# What's your favorite "great score - but, way better than the film" combination



## jaeroe (Nov 4, 2014)

In the spirit of John G's "What's your favorite 'can't be surpassed' score/film combination" - What comes to your mind as a great score for a not so great film, or also a great film with a pretty weak, misguided or ineffective score?

Stephen King, in his book "On Writing" talks about learning 10 times as much from reading a bad book as reading a good one. What have you learned from these mismatches?

(would be good if we didn't slag too much on something being just bad, but more what did you learn from something that didn't work - why didn't it work for you)?

I'll start off with The Interview With The Vampire - Goldenthal
Great composer at some of his best work, a lot of potential for a good film with the book as a starting place..... but, ultimately not the best of films (guilty pleasure film....)


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## Zardoz (Nov 28, 2014)

I always found Alan Silvestri's score for The Mummy Returns to be great fun (dare I say more fun than Jerry's for The Mummy) but the film is...lacking. 

I would also posit that William's scores for all three of the prequels are superior to the films they accompanied. Anakin's Theme from Phantom Menace is just gorgeous, so elegant and heartbreaking, and then on screen we get "Yippee!" and "Are you an angel?" :roll: Just embarrassingly bad dialog and delivery.


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## RiffWraith (Nov 28, 2014)

The Lady In The Water - JNH

Stargate: Continuum - JG


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## maclaine (Nov 28, 2014)

I've been getting really into Alan Silvestri's score for Judge Dredd lately. This piece is particularly awesome, and a nice demonstration of a powerful action/epic piece that doesn't rely on bwaaaaa horns or over the top taikos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLxTjJ_5JB4


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## chillbot (Nov 28, 2014)

Probably too mainstream... but I don't think the Pirates of the Caribbean movies or the Lord of the Rings movies are that great... they're good, better than most... but for me the score makes them completely watchable. Dare say I will watch them solely for the score.


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## chibear (Nov 28, 2014)

> a great film with a pretty weak, misguided or ineffective score


For me, Ladyhawke (1985) takes the prize. It wasn't great, but a very good film murdered by a terrible score. The fusion of different styles mixed together like oil and water. It just didn't work and was considered quite the joke in musical circles at the time.


> What comes to your mind as a great score for a not so great film


2 Zimmer scores:
Pearl Harbor fits the description perfectly even though he tried to recycle the Gladiator battle waltz that didn't work all that well. Lots of other fine writing in there IMO.

Gladiator: Yes the film was great, but the score was that *GREAT*. I think it will go down in history as Zimmer's masterpiece. How it didn't win the Oscar that year is beyond my comprehension.


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## Stiltzkin (Nov 29, 2014)

Final Fantasy: The spirits within

I can't get over how good that score is - personally I actually enjoyed the film too, but it flopped big time.

Also sphere and alien 3.

To be honest goldenthal just seems to be a very unlucky composer when doing film music what with the way batman went too!


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## Guy Rowland (Nov 29, 2014)

Cool thread. I can't think of any, but not because there aren't any - I've been aware for a long time that I seek out scores based on whether or not I like the film AND the music. There's some magic alchemy in film scores, that in some ways they represent the soul of the film. No matter how proficient and even musically inspired they might be, if they're accompanying a turkey I lose all interest in listening to it.


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## Resoded (Nov 29, 2014)

The Village, James Newton Howard.


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## Stephen Rees (Nov 29, 2014)

Much as I do love the film, I think Star Trek: The Motion Picture didn't quite capture the magic and spirit of the TV series ('Wrath of Khan' came along to show just how good a Star Trek film could be soon after…).

But the score. Wow. It is almost hard to appreciate that majestic theme for what it was, because when it was chosen as the theme tune for the 'Next Generation' it perhaps became overly familiar. But from the moment of the opening notes and fanfare, which with a BANG almost blew me out of my chair, through the Klingon cloud attack, the floating space station, Kirk and Scotty shuttling to the Enterprise, the lush theme for Ilia, etc. etc. I was, and still am, completely blown away by that score.


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## ed buller (Nov 29, 2014)

have to agree ST TMP..is NOT a good film...score is wondrous ..


John Barry: The Black Hole

John Barry: King Kong

Bernard Hermann : Torn Curtain 

Jerry Goldsmith : The Satan Bug

Miklos Rosza : Ivanhoe

Richard Rodney Bennett: Billion Dollar Brain

Ron Goodwin : The Battle Of Britain


e


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## Guy Rowland (Nov 29, 2014)

Resoded @ Sat Nov 29 said:


> The Village, James Newton Howard.



Love that film. His best, after Sixth Sense imo. And yeah, score is outstanding.


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## paulmatthew (Nov 29, 2014)

No real favorite , but here's a few that stood out :

John Murphy / Underworld - Sunshine 

Steve Jablonsky - Ender's Game 

Andrew Lockington - Journey 2:Mysterious Island

Trevor Rabin - National Treasure

and of course , 

Steven Price - Gravity


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## Living Fossil (Nov 29, 2014)

I think that a good score, if it's good, enables a film at least to "function". When the music is really great, it usually lifts up the film. Said that, for me this is a rather rare experience.
In contrary there are lots of films i saw in the last years that in my opinion didn't functioned [for me] because of the music. Those were no masterpieces of film history, but they could have been nice films.
I don't like the concept of "underscores" very much, but rather want to hear a music that is somehow a "counterpoint". I don't need to hear what i already see; but i'd like to hear what i don't see [or feel] immediatley. And that's obviousley a concept that (probably due to younger and younger audiences and the fear to demand to much brain activity from the viewer) is not very usual anymore....

While i need to rethink which score i really liked without liking the movie, there's a movie that comes to my mind as an example of a great movie which could have been much better with a different music:

Stranger than fiction (2006):
The problem was not, what the music did; but [at least to me] rather what it didn't do.
There was a lot of space for the emotional/psychological characterisation of the protagonists...
So it was a great movie. With the perfect music it had been a really great movie.


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## Marius Masalar (Nov 29, 2014)

Most of the ones I can think of have already been mentioned, but one superb one that hasn't is Cutthroat Island (John Debney).


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## dedersen (Nov 29, 2014)

James Newton Howard kinda owns this category, doesn't he? Kept on delievering wonderful scores for the increasingly unwatchable drivel that M. Night Shyamalan produced after Sixth Sense.


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## TakeABow (Dec 4, 2014)

The village wins this for me, hands down. Amazing tracks in that one. If you haven't seen it, just buy the soundtrack instead.


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## shadow (Dec 10, 2014)

I just recently watched a movie called "Into the storm".
While the movie was ok....I thought the soundtrack by Brian Tyler was brilliant.
Another one was Robocop 3. Average film but rather bombastic soundtrack that far overshadowed
the scripting. I haven't seen it in many years so may have to revisit that one.
I couldn't tell you who wrote that soundtrack.


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## Assa (Dec 10, 2014)

I really like Michael Kamen's score for the three musketeers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2tLTBVPVIY

Not the greatest movie of all times,I liked it when I was a child though :D


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## Black Light Recordings (Dec 16, 2014)

I really loved "The Last Air Bender" by James Newton Howard. Great action music. Horrible film.

Also liked Abel Korzeniowski's work on both "Escape from Tomorrow" and "Romeo and Juliet.

......and all of John Williams' work on the Star Wars prequels. :shock: 

G


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## Blake Ewing (Dec 17, 2014)

I've always loved the scores (but not necessarily the films) for:


The American President - Marc Shaiman
Super 8: Michael Giacchino
Casper: James Horner
Anastasia: David Newman
The Mission: Ennio Morricone
Sommersby: Danny Elfman
Home Alone 2: John Williams
First Knight: Jerry Goldsmith
Dragonheart: Randy Edelman
The Prince of Egypt: Hans Zimmer


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## Dave Connor (Dec 17, 2014)

Thomas Newman's score to DECIEVED is absolutely brilliant. I was rewinding a lot to hear those great cues a few times. The film is not very good at all.


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## JohnG (Dec 17, 2014)

Lots of good choices here (particularly like "Last Airbender," "First Knight," and "Dragonheart" mentions but really a lot of those cited here are excellent choices).

I loved the score for the original "Total Recall" score by Jerry Goldsmith, but also loved Harry Gregson-Williams' score for the remake. Original film was kind of fun, a bit less so the remake.

Jerry Goldsmith particularly strikes me as a guy who wrote absolutely awesome music for sometimes "B" films (sometimes worse). Amazing the high quality level that he put into any number of very average films.


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## Stephen Rees (Dec 17, 2014)

JohnG @ Wed Dec 17 said:


> Jerry Goldsmith particularly strikes me as a guy who wrote absolutely awesome music for sometimes "B" films (sometimes worse). Amazing the high quality level that he put into any number of very average films.


Very much agreed. 

Supergirl
King Solomon's Mines
The 13th Warrior
The Edge
Air Force One
Medicine Man
Legend
Twilight Zone: The Movie
The Final Conflict

....and on and on and on and on.....


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## JohnG (Dec 17, 2014)

Yes -- forgot Air Force One. Despite the incandescent Gary Oldman and the always reliable Mr. Ford (and others -- lots of good ingredients), a movie that had a number of defects.

The parachuting stuff at the end is one of the most hilarious (unintentionally so) sequences I've ever seen.

But what a score.


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## jaeroe (Dec 17, 2014)

Yes - Goldsmith's The Edge is fantastic. Movies is ah..... hmmm...

Ed Shearmur has done some very nice work for films that aren't as good as his music.... when he's on. When he's not on.... oh, boy. He really takes a lot of dud movies and doesn't seem to trouble himself much with the score in those situations.

And then there is one of the biggest guilty pleasures of all time....... Reign of Fire! People hated that movie, and it isn't all that bad, minus a few really really bad parts (McConaughey diving off the tower at the end, etc.... and just McConaughey in general in that one). The score is outstanding in a lot of parts.... when he's not doing a terrible Holst rip.

Shearmur's Sky Captain is way better than the film, for sure.


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## hawpri (Dec 17, 2014)

Super 8
The Village
Stardust
X-Men: The Last Stand
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
A.I.


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## Silh (Dec 20, 2014)

Agreed on Jerry Goldsmith's work, love his stuff.

My personal vote would be for Basil Poledouris' Conan score though (and his work in general, but that one has always stood out in my mind).


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## bluejay (Dec 20, 2014)

paulmatthew @ Sat Nov 29 said:


> No real favorite , but here's a few that stood out :
> 
> ...
> 
> ...



Had the pleasure of seeing some of this recorded at Abbey Road and it's an excellent score. Andrew Lockington is an incredibly nice guy and went to great lengths recording the percussion for that score.

Definitely agree with the comments about JNH having a lot of these in his repertoire (Jerry Goldsmith as well).

For myself I put forward James Horner's incredibly fun score to Krull. Definitely not the greatest film ever but that score is still a favourite of mine.


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## Alastair (Dec 20, 2014)

JohnG @ Wed Dec 17 said:


> Yes -- forgot Air Force One. Despite the incandescent Gary Oldman and the always reliable Mr. Ford (and others -- lots of good ingredients), a movie that had a number of defects.
> 
> The parachuting stuff at the end is one of the most hilarious (unintentionally so) sequences I've ever seen.
> 
> But what a score.



Didn't JG only have something like a week to compose that, due to someone else (Randy Newman?) having his rejected? Ridiculous.

I second Cutthroat Island - terrible film, incredible score. I think Hook by John Williams is another example of this; a fairly poor film but an awe-inspiring soundtrack. One of his best.


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## Stephen Rees (Dec 21, 2014)

bluejay @ Sat Dec 20 said:


> For myself I put forward James Horner's incredibly fun score to Krull. Definitely not the greatest film ever but that score is still a favourite of mine.



Yes! Rip-roaringly good and one of my all time favourite film scores of all time


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## bluejay (Dec 21, 2014)

Mine too, Stephen!


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