The State of Space Sci-Fi

[Samulis]

(07-25-2017, 10:30 PM)Mattias Westlund Wrote: As for the music... well it's absolutely worth checking out more closely, but TBH it's not my favorite part of the trilogy. Howard Shore knows what he's doing and there's some nice and memorable stuff in there. I was really into the LotR soundtrack back in the day. But it hasn't really stuck with me like other scores from great movies have. Listening to it nowadays I actually find it a little bland overall. OTOH Shore isn't a composer in the Williams/Goldsmith/Silvestri/Horner/etc category, so it's to be expected that his work sounds different. I guess it comes down to tastes and preferences.

You know what, Mattias? I have had a similar experience. I absolutely loved the score back when I was growing up and through high school (primary), but now I don't really listen to it. I am and always have been mostly interested in the complete 'making of' series they did about how the films were made- that itself is almost more interesting than the movie in some parts to me!

Some scenes are divine musically- I still think the march of the ents to Isengard, the fellowship theme itself, and the departure into the west at the Grey Havens (Enya, if I remember right) are three fantastic parts. But, a lot of the filler stuff isn't really that 'stick-in-the-head'. I mean, I can remember it when I think about it, but only the fellowship theme really comes out naturally. As much as I think about how Shore and the score to LOTR inspired me to begin my journey through composition, I realize it has been a natural part of my development to now turn my back on it as I have grown immensely since my first steps. A lot of people never turn their backs on their initial inspirations, and while I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, I think doing so is a sign of progress and openness of mindset towards new ideas, and the unwillingness to simply repeat and upchuck the same ideas over and over again.

The Hobbit music was totally forgettable to me. I can't even think of a single melody from it, nor did I find it very enjoyable at the time. I haven't even bought the Hobbit in any medium- so much for a movie that was so highly hyped. I thought at the time that Howard Shore had simply reached the apex of his career over-extending himself with LOTR- the guy wrote like 2+ minutes a day at one point, not to mention the score is vastly more intricate and well-crafted than anything else that came out at that time or really in my opinion since then. I had the opportunity to even play a piece from the Hobbit for an orchestra I was in and it was one of the most boring and trope-stuffed pieces of music I have ever sat through half of.