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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Apr 25, 2022 8:29:35 GMT
We have a thread on scores that elevate their films, so I was curious what responses this topic would have.
I can think of cases where a film is maybe a bit overscored, or the score is very much of its time and maybe sounds dated now... but for me it’s very rare that the music for a film actively detracts from my enjoyment of the experience in a significant way.
One example for me is Spielberg’s The Color Purple, which I watched for the first time recently. It’s not just that Quincy Jones’s score is overly maudlin and buoyant throughout, but it’s also just tonally misguided at times and even wildly inappropriate on occasion. It seems almost like Jones misunderstood some of the scenes he was writing for, opting for schmaltz over something more complex that some scenes demand.
This is most likely a controversial opinion, and I’m probably way in the minority on this, but another example for me is Once Upon a Time in the West. What’s strange is that, taken on its own, I actually really love the music that Morricone wrote for the film... I just hate the way it’s used and find it maddening. There’s like a total of 4 tracks that are used over and over and over again to the point where some themes just lose their weight over time with how often they appear. It’s the only instance I can think of where I just want to shout at the screen for the soundtrack to shut up… or at least do something different already.
What are some examples for you?
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on Apr 25, 2022 8:40:53 GMT
I was coming in here to mention The Color Purple. For the same reasons, but also because Jones feels wildly out of his element. I think he was trying so hard to parrot what John Williams would have done, that it became a driving force for his work, and his voice became buried as a result. So not only do we have a score that’s schmaltzy and occasionally inappropriate to the scene, but it’s completely anonymous as a result.
I don’t even think it’s merely Williams’ absence that’s to blame, because Newman and Silvestri both proved that other composers could work with Spielberg, and could still make great music. Spielberg’s films are a treasure trove for great scores, but The Color Purple might just be the most nondescript, mismatched, utterly forgettable score in any of his movies (which is saying a lot when said company includes Always).
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 25, 2022 8:57:18 GMT
Oh I'll give one no one will agree with by the greatest film composer ever to some....... John Williams score for Born On The Fourth of July (Oscar nodded, natch).......which is sad and weirdly heroically sweeping and kind of epic-y icky at the same time........when the story is ironic and more sparse and way tougher........the score should unsettle you.......like Ron Kovic was unsettled ..........that score is "beautiful" in the worst way.........it comforts you like a Hallmark card. I always talk about how performances can be made in post-production - well Tom Cruise's entire performance seems like it was calibrated with the director's choices later (slow mo when he's shot - oh how am I supposed to feel you just tell me ok Oliver? , cutting off of sound, then dramatic choices ratcheting up that score).....and Cruise almost won an Oscar for that? ........ except for the Academy's discerning taste.How many times do I ever say that ?!?! Bleeeeeeeeech.........
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Post by JangoB on Apr 25, 2022 10:19:02 GMT
*in Grace Zabriskie voice* Tiggering fucking thread! Already three posts and all so deeply wrong... Kidding, kidding The one example that immediately came to my mind is Carter Burwell's score for "The Founder". Not that the movie was anything noteworthy to begin with but I distinctly remember wanting that damn score to shut up for just a moment and let the story speak for itself, to not try and photobomb it all the time, to just calm down and lessen its presence. Some scores may feel lame, others too schmaltzy...this one's just damn annoying. Oh, and a more general example while I'm at it - any time an old-time composer would follow a moment of some life-changing reveal or a gasp-worthy shock with a big orchestral punch. You want the emotion to sink in and absorb you but instead get an orchestra exploding. I can't help but chuckle at these moments when I stumble upon them even though they're usually supposed to be highly dramatic/shocking. I'll illustrate with an example from a film which is actually my Score win for 1959 - "A Summer Place". A great score by Max Steiner but it's got a couple of moments like this (spoilers, I guess): I can forgive it in something like "A Summer Place" because it doesn't quite ruin a melodrama which is already very ripe but still, without stuff like that such scenes would've made more of an impression. In any movie!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2022 13:02:30 GMT
Clint Eastwood.
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Post by notacrook on Apr 25, 2022 13:14:30 GMT
It didn't bug me as much on my last re-watch, but I find the score for Marriage Story cloying, as if its come straight out of a family melodrama from the disney channel. It's not quite ruinous, but it threatens to take away the emotional power of several scenes.
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Post by Miles Morales on Apr 25, 2022 14:25:04 GMT
I found Three Billboards's score to be very odd. Not bad, but it didn't entirely fit the vibe of the film.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Apr 25, 2022 14:54:27 GMT
Eric Serra's score for Goldeneye, while I can appreciate their attempts to be "different", it's absolutely holds that film back. It's like the worst version of a casio keyboard in hell.
Also while it's not objectively terrible, I do think Horner's score Troy is a bit laughable, as most of it, literally cranks up his worst instincts to 10. He was a last minute replacement, so a lot of it just him doing the classic bit of recyling everything. I remember laughing uncontrollably, the first time I heard the danger motif in the film proper.
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Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Apr 25, 2022 16:07:53 GMT
Morricone? Oof boy.
Taxi Driver's "love theme" for me, probably...though I have to see how will I react to it on my next viewing. Used to say The Third Man too, but re-watched it couple of days ago and didn't have a problem with it.
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Apr 25, 2022 22:09:29 GMT
Eric Serra's score for Goldeneye, while I can appreciate their attempts to be "different", it's absolutely holds that film back. It's like the worst version of a casio keyboard in hell. I almost mentioned this one, but it's still among my top 3 Bond films, so it ultimately doesn't bring the film down that much for me. Though it does feature one of my least favorite gunbarrel openings because of it... and the car chase at the beginning does sound particularly wretched.
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on Apr 25, 2022 22:52:57 GMT
Eric Serra's score for Goldeneye, while I can appreciate their attempts to be "different", it's absolutely holds that film back. It's like the worst version of a casio keyboard in hell. You know what the funny thing is? I don’t actually remember that score when I think of GoldenEye. What I remember is the Kirkhope/Norgate video game score, because that was a much better Bond score than the actual film xD
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Apr 25, 2022 23:15:43 GMT
Eric Serra's score for Goldeneye, while I can appreciate their attempts to be "different", it's absolutely holds that film back. It's like the worst version of a casio keyboard in hell. You know what the funny thing is? I don’t actually remember that score when I think of GoldenEye. What I remember is the Kirkhope/Norgate video game score, because that was a much better Bond score than the actual film xD Hell yeah. So many good maps start out with bangers.
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Post by countjohn on Apr 26, 2022 0:58:54 GMT
I would say OP was on drugs with that OUATITW take only that would probably only make you like it more in reality so IDK what his problem is. Maybe that's the explanation for not liking the Taxi Driver saxophone song, though. Anyway, the movie still wouldn't have been good without it, but the Gigli score is so ridiculous that it could have ruined even a decent movie. There's scenes that are supposed to be serious playing and you have this canned elevator music type stuff playing in the background and high in the mix too. Eric Serra's score for Goldeneye, while I can appreciate their attempts to be "different", it's absolutely holds that film back. It's like the worst version of a casio keyboard in hell. The music during the car chase at the beginning of that is hilarious, sounds like bad porno music.
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Post by finniussnrub on Apr 26, 2022 1:13:29 GMT
I'll ignore your blasphemy regarding Morricone's masterful score.
More of soundtracks but nonetheless: Face from 97 is severely harmed by some baffling song choices. Also some 70's films from the time where they'd throw in an especially dated song seemingly for the sake of it like "Joe" and "Silent Running". "When the Wind Blows" also loses just a bit of its punch when it suddenly gets all 80's. I love Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but that score is a bit much at times.
Also Dragonheart...because the film could never live up to the awesomeness of its main theme.
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Barbie
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Post by Barbie on Apr 26, 2022 16:42:17 GMT
The Insider immediately came to mind. It was just too much and out of place for that subject matter. It felt like it belonged in a war movie about the Middle East
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Apr 26, 2022 16:46:24 GMT
A lot of 80’s synth stuff sounds so cheesy now. Sometimes it still works and fits the film but a lot of time it’s just distracting.
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