OHMSS76I’m missing out on a few of those movies too. I’m particularly looking forward to watching INCHON…by all accounts Olivier is hilariously inept as MacArthur.
Here’s my thoughts on FIERCE CREATURES, part of a posting that is due to be made at the “Goldsmith’s LAST ORDERS” thread at some time in the future –
FIERCE CREATURES (US 1997) movie *1/2 score **1/2 album ***
Although Goldsmith’s score within the movie is rather slight and insubstantial, Goldsmith’s FIERCE CREATURES score does provide the basis for a very pleasant album. For the album, Goldsmith develops many of the thematic ideas present in the score, and utilizes the small pop and jazz ensemble nicely to create a very pleasant, melodic and intimate album. Much of the music on the album doesn’t appear in the movie – indeed, the opening album cue “Villa’s Theme” is one such segment – a delightful, sauntering and effortlessly ‘optimistic’ theme, with smooth, careful and intimate orchestration. In fact the whole score is a mixture of jazz, pop and classical styles with the emphasis on the jazz. The ‘tragic’ funeral music is particularly memorable and the cello work on ‘Trained Seals’ is sublime.
Please find below a summary of all of Goldsmith’s movies I have watched –
Certainly, Goldsmith’s recent output, especially 1992 through 1999, has been particularly disappointing. However, during the first thirty years of his career I found Goldsmith’s output to be consistently fascinating….if not always successful. Not only that, I perceive Goldsmith as being a particularly influential composer, and when you consider the disappointing nature of the vast majority of movies on which Goldsmith has worked, his influence on his contemporaries has been all the more remarkable. Please refer to my new thread “A Meeting of Minds….”, for more detail on Goldsmith’s importance as an influential film composer.
Please allow me to illustrate my perspective on Goldsmith’s career –
Though I find much of Goldsmith’s 90s output of very poor quality, I believe Goldsmith has done many great things in the past. I hope the following will illustrate this.
Goldsmith’s contribution to cinema over the past twenty years has been varied, and often excellent. The early 80s saw this important film composer probably at the peak of his powers, and the rest of the decade was notable for Goldsmith’s experimentation. In fact, the middle 80s saw some fascinating contrasts from score to score, as Goldsmith successfully nailed the complete range of genres, from romantic comedy to all-out action.
Below I have indicated my appreciation of Goldsmith’s film scores 1959 – 1999 inclusive.
1999 A hat-trick of memorable, distinctive and wholly enjoyable scores.
The Haunting ****1/2
The Mummy ****
The 13th Warrior ****1/2
1998
Star Trek IX **1/2
Small Soldiers **1/2
Mulan **1/2
U.S. Marshals 1/2
Deep Rising ***
1997
Air Force One **1/2
The Edge **1/2
L.A.Confidential *1/2
Fierce Creatures **1/2
1996
Star Trek VIII *
The Ghost and the Darkness **
Chain Reaction *
Executive Decision ***
City Hall 1/2
1995
Powder **1/2
First Knight *
Congo **
1994
IQ **1/2
The River Wild 1/2
The Shadow *
Bad Girls *
Angie *
1993 The highlight here was DENNIS, one of my favourite Goldsmith scores from the 90’s.
Six Degrees of Separation ***
Rudy *
Malice *
Dennis the Menace ***1/2
Matinee *1/2
The Vanishing ***
Love Field *1/2
1992 Another Goldsmith/Verhoeven triumph. BASIC INSTINCT would prove to be one of the most influential film scores of the 90s.
Forever Young **
Mr. Baseball **1/2
Mom & Dad Save the World **
BASIC INSTINCT *****
Medicine Man **
1991
Sleeping w/the Enemy ***1/2
Not Without My Daughter ***
1990 A trio of Goldsmith classics, here we see just what Goldsmith was capable of, sheer brilliance.
THE RUSSIA HOUSE *****
Gremlins 2 ***1/2
TOTAL RECALL *****
1989
Star Trek V ***
Leviathan *
The 'Burbs **1/2
1988
Warlock **1/2
Criminal Law ***
Rambo III **
Rent-a-Cop ***1/2
1987 Two scores, EXTREME PREJUDICE and LIONHEART, completely different in just about every way, yet bound by Goldsmith’s hallmark of quality.
Innerspace ***
Extreme Prejudice ****
LIONHEART *****
1986 Goldsmith’s most recent British film (LINK) had a really fun score, and HOOSIERS (aka BEST SHOT) had a very successful multi-faceted score.
Hoosiers ****1/2
Link ****
Poltergeist 2 **
1985 The action film score par excellence, and what many consider to be Goldsmith’s ‘magnum opus’.
Legend ***1/2
RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II *****
Baby **
1984 The pulsating RUNAWAY was a great example of the exciting electronic score.
Runaway ****
Supergirl **
Gremlins ***
The Lonely Guy ***
1983 Perhaps UNDER FIRE gave us Goldsmith’s best album? TWILIGHT ZONE had a great score, especially the sentimental Crothers portion, and the spiky Lithgow segment.
UNDER FIRE *****
Twilight Zone: The Movie ****
Psycho II **
1982 Classic scores through and through. FIRST BLOOD virtually defined its genre, THE CHALLENGE was absolutely ace, and THE SECRET OF NIMH is really what film music is all about.
First Blood ****
The Challenge ****
THE SECRET OF NIMH *****
Poltergeist ***1/2
1981 Goldsmith surprised some with his profound Wagnerian work on THE FINAL CONFLICT, quite different from his previous Omen scores.
Night Crossing ***
Raggedy Man **
Outland **
The Final Conflict ****
1980 Goldsmith followed up STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (my favourite JG score) with the magnificent MASADA, a score that appears to come from the composers’ heart.
Masada ****
Caboblanco **
1979 Two classic and very influential sci-fi scores, completely different from one another.
STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE *****
Players **
Alien ****1/2
1978 A vintage period, characterized by a manic energy in Goldsmith’s writing.
THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY *****
Damien: Omen II ***
Capricorn One **1/2
Coma ***1/2
The Swarm **1/2
THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL *****
Magic ****
1977
MacArthur **
Islands in the Stream ***1/2
Damnation Alley **1/2
Twilights Last Gleaming **1/2
1976
The Omen **1/2
The Cassandra Crossing ***
Logan’s Run **1/2
1975 BREAKHEART PASS was a fun mystery movie, with a knockout ‘western’ score.
Breakheart Pass ****
The Reincarnation of Peter Proud **1/2
The Wind and the Lion ***
Ransom **1/2
Breakout ***
1974 A late entry in noir scoring, and up there with the best.
Chinatown ****
1973
Papillon ****1/2
Shamus *1/2
Indict and Convict *1/2
1972
Pursuit ****
The Other **1/2
1971
Wild Rovers **
Escape From the Planet of the Apes ***
The Mephisto Waltz ****
The Last Run ****
The Brotherhood of the Bell **1/2
1970
The Ballad of Cable Hogue **1/2
Patton ****
Tora! Tora! Tora! **1/2
Rio Lobo **1/2
1969
100 Rifles **
The Chairman *1/2
Justine ***
The Illustrated Man **1/2
1968
The Detective ****
Planet of the Apes ****1/2
Sebastian ***1/2
1967
Warning Shot ***1/2
The Flim Flam Man **
Hour of the Gun **1/2
In Like Flint ***
1966
Stagecoach *1/2
The Sand Pebbles ***
The Blue Max ****
Seconds ***
1965
Von Ryan’s Express **
A Patch of Blue ***1/2
Our Man Flint ****1/2
The Satan Bug **
In Harm’s Way **1/2
1964
Rio Conchos **
Fate is the Hunter **1/2
Seven Days in May **1/2
The Prize *1/2
1963
A Gathering of Eagles **1/2
THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER *****
Lillies of the Field ***1/2
1962
The Spiral Road **1/2
Lonely are the Brave ***
Freud **1/2
1959
Face of a Fugitive *
City of Fear ***
Average *** (3.01)
Career Average *** (2.91)
I feel unable to comment on GLADIATOR, THE PUBLIC EYE, TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY, ALIEN NATION, THE SALAMANDER, or INCHON as I have not heard Goldsmith’s music in the context of the production.
A fine body of work, punctuated by some truly outstanding contributions, Goldsmith now rates 29th on my personal list of favourite film composers.
Having detailed my appreciation of Goldsmith’s scores to those movies of his I have seen, I now indicate my PERSONAL regard for the movies as a whole.
1999 THE MUMMY was a really entertaining movie, to me.
The Haunting **
The Mummy ***1/2
The 13th Warrior **1/2
1998 STAR TREK IX evoked the charming campness of the 60’s series, and DEEP RISING was a delicious Mickey-take of the action/sci-fi/horror genres.
Star Trek IX ***
Small Soldiers **1/2
Mulan ***
U.S. Marshals **
Deep Rising ***1/2
1997 AIR FORCE ONE was a favourite at the box office and LA CONFIDENTIAL was the darling of the critics.
Air Force One ****
The Edge ***
L.A.Confidential ****
Fierce Creatures *1/2
1996 British director Stuart Baird came up trumps with the excellent EXECUTIVE DECISION.
Star Trek VIII **1/2
The Ghost and the Darkness *1/2
Chain Reaction *
Executive Decision ***1/2
City Hall *1/2
1995
Powder ***
First Knight 1/2
Congo **1/2
1994 ANGIE was a warm and sentimental drama; it deserved to do better at the box office, in my opinion.
IQ *1/2
The River Wild 1/2
The Shadow *
Bad Girls 1/2
Angie ***1/2
1993 The kids loved DENNIS, and so did I.
Six Degrees of Separation ***
Rudy **
Malice **1/2
Dennis the Menace ***1/2
Matinee *1/2
The Vanishing ***
Love Field ***
1992 BASIC INSTINCT was very classy and is now a legend of cinema.
Forever Young **1/2
Mr. Baseball *
Mom & Dad Save the World *
Basic Instinct ****1/2
Medicine Man **1/2
1991
Sleeping w/the Enemy ***
Not Without My Daughter ***
1990 TOTAL RECALL had Goldsmith working on a top quality action comic, and he didn’t disappoint.
The Russia House **
Gremlins 2 **
Total Recall ***1/2
1989
Star Trek V *
Leviathan 1/2
The 'Burbs **
1988 RAMBO III continued where RAMBO II left off, tremendous fun.
Warlock *1/2
Criminal Law *1/2
Rambo III ***1/2
Rent-a-Cop **
1987
Innerspace ***
Extreme Prejudice ***
Lionheart 1/2
1986 HOOSIERS wasn’t just about basketball, it was also about what makes us human.
Hoosiers ****
Link *1/2
Poltergeist 2 *1/2
1985 RAMBO II was to me the perfect action movie; who could forget Rambo’s 'I’m gonna get you Murdock'.
Legend *
Rambo: First Blood Pt II ****
Baby *
1984 THE LONELY GUY was a sweet and insightful comedy. Of the many comic highlights, the most memorable were Grodin’s ‘….if you’re like me, never go to sleep in the afternoon….it just means you have to wake up and realize who you are TWICE in the same day….’, and the sight of a rigor mortised Martin being dumped into a trash can still clutching his television remote control.
Runaway **1/2
Supergirl *1/2
Gremlins **1/2
The Lonely Guy ***1/2
1983 UNDER FIRE was a very involving movie with superb performances, and an absolute peach of a score from JG.
Under Fire ***1/2
Twilight Zone: The Movie **
Psycho II **1/2
1982 FIRST BLOOD is maybe the granddaddy of the modern action movie, and THE SECRET OF NIMH was a beautifully realized tale.
First Blood ****
The Challenge **1/2
The Secret of NIMH ****
Poltergeist **1/2
1981
Night Crossing **1/2
Raggedy Man ***
Outland **
The Final Conflict *1/2
1980
Masada ***
Caboblanco *
1979 ALIEN is a truly classic movie.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture *1/2
Players *1/2
ALIEN *****
1978
The First Great Train Robbery ***
Damien: Omen II **
Capricorn One **1/2
Coma ***
The Swarm *1/2
The Boys from Brazil **1/2
Magic **
1977
MacArthur **
Islands in the Stream **
Damnation Alley *
Twilights Last Gleaming **
1976
The Omen *1/2
The Cassandra Crossing **
Logan’s Run **
1975
Breakheart Pass **1/2
The Reincarnation of Peter Proud *1/2
The Wind and the Lion **
Ransom **
Breakout **
1974 Out of the blue came this near classic, recapturing the essence of the 40’s noir.
Chinatown ****1/2
1973
Papillon **1/2
Shamus ***
Indict and Convict *
1972
Pursuit ***
The Other *1/2
1971 THE LAST RUN benefited from a superb performance from Scott, excellent locations, a fine Goldsmith score, and an interesting ‘human’ story.
Wild Rovers *1/2
Escape From the Planet of the Apes **
The Mephisto Waltz ***
The Last Run ****
The Brotherhood of the Bell **
1970 PATTON is one of the best screen biographies.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue **1/2
Patton ****
Tora! Tora! Tora! **
Rio Lobo *1/2
1969
100 Rifles *
The Chairman 1/2
Justine ***
The Illustrated Man **
1968 THE DETECTIVE had a blistering score from Goldsmith, and is one of the most entertaining ‘detective’ stories of the 60’s.
The Detective ****
Planet of the Apes ****
Sebastian ***
1967
Warning Shot ***
The Flim Flam Man **
Hour of the Gun **1/2
In Like Flint *1/2
1966 THE BLUE MAX provides a very colourful depiction of life amongst the German ranks during the Great War.
Stagecoach *
The Sand Pebbles ***
The Blue Max ****
Seconds ***
1965 Goldsmith’s parodic score to OUR MAN FLINT, was just one of that film’s assets.
Von Ryan’s Express **
A Patch of Blue ***1/2
Our Man Flint ***1/2
The Satan Bug **
In Harm’s Way ***
1964 SEVEN DAYS IN MAY had a great cast and a fascinating plot.
Rio Conchos *1/2
Fate is the Hunter **1/2
Seven Days in May ****
The Prize **1/2
1963 THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER was a gimmicky movie that also happened to be very good.
A Gathering of Eagles ***
The List of Adrian Messenger ****
Lillies of the Field ***
1962
The Spiral Road **1/2
Lonely are the Brave ***
Freud ***
1959
Face of a Fugitive **
City of Fear **1/2
Average **1/2 (2.39)
The average of 2.39 stars relates to how much I enjoyed the movie as a whole. This compares with an average of 2.91 stars when it comes to my personal opinion of Goldsmith’s actual score (detailed earlier in this thread).
On the whole, it appears the quality of Goldsmith’s scoring is EVEN better than the movies to which he is attached.
And to round off this particular posting, here are my top thirty favourite film composers, in order of merit.
1 Max Steiner
2 Alfred Newman
3 Horner
4 The Zimmer School, past and present
5 Tiomkin
6 J Williams
7 T Newman
8 Herrmann
9 Elfman
10 Barry
11 Alwyn
12 Morricone
13 Shore
14 Jarre
15 Newton Howard
16 Waxman
17 Isham
18 Silvestri
19 E Bernstein
20 Skinner
21 Poledouris
22 Rozsa
23 Webb
24 Spoliansky
25 Mancini
26 Frankel
27 C Young
28 Malcolm Arnold
29 Goldsmith
30 Clifton Parker
Of all of the current film composers, John Williams has my greatest respect, for maintaining his ‘number one’ industry status during thirty years of rapidly improving standards. Each passing year has seen an increase in the number of quality scores from a growing pool of versatile, talented, and increasingly sophisticated composers.
Of course, there are many other excellent film composers who do not fall within my PERSONAL top 30, from Rosenman to Raksin to Revell to Ottman to Doyle to North to Goldenthal to Sarde to Yared to Burwell and so on. Additionally, it may be the case that a composer has written very few scores or I haven’t seen enough of a particular composer’s movies to form a personal opinion. For instance, Harry Robinson (THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, THE BEST PAIR OF LEGS IN THE BUSINESS) is a particular favourite of mine, but I haven’t seen enough of his movies for him to qualify for inclusion in the above list.
However, one thing is for certain, there are well over one hundred film composers throughout the history of movies who have enriched cinema in their own special way for the benefit of us all.
[Message edited by DANIEL2 on 01-06-2001]
