Movie Talk

[josh93248]

Let's talk about movies.

I'll get the ball rolling.

Star Wars, great film score or GREATEST film score?

[pencilart3]

Lord of the Rings all the way man

[josh93248]

I will accept Lord of the Rings is a very worthy score, but nothing tops Star Wars.

Of course if we enter into Musicals territory I'd have to suggest The Blues Brothers or An American in Paris (for the concerto alone, let alone everything else) but those aren't original musicals...

Maybe Singing in the Rain for original (I think it is) also.

I'm a real sucker for Hans Zimmer, just so you know...

[visitor]

Hard to believe two replies in and no mention of o e if the most successful franchises ever imho much as i love wars trek rings and potter
it is hard to argue against notion that for fun and score-music// James Bond.  All the way. 

[josh93248]

Oooh, James Bond is a good one, you also made me think of the Indiana Jones series. which is also great (Yay John Williams!)

Taking things in a slightly different direction, what was the last movie everybody saw in theatres that you really liked?

I would say Mad Max: Fury Road. It was a truly well crafted action movie with strong characters and writing, visuals, score and especially practical effects. It was a gripping, visceral and exciting experience though obviously for action fans only.

[Petter]

George Lucas wanted to re-create the swashbuckler movies with Errol Flynn from the 30s - but set in space. Compare the Star Wars soundtrack with Korngold's (who scored a lot of early films brilliantly) Kings row:

, it's obvious how much John Williams owes to Korngold.
 Talking about great filmscores, right now they're showing Hitchcocks Vertigo on TV. The music (and the shots) are absolutely gorgeous. Talk about lush!
 
Mad Max was simply awesome, but I wish they would have spend some more time on the surreal and a little less on the action.  

[josh93248]

Korngold may well be an influence, I've only given his stuff a cursory look but may check more out later.

Ah Vertigo... Not a bad score I suppose... Even if they use the same bit over and over... But I HATE that movie lol... sorry.

Maybe it could've been more surreal but I get the feeling the director didn't want to alienate his audience. Speaking of surreal though, has anybody here seen Mulholland Drive?

[themeandvariation]

I love Korngold, Bernard Herman, Max Steiner too… E. Bernstein (so many films… 'The Grifters' is fun in an off-beat sorta way) J. Corigliano (Altered States ), Thomas Newman, Morricone - (mixed feelings there, but his "The Heretic" is a most unusual score for small ensemble and voices..  Weird grooves and very scary..) ..Oh, what about Raymond Scott -- the guy who wrote all that music for cartoons (bugs bunny)… I like Ry Cooder's 'Paris Texas'… I like the music to 'Emerald Forest'' by Junior Homrich… "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"  by Jack Nitzsche ….
And - dare i say it? - I think Glass' music works well with film…

[themeandvariation]

@Josh.. Mulholland Drive by  Angelo Badalamenti .. Does many of Lynch's films.. (I think Lynch actually plays the electric guitar in some of that…)  John Carpenter sometimes writes his own soundtracks - which totally work!

[josh93248]

@Theme

Interesting stuff, I guess I should admit I don't know as much about film scores as I should... But I like talking about them nonetheless.

I know about Angelo, Lynch has some really striking music in his amazing TV series Twin Peaks as well.

[dcstudio]

Korngold may well be an influence, I've only given his stuff a cursory look but may check more out later.

Captain Blood and Sea Wolf are both  awesome scores...he was the original movie music dude...he established the genre pretty much.

Spielberg and Williams used some of his themes in  the movie the Goonies...  

I have always liked

Lawrence of Arabia. The Godfather, The STING. The Exorcist...lol Halloween.. oh  and Dr Zhivago

and Amadeus! duh

Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction have great collections of tunes...  Casino, too.

[themeandvariation]

Taking things in a slightly different direction, what was the last movie everybody saw in theatres that you really liked?

I thought "Her" was very interesting/strange/moving…

(@dc  - Jackie Brown is hilarious.. Samuel Jackson - a gripping performance in 'Django' as well)

[dcstudio]

I thought "Her" was very interesting/strange/moving…

(@dc  - Jackie Brown is hilarious.. Samuel Jackson - a gripping performance in 'Django' as well)

 


love Jackie Brown... one of Tarentino's lesser known flicks.. that scene with Samuel L and Chris Tucker--when he puts him in the trunk and then starts the car and the Brother's Johnson...Strawberry Letter 23..comes on then he drives to the field, shoots Tucker, starts the car back up and the song  right where it left off....lol

the Tennessee Stud by Johnny Cash is also brilliantly featured..

Samuel L is so creepy in that movie..lol by the end when Max Cherry goes to get him-- he looks like a skull with hair

[outin]

I do love older horror films from directors such as Argento, Cronenberg and Polanski and of course the Candy Man with the genious music score by P.Glass. Also some more recent European films as Haute Tension, Thesis and The Last Horror Movie (but I don't recommed these for sensitive people). In horror films a great film score is essential for the end result.
 
Science fiction: 2001 A Space Odyssey is no doubt one of the greatest, never got dated. Tarkovski films. Dark Star, Red Planet, The Moon...and of course classics like Hitschiker's Guide To Galaxy and The Starship Troopers

Other great films that come to mind: Requem for a Dream, Silence of the Lambs, Funny Games, Jaws (for my generation the theme tune just became unforgettable), Taxi Driver, Aguirre, Brazil, Tideland, Pulp Fiction, Dog Day Afternoon, Malcom X, Colour Purple, Mo' Better Blues, Round Midnight, Bird...

I usually don't care for comedies much, but who wouldn't love such Monty Python classics as The Wholy Grail and The Life of Brian!

I also like Asian films, such as Audition, The Isle, Samaritan Girl, Yellow Earth, The Scent of Green Papaya...

That's only fiction...I like documentaries as well

Only thing is, I don't get to see new films much anymore... There's no time because I am always practicing piano 

[blackonwhite]

By far it must be the 2001:Space Odyssey they did a great job on its score.

[josh93248]

Really good picks outin, I like some, would like to see others and the rest are at least interesting I also don't watch movies now so much... for the same reason

Theme, I saw Her also, I thought it was more interesting an admirable as a creative accomplishment than that it really resonated with me. But on the other hand I could totally imagine myself falling for the right kind of AI haha.

[dcstudio]

Theme, I saw Her also,

original in it's idea but ... crap movie.... 

good music though

[josh93248]

I wouldn't go that far DC, it was a well made movie to be sure (if you know what to look for) but I wasn't blown away by it. It was a tad cold actually, like it was somehow distant, this made it hard to connect with. But it was, at the least, a movie that was trying hard, it was more interested in ideas than CGI which, given the state of movies now, is worth respecting.

[themeandvariation]

dc… 'Her' - sorry it fell flat for you… What I thought was interesting was  it's possible prescience as to what may be 'a reality' just a few years from now.. (a subtle but difficult task)... I found it - highlighting to see our (poor, collective ) 'soul' further isolated,  and yearning (however lost) for that magical thing  called 'intimacy'… I actually found it …scary… (Also, I thought Q.P. gave a performance that was courageous in its vulnerability..)

@black on white..  2001 score?… Well, from what i understand Kubrick rejected the original score, and appropriated quite magnificently those from the cannon.. For many, it was a first introduction to Legeti… The added visuals allow his music a context for those that wouldn't immediately 'understand'...

[Petter]

Film composers work with something called temp track; George Lucas originally wanted to use Holst planets for Star Wars but were unable due to the cost; so the composer then makes something that sounds similar. That was the case with 2001 where Alex North (Spartacus) made his score based on the Strauss and Ligeti only to find out on the premiere that Kubrick kept the temp. track.

[josh93248]

That's cool Petter, I had heard some things like that but didn't know for sure.

GOD am I glad they made the original score for Star Wars though!

Anyway what are some of the WORST movies you've ever seen?

[dcstudio]

dc… 'Her' - sorry it fell flat for you… What I thought was interesting was  it's possible prescience as to what may be 'a reality' just a few years from now.. (a subtle but difficult task)... I found it - highlighting to see our (poor, collective ) 'soul' further isolated,  and yearning (however lost) for that magical thing  called 'intimacy'… I actually found it …scary… (Also, I thought Q.P. gave a performance that was courageous in its vulnerability..)

@black on white..  2001 score?… Well, from what i understand Kubrick rejected the original score, and appropriated quite magnificently those from the cannon.. For many, it was a first introduction to Legeti… The added visuals allow his music a context for those that wouldn't immediately 'understand'...

2001--I was 5 years old when my parents to me to the movies to see that...  (Vietnam was going strong..).    Scared the crap out of me...  the music and the baby floating in space oh man did I have nightmares about that... Also Sprach Zarathustra still sends that little chill down my spine

I guess that qualifies as a truly great score for sure...  lol

HER...  you know--I think this movie might have scared the crap out of me too...  I just didn't realize it until you brought it up.    Scarlett Jo's voice was the star of that show...  it was so creepy when she got jealous because the other girl had "a body"--and when she had all the normal feminine hang-ups too... asking if they were "ok"  and all that

but Joaquim Pheonix was like a weird Leonerd from Big Bang..  he was disturbing, too...

I am seeing someone "she's an operating system"


HER is  kinda groundbreaking in it's idea. but the action gets a little slow...  and there's just not a lot of cohesiveness at times..  I got bored...

[josh93248]

2001--I was 5 years old when my parents to me to the movies to see that...  (Vietnam was going strong..).    Scared the crap out of me...  the music and the baby floating in space oh man did I have nightmares about that... Also Sprach Zarathustra still sends that little chill down my spine

I guess that qualifies as a truly great score for sure...  lol

HER...  you know--I think this movie might have scared the crap out of me too...  I just didn't realize it until you brought it up.    Scarlett Jo's voice was the star of that show...  it was so creepy when she got jealous because the other girl had "a body"--and when she had all the normal feminine hang-ups too... asking if they were "ok"  and all that

but Joaquim Pheonix was like a weird Leonerd from Big Bang..  he was disturbing, too...

I am seeing someone "she's an operating system"


HER is  kinda groundbreaking in it's idea. but the action gets a little slow...  and there's just not a lot of cohesiveness at times..  I got bored...

Errr... I think "Joaquim" is a lady part...

[themeandvariation]

thanks dc for responding about "her'.. Yes.. 2001 gets my vote of the most staggering in its scope -(the flung 'bone-tool-weapon' comes down from the sky as spacecraft - as if to say, "And the rest is history"  as the explanation of how we got here) - and Minutia - (the floating pen to be retrieved and returned to the pocket of a sleepy star cruiser.. and that takes probably a whole minute {forever} of screen time..)

The worst film?  
Ah, the first one that comes to mind is one that many hail as Coppola's top films:  "The Conversation".. I found it excruciating… I don't get it.. Can someone enlighten me on this?

[themeandvariation]

Errr... I think "Joaquim" is a lady part...

Well, i guess that is one way of describing what i perceived as vulnerability .. But that does sound  a tad 'sharp', Josh … 

[dcstudio]

Errr... I think "Joaquim" is a lady part...

  oops...  joaquin .. .lol...Im not wearing my spectacles today

ok I get what you're saying... lol

wimpy wimpy wimmpy

[josh93248]

I wondered how long you would take to pick that up DC we all make mistakes but that one was too funny to let go.

[themeandvariation]

Anyone seen "Rescue Dawn" ?

[josh93248]

Afraid not, never heard of it. What's notable about it, in your opinion, theme?

[themeandvariation]

A downed fighter pilot (US) in enemy territory (Vietnam) . Captured. Sent to a camp.. A great ensemble cast… Great script.. Reminiscent in the play of characters of "Cuckoo's  Nest"..  I found it gripping and powerful. It is my favorite of Herzog's films..
 (btw..your acting in "R and G are dead"  is quite ambitious a role! please pardon my posting here, instead of your thread on acting… but i would have nothing to contribute there, as i am not an actor by any stretch..)

[josh93248]

Cool, I'll keep an eye open for it

Oh and I've not even heard of "The Conversation" but I have heard that Coppola is capable of utter garbage when he's not a genius. Unfortunately it's mainly been garbage lately, from what I've heard.

Any other recommendations?

EDIT: Hey that's fine. And it certainly was ambitious with just one rehearsal! The stage directions all went to shambles involving the tragedians but the core of the play, the interacting between me and Rosencrantz went quite well.

[themeandvariation]

@Josh.. You must have great focusing skills to 'carry on' (with such a wordy script) while things were falling all around! Wow, and just one rehearsal!… talk about 'daring'!

[josh93248]

I'm not sure about my focusing skills and there were some awkward moments (apart from the awkward moments actually written into the script!) I was somewhat impressed with how well I managed to come up with my approaches to all my dialogue by just going with the flow. But remember, it was a reading, I had the script in hand the whole time.

[themeandvariation]

I had the script in hand the whole time.

Oh. Pardon.  I must have missed that.  That changes everything 

[josh93248]

Yep, now I suck 

[Petter]

Ex machina, Nightcrawler and Mr Turner are some good recent films in my opinion. And I liked Rescue Dawn too.
 Most movies are actually crap but there's usually some entertainment value in blockbusters. A good one (I thought) was Captain America Winter soldier. Some are unwatchable but gets filtered through the background noise for some reason, like "I Frankenstein" and "The Last Airbender"

[themeandvariation]

Yep, now I suck  

[josh93248]

Ex machina, Nightcrawler and Mr Turner are some good recent films in my opinion. And I liked Rescue Dawn too.
 Most movies are actually crap but there's usually some entertainment value in blockbusters. A good one (I thought) was Captain America Winter soldier. Some are unwatchable but gets filtered through the background noise for some reason, like "I Frankenstein" and "The Last Airbender"

Nightcrawler was great, I also liked Birdman to a fair extent.

I can appreciate the value of blockbusters but I'm starting to get sick of them. I didn't mind Cap'n 'merica but I thought it could've been better. I also thought Ultron lacked something. The Marvel movies have been running out of steam since Guardians as far as I can tell...

[dcstudio]

worst movie?

wow...

Let's Get Harry
Spanglish
Gigli
Plan nine from outer space---actually this one is so bad it's great
Dawn of the Dead
Evil Dead
the blob - kurt russell
king kong --jeff bridges
SEVEN POUNDS--this one might be the winner...

or worst score?

hmmmm....

gotta be Last of the Mohicans--by the end of the movie that theme is so old you want to be scalped

maybe That thing you do--same problem

[josh93248]

Evil Dead?! That movie isn't bad, it's delightfully bad

Gigli is worth it for "gobble gobble" haha.

"Future events such as these, will affect you... in the future."

But Dawn of the dead? Are you talking original or Snyder?

[dcstudio]

Evil Dead?! That movie isn't bad, it's delightfully bad

Gigli is worth it for "gobble gobble" haha.

"Future events such as these, will affect you... in the future."

But Dawn of the dead? Are you talking original or Snyder?

the remake...   the original has that certain... B movie charm..  like Jaws 3 in 3d


so gonna weigh in on worst score?

[josh93248]

You know DC, it's hard to think of one I hated... Dunno why...

I'd have to say there was a bit in Argo (an otherwise good movie) that took me out of the immersion completely by having the most amateurish, crappy, cheesy music start playing at a key moment that should have just focused on the characters.

Also I didn't like the overused theme from Vertigo, not because it was bad but because it was used so often, even when it didn't fit. I hate Vertigo by the way. Another movie I hate is Melancholia, for completely misunderstanding the Tristan prelude.

[outin]

I'm kind of cross referencing to another thread... A hard film to find but since you are into acting it might interest you: The Story of the Unknown Actor (Povest o neizvestnom aktyore)
And who wrote the music again?

Shostakovich also wrote great film scores like the Gadfly suite.

[Petter]

A weird score in my opinion was "The perfect storm" with Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney. Music was by James Horner who sadly died recently at 61.  The music is kinda uplifting, adventurish and you feel pretty sure they're gonna make it, which makes their demise seem all the more confusing. The music is not bad, it just doesn't fit (again in my opinion) and James Horner certainly knows his craft, which he proves in other films.

[themeandvariation]

yes, speaking of weird, in "American History X" there is a scene which completely undermines (what appears to be ) the message of the movie… The scene on the basketball court, "they" (the Neo N's.) beat out the rival gang and claim dominance. With slow motion cheering, exultant music is played… what? 

[ted]

At last, I have been able to get a good used copy of Sharon Cuneta's "Caregiver", a superbly acted little film, on the internet. For some reason it is stupidly hard to find.

Still no success in finding a professionally made film of the Houston 1977 production of Joplin's "Treemonisha" though. That was surely a very major event in American music, but all I could source was a cheap DVD obviously made by someone in the audience with a video camera.

[dcstudio]

A weird score in my opinion was "The perfect storm" with Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney. Music was by James Horner who sadly died recently at 61.  The music is kinda uplifting, adventurish and you feel pretty sure they're gonna make it, which makes their demise seem all the more confusing. The music is not bad, it just doesn't fit (again in my opinion) and James Horner certainly knows his craft, which he proves in other films.

I remember that!  yes that was too weird the whole thing with wahlberg floating up and down in the ocean talking to diane lane... the music was ... equally confusing--plus Clooney drowns and he's just too handsome to drown...lol

how about worst piano movie?

I would go with the Legend of 1900 with Lawrence Fishburn... God awful ridiculous piano duel ruins otherwise boring flick



a movie that wins both--bad movie and bad score would have to be will smith's 7 pounds  --a blind Jewish meat selling pianist --woody harrelson--- playing Mozart's  Fantasy in D minor--who then gets wills eyes and is a sighted pianist playing the same piece...  the whole thing with the jellyfish...yuk

[josh93248]

@ DC.

Don't hate me DC... But I didn't mind 7 Pounds, it could've been better though...

@ outin

Wow, you are really hammering me with Schnittke! Why exactly?

[dcstudio]

I just like Men in Black Will Smith way better than depressing ass 7 pounds guy.. and the girl with the heart--I mean come on.  Really?  lol... they were way better together when she was the Light of Zartha in Men in Black 2...

   sniff...    and he fixes her printer AND solves her IRS issues...and then gives her his heart.. after sleeping with her and leaving in the middle of the night to go get in a bath with a jellyfish....this is all after having his bone marrow removed with no anesthetic just so we will cringe...

wow.. he's like a super-guy isn't he...  that's a pretty big ego you got Will..lol.

Don't TEXT and drive PSA   with a blind Jewish pork selling pianist who is too shy to ask out the waitress...but can play Mozart...  I really could not stop laughing the entire movie...

then his heart and eyes meet--along with his liver...  that was just too much for me...


I don't hate you...  this is a great thread josh... thanks for starting it.


ok best music movie

The Pianist or Amadeus?  

or Perfect Pitch 2   ;

[josh93248]

Will Smith probably does have an out of control ego, his parenting, pushing his kids into the spotlight, would seem to indicate he wants everyone to believe even his loins shoot "talent".

Thanks DC

Hmmm.... It's been a long time since I saw either of those movies but Amadeus played a role in bringing me into classical music from my long period of complete dismissal, that and Muse, so I'll go with Amadeus.

I accidentally walked into a theatre playing the ending of PP2. It was embarrassing how long it took me to realise, this wasn't some strange overlong trailer but in fact THE MOVIE. It would've been pretty funny if they had a 5 minute trailer for PP2 at the start of Mad Max: Fury Road though...