Some may not agree, but minus a promising couple of seconds here and there, this movie has got to go down as some one of the worst scores in history. I couldn't help but cringe often at the atrocious tempos and awkward melodies. Anyone else agree? It was like watching the Untouchables all over again...
sharecan't agree more. Not only the music was bad - it was playing all the damn time. it seemed like there wasn't a moment of peace and quiet during the whole thing.
shareWhat a load of rubbish. The score does exactly what is needed; highlights the tense dramatic moments, evokes a sense of location (the bluesy organ licks for Memphis), and doesn't overshadow the story. It is sensitive when needed (the gentle spanish guitar) and bold when the drama needs a lift (e.g. the fight scene), and as for it playing 'all the damn time', what movie where you watching? In the tense courtroom scenes, and generally those where Matt Damon's character is engaged in dialogue (so a lot of the movie), the music gets right out of the way by either being very quiet and barely noticeable, or in most cases, not there at all! I just don't get some people's expectations of film scores, ok so it's not gonna be remembered for being groundbreaking or progressive, but why would you possibly want that in a substance over style courtroom drama? Bernstein in my opinion, delivers a highly professional job.
shareYou're a homer. The soundtrack was horrible and made it all sappy and everyone look stupid.
shareI think it was an attempt at dumbing down a movie for a broader audience. I'm watching this film for the first time as I write this. And this muzak is almost cartoonish, although let's face it - the characters are cartoonish. And it fits better than heavy metal in Argento's Phenomena.
shareI didn't even notice there was a score until read this thread. It's completely unobtrusive.
I guess it's like looking at clouds. You see one thing and I see another. Peace.
No, you actually don't know the point of a roast. I suggest you actually tune in to one before you impart your wisdom on others.
shareYou must be deaf. It was horrid.
share[deleted]
I agree with you, sir. The others who argue that the score is good are tin earred fools who probably like breakfast cereal jingles and can't tell crap from a masterpiece. The Score felt really WEIRD and OUT OF PLACE in this movie. I found myself actually blurting out loud "what the hell?" when a particularly inappropriate piece of score was playing. It was like a score from a 1970s movie (which is not bad, but it felt anachronistic) and also a different film. I felt at times I was watching a Mel Brooks light comedy or a Made for TV movie about teen pregnancy during some of the stretches of music. It did NOT sound like a score penned in 1997!!!!!!!
The Untouchables was kinda weird, but the triumphant score during the bridge raid wasn't bad. But the weird title sequence sounded like a montage from a 1960s crime film noir television series (which 'could' have been the composer's intent).
Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.share
Agree. The music wasn't bad in and of itself but it was so out of place in a few of the scenes. The one particular is when Rudy does his summation. There's a pause and then right on cue comes the music a sort of jazzy/blues piece. I'm like wtf?
I think they were trying to go for the blues feel without being too obvious but it didn't work. The setting was Memphis where Blues is very popular. So I get what they were trying to do. However, it was poorly executed.
Agree. The music wasn't bad in and of itself but it was so out of place in a few of the scenes. The one particular is when Rudy does his summation. There's a pause and then right on cue comes the music a sort of jazzy/blues piece. I'm like wtf?
Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.share
LOL I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed that part. I guess ol' Francis was asleep at the wheel on that one.
That piece would have been more appropriate for a bar scene not the courtroom scene, imo.
Good on you that you do that type of work. Wish you much success. I'm nowhere near connected in that manner.
Hahahaha. Well it's a mixture of delight and sheer horror! There are many good and very good composers who so 'don't get it' sometimes, you just end up shaking your head in disbelief. I was sitting in an editing suite with an editor and director once and the composer came up with something that sounded like POLKA music ..... for an intense dramatic gunfight ..... yes .... we all said "WTF!!!!"
In the industry, there are waaaayyyy MORE "WTFs?" uttered than "Man! that rocked!" ;)
You were spot on in your analysis. A lot of viewers can't explain the affect of scores on scenes. They can only absorb a scene as a whole and not be able to explain whether the score was good or not. In fact I once argued with a girl who swore that in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" that there was no score in the scene when Indiana Jones was running from the boulder. I was like "WTF?" there was John Williams adventure music score blasting during that scene!!!!, but she didn't notice it and had no idea there was a musical score underlining the scene. She, unfortunately, is typical of MOST of the lay public when it comes to films.
Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.share
In the industry, there are waaaayyyy MORE "WTFs?" uttered than "Man! that rocked!" ;)
Uh, Yeah, eelb. Whatever.. LOL
Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.share
Uh, Yeah, eelb. Whatever.. LOL
So you're a Jazz fan? ActuallY I think that's pretty cool. I am not a fan myself, but I respect the art form. I can find a musical style "not to my taste" but I can still appreciate it from a purely intellectual standpoint.
Take pure classical, like Mozart. I don't go around listening to Mozart and there are film where I think the usage of Mozart is completely and utterly wrong. But I will never say that Mozart sucks. I'm not a fan, but I am fully aware of his genius and the genius of his music.
But I see your point. It DOES seem that people tend to degrade other musical forms, but that's purely because of our ignorance of the type of music. I mean no disrespect to Jazz, but when I talk about it, I talk like a complete amateur/neophyte. I admittedly know nothing about it. I will try to be more sensitive to people's musical tastes in the future.
And as a side note, I've been especially CRUEL to fans of Speed Metal, when I poo poo their music in films. ;)
Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.share
It sounds like an old detective show.
shareThank you sir. I'm all for killing that damn Crystalline Entity.
shareI agree. The soundtrack was terrible: very inappropriate and outdated
shareI agree with all those who are speaking out against this soundtrack. The wife and I were watching this last night, and stopped out of irritation at the tinkly score. Not only was it annoying, but it kept telling you how to feel: here's an amusing scene with Matt Damon mowing the law. Here's a sad scene with Matt Damon rescuing Claire Danes. It was almost as if there was no story, no script and the score was forced to do all the work. Seriously, was Coppolla drunk when he filmed this? Or just deaf?
share[deleted]
I totally agree. Some scenes, which were quite tense, had goofy music that we normally hear in romantic comedies! What the hell was the music editor smoking during post production?
shareWhat the hell are all you people smoking? By modern standards this is in no way an in your face score. Is everyone here in on some kinda weird joke? I agree it was a sort of dated sounding score, even for 1997 standards, but I actually thought it worked pretty damn well with the tone of the film.
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