moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (03/13/85)
After attending MASS APPEAL the other night, I was struck by the fact
that the excellently-done score had been done by Bill Conti. Now, if
you're memory is as burned-out as mine, Conti's name is associated
mainly with the theme to ROCKY, which has unfortunately fried itself
into the collective memory of this country, infiltrating life through
high school marching bands and local TV documentries. However, when
reviewing motion picture scores for the last few years, I ran into
several of my favorite ones which had been done by Conti: THE RIGHT
STUFF, MY BODYGUARD, and FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (the last Bond Movie which
lacked both the tired John Barry brass section and the tired
save-the-world plot; unfortunately, it still featured the tired Roger
Moore).
The mark of a great motion picture score composer is the ability to
create music which complements and amplifies the emotional impact of
the events occurring on the screen without swamping them, consistently.
Jerry Goldsmith is the first (and only) name which pops to mind when
these features are mentioned; Georges Delerue's work has appeared too
infrequently, as have Randy Newman's (THE NATURAL, RAGTIME) and Dave
Grusin. The use of a variety of musical styles is also another
indication of expertise; John Williams' major flaw is in this area
(his constantly heavy symphonic style is probably the reason many find
his works derivative of one another). But Conti, over an eight-year
period, seems to have met all these qualifications; his MASS APPEAL
score is a delightfully baroque piece of work. While he cannot match
Goldsmith's seniority in this field, he should be recognized to be in
Goldsmith's class.
Comments?
"You are WRONG, you ol' brass-breasted fascist poop!"
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
UUCP:
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ARPA:
fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPAreiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/20/85)
I find Conti's scores tolerable, but not special. (A local critic despises
them, never missing the chance to dump on them.) My own favorite composer
who is still alive and active is Elmer Bernstein: "The Ten Commandments",
"The Magnificent Seven", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Hawaii", and "True Grit"
are a few of his memorable scores. He is particularly strong working in
the heroic mode, though his Oscar was for "Thoroughly Modern Millie".
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reihermoriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (03/26/85)
In article <4408@ucla-cs.ARPA> reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (Peter Reiher) writes: >My own favorite composer >who is still alive and active is Elmer Bernstein: "The Ten Commandments", >"The Magnificent Seven", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Hawaii", and "True Grit" >are a few of his memorable scores. I'd agree that Bernstein is very good ("To Kill A Mockingbird" is one of the few scores which can bring a rise out of me automatically), and I'd give a lot to get a REAL soundtrack of "True Grit", but he has a tendency to be a bit too traditional for my tastes. Also enjoyed his "Heavy Metal" score. "You can thank the Rock 'n Roll detector for leading you to your doom!" "Thanks!" Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. UUCP: {cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \ {allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA