This new Harry Potter score -- any thoughts?

[mkaroly]

I've been reading all these posts and I honestly don't know what to think. Is film score music even important anymore? I have yet to see the movie, but I have to admit that I am hesitant because this score sounds like it adds blandness or no dimension at all to the film...and I'm not the biggest HP fan in the world. Probably my favorite score of the whole series is POA- I absolutely love that CD and feel that is one of JW's great score accomplishments in recent memory...even better than MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA.

Seriously, this whole thread is scaring me...lol...I honestly think that film scoring is a dying art form that needs a major shot in the arm at this point.

[Paul MacLean]

I have yet to see the movie, but I have to admit that I am hesitant because this score sounds like it adds blandness or no dimension at all to the film.

Without having seen the film, you have nevertheless perfectly summed it up. The score indeed adds virtually nothing to the film. Astonishingly, Variety's review singled out the score as one of the more effective elements!

Probably my favorite score of the whole series is POA- I absolutely love that CD and feel that is one of JW's great score accomplishments in recent memory...even better than MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA.

I agree it is a great score, tho on CD I feel many of the cues don't stand alone well, and to me there's also an excess of dark, strident cues, and not enough "magical" cues to offset that. However, cues like "Buckbeak's Flight", Window to the Past", "Secrets of the Castle" are some of my favorite Williams compositions ever. But whatever its stand-alone appeal, the score for Prisoner of Azkaban is remarkably effective in the film (which is certainly not the case with this new Potter score).

Seriously, this whole thread is scaring me...lol...I honestly think that film scoring is a dying art form that needs a major shot in the arm at this point.

The sad thing is, there are certainly a lot of gifted composers out there, but they never get hired. Increasingly, directors who don't know anything about music are hiring their buddy, who may or may not have any musical talent (much less training) to score their films.

Some people on the FSM board are actually defending Order of the Phoenix's score as "perfectly adequate" and act like no one should be complaining. But I know this much -- if films like Star Wars, Superman, Raiders, E.T. or even Amistaad had had a score like Order of the Phoenix, they would not have been half as enjoyable (or popular).

[Eric W.]

Seriously, this whole thread is scaring me...lol...I honestly think that film scoring is a dying art form that needs a major shot in the arm at this point.

The sad thing is, there are certainly a lot of gifted composers out there, but they never get hired. Increasingly, directors who don't know anything about music are hiring their buddy, who may or may not have any musical talent (much less training) to score their films.

Some people on the FSM board are actually defending Order of the Phoenix's score as "perfectly adequate" and act like no one should be complaining. But I know this much -- if films like Star Wars, Superman, Raiders, E.T. or even Amistaad had had a score like Order of the Phoenix, they would not have been half as enjoyable (or popular).

All exactly right.