# Your favourite Jerry Goldsmith score



## ka00

For me, it’s got to be Total Recall. I watched that movie a lot when I was very young, and the score left an indelible mark on me. Could listen to it any day of the week. 

What about you? What’s your pick?


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## d.healey

Today, The Omen


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## Karma

Rudy! (thanks @Farkle)


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## Fab

I don't know much about his supposed best works but I have always liked the score for 'The Edge'. It was a film we had, and I remember thinking...wow those saxophones sound really good! lol


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## Light and Sound

I loved his score for The Shadow. Feels like it was very underrated, likely due to the film not doing too well!


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## patrick76

So many great scores! At this moment I will go with L.A. Confidential.


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## STec

Rambo First Blood!


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## HeliaVox

Star Trek TMP. Using music to help convey the story of a ship floating around in space for 3 hours
Star Trek Insurrection. Meh movie, but in certain scenes the music still makes the hair stand up on my skin. 
Star Trek Voyager theme. The only good thing about that show. He also won an Emmy for that theme. 
But with a composer so good, it’s hard to pick just one.


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## HeliaVox

STec said:


> Rambo First Blood!


He won a Raspberry for Rambo First Blood Part 2. Worst Score, lol.


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## AlexanderSchiborr

Total Recall - Action tunes but with a melodic hook, unparalleled. 
Star Trek One..man..the whole NCC Ride to Voyager - that underscore there is...man..get a hard dick always.
Basic Instinct - Well at times I don´t felt that the soundtrack fitted the movie sometimes, but the soundtrack is so well done, just to listen alone is great.

Planet of the apes...ouch....percussion massacre at its best

Poltergeist..Rambo...oh man..there are so many titles..the list..is endless..uah..bamm..alien...man..those woodwinds thirds in their higher registers with the delay..uah..


sorry..I need some beers now..


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## Brendon Williams

patrick76 said:


> So many great scores! At this moment I will go with L.A. Confidential.



Relistening to this because your post reminded me how great this score is.


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## CT

The Treks, especially the first one. Planet of the Apes is a riot too, and don't forget Chinatown!


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## pfmusic

Gremlins
Poltergeist
First Blood
The Omen
Alien

Difficult to pick one, so many amazing scores!


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## dcoscina

Papillon followed by First Blood and St:TMP.


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## JonAdamich

Karma said:


> Rudy! (thanks @Farkle)


Rudy for me as well


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## STec

HeliaVox said:


> He won a Raspberry for Rambo First Blood Part 2. Worst Score, lol.


Yeah, I liked part 1.


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## tmhuud

I have so many. Inchon, Night Crossing, Pappilion, Under Fire, (loved the collaboration with Pat Metheney and JG on UF) off the top of my head.


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## Greg

Total Recall for me too! My parents made the mistake of letting me have a vhs copy when I was about 8 years old. Not sure if I loved it because of the music or a certain mutant woman with bonus features


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## JonAdamich

Greg said:


> Total Recall for me too! My parents made the mistake of letting me have a vhs copy when I was about 8 years old. Not sure if I loved it because of the music or a certain mutant woman with bonus features


Bonus features. I love your phrasing


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## synthpunk

Patton
Chinatown
Star Trek

..ooh wait, one ?


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## I like music

There are simply too many to choose from. It changes with every listen!

Rudy for now.
First Contact by tomorrow morning.
Hoosiers by the weekend.
... there are, more than any other composer, too many good ones for me to choose from.

Went to watch him do a concert with the LSO back in 2003 (I think) for his birthday. Unfortunately he was too ill to travel so he had to cancel being there to conduct the orchestra, last minute. But managed to get a whole lot of Goldsmith music in live that evening. It is a shame, because since his death, I don't really see _any_ Goldsmith concerts in England anymore.


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## Parsifal666

Goldsmith is ZEE man, yo!

Boys From Brazil, Omen III: Final Conflict (heck, all of the Omens), Rio Conchos...

Freud.


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## Parsifal666

double sorry folks


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## robgb

Impossible to name just one.


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## Parsifal666

He was so prolific there were actual phases of his career (like Beethoven's early, mid, late, and superhumanly great late). He wasn't LvB (though I venture to say his music skirted the heights of, oh...Richard Strauss). But such a consistency of excellence...


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## I like music

Listen to that theme from Medicine Man. Who the hell even knows or remembers Medicine Man? No one remembers the music because no one knows the movie. But there is sheer beauty in that music, and its just one of hundreds that he's done that are a level above the norm. If I could write _just_ that melody, I would never need to compose again. I'd die happy. Too good.


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## tmhuud

I just relistened to Medicine Man. Loved it.


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## Satorious

Basic Instinct for me, but I'd also like to give a big shout out to Omen 3: The Final Conflict.


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## Mike Marino

I dig Rudy and The River Wild scores. I also really love his theme for the Soarin' Over California attraction at EPCOT.


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## tmhuud

I'd love to hear "Inchon" re-recorded but sadly it was for a film relatively unknown film. The original recordings we abysmal. They were in a church with really bad acoustics.


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## patrick76

Brendon Williams said:


> Relistening to this because your post reminded me how great this score is.



Very cool. It's great he left us with such an incredible body of work, but man I miss going to the movies and experiencing a new Goldsmith score.


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## LamaRose

Ghost and the Darkness is one I never tire of. And there are some subtle, bassoon-bassed cues in Rudy that remind me of those quiet morning moments just before Spring practices commenced.


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## Jack Weaver

First Knight, for me. 

.


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## tmhuud

I really think “Lion Heart” is special. Shafner /JG-great combo.


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## Nmargiotta

Soarin' - The score he did for Disney's California Adventure park attraction "Soarin' Over California" It was toward the end of his career and yet is my very favorite. He didn't write it to picture, pretty cool his reaction when he saw it for the first time. 

"The original _Soarin' Over California_ ride film at both Disney California Adventure and Epcot used an orchestral score by composer Jerry Goldsmith, who is said to have come down from his first ride in tears. In addition to finding the ride visually beautiful and magical, he said that his father was a pilot who loved all things Californian. "I'd do anything to be part of this project," Goldsmith said. "I'd even score the film for free.""


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## The Darris

Alien.

Yes, it's not necessarily the most hum-able or pretty sounding score he's ever written, or remotely one he considers good, but it's the first film score that I heard that taught me the fundamental lesson that music can make you feel terrified. 

-C


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## Parsifal666

The Darris said:


> Alien.
> 
> Yes, it's not necessarily the most hum-able or pretty sounding score he's ever written, or remotely one he considers good, but it's the first film score that I heard that taught me the fundamental lesson that music can make you feel terrified.
> 
> -C



I could be wrong, but I seem to recall the only thing he hated about *Alien* was the fact that it was butchered by the director (bits of his similarly brilliant Freud were interpolated). If you buy the Intrada 2 cd release of* Alien* you'll get the WHOLE score (minus the interpolations and plus the music that wasn't put into the movie because of Ridley Scott being a dumbass). It was mostly his problems with Scott that ruined his opinion. Really, if you don't have the Intrada release, I can't recommend it strongly enough.

And kudos to the member who mentioned *Lionheart*, amazing score.

How about his ridiculously rejected score to *Legend*?


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## Parsifal666

tmhuud said:


> I really think “Lion Heart” is special. Shafner /JG-great combo.




You are so right, and Goldsmith would have agreed with you. Hard to beat Papillon and Boys From Brazil too (for scores).


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## Karma

Listen and weep:


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## robertGL

Parsifal666 said:


> I could be wrong, but I seem to recall the only thing he hated about *Alien* was the fact that it was butchered by the director (bits of his similarly brilliant Freud were interpolated). If you buy the Intrada 2 cd release of* Alien* you'll get the WHOLE score (minus the interpolations and plus the music that wasn't put into the movie because of Ridley Scott being a dumbass). It was mostly his problems with Scott that ruined his opinion. Really, if you don't have the Intrada release, I can't recommend it strongly enough.
> 
> And kudos to the member who mentioned *Lionheart*, amazing score.
> 
> How about his ridiculously rejected score to *Legend*?



I wouldn't call Ridley a dumbass. (BASED) Ridley made the decision and it paid off. If anything, Ridley nailed it, as the score blends so well with the mis en scene, as judged by the concensus of all Alien fans.

I'll just add that I love the score for Chinatown, which apparently took him 10 minutes to write


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## I like music

The music that you hear over this great opening for Hoosiers is a major contributor to my decision to go on a road trip to the US:



EDIT: also another example of how he just made synths become a part of the orchestra seamlessly.


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## The Darris

Parsifal666 said:


> I could be wrong, but I seem to recall the only thing he hated about *Alien* was the fact that it was butchered by the director (bits of his similarly brilliant Freud were interpolated). If you buy the Intrada 2 cd release of* Alien* you'll get the WHOLE score (minus the interpolations and plus the music that wasn't put into the movie because of Ridley Scott being a dumbass). It was mostly his problems with Scott that ruined his opinion. Really, if you don't have the Intrada release, I can't recommend it strongly enough.
> 
> And kudos to the member who mentioned *Lionheart*, amazing score.
> 
> How about his ridiculously rejected score to *Legend*?


Yes, I've heard his beautifully written original score but that wasn't what I heard as a kid. I am specifically talking about the butchered one. I own that album and love his original score for it but it was a different tone to what Ridley actually wanted for his film.


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## Living Fossil

Out of the many i'd like to name one that is rather unknown:
(love the use of the mouth organ in this score)


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## Replicant

The Mummy



With Basic Instinct in second


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## Farkle

So many good choices. I'm going with some that are less common (I know a couple have already been posted, but they bear reposting)

Capricorn One
Inchon
Islands In The Stream (I believe Jerry said that was one of his favorite scores to compose)
Damnation Alley (Fantastically stupid 70's TV sci fi movie, but Jerry's score was great)
King Solomon's Mines (Jerry scoring an Indy knockoff, and doing it excellently)
Supergirl (Jerry scoring a Superman knockoff, and doing it excellently)

But look, this is in addition to: The Omen, Star Trek, Hoosiers, Basic Instinct, etc., etc. etc.

Farkle


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## aaronventure

All the stuff posted here is great, some of it I totally missed!

LA Confidential is just so good:


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## JohnG

Planet of the Apes
Total Recall (hard to choose between those two)

Like LA Confidential and totally forgot he wrote Basic Instinct too. What a guy.


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## patrick76

Just in case anyone isn't aware, the score for Total Recall is available from OMNI.
http://www.omnimusicpublishing.com/TotalRecall.html


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## Replicant

Also, quick shout out to his son as well (RIP)


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## Eugenic

I love almost everything that the man has written. Love the Star Trek ones in all its iterations. Love the (unused/recently reintroduced) Alien score.
I began listening to film music when, as a child, I saw Secret of Nimh. Man, Secret of Nimh, the darker animated movie I saw until that day, was something else. Especially the music.
I think *Mulan* is one of the greatest score for animated films. I went to the cinema to watch it just because I saw him in the credits. I was curious about Disney's choice.


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## I like music

Eugenic said:


> I love almost everything that the man has written. Love the Star Trek ones in all its iterations. Love the (unused/recently reintroduced) Alien score.
> I began listening to film music when, as a child, I saw Secret of Nimh. Man, Secret of Nimh, the darker animated movie I saw until that day, was something else. Especially the music.
> I think *Mulan* is one of the greatest score for animated films. I went to the cinema to watch it just because I saw him in the credits. I was curious about Disney's choice.



The scene where they bow to her. Superb.


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## wilifordmusic

All of them. I haven't heard one I didn't like.
Don't forget the little screen also, Man from UNCLE, Twilight Zone etc...

Steve


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## Eugenic

I like music said:


> The scene where they bow to her. Superb.


Superb and surprisingly missing from the Italian version of the OST. Funny what a small change to a pentatonic theme can do to your lacrimal ducts.


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## ScoreFace

aaronventure said:


> All the stuff posted here is great, some of it I totally missed!
> 
> LA Confidential is just so good:




I love L.A. Confidential! When just listening to the video, at 1:40 I suddenly expected the Rocky theme in its lyrical version :D


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## I like music

Eugenic said:


> Superb and surprisingly missing from the Italian version of the OST. Funny what a small change to a pentatonic theme can do to your lacrimal ducts.


Missing? Who would make that decision? Curious to know why that happened. I often play that scene just for the music (and the equivalent one from LOTR). We need more bowing in films. Its just the perfect stage for a good composer to show his/her skills.


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## Dracutus

Planet Of The Apes


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## Satorious

Basic Instinct all the way for me - perhaps the only classy thing about the film (aside from some of the photography). Absolutely love this score! I also have a soft spot for Omen 3: The Final Chapter and Total Recall (like many others).


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## Ashermusic

Like being asked which of your children you love most


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## MisteR

Planet of the Apes.


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## Parsifal666

Ashermusic said:


> Like being asked which of your children you love most



This is me. The man had great music in the early sixties and died this century. I don't even know how many scores he completed...I just know I favor heavily the sixties and seventies (though he did plenty since that was extraordinary as well imo).

Total Recall really could be a master's class in Action Movie Scores, just like Blue Max and Capricorn One were before it.


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## I like music

How many people have even heard of The Wild Rovers? I'm focusing here just on the theme (I can't remember much of the film so can't comment on how the music went with the film) but this is just so ... epic. With Goldsmith, you can just put the music on and listen to it for its own sake, I feel.


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## re-peat

‘Wild Rovers’ is a great score, I agree, with plenty of interesting music besides the cue 'Wild Horses' which is what that YT-clip contains.

If one has to pick just one Goldsmith score though, it’s going to be *‘Planet Of The Apes’* for me too. Extraordinary piece of work. (Admirers of that music should also find great enjoyment, by the way, in *‘The Cassandra Crossing’* which has several cues, especially the action music, that could well have been part of the ‘Apes’-score. Very similar language.)

Vying with ‘Planet Of The Apes’ for the number 1 spot in my favourite Goldsmith scores list, is, without a doubt, *‘The Great Train Robbery’*, showing a side of the composer that, it seems to me, not many people know he has: a remarkable knack for upbeat, jolly tunes (and good ones too) often with a humorous twist and wrapped in a neo-19th-century style. Terrific music.

Other strong favourites: the brilliant *‘Islands In The Stream’*, *‘Night Crossing’*, *‘China Town’* and the dark, hypnotizing *‘Outland’*. All insanely good.

_


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## I like music

Over the years, I've shown Rudy to a great number of people (probably 10 different people), and the reaction, when the film finishes, is always the same. They're simultaneously close to crying, fist-pumping, happy. The music drives the last 5-6 minutes so intimately. There's so much energy there. That's what epic sounds like to me.

However, one of my all-time favourite Goldsmith moments, in any film, is when Rudy _first_ walks onto the field (bag in hand, all alone) and you hear that familiar motif in a soft-yet-grand brassy glory. I can't find the clip, but it is just _superb._


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## Ashermusic

One of his very best was for a movie nobody but me probably saw, called "Players" with Dino Martin (the son) about a tennis player. Movie was lousy but the score was brilliant.


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## TimCox

Obviously Star Trek TMP is amazing but I just can't get over my love of the Poltergeist score. So unique and it's equal parts creepy and bombastic


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## dohm

Yes, Rudy and Papillon for me.


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## Niah2

Love Goldsmith.

Has anyone mentioned *Chinatown*? I really dig that score.

Others already mentioned: _ALIEN, Planet of the Apes, First Blood_.


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## Robo Rivard

Planet of the Trumps.


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## wilifordmusic

Well, if you need more, how about
Air Force One
Executive Decision
Hollow Man
Small Soldiers
Inner Space
The Swarm
etc....etc.....

yes, they're all good.


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## Satorious

Well I'm sticking with my Basic Instinct, my daughter hums Gremlins all the time. Great Train Robbery is a great shout, forgot that one! Anyone mentioned First Knight or Sleeping With The Enemy yet (love the scores more than the films)?


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## mikeh-375

Lovely theme in Medicine Man, but I might be biased because I was lucky enough to watch him record it in London. Basic Instinct haunts me for days after I hear it.


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## AR

Sum of all fears


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## I like music

mikeh-375 said:


> Lovely theme in Medicine Man, but I might be biased because I was lucky enough to watch him record it in London. Basic Instinct haunts me for days after I hear it.



You got see that being recorded? That theme is amazing. That (viola?) countermelody if I remember correctly, makes it even better.


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## Wolf68

another vote for the star trek Voyager theme here


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## I like music

Even ignoring everything else, and focusing solely on the melody, I can't think of any/many composers who have so much quality, "catchy" material. I imagine Williams is up there.

Powder is another good one. Rio Conchos I remember having a few pretty hummable ones. 

Patton, McArthur ... hundreds more.


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## I like music

Wolf68 said:


> another vote for the star trek Voyager theme here


Pure nostalgia for me. Matched the visuals perfectly. I _think_ I heard it live in one of his concerts (but I might be imagining it, as it was 15/16 years ago)


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## mikeh-375

I like music said:


> You got see that being recorded? That theme is amazing. That (viola?) countermelody if I remember correctly, makes it even better.



I did. The best part of all was following the score in the control room with Arthur Morton. The man was a true legend and... perfect host. He sat between me and a friend on the sofa at the now defunct Whitfield St studios (if memory serves!!) and we spread the score across our knees. I kept thinking that the man sitting next to me worked on the Laurel and Hardy films for some reason. We were briefly introduced to JG as he came in to listen to a take...he was conducting too....long below shoulder length grey hair in a pony tail.....even the greats have faults.....(just joking, especially as I had a pony tail once!)


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## Patrick_Gill

Total Recall has definitely got my vote! Masterful. It's a tough call haha. Although, I love his scores for The Burbs and especially Explorers too.


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## Oxborg

*13th warrior* is a masterpiece! I love the whole soundtrack for that movie.


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## Symfoniq

I would ride "Soarin'" at Epcot over and over again just to hear Goldsmith's score.


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## Gerbil

Is it wrong to say all of them?!

Total Recall still blows me away. Star Trek TMP gives me goosebumps. The Great Train Robbery is a straight up masterpiece. Too many to choose.


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## robgb

Planet of the Apes.


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## Mike Fox

Gremlins


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## ScoreFace

Planet of the Apes
The Edge
Total Recall
Papillon
Basic Instinct
The Shadow
The River Wild
L.A. Confidential

So many great soundtracks, Jerry is my absolute favorite! The first time I heard his music was in Planet of the Apes, I couldn't believe that this Hollywood movie has a soundtrack of this high almost avantgarde quality - I was immediately intrigued.


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## chimuelo

First Blood scene in the woods.
Spirits of the Classical Masters possessed him.


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## jamieboo

Star Trek the Motion Picture, Poltergeist, Legend, Total Recall.


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## ghostnote

Can't decide between The Edge and Basic Instinct. Incredible Scores, intelligent, subliminal, made with the right amount of finesse. Something I miss today, or well to be honest, since around 20 years.


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## wilifordmusic

COMA has some great stuff once you skip the disco sections.


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## Parsifal666

wilifordmusic said:


> COMA has some great stuff once you skip the disco sections.



Yeah, the songs on scores like Coma and the Omen can be pretty damn annoying. 

I do think it was sweet that Jerry's wife sang the "Piper" song from the Omen (pretty sure that's her).


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## jonathanparham

ka00 said:


> Awesome guys, keep 'em coming. There are a lot of titles that don't show up when I've searched in Apple Music, but strangely, if I know the title and search for it in Google and add the word Apple Music to the search, I'll usually find an iTunes link that works in Canada.


Might be buried in this thread, but he also did a lot of CBS radio plays. Tone poems, westerns etc


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## Parsifal666

If anyone hear wants to hear Jerry's early suspense and thriller music, pick up Jerry Goldsmith The Early Years. It contains killer music from classic shows like Perry Mason.

Goldsmith was a huge fan of and openly influenced by Bernard Herrmann in his earliest years composing for film; however it's fascinating to me how he took his influences and forged his own musical voice. His music for the Twilight Zone Movie was similarly eclectic and at tunes strikingly brilliant in my opinion.

So I'm a fan-dude, I don't care lol!


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## I like music

You've all seen the Verta masterclass on him, right? Very much worth a look.
But yes, please pinging down names for obscure Goldsmith stuff we may not have heard of.
Shame that you can find all the fucking Miley Cyrus you want on Spotify etc but to get the good Goldsmith stuff, you have to dive into the arse of Youtube.


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## jonathanparham

Parsifal666 said:


> If anyone hear wants to hear Jerry's early suspense and thriller music, pick up Jerry Goldsmith The Early Years. It contains killer music from classic shows like Perry Mason.
> 
> Goldsmith was a huge fan of and openly influenced by Bernard Herrmann in his earliest years composing for film; however it's fascinating to me how he took his influences and forged his own musical voice. His music for the Twilight Zone Movie was similarly eclectic and at tunes strikingly brilliant in my opinion.
> 
> So I'm a fan-dude, I don't care lol!


yup. there's even a podcast dedicated to his catalog.


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## Parsifal666

Boys from Brazil was one of my very first albums and it's truly the perfect mix of the classics (waltz), intense, harrowing suspense, biting action. Highly recommended. 

In fact, you could buy practically anything from the 60s and 70s (and an armload after) of Jerry's music and not go wrong. He was that great...he might have been the greatest (ducks the Williams sycophants' blows...hey I like John too!).


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## AR

Sum of all fears is also a great score


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## toomanynotes

Jaws


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## Ashermusic

toomanynotes said:


> Jaws



That’s John Williams, not Jerry Goldsmith.


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## ka00

I discovered this alien artifact in my mailbox today. Now, how do I turn this thing on?


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## Parsifal666

ka00 said:


> I discovered this alien artifact in my mailbox today. Now, how do I turn this thing on?



I'm deeply envious.


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## CT

I would *love* one of those nicely engraved scores for Star Trek: The Motion Picture.


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## ka00

Parsifal666 said:


> I'm deeply envious.



It's an investment, no doubt. But I plan to mine this score for knowledge the way Cohagen mined Mars for turbinium.


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## devonmyles

Too many for me to name one. 
Interestingly, I was listening to 'The Blue Max' yesterday. That main theme is brilliant, close you eyes and you can just visualize the emotional ups and downs of a WW1 fighter pilot in action...


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## Parsifal666

Quote from HZ: "Loved Jerry! First composer I met in Hollywood, and he was really nice and encouraging. We talked synth. Total Recall is brilliant... so much great work from that man... "


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## toomanynotes

Ashermusic said:


> That’s John Williams, not Jerry Goldsmith.


Sorry i meant


Ashermusic said:


> That’s John Williams, not Jerry Goldsmith.


ok Close encounters then!


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## Parsifal666

toomanynotes said:


> Sorry i meant
> 
> ok Close encounters then!



He already knows.


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## mikeh-375

ka00 said:


> I discovered this alien artifact in my mailbox today. Now, how do I turn this thing on?




It's a Martian Spring...dance lady martian, to the death.


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## toomanynotes

Parsifal666 said:


> He already knows.


I do love Capricon One. Explorers was fun as a kid.


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## Stevo B

Niah2 said:


> Love Goldsmith.
> 
> Has anyone mentioned *Chinatown*? I really dig that score.
> 
> Others already mentioned: _ALIEN, Planet of the Apes, First Blood_.


Chinatown for me too...


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## Ultra

as the grand master of horror: The Omen, Alien, The Haunting


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## Nick Batzdorf

Patton.

Half of our senior project in Film Scoring at Berklee in those days was to analyze a score. That's the one I chose. In addition to being brilliant musically, it's *so* clever intellectually - three themes played together to represent the different aspects of his personality (believed in reincarnation/destiny, religious man, military man).

I also transcribed a lot of it and learned an amazing amount from doing that.

The score is so deep and layered, and of course so is the film. It's an anti-war film.


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## Parsifal666

Nick Batzdorf said:


> Patton.
> 
> Half of our senior project in Film Scoring at Berklee in those days was to analyze a score. That's the one I chose. In addition to being brilliant musically, it's *so* clever intellectually - three themes played together to represent the different aspects of his personality (believed in reincarnation/destiny, religious man, military man).
> 
> I also transcribed a lot of it and learned an amazing amount from doing that.
> 
> The score is so deep and layered, and of course so is the film. It's an anti-war film.



What a great choice. A short score (perfectly timed) that never wears out its welcome. I have a great reissue of the score paired with Tora! Tora! Tora! (another very good one). 

Another score JG should have won the Oscar for (not to forget Planet of the Apes earlier).


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## tmhuud

Have not read it but thought this may interest fans:


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## patrick76

I had a kind of Jerry Goldsmith weekend. I watched both Rudy and Basic Instinct on cable and then caught LA Confidential on Netflix. 

Goldsmith really is the epitome of what a film composer should aspire to in my opinion. He had such a great ability to write in such different styles so well, but at the same time somehow retain that distinct Goldsmith sound... and I think those 3 movies I watched are a great example of that.

It's nice to see he has so many fans here.


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## studiostuff

As I flipped by BASIC INSTINCT on cable yesterday, my wife and I stopped to laugh at the dialog, but soon started listening to the score.

It (and the fact that the print we were watching was uncut in the "Charge me with smoking..." scene) was the only redeeming element in the film. (I had heard the score several times before, but it was my first exposure to ALL of Sharon Stone's talent.)

That's not my favorite Jerry Goldsmith score. There are too many to list that I love. 

I do stop what I'm doing to watch Chinatown every time I see it available... So put me down for Chinatown.


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## ChristopherDoucet

1. Rudy.

2. Basic Instinct.

3. Star Trek: First Kontakt


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## José Herring

Papillon

Basic Instinct

Planet of the Apes

Total Recall

First Contact

The Mummy

The list goes on and on and on


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## JohnG

L.A. Confidential


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## Kuusniemi

For me it's Papillon, Total Recall and The Ghost and The Darkness.


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## Parsifal666

JohnG said:


> L.A. Confidential



I'm just getting into that one, and actually like it better than Chinatown.


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## JohnG

Parsifal666 said:


> I'm just getting into that one, and actually like it better than Chinatown.



Me too. A lot better movie too


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## Parsifal666

JohnG said:


> Me too. A lot better movie too


 
OMG SO I'M NOT TOTALLY CUCKOO! lol I thought Chinatown was very popular, though I never really cared for it much...despite the fact that Nicholson might be my favorite actor (Easy Rider, The Shining, Cuckoo's Nest, and quite a few more).

Even the score for CT doesn't really do that much for me...would have been cool if Rozsa could have scored that one imo.

(On bended knee, genuflecting in the shape of inverted crucifix):

*I'm not worthy Godly Goldsmith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*


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## Seasharp

ka00 said:


> For me, it’s got to be Total Recall. I watched that movie a lot when I was very young, and the score left an indelible mark on me. Could listen to it any day of the week.
> 
> What about you? What’s your pick?




The Russia House and of course the main theme from ChinaTown.


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## Parsifal666

I just watched the Edge (hadn't since it came out). Now THERE'S a score, yet another triumph for the greatest film composer ever (imo).


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## Kent

robertGL said:


> I'll just add that I love the score for Chinatown, which apparently took him 10 minutes to write



He had 10 days to write it after the first composer got fired.


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## Seasharp

kmaster said:


> He had 10 days to write it after the first composer got fired.



I can believe it took only ten minutes. After the haunting trumpet main theme there’s not much else of note. I use to own the full soundtrack CD and only listened to those few tracks that had the main theme.


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## Nate Johnson

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Iila’s theme, come ON!)

Logan’s Run - some serious ARP 2500 action - nuff said

Seconds - way too short, but the main theme is sooooooo good. Like unreal.


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## wbacer

In case anyone is interested, there are a few free Jerry Goldsmith scores and cues available for download.





reddit: the front page of the internet







www.reddit.com


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## iliatilev

*Sleeping with the Enemy* score was great..


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## Circe

S U P E R G I R L



I Could be earing from 1.34 min to 2.34 again and again !
Beautifull.
I saw him in a concert in Sevilla ( Spain) time time ago.
G r e a t !!!!!!!


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## I like music

Circe said:


> S U P E R G I R L
> 
> 
> 
> I Could be earing from 1.34 min to 2.34 again and again !
> Beautifull.
> I saw him in a concert in Sevilla ( Spain) time time ago.
> G r e a t !!!!!!!




Missed him in concert with the LSO (he was due to conduct, but his health deteriorated so he could not travel). However, this was played, and then played again as the encore. Love that part also!


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## Abdulrahman

ka00 said:


> For me, it’s got to be Total Recall. I watched that movie a lot when I was very young, and the score left an indelible mark on me. Could listen to it any day of the week.
> 
> What about you? What’s your pick?


I would have to say Disney's Mulan for sure!


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## ed buller

Satan Bug



bliss


e


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## Ganvai

The 13th Warrior is maybe my biggest guilty pleasure from Goldsmith.

But there is so much to love

*The Wind and the Lion*
This is a fantastic adventure soundtrack with so many clever and weird ideas. And while Goldsmith had always weird instruments and ideas, especially in his Sci-Fi scores, it is great to hear how he worked this into a more conventional setting.

*Air Force One*
I have to include this one because it is one of the most overlooked soundtracks from Goldsmith. It is simple, straight forward and maybe the best anyone could have done for this movie. I like the movie, it's an okayish action movie (when you are able to look over the tons of patriotism) but it really gets intense with Jerry Goldsmith score. 
For everyone who thinks "Oh, the movie is simple, the soundtrack seems kinda simple, that's not hard to make" you should watch the alternative score from Randy Newman for one of the most intense Action Scenes ever made ("The Hijacking"). Newman did some very good music, but it lacks the simplicity and straightness of Goldsmiths score. 
So even this score is not the "best" or "most complex" from Goldsmiths works, it shows one of his strength best: His ability to maintain the very soul of a film in his music, without using weird instruments or super experimental elements that would distract the listener from the movie itself, but just with melodies and the use of his orchestra. 

This is something I really admire Goldsmith for. He did this a lot and often so masterfully, that no one ever realised what a Genius he was. No matter if it was in Mulan, Ghost and the Darkness, First Blood or The Mummy. He understood movies and music so deeply that he was able to capture the essence of a movie into a melody in a very natural way.

I guess this is why he never got the recognition during his life and also why he is missed so much nowadays.


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## re-peat

The one time when Goldsmiths inspiration failed him a little bit, in my opinion, is with the main theme — the Quatermain March — from "King Solomon's Mines".




I don't know whether it was at the insistence of the producers or director, or if it was Goldsmith's own idea, but what he came up with, is clearly an attempt at an heroic "Indiana Jones"-like march. And, as I think most will agree, he didn't quite pull that one off - in fact, it's a pretty weak effort. (Which, more than anything, proves, if any such proof were still needed, what a unique genius musical invention the "Raiders March" actually is.)

Most everything else in the "Solomon" score is vintage high-quality Goldsmith though.

_


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## I like music

re-peat said:


> The one time when Goldsmiths inspiration failed him a little bit, in my opinion, is with the main theme — the Quatermain March — from "King Solomon's Mines".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know whether it was at the insistence of the producers or director, or if it was Goldsmith's own idea, but what he came up with, is clearly an attempt at an heroic "Indiana Jones"-like march. And, as I think most will agree, he didn't quite pull that one off - in fact, it's a pretty weak effort. (Which, more than anything, proves, if any such proof were still needed, what a unique genius musical invention the "Raiders March" actually is.)
> 
> Most everything else in the "Solomon" score is vintage high-quality Goldsmith though.
> 
> _




I don't know, man! I fucking love it. That said, I can't listen to Goldsmith through anything but rose-tinted ear-glasses. But I guess when comparing with the rest of his work, it isn't _quite_ there ... maybe.


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## mducharme

In general I love Goldsmith's music - but I do have do agree that his "King Solomon's Mines" main theme was less interesting than most of his stuff, a bit trite.

The relationship of the KSM score and that of the film that it very openly parodies is interesting. Goldsmith's main theme is certainly not comparable to Williams' in any way. However, I've always felt that Williams' Marion theme from Raiders was one of his weakest love themes. Although still certainly not bad by any means, it doesn't match Goldsmith's rather strong love theme for KSM. So even though Williams' main theme is certainly better and Goldsmith's is more trite and I would say objectively weaker, Goldsmith's love theme is, I feel, stronger than Williams' in this case.

Regarding the main theme, I wonder how much in this case was due to the idea that this was to be an Indiana Jones parody sort of film. His theme seems over the top in such a way that he might try to play a parody for laughs. It doesn't sound earnest in the same way that his Supergirl theme does (Supergirl was certainly not meant as a parody) or even the KSM love theme does. So I have always interpreted the "trite" aspects as due to the fact that it is a musical parody. It is similar in idea to the very trite "Hogwart's March" that Patrick Doyle wrote for Goblet of Fire. Doyle certainly would have recognized that theme as being trite and could have written something much better, but it was a parody of a full-of-itself march style, and played a dramatic role in the film when Cedric Diggory's dead body apparates back there when they are playing the march, commenting on how meaningless the celebrations are amongst matters of life and death. Not that there is any deeper meaning in the King Solomon's Mines main theme other than Goldsmith perhaps trying to create musical laughs where they were absent in the script, but there is a similar idea of parody in both cases, and this can at least partially explain the interpretation of the melody.


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## robgb

I think I said Planet of the Apes earlier, but today I'm going to have to go with Planet of the Apes.


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## Thomas Kallweit

I have to look out -
spontaneously indeed I have to say:
Planet of the apes for sure.

Yesterday I watched Capricorn One for the first time. As I listened to the music I thought, great, this could be Goldsmith, and bingo it was - though I don't know if this may be my favorite (it was good anyways). So I guess he is very recognizable for me - compliment


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## I like music

Of all the different, amazing, things Goldsmith could do with music, I just love the fact that he was a master of melody too. And some of that shit was so lush and raw, it was burned into my brain after one listen. This one's a good example.


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## nolotrippen

The Wind and the Lion.


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## Eugenic

Well, I was thinking "where's that thread about Goldsmith, it's time to dig it out" and here it is, alive and well.

Just passing by to say that today I listened again to "Mulan". What. A. Masterpiece.

The suite alone is worth the whole CD. The usual Disney-musical tracks (I believe co-written with Tim Rice?) are one step ahead of everything Menken (who I adore anyway).

He seldom scored animation, but when he did, there was no room for anybody else (I'm talking about Secret of NIMH).

I am really, REALLY dreading the soundtrack of the new Mulan action movie. I a torn: I really hope they pay homage to Goldsmith, but I would also like them to leave that soundtrack alone instead of butchering it.


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## I like music

Eugenic said:


> Well, I was thinking "where's that thread about Goldsmith, it's time to dig it out" and here it is, alive and well.
> 
> Just passing by to say that today I listened again to "Mulan". What. A. Masterpiece.
> 
> The suite alone is worth the whole CD. The usual Disney-musical tracks (I believe co-written with Tim Rice?) are one step ahead of everything Menken (who I adore anyway).
> 
> He seldom scored animation, but when he did, there was no room for anybody else (I'm talking about Secret of NIMH).
> 
> I am really, REALLY dreading the soundtrack of the new Mulan action movie. I a torn: I really hope they pay homage to Goldsmith, but I would also like them to leave that soundtrack alone instead of butchering it.



Mulan is right up there for me as one of the best scores ever made. They compliment the film so well. Too many great parts, but I love especially this (EPIC) part. All the "epic" younglings could learn a thing (or hundred) from Mr Goldsmith about epic.


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## I like music

Eugenic said:


> Well, I was thinking "where's that thread about Goldsmith, it's time to dig it out" and here it is, alive and well.
> 
> Just passing by to say that today I listened again to "Mulan". What. A. Masterpiece.
> 
> The suite alone is worth the whole CD. The usual Disney-musical tracks (I believe co-written with Tim Rice?) are one step ahead of everything Menken (who I adore anyway).
> 
> He seldom scored animation, but when he did, there was no room for anybody else (I'm talking about Secret of NIMH).
> 
> I am really, REALLY dreading the soundtrack of the new Mulan action movie. I a torn: I really hope they pay homage to Goldsmith, but I would also like them to leave that soundtrack alone instead of butchering it.



Oh yeah, and that suite is absolutely superb!


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## Eugenic

I like music said:


> Mulan is right up there for me as one of the best scores ever made. They compliment the film so well. Too many great parts, but I love especially this (EPIC) part. All the "epic" younglings could learn a thing (or hundred) from Mr Goldsmith about epic.




Fun fact: that cue is missing from the original release (at least the Italian version), which comprises 7-8 of Goldsmith's tracks, plus the "snippet" of her escape from home (pop version) and the original track as Goldsmith envisioned it.

One thing that struck me: the reverb. Probably by today's standards it would be considered too much.


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## I like music

Eugenic said:


> Well, I was thinking "where's that thread about Goldsmith, it's time to dig it out" and here it is, alive and well.
> 
> Just passing by to say that today I listened again to "Mulan". What. A. Masterpiece.
> 
> The suite alone is worth the whole CD. The usual Disney-musical tracks (I believe co-written with Tim Rice?) are one step ahead of everything Menken (who I adore anyway).
> 
> He seldom scored animation, but when he did, there was no room for anybody else (I'm talking about Secret of NIMH).
> 
> I am really, REALLY dreading the soundtrack of the new Mulan action movie. I a torn: I really hope they pay homage to Goldsmith, but I would also like them to leave that soundtrack alone instead of butchering it.



Oh yeah, and that suite is absolutely superb!


Eugenic said:


> Fun fact: that cue is missing from the original release (at least the Italian version), which comprises 7-8 of Goldsmith's tracks, plus the "snippet" of her escape from home (pop version) and the original track as Goldsmith envisioned it.
> 
> One thing that struck me: the reverb. Probably by today's standards it would be considered too much.


What! That cue is missing in some versions?! As a mistake surely? Do you mean the film or a soundtrack release?

Actually, I wanted to ask about reverb in Goldsmith scores. In some of them it is quite heavy as I recall. But I have absolutely no clue about how much processing was done. In this case, I like it, suits it very nicely.

I _think_ I've heard an alternative version of the 'escape' cue.


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## Eugenic

I like music said:


> Oh yeah, and that suite is absolutely superb!
> 
> What! That cue is missing in some versions?! As a mistake surely? Do you mean the film or a soundtrack release?



I meant in the Italian version of the OST, not in the movie.

About the reverb, yeah there are some Goldsmith scores that are awash with it: Total Recall, for example. The latest Star Treks are dryer.


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## reutunes

Gremlins


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## oboemaroni

It's an obscure choice but I *love* his score for 70s disaster film The Cassandra Crossing. I think the textures, polyrhythms/cross rhythms, instrumentation and mood are just incredible - the film is about a virus spreading on a train across Europe and somehow he manages to combine a sonic evocation of both things, the clanging, metallic chug of the train together with the feverish claustrophobia of the sickness. The main theme is beautiful and mysterious but the action cues are something else, their climactic moments are genius... It's a shame the film itself is kind of forgotten as a footnote to the disaster movie boom as the score doesn't get the credit it otherwise might. 14:12 in the video below is a good example to start with in this score:



Of course I also love Alien, Poltergeist, Chinatown (even though LA Confidential is the better score I prefer the Chinatown theme), Papillon, Logan's Run...


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## Lilainjil

Just happened to catch the classic Twilight Zone episode “the Invaders” on tv the other night. The one with Agnes Moorehead in a remote farmhouse battling little aliens trying to get inside her house. Originally aired in 1961. Goldsmith’s score made me realize why this thing freaked me out so much as a little kid. And haunted me for the next fifty some odd years.


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## I like music

Lilainjil said:


> Just happened to catch the classic Twilight Zone episode “the Invaders” on tv the other night. The one with Agnes Moorehead in a remote farmhouse battling little aliens trying to get inside her house. Originally aired in 1961. Goldsmith’s score made me realize why this thing freaked me out so much as a little kid. And haunted me for the next fifty some odd years.



Hah. I've never really watched them. Might give it a try! Speaking of being freaked out, The Omen of course is great at this. One thing I had forgotten about it was the family/love theme and how it connected to the 'ave satani' theme. There's that motif we all know, from the Omen. I love the 'sweeter' variation Goldsmith does when playing the family/love theme. Let me find the timestamps. Really was an amazing composer!

Piano part here, freaky to the core:



... compared with the theme here ... it is based on that same arpeggiation you hear earlier I believe. In particular when the violins stop playing at the flute comes in shortly, he's suddenly disarmed and transformed that motif into something aching and lovely.



FUCK. So good.


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## re-peat

oboemaroni said:


> (...) I *love* his score for (...) The Cassandra Crossing.(...) The main theme is beautiful and mysterious (...)



The Cassandra Crossing’s main theme — the composition itself, I mean — is the one thing I never liked in this otherwise brilliant and very inventive soundtrack. (And ignoring the tedious song “I’m Still On My Way” as well, of course.) I would call it barbarastreisandish and lasvegas-y, rather than ‘mysterious and beautiful’. Or something Andy Williams would sing. It’s lifted to levels of enjoyment far higher than the theme itself warrants though by a genius arrangement. So I certainly don’t fast-forward whenever it appears in the score, but I don’t think it’s among Goldsmith’s great melodic inventions.

Definitely agree with you though on the rest of the music and the action cues in particular (as I already mentioned on pag.4 of this thread): Goldsmith gold. 

_


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## ed buller

Similar score in many ways...another Fav



best


ed


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## Dave Connor

Scores not mentioned:

Coma - will blow you away with the incredibly intense piano-oriented cues.

The Other - a fantastic haunting score.

The Illustrated Man - absolute gem.

—

Planet of the Apes - for both pure inventiveness and just gang-busting brass and rhythm writing.

Patton - not just fantastic dramatic cues but a main theme that is one of the great military themes in the American canon.

TV - Twilight Zone - The Four of us Dead. Young Jerry Goldsmith writing Big Band cues that seem to surpass anything ever written for the genre. That’s saying a lot with with a few million pieces to compare to from much older masters.

if he’s not the best ever he certainly is the most versatile.


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## I like music

Dave Connor said:


> Scores not mentioned:
> 
> Coma - will blow you away with the incredibly intense piano-oriented cues.
> 
> The Other - a fantastic haunting score.
> 
> The Illustrated Man - absolute gem.
> 
> —
> 
> Planet of the Apes - for both pure inventiveness and just gang-busting brass and rhythm writing.
> 
> Patton - not just fantastic dramatic cues but a main theme that is one of the great military themes in the American canon.
> 
> TV - Twilight Zone - The Four of us Dead. Young Jerry Goldsmith writing Big Band cues that seem to surpass anything ever written for the genre. That’s saying a lot with with a few million pieces to compare to from much older masters.
> 
> if he’s not the best ever he certainly is the most versatile.



Thanks Dave - hadn't heard of either of the first three you mentioned, so will go track these down. I'm actually very excited! VERY excited, to be hearing more Goldsmith I haven't yet heard.

One of my all-time favourite cues is the opening to Hoosiers... He just captures what I imagine is the essence of that time and place. Its just a freaking car driving for minutes and minutes. The imagery itself is beautiful but that trumpet at the start just gives me goosebumps each time. The rest of the score is excellent too, and really enhances the film.


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## Richard Bowling

All of his compositions were amaxing - always what the film/show needed. From the Waltons theme to Alien and through his entire body of work. He always captured the essence of the film and elevated it.


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## I like music

Just heard another score which carried a spectacular melody (Night Crossing - First Flight was the track) 

Would most agree that he was one of the very very best at delivering a great melody? I don't just mean quality. I mean quantity. Apart from Williams, I can't think of any other composers that have as many distinct melodies incorporated into their scores. There are 100s of them, and to my ear, each has something special about it.


----------

