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Originally posted by Crono/Kyp:
Great score!

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Originally posted by sean:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>Originally posted by Crono/Kyp:
[b]Great score!<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

Terrible movie! Spielberg's worst.[/B]

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Originally posted by BackToTheFutureFan:
Why? Because it flopped at the box office? I enjoyed it. Probably because I grew up with the film...but Dustin Hoffman's performance MAKES the film (oh, and JW's score).

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Box office? Who cares about that! Seriously, the amount of money a movie makes isn't ever a concern of mine.

I saw the film as a child, too. It didn't do anything for me back then and it certainly won't today. I'll agree that Dustin Hoffman falls into the role rather well, but the rest of the film wasn't fun and is at odds with Spielberg's best: Also, didn't he do that bad, bad movie Always around then, too? Just a weak time for him.

That said, what do you think of Williams' score? That we can and should be talking about...

Me personally, I listened to the Hook album just a week ago and for some reason it did nothing for me. Why? I thought I remembered it being a good, solid score... the album chalk full with a long running time. But this time around, it just seemed to be very bland, even for Williams. Granted, some truly awesome masterpieces in the fantasy genre have come out since then, like the LOTR films and scores, which toast Spielberg's Hook.

But for the fans of the Hook score, sell me on it again. What's so great about it... what do I need to be listening for??? I tried to pick out the Hook theme for my young boys, thinking it would be similar to one of their other favorites... (Darth Vader and the Empire's theme), but it paled and the boys were not impressed.

I've been a Spielberg film lover since I was a wee child, and no one could tell me not to like something he did. I know some of his efforts weren't as good as others in his portfolio, but I like his mind when put to the task of film making.

So, by that token, I am a lifetime Williams fan as well.

Hook is filled with the fantasy that such a score requires. It's whimsical, magic and awe...

Oh, well, what the heck am I saying? I love it because it's smart. No amount of well-chosen adjectives could do it justice for you, if listening to it again "didn't do it for you".

If you guys weren't aware, it was originally going to be a musical, but they changed their minds after Williams had already began composing the music in collaboration with Leslie Bricusse.

Two songs remained in the film, but the themes were there. Peter's theme is two-fold. On one hand, it's a lost theme, of childhood lost, and the rigors and horrors of adulthood. On the other hand, it changes into the wonder of lost magic regained, of flight and fancy, and ultimately, victory, because Peter Pan was not only about not growing up, but also that in childhood stories, the kids win against the adults every time.

Hook's theme is troubled, pained by the loss of his hand, and more importantly, the loss of the only soul he ever could match in battle. He's surrounded by idiotic pirates, brainless beasts who jump at his every command. His only opponents are Lost Boys and Indians, and he's tired of those pursuits.

The theme for Hook IS memorable, although never developed in the grand manner that something like the Vader theme is, but still, it's hard to complain about that. I remember the scene when Hook first appears and walks down that red carpet that unfolds itself, and how the theme comes to the forefront as this pompous pseudo-march with the crew chanting "Hook." That stood out to me as a kid even. It's a good musical moment.

Also, I have to say, as sappy as the moment is when that ending comes around and that guy gets his marbles and goes floating out the window, the Williams music there seems genuinely uplifting and it wins me over every time.

I think it's definitely one of those movies where it's better in idea than it is in execution, but I also think it's better we have it than not, and the same goes for Always too, dammit! They're uneven movies but both have their moments. The love theme in the latter is just fantastic. I like how it just keeps building and building. Ah, good stuff.

And if this is Williams painting by numbers then I do not know what most consider his masterpieces. The score is complex, full of themes and thematic development and colour, the performance is spirited and the mood ranges from the piraty swashbuckling of the Ultimate War to almost religious awe of You Are the Pan and still it keeps a cohesion that is remarkable. This is Williams in full stride and the result is quite brilliant.

In the film the score really is half the reason I have watched it more than once. It makes Peter Pan fly, makes Hook seem more like he should be, a swaggering somewhat funny and ultimately underneath evil character and captures the spirit of childhood which is at the heart of the film.
The album is a good condensation of the material of the score but for a JW fan and a fan of the score it naturally leaves out so many standout cues. A complete release would be most welcome.

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Originally posted by tjguitar:
I think the disc is pretty great, I would have rather they included more of the "Ultimate War" instead of the cue(s) with the annoying singing children, the only detractor in the score IMO.

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quote:

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Originally posted by BackToTheFutureFan:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>Originally posted by tjguitar:
[b]I think the disc is pretty great, I would have rather they included more of the "Ultimate War" instead of the cue(s) with the annoying singing children, the only detractor in the score IMO.<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

Haha, I agree, as well as Banning Back Home.[/B]

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Again, not to talk lightly about other's opinions, because that's what this forum is about, but not only was Hook originally thought up as a musical, but the original Peter Pan stage play was also a musical, and the singing portions were to be a tribute and nod to that heritage.

Again, it adds to teh magic, and it was aimed at both kids and adults.

This film continues to divide people.

I think the score is classic Williams, and one of his best. Certainly people would say it fares better than Crystal Skull, (but not in my opinion).

Anyway, I first started this thread, not to have a lengthy dispute over its merits, but to seek anyone with INSIDER information, on whether a complete score is being put together.

So far, no one addressed this at all.