Escape from New York - One of the greatest, or at least one of the most underrated films of all time. One of the few, maybe the only film that successfully combines Action (box office), Future-Noir, and Art-film elements. Congratulations John Carpenter.

That is so right - it is a supremely ironic film with fabulous music.  

I don't remember The Fog having much of an impact on me but I'm rather fond of The Thing even though it's a synth realization of a Morricone score.

And let's not forget the haunting score for Christine which is also a fine example of analogue synth scores.

kenneth, that is an interesting comparison.

I also remember the score for The Thing being oddly like Carpenter's own scores, even though it was Morricone.  That was a very chilling film and music to put it mildly.  

@William said:

I also remember the score for The Thing being oddly like Carpenter's own scores, even though it was Morricone.  That was a very chilling film and music to put it mildly.  

It was Carpenter's idea to synthesize Morricone's score much to Morricone's annoyance.  In fact Morricone wanted his name removed from the credits if his original organic score wasn't used.  So a compromise was made in which the opening and closing credits would keep Carpenter's synth arrangement while the cues in the film would remain organic.  However, Carpenter was able to slip a few synth cues here and there.  That's the nice thinkg about being a filmmaker and composer, you have the technical skills to get away with something like that.  

what do you mean "organic" ?

btw I noticed the Laloggia music here -

Lady in White music

very cool that it is on vinyl

Well, I've always used the term "organic" to describe music that is realized through acoustic means without electronic enhancement like synths or amplifiers.  Examples would be like a Jazz band, Folk music or an orchestra. 

So why didn't I just say, "orchestraded?" 🤔

In retrospect, perhaps "organic" was a poor choice of words😳

Anyway, if you watch The Thing most of the cues during the film are orchestrated not synthetic.  If I recall, mostly woodwinds. 

Yes I do recall a lot of cues with acoustic.  It is a gloomy sounding score that adds to the extreme effect of that film. I've always felt it was not a box office success because it was truly a horror film - brrrr!  😮  Now it is a classic example of Carpenter's great directing. 

Speaking of analogue synth we are now living in the Renaissance of Analog Synthesizers, with Korg creating new Arp Odyssey, Moog, Roland, etc.  I recently got a Korg Minilogue which is fantastic, and I am using it with MIR, placing it on the Vienna Konzerthaus stage along with the other players. 

@William said:

I've always felt it was not a box office success because it was truly a horror film - brrrr!  😮 

...and because it played against Spielberg's E.T. 

In fact, for years after, Carpenter refered to The Thing as his Anti-E.T.

I don't know what it is about that score.  It's so simple yet so penetrating.  I think for me the score grabs hold of you and drags you to this dark and gloomy place where you feel cold, lonely and hopeless just like the characters in the movie which is set in the most freezing and isolated place on Earth.

The score to The Shinning had a similiar affect on me.

The score to The Shinning had a similiar affect on me.

I just remember Bartok in that film, did Carpenter do some too?

Sorry, but not a fan of Carpenters' music, (like his films though).  I think Williams' own scoring will be a considerable improvement.

"I think for me the score grabs hold of you and drags you to this dark and gloomy place where you feel cold, lonely and hopeless just like the characters in the movie which is set in the most freezing and isolated place on Earth." -Jasensmith

That is a perfect description.   Also, the ending- that is one of the most brilliant and radical endings of a movie ever.  

On the Shining Kubrick used his  "temp track" approach to scoring which is very mean to composers but works  for his films.  Remember that "2001" had a fabulous score by Alex North that Kubrick never even told him was replaced by the temp track and North found out at the premiere.  Holy crap! That is cold.  Also, Kubrick never paid Ligeti one cent!  Typical treatment of composers.

But the score of The Shining was very effective with some tracks by Penderecki as well as Wendy Carlos riffing off Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.   

Here is why I do also absolutly count to the filmmusic-guys using VSL:

http://klassik-resampled.de/promethe (link is fixed now !)

Of course this is one of the most signifcant films ever done with music at al.... 😃

link doesn't work

I still could not get the link to play on a Chromebook.  Maybe it works on another system.

This thread has gone a little off-topic (as is habitual here), since people are also discussing filmakers' choices for soundtracks rather than strictly filmakers-composers; which is great, as more interesting things are brought forward.

fahl's entry however is completely off the mark, obviously. For interest's sake, 'Prometheus' was a work my wife considered as a topic for her Musicology dissertation a few years ago. She wanted to use Fourier transforms to accurately map the work's sonic spectrum to that of light (no synaesthesia), thus only partly fulfilling Scriabin's vision of gesamkunstwerk - he also wanted particular smells to be aired in the auditorium, etc. - and then perform the work authoritatively for the first time (that is, take the solo piano part) for its 100th anniversary. Sadly, two physics departments said that it is scientifically unsound to claim analogies between sound waves and light waves, and she had to find another topic...

By the way, has anyone really checked fahl's signature? My-my... It sure beats mine.

P.S.: I loved Kubrick's use of Ligeti piano studies in Eyes Wide Shut. One of the best marriages of music to film I have ever known, especially considering the music was not composed for the footage!

Errikos you read my mind.  Yes I noticed that signature. I have avoided commenting several times and am pleased to see you didn't.   

I wrote some more about Scriabin but decided to delete it.    I found it somewhat disingenuous to coyly mention Scriabin with the obvious assumption on the part of the poster that no one would know the "film"  (i.e. visual music) reference.   

Hi Errikos

Any Problem with my signature?

It is nothing else but a simple question! (marked by a "?" )

So if you do know "any greater resource of sample-based recordings of classical music" ... just give me the concrete answer to my question: I'd be very very interested to know more about other guys working like me on things I am interested in.  

 "off the mark"????

However, the Idea to let music act in harmony with visual stimlation as Scriabin tried it in Promthé is at least in my eyes not to far away from fundamental conditions of composing music for films, meanwhile he was experimenting with this of course many years before films and filmmusic as we know it today actually developed.

In short, this was simply my project with the the strongest parallel to filmmusic-making and (nearly) completly done with VSL, so that was simply what I thought I perhaps could contribute to your Question about "filmmakers who use VSL".  And yes of course I made the "Film" with the Luceclav-Colurs by my self in so far I am a maker of that film.... 😉

Hi William,

could you just show me where ever you read anything justifying irritating wordings like that: "with the obvious assumption on the part of the poster that no one would know the "film" "

All what you are "obviosly" talking about is my little not to seriously meant (see Smily) sentence:

"Of course this is one of the most signifcant films ever done with music at al.... "

So please stay kind as I like to be with you.

best

Steffen

@fahl5 said:

Hi Errikos Any Problem with my signature? [b]It is nothing else but a simple question![/b] (marked by a "?" ) So if you do know "[i]any greater resource of sample-based recordings of classical music[/i]" ... just give me the concrete answer to my question: I'd be very very interested to know more about other guys working like me on things I am interested in. "off the mark"????

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your attempt to calm down things a bit. But I think it is absolutly not necessary to change my signature just because some freaks here like to react a bit weird about.

...or would you change your www.MaestrosCorner.com URL in to www.abjectivemusiclovercorner.com, just for the fancy of one or two Forummembers who have no better Idea to contribute to the real toipic here then what Errikos anf William have done here in their last posts.

I just tried to point them back on the facts of what they are talking about. And I think that should be enough to come back to a more polite and friendly behavior a forum like this deserves.

best

Steffen