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Now that 2005 has come to pass, your final TOP 20

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Author	Topic: Now that 2005 has come to pass, your final TOP 20

nuts_score Standard Userer	1. MUNICH - John Williams Okay, it’s unanimous that Williams had a great year; but this is one of his best and most touching works in a very long time - at least since Schindler’s List. It seems that every part of the film’s production rests on the sorrow of this score; but not having the seen the movie myself, I can only assume. There is some amazing thematic material to be heard here and William’s even does some things a little differently than he might have before; particularly in the suspense cues using looping synths to create a tense atmosphere. Lisbeth Scott’s vocal work is also some of the most chilling of the year. 2. KING KONG - James Newton Howard I’m sure a few might frown because they considered this score “noisy” and “generic” and I’ll be honest that had I not heard Munich this would have taken top spot. Personally, this is the most rousing and adventurous score I’ve heard all year and one of the best of the past decade. It’s obvious that JNH took into account the limited time and still decided to churn out some fine butter to prove his chops. Camillu wrote up a wonderful analysis of the various motifs to be found throughout it and it’s quite helpful. When the tender pieces of emotional music cue up, you might find your eyes tear up as well (if you’ve seen the movie). 3. WHERE THE TRUTH LIES - Mychael Danna This one might get some frowns, but I’m honest here and this is my opinion. I’m a fan of Bernard Herrmann; granted, I’m not his biggest fan and don’t own every OST that exists of his film scores, but I understand what he saw in films and what he captured through their music. To me, this score is a perfect reflection of Herrmann’s glory days. There is some familiar Danna territory here and there, but it never fails or lets its listener down. Gone are some of the light touches of Asian flair he would incorporate in scores like The Ice Storm and in its place is a light, jazzy atmosphere which reflects the film’s time period and sleazy dealings. When the string section and piano pieces come around, that’s when you feel the Herrmann; each moment brings tension crashing upon tension. But be careful not to look past any of the motifs here, there are quite a few evident and many play off each other perfectly. John Ottman’s score to Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is also along these lines of great noir-infused music. 4. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON ONE - Bear McCreary It’s one thing to do a sci-fi score; but it’s another thing to do a sci-fi score as McCreary did here. Gone are the trademark brass fanfares (Sorry Maestro Williams) and the pulsing laser synths of the 80s; in comes the ethnic flavor and pounding percussion. McCreary’s music helps the series reach new heights with each new cue he composes. Whether the crew of the Galactica comes upon an attack of villainous Cylons or the treacherous Number Six tightens her grip around President Baltar; Bear is there to bring the scene to life with amazing and unheard of compositions to match this stellar sci-fi television series. 5. WAR OF THE WORLDS - John Williams This was a different piece for Williams; he definitely felt brave with this one as this may not appeal to the normal crowd outside of us crazy score buffs who appreciate the atonal writings of this score. But he’s still there to deliver heartbreaking themes amidst the chaos of alien invasion. 6. HOSTAGE - Alexandre Desplat Desplat is not the composer for everyone; a lot of his music is a little more difficult to access than usual composers. He relies heavily on expanding upon the underscore; which makes him as unique as he is. He can take a simple piece of underscore and make it stand out on it’s own with unique arrangements and instrumental use. It’s clear from his previous work in the last few years that Desplat is here to stay in American film music, which is a wonderful thing. Because as evident from scores like this and Birth, the French composer has a lot of talent up his sleeve; and he’s waiting for a project to come along that he can really put that talent to full use. Darren Aronofsky, may I recommend you leave behind Clint Mansell on your upcoming The Fountain, and feed Mr. Desplat’s fans with a tremendous score that is not only fitting to your visionary film, but captivating to your viewers other sense - their ears. 7. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE - Patrick Doyle Sure, we all loved what John Williams’ had created for the HP film legacy; but how many more times were we going to hear a statement of “Hedwig’s Theme” against the Warner Bros. Logo or during endless moments in the film? Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of Williams’ most beloved themes, but it gets played-out in the sound mix. Luckily, director Mike Newell stepped up and brought along his composer a la carte Patrick Doyle, and Doyle himself is one of greatest over-looked talents working in the score business today. What Doyle brings to the HP universe is age and grace, something that always comes with changing times. He presents here a darker arrangement of “Hedwig’s Theme” and some of the best cues in “The Golden Egg” and “Death of Cedric”. The real highlight here is “Harry in Winter”, a beautifully composed and orchestrated classical-inspired piece that builds upon beauty with each new movement. 8. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE - Harry Gregson-Williams This spot could easily have gone to his score for Kingdom of Heaven, but I enjoy the warmth of the themes present here; not to say his KoH is bad, but I feel this expands upon it and I actually enjoy listening to both back to back. Unfortunately, the album release feels like a small let-down from what was in the film (where most of my opinion on this draws from) because here we’re stuck with only around 55-minutes of HGW’s original music and given four “tacked-on” songs that I feel bear no resemblance to what Williams’ has written to highlight the triumph of the action on-screen. “The Battle” is obviously the big cue here and it shows; it’s a very well-composed action piece that deserves its place amongst epics. 9. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE - Howard Shore It was sad that we didn’t get to hear Shore’s score for King Kong; I’m sure it was great but obviously not what the studio or directot Peter Jackson was looking for (but we still got an amazing score from JNH); but it was always good to see a new David Cronenberg film in the year because that, too, means a new Howard Shore score. Many have commented that this is a close cousin to his LotR scores and I won’t argue that. You can defintiely see the huge resemblances but it’s also evident that those scores are only helping him build upon the music that he already created so well. This is a very thematic and (at times) ageless score that evokes a different side of the human psyche, fitting very well with the film. 10. BATMAN BEGINS - Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard This was a great score; not exactly the best output from either composer, but nonetheless a fantastic contribution from both talents. The Batman motif created here to distance director Christopher Nolan’s movies from the previous Batman schlock-fests really takes a nosedive towards mature. Not only does the two-note motif dramatically highlight both the heroism and tragedy of the Dark Knight, but it also fits within Nolan’s ultra-realistic world. Unlike Elfman’s theme which, to me, simply highlighted upon Tim Burton’s insane imagination and the dark, twisted production design - or Elliot Goldenthal’s bombastic brass orchestrations that highlight the gaudy nature of Joel Shumacher’s Nippleman outings - both composers create a soundscape for the disturbed mind of Bruce Wayne. One that extenuates his role as protector of Gotham, and as avenging son to Thomas and Martha Wayne. 11. STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH - John Williams 12. KISS KISS, BANG BANG - John Ottman 13. THE BROTHERS GRIMM - Dario Marianelli 14. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - Harry Gregson-Williams 15. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA - John Williams 16. CONSTANTINE - Brian Tyler and Klaus Badelt 17. STEAMBOY - Steve Jablonsky 18. ROBOTS - John Powell 19. FANTASTIC FOUR - John Ottman 20. SYRIANA - Alexandre Desplat Honorable Mentions: THE CORPSE BRIDE (Elfman), THE ISLAND (Jablonsky), THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE (Young), ZATHURA (Debney), SERENITY (D. Newman), THE CHUMSCRUBBER (Horner) [Message edited by nuts_score on 01-02-2006] [Message edited by nuts_score on 01-04-2006]
posted 01-01-2006 10:35 AM PT (US)

MWRuger Standard Userer	You now, I'm thinking about it and I can't think of 20 new scores that I really got into, maybe only 5 or 6. Let's see: Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire Star Wars- Revenge of The Sith War of the Worlds Batman Begins Serenity I actually got a lot of things for older films that I liked better. The CD release for me that has to top all others is LOTR-FOTR. I don’t even have it yet and I know it will be awesome! That said: Time Machine Knightrider Hush..Hush, Sweet Charlotte Lili Tombstone Yakuza Thing From Another World Planet of the Apes TV Series Capricorn 1 (I think this was 2005) All of the above were all excellent. I am sure that I am forgetting something. But overall, I wasn’t bowled over by this years output. There were some highlights but it was mostly functional music that made little impression away from the film.
posted 01-01-2006 01:33 PM PT (US)

craig Standard Userer	For 2005: Munich (Williams) Syriana (Desplat) Kung Fu Hustle-score (Various) Crash (Isham) Sin City (Rodriguez, Debney, Revell) Unleashed (Massive Attack) Steamboy (Jablonsky) The Island (Jablonsky) War of the Worlds (Williams) Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (Elfman) Corpse Bride (Elfman) Batman Begins (Newton Howard, Zimmer) Serenity (D. Newman) Jarhead (T. Newman) The Brothers Grimm (Marianelli) and some I was lucky to find... Tombstone (Broughton) Donnie Brasco (Doyle) Timeline (Tyler) Dead Man Walking-score (Various) Layer Cake (Various) ...yea...that about does it... [Message edited by craig on 01-01-2006]
posted 01-01-2006 06:18 PM PT (US)

Dinko Standard Userer	In no particular order, and not a Top 20 because I don't like lists fixed to a particular number. Top 20 implies there were 20 good scores, when there might have been none at all and requires all spots to be filled. These are the ones I'll remember from the year: Timeline (Goldsmith) Valiant (Fenton) Legend of Zorro (Horner) Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith (Williams) Harry Pooper (Doyle) Memoirs of a Geisha (Williams)
posted 01-02-2006 12:11 AM PT (US)

SPQR Standard Userer	Just two: Harry Potter and... - Patrick Doyle Howl's Moving Castle - Joe Hisaishi
posted 01-02-2006 01:55 AM PT (US)

BigT1981 Standard Userer	I only have one for me this year. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
posted 01-02-2006 04:23 AM PT (US)

gumdrops1 Non-Standard Userer	These scores are the FOUR BEST OF 2005, IMHO. 1.Alexandre Desplat's HOSTAGE. This is the best score of the year. What could of been a routine action score, Desplat has turned into a modern symphonic masterpiece. Dwelling in the soundscapes of Herrmann, Desplat has written a score that's exciting and different from all the other wannabes. His music is seductive and multi-varied. While other composers will simply write music that forecasts every action blow with loud' orchestral effects that usually amounts to noise, Desplat composes action music that's ethereal and very melodic. On top of all that, he introduces a plethora of ideas that would fill up the pages for two additional film scores. Given the time, Desplat will constantly reinvent throughout the course of the entire score. Once again, BEST SCORE OF THE YEAR, IMHO. Alexandre Desplat rules! 2.John Ottman's KISS KISS BANG BANG. What a revelation! Just when I thought I had him pegged, he comes up with THIS! An exciting jazz/symphonic fusion score that is chocked full of musical ideas. the perfect music for a film noir. BRAVO Sir John! 3.Harry Gregson-Williams' KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. I knew he had it in him; we just had to wait for the perfect vehicle to come his way. AND what a vehicle. Grand symphonic music intermixing with new age sensibilities culminates into one of the best scores he's ever written. Percussion exotica, female vocalize, giant choral arrangements, all this and more are made anew through his musical vision. You go Sir Harry! 4.Rachel Portman's OLIVER TWIST. I wasn't expecting much from this type of score. Usually the music is regal and classical for these type of pictures, BUT . . . Portman's ability to write intricate melodies and rousing grand themes won me over. Hook, Line, and Sinker. Her music for this Polanski vehicle is SO GORGEOUS, that it towers over most other recent scores written for this genre. You go GIRL! These four scores posess 'the WOW factor.' As good as the music is for the other scores, I've heard it all before and it was done better in the past. THIS IS ONE SOUL'S OPINION. It's not the gospel truth, so don't hurl any sharp, pointy objects at me. Yuk Yuk.
posted 01-02-2006 08:33 AM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	Bump from edit.
posted 01-02-2006 10:50 AM PT (US)

John C Winfrey Standard Userer	I would have a hard time listing 20 from this year since I have not heard most of them yet. Will in time though. These are among the best I heard this year from all years, that I first heard this year: 1. The Touch-Poledouris 2. Sinbad-Gregson Williams 3. Howards-King Kong 4. Shores-History of Violence 5. Timeline-Goldsmith 6. Alien Nation-Goldsmith 7. Duel in Sun-Tiomkin 8. Kingdom of Heaven-Gregson Williams 9. Stripes-Berstein 10. North-Wonderful Country/King and Four Queens 11. T Jones-Loch Ness 12. " -Merlin 13. " League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 14. Unlikely Heroes-Holdridge 15. Time of the Wolf-Scott 16. Antony and Cleopatra-Scott 17. Mountbatten-Scott 18. Williams second Potter score 19. Tiomkin-Red River and lots more. J.
posted 01-02-2006 05:44 PM PT (US)

craig Standard Userer	I don't know why I left this off my list. It is a fantastic score! Cinderella Man (T. Newman)
posted 01-02-2006 08:08 PM PT (US)

John Steel Standard Userer	My favs of 2005: Kingdom Of Heaven (best score of 2005 imho) Chronicles Of Narnia Sahara Batman Begins Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Star Wars 3 Revenge Of The Sith Stealth The Island Brothers Grimm Racing Stripes
posted 01-03-2006 02:39 AM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	In no particular order: The Island by Steve Jablonsky Memoirs of A Geisha by John Williams Batman Begins by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer Kingdom of Heaven by Harry Gregson-Williams I still want to hear King Kong, Munich and Chronicles of Narnia. Clayton NP>How To Make An American Quilt (fantastic Thomas Newman score!!!)
posted 01-03-2006 10:31 AM PT (US)

John C Winfrey Standard Userer	I also liked Great Raid and Narnia. J.
posted 01-03-2006 11:12 AM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by scoreguy16: Batman Begins by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer Whoa Clayton! Better not let Zimmer see that you put JNH before him!
posted 01-03-2006 12:21 PM PT (US)

James Standard Userer	I can only think of seven scores this year that really left a strong impression on me: 1. TRILOGY I: THE WEEPING MEADOW - Eleni Karaindrou. Though this score was actually released on CD in 2004, I am including it here because the film didn't received its (miniscule) theatrical run in the U.S. until 2005, which is around the time I discovered it. But there is no doubt in my mind that it is the best score I've heard all year. The melodies are rich and powerful, the structure of the music exceedingly sparse yet deeply meaningful. Like her ECM compatriot Arvo Part, Karaindrou's music feels at once both ancient and contemporary. The score is scaled back and often low-key, feeling throughout as if it is building towards a great Delereusian outburst of tragedy that never arrives. Let me stress that this is not a complaint. Far from simply leaving a listener wanting more, I believe Karaindrou's music expresses something much more important: that the past has been lost and our knowledge or understanding it of it can only ever be incomplete. This score is an epic told in whispers. 2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Patrick Doyle. A traditional film score brimming with everything I could have ever hoped for in a Harry Potter score. I think it sits comfortably and splendidly along side the best fantasy scores of Herrmann and Rozsa. 3. 2046 - Umebayashi Shigeru. Another entry that could go to 2004, and in this case it's not just Umebayashi's music but several other pieces as well that went towards making this the lushest, most romantic soundtrack I heard this year. But Umebayashi still deserves heaping praise. 4. The Brothers Grimm - Dario Marianelli. Two gloriously wonderful fantasy soundtracks in one year. Also sits well with the oldies in some spots, and call me crazy, but this score reminded me of Richard Band's 80's work in some places. There's no better way to seduce me than with a lovely, sneaky little waltz for a main theme. 5. Elevated - David Lang. I'm guessing none of you saw this or even heard of it unless you happen to be David Lang fans. He's my favorite American concert composer post-John Adams, and Elevated is a 40-minute piece by experimental video artist Matt Mullican which culls together old silent footage of New York against Lang's tense, droning music. Though I admit it would probably drive most people nuts, I found it hypnotic and, against initial impressions, eventually very beautiful in the end. Which is interesting, because the repetitive music doesn't really change at all the entire time. 6. Corpse Bride - Danny Elfman. Though I was disappointed with the songs, I thought this score was classic Elfman and I welcomed the return. 7. A Hole in My Heart - Hans Møller? or Rasmus Thord?. I can't remember any music credits in the film, and IMDb doesn't list any (the two names I've typed are the sound designer and "music coordinator"). Let me stress that the music in this film -- strange, random, grating electronic noise -- is nothing I would ever want to listen to, and I have no desire ever to hear it again. At the same time, I greatly respect its place in making this film the most sickening, unpleasant experience I've ever had in a movie theatre. Anything that can compete with graphic footage of labial reconstruction surgery and still come away leaving a lasting impression deserves mention. And I mean this without irony or sarcasm. I think the film is powerful and important, as much as many people (including myself) would rather dismiss it from memory, and the music is a significant part of that. There are also three scores I have not yet heard in full that sound like they have a pretty good chance at this list: Williams' Munich, Mychael Danna's Where the Truth Lies, and Zbigniew Preisner's The Beautiful Country. I hope to hear all of them soon. Kirk
posted 01-03-2006 06:14 PM PT (US)

Mark Olivarez Standard Userer	Music actually written for films in 2005 Munich Memoirs Of A Geisha Revenge Of The Sith War Of The Worlds 5 thru 20........ehhhhh....I got nothing. Now if you want to count FSM, Intrada, Varese's Club I could come up with 20 but they wouldn't have been composed in 2005.
posted 01-04-2006 10:36 AM PT (US)

Dylan Standard Userer	1. Dario Marianelli, The Brothers Grimm 2. Paul Cantelton, Everything is Illuminated 3. Danny Elfman, The Corpse Bride 4. Shingeru Umebayashi, 2046 5. John Williams, Memoirs of a Geisha 6. James Horner, The Chumscrubber 7. Mychael Danna, Where the Truth Lies 8. Alexandre Desplat, Hostage 9. John Ottman, Hide and Seek 10. Danny Elfman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I haven't heard: The New World (Horner), Munich (Williams), Fateless (Morricone), (six other Morricone scores for unimported Italian films), Fragile (Baños), Iberia (Baños), Los 2 lados de la cama (Baños), Rosario Tijeras (Baños; this guy needs a US label!), L' Avion (Yared), Exorcisim of Emily Rose (Young) ...and it doesn't end Dylan NP: Hostage (Desplat) [Message edited by Dylan on 01-04-2006]
posted 01-04-2006 01:55 PM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	I wanna add Horner's The Chumscrubber to my honorable mentions' list. I had just gotten a hold of a few sound clips and I am really liking what I've heard. I've been extremely hard on Mr. Horner for quite a while but this is such a different score than what he usually composes that it's quite refreshing. I hope I can find the album on my next trip to the record shop.
posted 01-04-2006 09:26 PM PT (US)

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