'Snow Falling on Cedars' is a score that you should not be overlooked. Its a lot slower than the 'Waterworld' and 'Dinosaur' counterparts but superb nonetheless.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Waterworld
Wyatt Earp (If you can't find this I have a copy so ask me for a cd-r)
Dinosaur (2CD bootleg, if you can find it. )
The Man in the Moon

Jz

quote:

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Originally posted by Marian Schedenig:
I'm not really a JNH myself yet

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Uh...that's obvious. What I meant to say was that I'm not yet a JNH fan, of course.

And so, with the mention of my name, I'll jump into this thread with my own best list for JNH. Unlike Marian, I do consider myself a JNH fan, and well versed in his works. So, here's what I'd suggest:

Snow Falling On Cedars: Tender, romantic, powerful, atmospheric, emotional... opinions differ, but this could very well be JNH's best score to date.

Outbreak: Of his action scores, this is my personal favorite. Great action cues and themes here, but I'd recommend the complete version, as the Varese CD is just too darn short.

Dinosaur: Nothing new here. I've been championing this score since it came out. Howard pulled two absolutely fantastic themes out of his hat, and mixed them in with frantic action cues that really put you in the world of Dinosaurs. I cannot recommend it enough. (And the complete version is even better than the Diseney CD!)

Atlantis: JNH is just on fire lately. Last year he gave us Vertical Limit, Dinosaur, and Unbreakable. This year he's given us Atlantis. Wondeful fantasy/adventure music, and some great choral bits. The main theme is just a bit underused, but I'd be hard pressed to think of any other problems. I'd put it under Dinosaur, but only just.

Dave: What can I say? It's fun, light, and yet compelling... Get it.

The Postman: A couple of long stretches of mostly themeless underscore make this less enjoyable than Outbreak, but it's still a very good action score.

Waterworld: If you combined Outbreak and Atlantis, what would you get? This is the answer, even though it came first. Great actions cues and themes mixed with beautiful underwater music (Swimming, for example). The score that set so many people on the road to JNH fandom cannot be ignored as a great starter score.

The Devil's Advocate: This score is just creepy. REALLY creepy. But it's great. I might not think it so good if I hadn't seen the film, but this is really a great score. If you're looking for thematic, under-your-skin type horror music, look no further.

quote:

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Originally posted by John Zimmer:
The Man in the Moon

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When people rant and rave to me about how gorgeous Prince Of Tides is, I point them to The Man In The Moon, a better score to a much better film. It belongs in any JNH fan's collection.

(he's also the subject of my next 2CD composer compilation, assuming I can get copies of Intersection, One Fine Day, and The Postman).

Of all the scores of his I own so far, my absolute favorite is Wyatt Earp, followed closely by Snow Falling Cedars, Unbreakable, and The Sixth Sense.

Wyatt Earp simply has everything going for it: stunning sound first of all, a great theme, and rousing action music that actually incorporates thematic variation.
Had the CD a year before I really listened to it closely. I'm convinced it's a great score.

The Sixth Sense is the essence of greatness within the context of the film. Touching, innocent, romantic and absolutely creepy (it's a shame the end titles aren't on the CD).

by the way, Atlantis also has stunning sound. Much better than Dinosaur. It's clarity is remarkable.