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Author	Topic: Jerry's last great score

Laurence Page Oscar® Winner	I was pondering this the other night waiting for my train home to get moving. I love the themes to Basic Instinct, Air Force One, Rudy etc. but was amazed I'd have to go back as far as Poltergeist for a completely satisfying "great" Goldsmith film score. The Hollow Man, First Knight etc. just don't seem to be as memorable. I think his greatest moments were "Alien", "Planet of the Apes" and "Star Trek - TMP" - have we had such great scores since? Be gentle with me..
posted 02-05-2002 03:15 AM PT (US)

Hasta Oscar® Winner	First Knight is, without question, one of the best film scores of the 90's... Shame about the film.
posted 02-05-2002 03:24 AM PT (US)

HAL 2000 Oscar® Winner	Well, I don't necessarily equate memorability with greatness (Spartacus is a great score but it it's greatness lies in it's completeness more than for any single theme or melody, although the love theme is a beauty) so I do think that the misunderstood and underrated Hollow Man to be his last great score. Before that I think Mulan came close but Basic Instinct and Total Recall both qualify in my book as great Goldsmith scores. Other Goldsmith scores have many powerful moments (First Knight, Ghost and The Darkness, Rudy, 13th Warrior) but the best JG scores are those with a grand musical concept that is executed with imagination and coherence . I think Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Hollow man, The Russia House... all qualify.
posted 02-05-2002 07:34 AM PT (US)

jonathan_little Oscar® Winner	As I look down my list of Jerry discs in the 1990s, I have to agree that Russia House and Total Recall are probably the last two "really amazing" scores he's come up with. The Mummy was a pleasant suprise and Rudy has that very pretty theme, but they still pale in comparison to his output in 1990.
posted 02-05-2002 10:08 AM PT (US)

TV's Frank Oscar® Winner	Great themes are one thing, yes, but a great "complete" score? Or maybe just a great album? TOTAL RECALL certainly counts, the whole score is steeped in brilliance. BASIC INSTINCT also counts. THE EGDE and GHOST AND THE DARKNESS are both marvelous albums, they play really well outside of their main themes. 13TH WARRIOR is a powerhouse 55-minute listen and HOLLOW MAN I also find compelling for its entire duration (as a Varese album). So, the old man is still doing well, in my opinion, if his last great, full score was only 2 years ago.
posted 02-05-2002 10:41 AM PT (US)

Hasta Oscar® Winner	Yes, and if we're talking "great" and not "masterpiece", I'd qualify Mulan, 13th Warrior, and The Mummy as being so with ease.... I even really dug Goldsmith's Last Castle, though I wouldn't exactly call it great.
posted 02-05-2002 11:44 AM PT (US)

HadrianD Oscar® Winner	TOTAL RECALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Goldsmith's ultimate action masterpiece. EVerything after has been one slight variation of it. Though they are all good. First Knight and 13th Warrior are good examples.
posted 02-05-2002 03:33 PM PT (US)

Bulldog Oscar® Winner	I'm quite fond of The Last Castle. I honestly think it's among the finest things he's ever produced...as are Hollow Man, The 13th Warrior, and The Mummy. I may be one of the few to think so, but, in my estimation, Goldsmith has really been on his game lately.
posted 02-05-2002 03:44 PM PT (US)

HAL 2000 Oscar® Winner	And if you have to go all the way back to Poltergeist (82) to find the last great Goldsmith then what of Under Fire (83), Twilight Zone the Movie (83), Legend (85), Lionheart (87), and Extreme Prejudice (87)?
posted 02-05-2002 04:46 PM PT (US)

Peter Criss Oscar® Winner	Jerry´s last great score was The Hauting.Good on film, good to listen...I also can point The Mummy and 13th Warrior, but sometimes they are too loud for me!! I´m getting old, you know! The Catman
posted 02-05-2002 06:08 PM PT (US)

Jeron Oscar® Winner	Well, I've written and re-written my reply about 10 times, but can't seem to put together anything that wouldn't further convince all of you I'm a Jerry Goldsmith freak. So, I'll just say it: I'm a Jerry Goldsmith freak. Jeron
posted 02-05-2002 07:24 PM PT (US)

André Lux Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by Jeron: So, I'll just say it: I'm a Jerry Goldsmith freak. Jeron Me too!! And I must say: the louder, the better. I am getting older, but my taste is getting more refined too.
posted 02-05-2002 07:28 PM PT (US)

Peter Criss Oscar® Winner	Or no...ahahah! The Catman
posted 02-05-2002 08:33 PM PT (US)

André Lux Oscar® Winner	Isca!! Sai Sai Foge!!
posted 02-05-2002 08:37 PM PT (US)

Quill Oscar® Winner	13th Warrior is easily the last Goldsmith score that has satisfied me...
posted 02-06-2002 08:44 AM PT (US)

HadrianD Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by Quill: 13th Warrior is easily the last Goldsmith score that has satisfied me... TRUE
posted 02-06-2002 10:21 AM PT (US)

Kris Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by Laurence Page: ... The Hollow Man, First Knight etc. just don't seem to be as memorable... I didn't think First Knight was that untill I got hold of the expanded version. The official release just left out several memorable cues. First Knight (Official) 1/2 First Knight (Expanded) **1/2
posted 02-06-2002 10:22 AM PT (US)

jeffy Oscar® Winner	Goldsmith has been more miss than hit for me, but I was extremely blown away by Mulan. That could have been a throwaway score like most he had done (Deep Rising). But it was probably the first underscore to overpower the songs. Quite an accomplishment given that David Zippel is quite the fantastic lyricist.
posted 02-06-2002 11:48 AM PT (US)

Pumpkinhead Oscar® Winner	Jerry will never have a bad score. There's no such thing as a 'bad' score. But there are favorites and ones you'll listen to more than others. I'd have to say 'The Haunting' is the latest score I really love of his.
posted 02-08-2002 09:45 AM PT (US)

dgoldwas Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by Pumpkinhead: There's no such thing as a 'bad' score. Yes, there is such a thing as a "bad" score. A bad score is a score that does not serve the film for which it is written. And there are PLENTY of them out there. Dan
posted 02-08-2002 10:08 AM PT (US)

Pete M Oscar® Winner	The last score of his I loved was Hollow Man. Although I still haven't heard The Last Castle yet. Damn film only played two weeks here, & I just didn't get around to going to see it. Still, since he's only done one score since then (which I really enjoy, but don't love), that's not bad at all. By the way, does anyone know if he's likely to be scoring Haunted Lighthouse? I'd have though it very likely, since Joe Dante is directing (based on novel by R.L.Stein, starring Lea Thomson & Christopher Lloyd). But with Goldsmith trying to decrease the number of score he writes per year - and The Sum of All Fears & Star Trek Nemesis already lines up, will he have time. I hope he manages to make time, anyway. NP Tombstone
posted 02-08-2002 10:21 AM PT (US)

Pumpkinhead Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by dgoldwas: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>Originally posted by Pumpkinhead: [b]There's no such thing as a 'bad' score.<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, there is such a thing as a "bad" score. A bad score is a score that does not serve the film for which it is written. And there are PLENTY of them out there. Dan[/B] Guess everyone has their own opinions.
posted 02-08-2002 10:41 AM PT (US)

JJH Oscar® Winner	Police Story
posted 02-08-2002 11:02 AM PT (US)

Graham Watt Oscar® Winner	Well, excuse me (and please don't hate me either), this is, as everything is, a question of taste (and of age), but thinking about my ten favourite Goldsmith scores ever, they're all pre-1990 (and my name isn't even Daniel Too). Perhaps THE RUSSIA HOUSE is up there with the best of them, but all my other faves are from before that. Alhough I have enjoyed many of his recent efforts, the best only get a four out of five, whereas much of his previous stuff gets a six. As I say, a sign of age? (mine, not his).
posted 02-09-2002 02:35 PM PT (US)

Aaron R. Brown Oscar® Winner	I haven't heard a bad score by Jerry Goldsmith lately. I'm sure he had a couple in his early years. You can say what you want. The Hollow Man is one of the greatest scores I have every heard. Now I am waiting for The Sum of All Fears. I can't wait! I bet it will be a great score.
posted 02-09-2002 04:29 PM PT (US)

Peter Greenhill Oscar® Nominee	I love 'The Last Castle'. An excellent score IMO.
posted 02-09-2002 04:45 PM PT (US)

Shaun Rutherford Oscar® Winner	I still don't understand what the hell the big deal is about The Last Castle. There isn't one damned original note in the whole godforsaken score. Shaun
posted 02-09-2002 08:02 PM PT (US)

Bulldog Oscar® Winner	No there are no "bad" scores. There are no "good" scores, either. The words good and bad should be expunged from film music critical vocabulary. Very, very, very few things in life deserve to be denoted as either good or bad. Additionally, this concept that a film score is "good" or "bad" based on how it serves a film is inaccurate. As one can note through an analysis of diegesis, [non-source] film music is outside of a picture's story space. John Williams' "dum-dum-dum-dum" music is not for Roy Scheider or Robert Shaw, it's for us. They don't need the music--we do!!! Am I saying that it's "bad" for one to suggest that film scores need to serve the pictures to which they are wed? No, not necessarily...just so long as we understand that what this means is that the film score serves to help a production resonate more with an audience enjoying it. [Message edited by Bulldog on 02-11-2002]
posted 02-09-2002 08:54 PM PT (US)

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