The Film Score Thread

[Sussudio]

I'm not simply talking about people who love the Star Wars, Jaws, Indiana Jones theme etc (though those count too )...who here enjoys listening to a range of scores, from blockbuster hits to lesser known films? What are some of your favorites? While this type of thread has been done before, I thought it would be nice to start one up in our new Music forum to encourage discussion about not-so-famous and/or well-liked movies with underrated/underappreciated soundtracks.

Say what you want about the movie, but I think James Newton Howard's score from Waterworld is incredible and beautifully composed. Same for James Horner and The New World. Lately have been listening to Clint Mansell's Moon score, one of my favorites.

[jw]

I own quite a few myself

[ManUtd]

I have a decent size collection of CDs, music DVDs, sacd, dvd-a and now building up my music BDs but I don't have a single album on film scores. To be honest I don't know much about film scores. That said, I always want to try different types of music and I'd like to own some good ones especially in high resolution format. I love the Lord of the Rings movies and I just found a place which sells LOTR film scores for all three parts in a CD/DVD-A combo (the DVD-A part is what interests me). Apparently these LOTR film scores won a few Academy Awards so I assume they must be good. Now before I spend money on these (they're not cheap at $60 to $75 each), can someone fill me on what generally is expected of film scores?

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

I own quite a few myself

Nothing wrong with that I'm trying to build up my own library...Amazon Marketplace and eBay are coming in handy with that...sucks that so many scores are OOP and sellers want to charge $50+ for them though

Originally Posted by ManUtd

I have a decent size collection of CDs, music DVDs, sacd, dvd-a and now building up my music BDs but I don't have a single album on film scores. To be honest I don't know much about film scores. That said, I always want to try different types of music and I'd like to own some good ones especially in high resolution format. I love the Lord of the Rings movies and I just found a place which sells LOTR film scores for all three parts in a CD/DVD-A combo (the DVD-A part is what interests me). Apparently these LOTR film scores won a few Academy Awards so I assume they must be good. Now before I spend money on these (they're not cheap at $60 to $75 each), can someone fill me on what generally is expected of film scores?

Howard's Shore's LOTR score was fantastic and is a great choice for first time listeners (or any for that matter). What exactly do you want to know as I'm a little unsure of what you mean by "what's expected" . Feel free to PM me or post in here and I'll do my best to help you out

[jw]

Haha...dont you wanna know what they are?...it will shock you

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

Haha...dont you wanna know what they are?...it will shock you

The use of the smiley made me nervous , but let's hear it

[ManUtd]

Okay let me rephrase. To educate a n00b in film scores like me, I understand film scores are made to complement with the visual part of movies. Obviously albums on film scores don't come with the visual part. How does one determine if a film score is good for that purpose (listening without watching)? I hope this makes sense.

[Clark Kent]

Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams are the greatest film composers to me. Many of their scores are classics. I own the Blue Box, the limited edition set issued by Film Score Monthly for the scores to every Superman movie. Every fan of John Williams needs it...

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by ManUtd

Okay let me rephrase. To educate a n00b in film scores like me, I understand film scores are made to complement with the visual part of movies. Obviously albums on film scores don't come with the visual part. How does one determine if a film score is good for that purpose (listening without watching)? I hope this makes sense.

I see what you're saying . Honestly--and this might not be the answer you're looking for--a lot of what makes a score "enjoyable" is determined by your own ears. I believe a lot of the Oscar nominating and award-presenting is based on how effective music is paired with its visual counterpart, but that can all change when the music has been separated. For instance, the score for Supergirl (yes, I went there) is fine alongside the far less than amazing movie. It "works," not much more. But taken outside of that context, it is actually a damn fine piece of music...when i listen to it I just have to forget what movie it goes with Similar to Waterworld...I love the score because of James Newton Howard's choice of melodies and chord progressions...whether the music fits the movie is irrelevant if you're listening to it by itself (in my opinion). It becomes it's own individual work. I personally used to listen to scores primarily when writing papers/doing work in college...helped me concentrate for some reason After college I started to develop a greater interest in scores and it just went on from there.

So...my advice to you if you're trying to get more into film scores: try and find a composer you really enjoy...Amazon is great for searching because they'll let you listen to samples of many of the scores (Rhapsody works well for this too). As I've noticed what composers I tend to like, I've sought out more of their scores over the years, which can be a difficult process based on if the score is already out of print.

Is this helpful at all?

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams are the greatest film composers to me. Many of their scores are classics. I own the Blue Box, the limited edition set issued by Film Score Monthly for the scores to every Superman movie. Every fan of John Williams needs it...

I have that one too!

Who would have thought there could be something good to come out of Superman IV

[ManUtd]

That makes sense and your advice on trying out samples at Amazon is great. Thanks for the info.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by ManUtd

That makes sense and your advice on trying out samples at Amazon is great. Thanks for the info.

No problem...if you ever want some recommendations or have other questions let me know

[FreddieFerric]

I have quite a collection of vinyl movie soundtracks. Many titles in fact. Some of my favorites are the likes of the mono lp of the Hatari soundtrack (classic Mancini), Two For The Road (another classic), Out of Africa...of course how can you not have Saturday Night Fever (I think I have 5 of them).

Hmm, I like this thread!

[underoath]

As much as I like collecting regular music and film scores...I always have a hard time dedicating funds to media outside of dvds/blus...

that being said...out of my small collection of cds...my favourites are:

1) Blade Runner soundtrack - Vangelis

2) Once Upon A Time In The West - Ennio Morricone

3) Black Hawk Down - Hans Zimmer

[joe1515]

Some of my Favorites;

Gladiator
Last of the Mohicans
The Rocky Soundtrack's
Conan the Barbarian
Blues Brothers (I don't know if this counts a score)

Joe

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by BluRayFred

I have quite a collection of vinyl movie soundtracks. Many titles in fact. Some of my favorites are the likes of the mono lp of the Hatari soundtrack (classic Mancini), Two For The Road (another classic), Out of Africa...of course how can you not have Saturday Night Fever (I think I have 5 of them).

Hmm, I like this thread!

I've heard Out of Africa but don't have the others...I've never heard of Hatari or Two for the Road () but I love Mancini (Touch of Evil was my favorite of his)...need to get on the other two!

Originally Posted by underoath

As much as I like collecting regular music and film scores...I always have a hard time dedicating funds to media outside of dvds/blus...

that being said...out of my small collection of cds...my favourites are:

1) Blade Runner soundtrack - Vangelis

2) Once Upon A Time In The West - Ennio Morricone

3) Black Hawk Down - Hans Zimmer

Two of my favorite scores...Morricone always does an incredible job and Vangelis was PERFECT for Blade Runner...if you like his music you should check out his score for Alexander...similar to Waterworld, the music is superb and should not be discounted because of the movie it is attached to.

Originally Posted by joe1515

Some of my Favorites;

Gladiator
Last of the Mohicans
The Rocky Soundtrack's
Conan the Barbarian
Blues Brothers (I don't know if this counts a score)

Joe

I love Last of the Mohicans's score...I wish I knew more of Randy Edelman's work because he seems like a great composer who should have a bigger reputation than he does (he also scored The Mask which sounds nothing his typical themes...completely out there and zany, perfectly suited to the character).

Edit: Now you've made me want to go and listen to it, so I am

[CHERRYGARCIA]

Ennio Morricone

Leone/Eastwood "Man w/ No Name Trilogy"
The Untouchables
Inglorious Basterds

all awesome soundtracks/scores!

another fave is the previously mentioned
Last of The Mohicans

[DC_Street]

I have too many to list them all, so here are some of my favorites with my favorite song listed from some of them as well

Jurassic Park "Journey to the Island"
Indiana Jones "Raiders March"
TITANIC "Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch; Rose"
Back to TITANIC "The Portrait"
STAR WARS "main title"
STAR TREK (2009) "Labor of Love"
most of the other STAR TREK scores
Band of Brothers "main title"
Forrest Gump "I'm Forrest...Forrest Gump"
Beowulf "A hero comes home"
Requiem For A Dream "Summer:Summer Overture"
MIB "M.I.B. Main theme"
The Dark Knight "Blood on my hands"
Pearl Harbor "Tennessee"
The Last Samurai
Gladiator "Now we are free"
Batman Begins "Lasiurus" (a song you can play over and over and over!)
AVATAR "Jake enters his Avatar World"
Dances With Wolves
Superman "main theme"
Saving Private Ryan "Hymn to the Fallen; Omaha Beach" (had to list two because they are both incredible!)
Hook "Prologue"
Pirates of the Caribbean "Fog Bound"
3:10 to Yuma
X-Files I want to Believe (there is one really good one on there forgot the name)
Transformers "Bumblebee; Scorponok"
Bolt "Barking at the Moon"
August Rush "August's Rhapsody"
Brave Heart
Public Enemies "JD Dies"
The Island "My Name is Lincoln"
Enemy at the Gates
The Lord of the Rings (too many favs to list from those scores, haha)
Back to the Future "main theme"
King Arthur "Woad to Ruin"
National Treasure: Book of Secrets "Page 47"
Halo 2 "Ghosts of Reach"
Casino Royale "Blunt Instrument"

and soo many more, probably more than half of my music collection is movie scores

Note: I have not seen all of those movies so I cannot endorse them, like the Requiem movie I definitely have not seen nor will I, just enjoy a couple of songs on the soundtrack, haha

[Sussudio]

DC, I listen to several of those exact tracks too (and many I haven't seen the movie of either)...I love the beginning to "Jake Enters His Avatar World."

[DC_Street]

The first minute to "Jake Enters His Avatar World" is the loop song that we listened to on the AVATAR website before they changed it, haha

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by DC_Street

The first minute to "Jake Enters His Avatar World" is the loop song that we listened to on the AVATAR website before they changed it, haha

Ha yep, I figured you would pick that out (I was probably the only person in the theater who freaked out a little when I heard that sequence used in the movie itself )