I just saw the film "Willard" yesterday (read my review in the OCTOBER thread located on the JUST MOVIES area of the website), and Walker's brilliant Herrmannesque score made an enormous impression on me. I suddenly remembered what an excellent composer she was.

I visited Ryan Keaveny's website (walker.filmmusic.com) and discovered the expressively haunting Main Title theme from "Final Destination." I would love to hear opinions of this score, and it's sequel score, from members. If you can also describe some of the thematic development in both scores, then I would also enjoy reading that, as I believe that her "Final Destination" theme is potential of great thematic development.

And here's hoping Shirley Walker will compose another score very soon! She is a vastly underused genius.

Best Regards,
Dylan<HR size=1></blockquote>

Walker is an amazing composer who is sorely unrepresented on CD. The reason: EVERYTHING SHE DOES IS RECORDED IN LA!

La La Land would release her scores to Willard and the Final Destination films in a millisecond if it weren't for the high re-use fees.

SIGH. Hopefully one day those scores will see the light of day.

BTW, her Space: Above and Beyond is some of the best music ever recorded for a TV show.

MV Gerhard

The Shirley Walker website will be updated soon (I know it's been a long time!) with clips from WILLARD and FINAL DESTINATION 2, plus samples from Shirley's chamber music piece commissioned by Pacific Serenades.

Thank you both for the comments. MV, I'm off to listen to the "Space, Above and Beyond" clips at Ryan's website.

And Ryan, you're somebody who knows Shirley Walker personally, so of course I'm pleased that you responded. And naturally, I'm very much looking forward to your site update.

Have you heard the scores Walker composed with Richard Band? "The Dungeonmaster" and "Ghoulies," both are really excellent scores (especially the magical and scheming "Ghoulies"). Someday, it would be interesting to hear anecdotes from her about working with Band on those scores.

Is there anybody else on the boards who has heard the Final Destination scores?

Dylan

However, I am in full agreement about WILLARD. The main titles are simply incredible and I loved the Herrmannesque touches.

I'll keep my eyes peeled as far as the unreleased market goes for the "Final Destination" scores (and other scores of Shirley's that haven't been released). Here's hoping the next one will get officially released.

And Ryan, have you heard Shirley's work with composer Richard Band? Great stuff.

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Ghoulies are some pimps, September 25, 2003
Reviewer: Matthew Davis from Detroit, MI
I LOVE THESE LITTLE BASTARDS!
reasons you should love them 2?

1.The green one bites some guys ass on the toilet
2.um... The green one bites some guys ass on the toilet
3.They like to party

this is a good movie to wach drunk or stoned of ya rocker
hillarious
thats all I give this dvd a 4 out a 5

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The second one is better than the first. The synth score by Fuzzbee Morse is decent (though it doesn't come remotely close to Band and Walker's orchestral score for the first), and the puppet effects (this time including stop-motion animation!), acting, and everything else is better than the first.

I never watch any of these films anymore, except for select scenes from the first Ghoulies with the wonderful score, but I liked them when I was little.

Great stuff.

Everyone keeps bringing up MOTP, but besides the main title, much didn't really work for me. It was spotting sounding and not very flowing. Didn't have a certain cohesiveness it could have. I still prefer her work to B: TAS. And still am awaiting a e-mail from Bats up there. I'm ever the Joker aren't I? It's okay, you can laugh later.

Didn't she also do some of the Superman animated series?

Now that I am rambling, when will we ever see a CD release, or 2, or 3 of B: TAS, or Justice League?

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Originally posted by justin boggan:
Her scores to [b]Mystery Men (Co-composed with someone I forget the name of. I think it's the Gary the Rat show composer.) and Turbulence are not that bad.[/B]

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The story of MYSTERY MEN's score is an interesting one. Stephen Warbeck (fresh off his Oscar win for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE) was hired to do the score. Before the film's release, Shirley Walker was brought in to write additional music. From what I remember from the film and the clips at her site, she wrote the opening cue, the scene where Mr. Furious, The Shoveler and the Blue Raja try to stop the Redeyes, the team's assault on Casanova Frankenstein's limo and that wonderful moment when the team walks through the mist (if a score album was released, I would've loved for that still to be the cover). Mark Mothersbaugh (who scored "Gary the Rat" with Josh Purcell) is credited with additional music, but it's really just the source music at the old folks home before the Redeyes attack.

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Everyone keeps bringing up MOTP, but besides the main title, much didn't really work for me. It was spotting sounding and not very flowing. Didn't have a certain cohesiveness it could have.

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You really, really ought to listen again. There's a theme present in every single cue. (I'm loathe to use the "swinging a dead cat" metaphor.)

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I still prefer her work to [b]B: TAS.[/B]

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It's great, but just below MOTP.

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Didn't she also do some of the Superman animated series?.

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Yes, she did, but only a handful. I really loved her theme to "The New Batman/Superman Adventures".

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If B: TAS CD does happen, right off the bat I hope it has "Last Laugh" and "Feat Of Clay" on it. My personal favorites among many favorites.

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