JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: Jediknight760071 on September 19, 2006, 03:07 AM
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What I'm trying to find out in this thread is mostly what kind of music is out there that I'm missing. I listen to a lot of music from the movies of the 20th and 21st centuries, but I still don't feel like I have a good grasp on what the best stuff is. So here I'm going to list a few of the movies who's scores I love, but mostly I'm going to wait to see which old fossil here will enlighten me to the really classic films and composers I know little about.
In no particular order:
The Buccaneer - Elmer Bernstein
Star Wars Saga (esp. ANH) - John Williams
Mission Impossible II - Hans Zimmer
Glory - James Horner
The Page Master - James Horner (not 100% sure)
Sons of Katie Elder - Elmer Bernstein
The Magnificent Seven - Elmer Bernstein
The Mummy - Jerry Goldsmith
The Mummy Returns - Alan Silvestri
Treasure Planet - Not sure about his one
Now, that looks like a pretty limited list, but it's just off the top of my head pretty late at night here. I've heard of a lot of composers, such as Herbie Hancock and Henri Mancini, but I don't know enough about them to even know if I'm spelling their names right or if they're even serious composers. I'm pretty into the old Disney Classic Movies collection, which some of you may remember featured films such as Kidnapped with Peter Finch, The Story of Robin Hood with Richard Todd, Candleshoe with Jodie Foster, and other great films like Old Yeller, In Search of the Castaways, Escape to Witch Mountain, and The Apple Dumpling Gang. I lot of those movies had great little film scores, but I don't know the history behind that time period. Was this one guy working with one production company on a bunch of different scores, or was there a shared style that people like John Williams picked up on for ANH but have since moved away from to produce, in my opinion, inferior scores for the last three Star Wars films?
I'd really like to know what's going on. There are so many great old movies with great music, but it seems like no one cares anymore. Westerns had such flare, but nobodies raving about them anymore, so it went out of style and people like me, who weren't privileged enough to have lived through slightly older times, really miss out on that experience.
Any help is appreciated. I know a few of you have a knack for this kind of thing, so I'll be looking forward to some answers. Thanks guys!
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You've found a great genre to get into Justin. It's one I've really gotten into recently myself. I don't know too much about some of the older stuff, but I'm trying to find some of it myself. I can give you a list of some of the newer scores and composers I'm really into though.
Hans Zimmer- He's one of my favorites, He has got some really good ones out there, I've mainly heard more of the recent stuff but I've been searching pretty hard for his older work.
- Gladiator- This is a must have. It is easily one of my favorite soundtracks and one of the best out there.
- Black Hack Down- This one has got a little modern militaristic sound mixed into it, and I love it. There are also a few more classical songs with the beautiful vocals of Lisa Gerrard on them.
- King Arthur- This one is a personal favorite. It is somewhat similar in style to Gladiator but sounds different. If you like Gladiator it is definitely worth checking out
- Batman Begins
- The Thin Red Line- I've only managed one track from the soundtrack, but it is a good one
- The Last Samurai- For a movie I didn't like very much the score was actually quite well done and I think worth checking out
- Pearl Harbor- Same as the above
- Pirates of the Caribbean DMC- Some decent stuff here I think I'm a little partial to the first one, which was overseen but not composed by Zimmer, but this one is still pretty good
- The Rock- This one has kind of a hard militaristic edge to it, I like it because that style appeals to me, but if it isn't your thing there isn't much here for you
- Crimson Tide- Fairly similar sounding to The Rock
- Tears of the Sun- This one is decent but isn't all that great. It has the feel of The Rock but there are some tracks that have a sort of techno feel almost, I think someone else mixed them.
- I'm sure most of his stuff is good, do a search of him on IMDb for a complete listing
Harry-Gregson Williams- He is very much like Hans Zimmer and they have in fact worked on a few movies together, the Rock being one of them. I don't have much of his stuff unfortunately.
- The Chronicles of Narnia- Great stuff here, it's a winner in my book.
- Man on Fire- This one has a very modern feel to it but the emotion really comes through in the music. Pick this one up and give it a chance
John Williams- Most of these are fairly obvious of course but I'll point out a few of his lesser known soundtracks that I enjoy.
- Munich- This one is worth picking up for sure, some great vocal tracks, I don't know if the vocals are Hebrew or just sounds but I love the way they sound
- The Patriot-This one has a great classic feel to it and is definitely worth picking up
- Saving Private Ryan- Another must have here.
James Horner- I don't have too much of his work but everything I’ve heard is good.
- Braveheart-This would be his must have. The Celtic sounds and the bagpipes really make this a stand out for me
John Powell- Another guys I don't have too much of but I like what I have.
- X-Men: The Last Stand- There is some good stuff here, a stinker or two, but good for the most part
I've got several more I'll throw up here later, but I'm tired and off to bed.
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I listen to a lot of music from the movies of the 20th and 21st centuries, but I still don't feel like I have a good grasp on what the best stuff is.
As opposed to the wealth of content from the 19th century? :-*
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- The Chronicles of Narnia- Great stuff here, it's a winner in my book.
See, more than anything else, I thought the score to Narnia really hurt the movie for me. Almost seemed to suck energy out of scenes that should have otherwise been intense.
For my contributions:
Ennio Morricone - The Mission
John Williams - Harry Potter - I really think this, Jaws (not the Bum Bum, but the scenes on the Orca chasing the shark), and Close Encounters are his best stuff.
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John Williams - Harry Potter - I really think this, Jaws (not the Bum Bum, but the scenes on the Orca chasing the shark), and Close Encounters are his best stuff.
I think Empire of the Sun has some of his better work on it too.
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If I had to pick one soundtrack, it'd have to be Amadeus...
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Dances with Wolves is one of my favorite soundtracks (mainly for its very Copland-esque arrangements). I believe the composer also did a number of the Bond films.
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(http://www.impawards.com/1993/posters/jurassic_park_ver2.jpg)
My Favorite.
Kevin
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One of my favorite's is Phillip Glass' score for the original Dracula. While the score is only a few years old, it's beautiful, and is performed by the Kronos Quartet.