# Williams' WAR OF THE WORLDS is out (on iTunes)



## dcoscina (Jun 21, 2005)

Just bought the newest Williams score to War of the Worlds from iTunes. It's great that the Canadian store actually made it available at the same time as the rest of the world (they are usually 1 week behind).

The score is dark, atonal, largely textural with an emphasis on heavy rhythmic passages for quick string ostinatos and muted brass. Kind of like Minority Report on steroids. There are some other sections that feature the pandiatonicism associated with an Americana sound which helps balance the soundtrack out. 

Definitely worth a listen.


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## Dr.Quest (Jun 22, 2005)

Just downloaded this today myself. Very nice. Some great Williams touches throughout. Enjoyable so far.
J


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 1, 2005)

I just tried, but iTunes won't let me buy it. Must be because it's a national holiday (Canada Day). Anyhow, I just came back from the movie and it ROCKS big time! Very worthy summer fare, and an excellent remake of the 50s version. That one scared me for a few *years* after I saw it on tv as a kid. Just don't bring the kids - it's really, really intense.


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## José Herring (Jul 1, 2005)

Ned Bouhalassa said:


> I just tried, but iTunes won't let me buy it. Must be because it's a national holiday (Canada Day). Anyhow, I just came back from the movie and it ROCKS big time! Very worthy summer fare, and an excellent remake of the 50s version. That one scared me for a few *years* after I saw it on tv as a kid. Just don't bring the kids - it's really, really intense.



Yeah, I hear that this film was incredible. How was the William's score in DTS . Did it shake the house down?

Jose


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## Jon Paouli Trapek (Jul 1, 2005)

You've got me salivating now, Ned. I've been looking forward to it ever since I watched the trailer a couple of months back. Ebert wasn't too impressed because of the tripod martian machines (true to the original illustrations) but all the other reviews look good.


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## Lex (Jul 1, 2005)

josejherring said:


> Ned Bouhalassa said:
> 
> 
> > I just tried, but iTunes won't let me buy it. Must be because it's a national holiday (Canada Day). Anyhow, I just came back from the movie and it ROCKS big time! Very worthy summer fare, and an excellent remake of the 50s version. That one scared me for a few *years* after I saw it on tv as a kid. Just don't bring the kids - it's really, really intense.
> ...



The movie rocks...but acctualy I felt this was one of JWs worst scores..great music, but in some places it was breaking down the atmosphere of the movie which has that brutaly "real" look..

aLex


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 1, 2005)

Well, IMO, no. The sound fx are too loud for that! Watching the trailers of other films and WOTW itself, I was blown away (no pun intended) by the volume of the bangs. I can't stand trailers for that anymore. They ruin any interest I might have with the constant big hits. And for next to nothing, it seems! A white flash? Bang! A jump-cut? Bang! I was exhausted by the time the movie started! 

There are some beautiful passages though. Some very cool modal stuff with piano, and some excellent brass stuff (of course), although I'd like to hear less of the inevitable french horn passages when things get a little hopefull (or hopeless! :lol: ). Honestly, it was hard to focus on anything else but the action, which is why I look forward to listening to the score without the image.


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## Simon Ravn (Jul 1, 2005)

I think the movie was so-so. Could and should have been better with Spielberg. The script was lacking. There are some great scenes and some not-so-good, and for some reason you can't have a script in a Hollywood movie today that doesn't have silly one-liners. So a couple of those that ruined a few moments as well. And I think Spielberg should find another cinematographer. Some of the images here looked so strange and "muddy" which didn't make sense. Kaminski is good for "documentary style" of Saving Private Ryan, and b&w Schindler's List, but I think this movie would have looked better with a DP doing "prettier" pictures. Apparently Spielberg isn't into good looking stuff anymore

Anyway, it wasn't bad, it wasn't good, just average.


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## José Herring (Jul 1, 2005)

Yeah, I know what you mean Ned.

I went to see Herby the Love bug last weekend with my son and the trailer bangs and the sfx in the frigin' movie were so loud I almost took him home. He's only three and that's just too much for his little ears.

I don't know what these filmmakers are thinkin' these days. The last time I saw a quiet movie was like years ago. They pump the effects in everything these days.


That's why I dig M. Night. Quiet. You know his movies make like hundreds of millions of dollars. They're quiet. You think that Hollywood would make the decision to tone it down. The movie's still going to make money with lower sfx.

Jose


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## jc5 (Jul 1, 2005)

I've been annoyed for a while now by the extravagant balance of the audio effects in movies... on some DVDs that I've viewed, not only is the music completely drowned out, but even the _dialogue_ can be difficult to make out... I have been under the impression that this may be due to the fact that the FX people are the ones who do the final mix. And have messiah complexes - "To hell with the visuals/dialogue/music, I AM the movie! weeeee....." :wink:


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 1, 2005)

Well, FWIW, here's my take on it. Who spends the most time with the mixer? Not the composer. Possibly not even the director, and certainly not the producers. Nope, it's the sound designer! Day in, day out, the sound designer has the mixer's ear. As the composer, you might show up once every few days, maybe less if you're already very busy with the next gig. But not the sound designer. He/she's there every day. So, who's going to have the most influence on the mixer's choices? My experience has been that music comes 3rd in order of importance, after dialogue and ambience/fx. Here in Quebec, sound designers are really talented. There's a lot of respect for sound work, from foley to ambience, but often, the music is mixed much lower than in Hollywood movies and US tv shows. I wonder how this compares in other countries?


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## Evan Gamble (Jul 1, 2005)

I loved it..just felt it kinda fell off at the end :?


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## José Herring (Jul 1, 2005)

Ned Bouhalassa said:


> Well, FWIW, here's my take on it. Who spends the most time with the mixer? Not the composer. Possibly not even the director, and certainly not the producers. Nope, it's the sound designer! Day in, day out, the sound designer has the mixer's ear. As the composer, you might show up once every few days, maybe less if you're already very busy with the next gig. But not the sound designer. He/she's there every day. So, who's going to have the most influence on the mixer's choices? My experience has been that music comes 3rd in order of importance, after dialogue and ambience/fx. Here in Quebec, sound designers are really talented. There's a lot of respect for sound work, from foley to ambience, but often, the music is mixed much lower than in Hollywood movies and US tv shows. I wonder how this compares in other countries?



That's why I spend my time kissing the sound designer's and the mixer's ass.

Jose :twisted:


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## Aaron Sapp (Jul 2, 2005)

I thought WotW was pretty brilliant. If you go watch the movie with an overly critical mind-set (with a Spielberg film, that's really easy to do), than you're not going to enjoy it. It's not a typical Spielberg film. Some parts are genuinely unsettling, which is rarely pulled off with success in movies. I can see why people may hate this movie, but I've been waiting for a somewhat realistic apocolyptic flick directed this way for years. You get the family/personal perspective of Signs, the visceral shock of... Schindlers? - and of course the special effects, which are used to great effect. I wonder why movies these days take CGI for granted... It's kind of amazing how much more an impact great CGI makes (Jurassic Park - when the T-Rex first steps out of the puddock) than when it's done half-assed (Star Wars: Ep 2). 

I liked this movie because of some rare emotional reactions I felt to some scenes, and the visuals were truly awe-inspiring. Some flaws yes (the 'raptor' omage could've been left out), and H.G Wells could've thought up a better demise for the aliens. Water? C'mon. 

Easily overlooked though if you're anything like me. Had it been any other director I think this movie would've been laughable. Spielberg's da man.

Okay, EBERT MODE: off

Even though Ebert said the movie sucked. I'll forgive him on this one.


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## Evan Gamble (Jul 2, 2005)

today while i was at work a dad came up to me with his (around 5-7 year-old) kid crying from the movie..HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!

you dont cry in Signs or ID4 from Fear BWHAHAHA go spielberg for making little kids cry! the kid couldnt even watch the whole thing BWHAHAHAHAHAHA


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## Brian Ralston (Jul 2, 2005)

Aaron Sapp said:


> and H.G Wells could've thought up a better demise for the aliens. Water? C'mon.



Their demise wasn't water. 

*SPOILER ALERT*





They only zoomed in on a droplet of water to show one place their "demise" lives. Their demise was all the microbes, viruses and bacteria that inhabit the earth. (Kind of forward thinking for H.G. Wells in his time actually). It is a natural form of biological warfare. We have evolved over time with earth's viruses and our immune systems can defend us (for the most part). These aliens who have never lived on the earth do not have immune systems that know how to deal with Earth born viruses. So...the aliens basically got the flu by breathing our air and drinking our water. The more time they spent on earth, the more exposure to our viruses and bacteria they had...and they and their plant life did not know how to defend itself from the microscopic invaders. So...they died on their own...a victim of mother earth. It was not something simple as "water". 

OK...back to our regularly scheduled programming...


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## Evan Gamble (Jul 2, 2005)

Brian Ralston said:


> Aaron Sapp said:
> 
> 
> > and H.G Wells could've thought up a better demise for the aliens. Water? C'mon.
> ...



yeah well how did the earths bacteria effect a machines shields? make sno sense


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## Christian Marcussen (Jul 2, 2005)

The Shield operator dies of the flu? :D


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## Aaron Sapp (Jul 2, 2005)

Well ho hum Mr. Smarty Pants! :shock: I thought the world should have ended - that would've been a great ending.  So I cough in E.T's face and he croaks? BWAHAHAHAHAH! 






DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!


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## Brian Ralston (Jul 2, 2005)

Aaron Sapp said:


> Well ho hum Mr. Smarty Pants! :shock: I thought the world should have ended - that would've been a great ending.  So I cough in E.T's face and he croaks? BWAHAHAHAHAH!



I knew almost going to medical school and completing my Biochemistry degree would pay off in some way.


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## Craig Sharmat (Jul 2, 2005)

I read an article by elfman once, that he does not like going to the theartre to watch movies. He prefers his owmn listening and watching enviorment. At the time (about 3-4 yrs back) it was a Panasonic elite big screen and B+W speaker system. He said he found movie thearte's audio systems mushy.


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