I don't understand what kind of juvenile, bitter point you guys are trying to make by reinforcing that Shore was not the first choice on LOTR. Bill Conti was not the first choice for Rocky, David Shire was, but still millions of people love the Rocky music, just like millions of people love the LOTR...

You're calling me snide after Maclean says Shore had no fans before LOTR and that people who do like his LOTR are brainwashed because they like the movie? Why don't you guys go over to intrada.com and tell Doug Fake that he doesn't really like Howard Shore's music? I'd like to see him eat you for br...

Actually, Paul, I don't know what revisionist world you're living in but plenty of people loved Shore before LOTR. Royal Brown (who you don't like) was perhaps the most well known and respected film music critic prior to FSM, and he raved about Shore's work for years before Lord of the Rings. So did...

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However, I promise there will be articles on the "intellectual density" of Shore's music regardless of how insane the whole idea is.<<

That chip on your shoulder for Howard Shore's work seems to get bigger every year Andy. Happy 2007!

>>He already had won.<< I agree with this and I'll take it a step further: It felt like he had already won before he even stepped into the ring, which is why I felt no suspense during the actual fight. I also hope they put some stuff back into the dvd. I think what I missed most in the movie was Roc...

While I didn't think it was a very good movie, I can't say I'm upset that people seem to love it. I love the character and I thought his speeches were the best parts of the movie, but Rocky's opponent is paper thin and I didn't feel like there were any real stakes for the big fight. And what happene...

There was actually much more music than I expected, but very little of it was new. I recall a nice new arrangement of the Rocky theme for Rocky buying a fish, some ominous low strings for Rocky's opponent Mason, a brief new horn theme that happens once or twice for Rocky and his love interest (if yo...

I saw Rocky Balboa yesterday. It was touching in spots but fans expecting the heart and power of the original might be disappointed. The good news is that Rocky's brain-damage from part 5 has been cured and that he's more like the subdued Rocky everyone knows and loves. A huge majority of the Conti ...

They had to make due with what they had. I honestly don't know what the label on the dvd should read. I'm fine with "The Richard Donner Cut." If Donner had finished the movie, there would not be test screen footage, there would be new music and Superman would not have turned back the world...

For me the soul of Superman 2 is very clearly in the new Brando scenes, so I really don't miss Lois Lane blurting out "I love you." That's something that's best left understated. Superman tripping and sticking his hand in the fire place (intentionally or not) is stupid and I much prefer th...

I don't think they were out to fool anyone with this product. What are they supposed to do, put "Beware-Not an actual film!" on the box? What's amazing is that even in this incomplete form and with an ending that makes no sense, Donner's version feels like a more complete movie than the Le...

>>Obviously you have to recommend this to any Superman fan but what I ultimately think it's ironically going to do is make people realize how good of a movie SUPERMAN II actually is -- the theatrical version, not this weird and ultimately unsatisfying "approximation" of what might have bee...

I won't go out of my way to defend King Kong because I don't like the score, but it's 3 hours of music written in roughly 2 and a half weeks. Star trek was not a 3 hour score and James Newton Howard is not Jerry Goldsmith. (No one is.) Thomas Newman's last great one was Road to Perdition and I'm loo...

I had responded to all of your points Andy, but for some reason half of them are being deleted.

>>The>-Newton Howard's collaboration with Shyamalan has indeed resulted in some terrific scores -- some of the best of this decade so far, I totally agree with you, particularly THE VILLAGE. Outside of that, JNH hasn't hit a home run in some time.<< The Village wasn't that long ago and Lady in the W...