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Why didn't the Goldsmith score get it's own isloated track on the DVD?

posted 11 years ago by BogartDeniroScorsese
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One thing I’ve wondered ever since the Ultimate Edition DVD came out is, why didn’t Jerry Goldsmith’s score get it’s own isolated track on the DVD? If they’re going to give one score it’s own isolated track, why not give the other one it’s own isolated track as well? While I enjoy both soundtracks, I definitely like the Goldsmith one better. While I wouldn’t watch the entire movie listening to the isolated score, it can be interesting to watch a few scenes with just the music playing. Since Goldsmith is one of the great, legendary film composers, I would think that, if only one score was going to get an isolated track, it would be his. I’m surprised that, when the DVD manufacturers were creating all the DVD’s special features, they only thought to give the Tangerine Dream score that option. What do other people think?

[–] jack181078 11 years ago

I think the producer on the Ultimate Edition said that, while not privy to the specifics, Universal was not able to get the proper rights clearances needed to feature Goldsmith's music on an isolated track.

[–] BogartDeniroScorsese 11 years ago

That's a shame. It's a really lovely score, and fits the movie so well. It'd be fun to watch some scenes from the movie with just the music playing. I wonder if the fact that the Tangerine Dream score was the one used in the American version is one of the reasons why it get's it's own isolated track.

[–] jack181078 11 years ago

Great score. It'd be an interesting challenge to place some of it as originally intended on an isolated track--if they could hunt down the original elements--since so much of it was moved around, repeated, placed in different scenes than intended. The timings would be different, but it might give a sense of how the earliest cut might've shaped up.

Really glad to have the Director's Cut, which--as I understand it--is even longer than the European version...has even more of Goldsmith's score, and represents Scott's first official cut of the movie that was shown to a preview audience before it was drastically trimmed, rescored for US release. The Ultimate Edition really helped salve the wound of Goldsmith being replaced by the time LEGEND made it to theaters here.

Do you have the Blu-ray? How's the picture quality of the Director's Cut, which I heard was made from an inferior--yet best available--source?

[–] BogartDeniroScorsese 11 years ago

I do have the Blu-Ray. I think the picture quality is really good (which, considering that this is a movie is which the visuals are one of the film’s strongest assets, is really important), though I do not have a top of the line HDTV. Interestingly enough, when you select which version of the movie you want to watch on the Blu-Ray, a message from Ridley Scott appears on screen, talking about the picture quality. If you want some more professional reviews, I’ve included some links.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Legend-Blu-ray/21801/#Review

http://www.dvdmg.com/legendbr.shtml