NP - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Tan Dun) **/*****

I'd get em in this order:
1. The Nightmare Before Christmas
2. American Beauty
3. Braveheart
4. Armageddon

quote:

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Originally posted by Tim_P:

I'd get em in this order:
1. The Nightmare Before Christmas
2. American Beauty
3. Braveheart
4. Armageddon

Tim

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So would I.

PERSONALLY, I'd say Braveheart is number one, definitely, but it seems to be a love it or hate it score for some reason. If you like Horner at his expansive Legends-Of-The-Fall hyberbolic best/worst (delete where appropriate), this is for you.

Then I'd go for Nightmare Before Christmas: I haven't got it, but if I saw the four you saw at the same time, that's the one I'd choose as sloppy seconds. I like Elfman, with reservations (Sleepy Hollow is a lot of work for me though). My instincts tell me that you won't go wrong here if you like quirkiness, orchestrally realized...

Then it would be American Beauty: I saw the film, and loved it. My instincts tell me that you won't go wrong here if you like quirkiness, realized on instruments like the Tibetan gourd...

Then it would be that other one. Well, I haven't got this either, but my instincts tell me (zzzzz) that if you like bombast realized in a frenetic ear-shattering synthesized way, then you can't go wrong here.

I really love James Horners' work. He does well at it. BUt I have also heard that it was a love/hate kinda soundtrack. I've been getting Mp3 samples to make my final decision.

I would probably then get Armageddon. I'm not one for a lot of synth music, but I really do love the themes in this film.

Then I would go for American Beauty. I've kinda ruled out the nightmare before christmas. But I'm still looking for some Mp3 samples- to make my final list. I have heard American Beauty was another love/hate soundtrack.

Danny Elfman's "Nightmare Before Christmas" is a masterpiece. It has about a zillion great melodies, two dozen musical styles, Patrick Stewart is the voice of Santa Claus and Elfman himself sings the part of Jack Skellington! Moods range from haunting, to whimsical, to awestruck, to action-adventure, to dramatic to melodramatic to quirky Elfman-styled pseudo-horror.

"Beauty" is out there, "Armageddon" is no masterpiece -- honestly, people! -- and "Braveheart," frankly, is a cliche which Horner has abused and repeated over and over and over and over and over again. You can have a great Horner collection without "Braveheart." You can't have a great Elfman collection without "Nightmare." Heck, you can't have a great FILM SCORE collection without "Nightmare!" THERE IS NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT! PERIOD! It is gauranteed to be unique in your collection! (When was the last time you heard Williams, Horner or Goldsmith singing their own songs? NEVER!)

The other three don’t really, in my view, represent anything out of the ordinary for the composer’s talents. American Beauty is very representative of the direction that Thomas Newman has taken in his work and continues to refine in scores like Erin Brockovich. Braveheart is a fine score, but certainly no better than Legends of the Fall, Perfect Storm or even, in my view, Titanic. All these are fine serviceable scores that support the films but hardly break new ground for James Horner. Armageddon has its moments but the bulk of this score sounds very similar to other MV Sound scored pictures. (But if this is the score you choose try and get the 2 CD boot/CDR as a least one or wo cues you really want will be missing on the commercial release)

Night mare before Christmas, or NBC, is in a different class altogether. NBC is a tour de force in Danny Elfman’s old orchestral style, a style that he no longer uses, although you can hear some influences in his later works like Sleepy Hollow, Flubber and Instinct. Dark and mysterious, it represents the culmination of composing ideas that began with Batman and Edward Scissorhands. His use of dense runs of notes that constantly keep you hearing new sounds coupled with use of chorals make this a quintessential Elfman score.

The songs are well written and performed by Danny Elfman. They support the story perfectly, as does every note of the score. From quirky and humorous (Town Meeting Song) to dire and ominous (Sally’s Song), it is through these songs that we see Jack’s true intent, lost on everyone (as he laments in Poor Jack), and the essential innocence of the characters and the lack of ill will (except on the part of Oogie Boogie) that makes this a true classic that will be part of the holidays for years to come.

Tim Burton’s vision is not only conveyed through the songs and music, but I will go further and say that without these songs there is no compelling vision. This is one of the rare collaborative efforts where the sum of the parts creates the greater whole that could not exist with the particular visions of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton. But in the end you can listen to the music without the visuals, but I cannot recommend the reverse.

To put a point to it, I would buy Nightmare before Christmas and then the others in whatever order you find them. Although I suppose I would place American Beauty before the other two, especially if you haven’t been exposed to Thomas Newman’s style in a stand-alone environment.