The Film Score Thread

One of my very favourite Jerry Fielding scores. You couldn't get away with this today, sadly.

Heard this on the radio earlier today. The overture to CAPTAIN BLOOD, by Korngold...




I love how rhythmically interesting it is.

It's amazing, considering it's all in 4/4. Shows you what clever subdivisions of the meter can do.

Quote :

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BUYSOUNDTRAX RECORDS RE-VISITS ENNIO MORRICONE’S THE THING
Longtime John Carpenter Collaborator Alan Howarth Re-Creates Music For
The Thing—Music From The Motion Picture



(October 5, 2011) – BuySoundtrax Records is proud to announce the release of The Thing-Music From The Motion Picture a recreation of the Ennio Morricone-penned score as heard on the original out-of-print soundtrack album. Alan Howarth, John Carpenter’s longtime collaborator, provides a faithful restoration of the music as it was originally heard on the out-of-print soundtrack. The Thing-Music From The Motion Picture, featuring extensive liner notes by Randall D. Larson, will be released digitally with a limited edition CD (1500 units) be available from www.buysoundtrax.com on Wednesday, October 5, 2011.

The Thing marks the first time that John Carpenter hired an outside composer to score one of his films. He chose Ennio Morricone, the legendary Italian composer known for his scores for Westerns to write the music. “We couldn’t speak the same language, but he saw a cut of the film and he got some ideas from that, and then I told him about keeping the score to a minimum in terms of the amount of notes and very few key changes,” said Carpenter in a 2000 interview.

Randall Larson describes:
Morricone actually wrote a great deal of music for The Thing, but only a portion of it was used in the film. “I gave John much more music than he actually needed, and we then came to an agreement to choose one piece in particular to put in the film,” he said. Carpenter focused on placing Morricone’s throbbing Thing motif and the sustained string pattern of isolation throughout the film as the primary motives.

“There are two different music styles in Morricone’s score,” Alan Howarth explained. “The first is the more traditional orchestral material that Morricone did on his first pass. After hearing that score, Carpenter actually played the Escape From New York music for Morricone and asked ‘can you give me anything like this?’ So he went back in the studio without the orchestra and created this synthesizer music. That’s when Morricone came up with this very memorable theme with that electronic pulse. It’s almost like Morricone doing John Carpenter.”

From scores to special sound effects, from Halloween stalkers to Star Trek, Alan Howarth’s electric imagination has contributed to some of the biggest genre films of the ‘80s. Alternately wearing the hats of both composer and sound effectsman, Howarth has collaborated with John Carpenter on the music for some of his most significant films from Escape from New York through They Live; he’s provided sound design and effects for Poltergeist, Raiders of the Lost Ark, all the Star Trek movies, The Hunt for Red October, Coppola’s Dracula, Total Recall, and Stargate, among others. As a composer, he’s scored all or part of all the Halloween sequels, composed music for Retribution, The Dentist, and others.

Because of Howarth’s close working relationship with John Carpenter, it seems natural that he should be involved with the re-recording of the classic soundtrack. Though technology has advanced significantly in 30 years, Howarth tried to recreate the sounds of the original recording. The tracks have also been re-sequenced to match the order of the film.

“I’ve switched it around and put the music in order from the opening title and the spaceship fly-by, going into the main Thing Theme and the desolation motif, and I’ve lined them up to the best of my ability in the way they were in the movie,” said Howarth. “The orchestral cues I’ve done with Larry Hopkins using Digital Orchestra Tools to recreate them, and in some ways the performances are better in our version than they were in the original. It’s like an upgrade.”

The Thing-Music From the Motion Picture will be available digitally, in stores, and directly from Buy Soundtrax on October 5, 2011. The first 100 people to order the set at www.buysoundtrax.com will receive a copy autographed by Alan Howarth.

http://buysoundtrax.stores.yahoo.net/jocathmufrmo.html

Most of the samples sound pretty good, but "Eternity" misses the mark IMO.

Since revisiting THE BLACK DAHLIA, I've spent a bit of time with Isham's score. I like a great deal of it. The one major downside is that it's a bit scattershot; I think Isham could have developed certain ideas and themes a bit more throughout. I'm also not crazy about how it's been recorded. I think different mixing could do the score some real favors.

Isham's one of the few Hollywood composers working today who I admire. He would do an interesting Bond score.

Jerry Goldsmith: The Ric Flair Years.

Nice use of the Ondes Martenot. Bernstein fell in love with its sound, and included it on many of his 80s scores. HEAVY METAL, THE BLACK CAULDRON etc.

I think it's a great score. Not as memorable on it's own, but it helps the film a lot, so it does it's job. It's spooky, but light-hearted enough to support a comedy.

A soundtrack I'd like to have. From THE TWO JAKES.

It's alright I suppose. But I found it kind of bland, at least compared to Goldsmith's score (that he completed in 6 days). Fucking genius.

got to love how the theme sounds at about 1.54...



the Human Adventure is just beginning...

and because it's late and I'm not fussed,



some believe that even now...out there...a third incarnation of this saga is in the works...

revisits some Dirty Harry...albeit Sudden Impact

Hilly wrote:

got to love how the theme sounds at about 1.54...



the Human Adventure is just beginning...

Just love the entire STTMP score, I think the film was such an open canvas Goldsmith ends up carrying 75%+ of it all, managing to imbue pretty much every emotion through lengthy special effects sequences. Essentially it's like a Goldsmith symphony every track is pure gold. (Though my personal Faves are a tie between the majestic 'Enterprise' and the darkly mysterious 'The Force Field')

For me it's a toss-up between The Enterprise, Main Title and Klingon Battle .

Enterprise is a good score, a fave is Leaving Drydock just how it builds.

Special mentions (on the extended soundtrack) for the Stardate tracks that feature an unique version of the TOS theme.

My favorites from TREK I?

-Main Title
-Klingon Battle (the scene and music used to scare the shit out of me as a kid, and it's creepy to me in a good way)
-The Enterprise
-Leaving Drydock
-Spock Walk

I may go for Leaving Drydock as my favorite.

Love this:



Can't wait to see this movie and hear the whole score:

I love the score to BODY DOUBLE because it's like a soap opera/suspense/porno hybrid.

Brilliant.

I've seen the first half of CARRIE, and I'll start at the beginning again when I get the Blu-ray I ordered in the mail. I love that music, but I love cheesy disco stuff. Goes great ith Nancy Allen and co. putting their asses in the air.

Mr. Brown wrote:

I love the score to BODY DOUBLE because it's like a soap opera/suspense/porno hybrid.

That so utterly appeals to me.

I want to write a score like that. I might do some nods to Eric Serra too.

The Star Trek IV score now..

Alright nobody's perfect.