Your favourite Jerry Goldsmith score

[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.

 

[nolotrippen]

The Wind and the Lion.

 

[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.

 

[I like music]

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.

 

[I like music]

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]

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.

 

[I like music]

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!

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.

 

[Eugenic]

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.

 

[reutunes]

Gremlins

 

[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...

 

[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.

 

[I like music]

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.

 

[re-peat]

(...) 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.

_

 

[ed buller]

Similar score in many ways...another Fav


best


ed

 

[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.

 

[I like music]

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.

 

[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.

 

[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.