posts: 571
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Post by ram on Apr 27, 2008 19:53:37 GMT -5
Captain Nemo already mentioned Blade Runner; I just want to add that Vangelis's score now shines even more in the Final Cut of the film. All previous video releases of BR had contained only a stereo sound mix, but the Final Cut DVD features a genuine, sparkling new 5.1 mix that brings out the glory of both Vangelis's music and the film's sound effects. It all makes for an immersive audio experience - the best Blade Runner has ever sounded.
(Geez, I sound like a commercial.)
The Fellowship of the Ring - the score for this film was one of those "instant classics" in my mind as soon as I heard it. Howard Shore's music just fit the film incredibly well, as though he was born to be the composer for LOTR. The music and the movie are one, which is maybe the highest compliment I can give to any film composer.
The Matrix - there's the more popular "hit" soundtrack featuring the songs, then there's Don Davis's background score that subtly infuses the movie. I love both as much as I love the movie. The potpourri of rock/pop/orchestral/electronic music was only natural for a movie that itself was an intoxicating fusion of martial arts, philosophy, pyrotechnics and pioneering visual effects.
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Post by thomasallencummins on Apr 28, 2008 6:06:47 GMT -5
Yes ram. You do sound like a commercial. :-)
BTW I think Shore's soundtrack was so engaging, moving and appropriate for LOTR that I too can't imagine what another composer would have been like.
Captain Nemo mentioned Godzilla Movies. I have to agree. There are a few melodies from those films that I still find myself humming even now decades later. I plan to do some digging and found out where the soundtracks might be purchased. There is one in particular that I think is from Destory All Monsters that I'd love to get my hands on.
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Post by Captain Nemo on May 20, 2008 20:44:19 GMT -5
Speaking of Howard Shore, here's one I forgot to mention "Ed Wood". I really like the heavy use of the "Theremin" instrument for all the "wooo woo" sounds. If you don't know what a Theremin is, it's the original synthisizer that pre-dates the moog. It was accidentally invented in Russia as a radio detection device
that did'nt work, but it could make noise from the electro-magnetic fields from the human body...cool huh?
A really good "Godzilla" soundtrack is the CD "The Best of Godzilla 1954-1975" It has all the classic stuff...the roar, the footsteps, "Mothra's Song", performed by the Peanuts and some sound effects
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Post by thomasallencummins on May 21, 2008 14:07:50 GMT -5
Speaking of Howard Shore, here's one I forgot to mention "Ed Wood". I really like the heavy use of the "Theremin" instrument for all the "wooo woo" sounds. If you don't know what a Theremin is, it's the original synthisizer that pre-dates the moog. It was accidentally invented in Russia as a radio detection device that did'nt work, but it could make noise from the electro-magnetic fields from the human body...cool huh? A really good "Godzilla" soundtrack is the CD "The Best of Godzilla 1954-1975" It has all the classic stuff...the roar, the footsteps, "Mothra's Song", performed by the Peanuts and some sound effects Awesome stuff. The Best of Godzilla sounds like a definite must have for me. ;D |
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ram
Magpie
randomly avoiding mainframes
Posts: 571
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Post by ram on May 23, 2008 0:32:56 GMT -5
Jurassic Park - another brilliant example of John Williams's music working in perfect harmony with Steven Spielberg's images to create movie magic. Unfortunately, it also represents the last great and memorable score Williams created for a Spielberg movie. To my mind, anyway.
Post-Jurassic Park, the "darker" Spielberg films - Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, etc. - featured more restrained music by Williams. Music that seemed more incidental to the movies than essential. Just my opinion, of course.
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Post by thomasallencummins on May 28, 2008 7:39:39 GMT -5
Jurassic Park - another brilliant example of John Williams's music working in perfect harmony with Steven Spielberg's images to create movie magic. Unfortunately, it also represents the last great and memorable score Williams created for a Spielberg movie. To my mind, anyway. Post-Jurassic Park, the "darker" Spielberg films - Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, etc. - featured more restrained music by Williams. Music that seemed more incidental to the movies than essential. Just my opinion, of course. I agree. I thought it was just me. I assumed I just wasn't musically intelligent enough to assimilate the more subtle melodies of Williams' more contemporary scores. I feel better now. ;D |
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Post by Captain Nemo on Apr 26, 2011 23:01:15 GMT -5
The other day I picked-up a copy of the "Tron Legacy" soundtrack CD. I popped it into the the cd player, and it sounded ok fine. Took it home and downloaded it into the 'ol HAL 9000, and it did fine. When I took it out however, I noticed that the bottom of the cd was pure black...just like an old Play Station 1 disc. I've never seen that before in an audio cd. Just thought it was kinda odd.
C.N.
end of line...
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Post by dANdeLION on Apr 27, 2011 18:25:40 GMT -5
I picked up the "Walk Hard" soundtrack CD recently.....other soundtracks in my collection include: That Thing You Do, The Blues Brothers, Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind, 100 Motels and Tenacious D. I also have Peter Gabriel's "Passion", which I believe is the soundtrack to The Last Temptation Of Christ. I've been on the lookout for "Birdy", and the 3 or 4 Pink Floyd soundtracks, but haven't gotten them yet.
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Post by thomasallencummins on Apr 28, 2011 20:03:56 GMT -5
I haven't bought anything but I downloaded the full length version of Danny Elfman's theme for Futurama. It's interesting to hear the differences in the music, what was kept and developed and what was edited out for the opening's running time.
I've seen those black cds and dvds before. I'm not sure what the purpose is though but a quick google search would probably clear that up. ;D
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