FILM MUSIC MUSINGS

Here is the  feature on this blog that is akin to the You Tube Film Music Cue of the Day, in that it deals, once again, with one of the great passions of my life:  FILM MUSIC.

I have a huge document called My Top Scores List in which I have picked the Top 5 Film Scores for each year since 1980 along with some commentary on my choices.

You can imagine that by now the list is fairly long and contains a lot of info that I think is blog-worthy so I'm going to start publishing excerpts from the list right here on my blog.

So,

without further ado

Here is Film Music Musings

As awards season is in full swing, its time to update my Top Scores List for 2013 with my top 5 score pics of the year:

2013

Danny Elfman – Oz, the Great and Powerful

Hans Zimmer – The Lone Ranger

Brian Tyler – Thor 2: The Dark World

Howard Shore – The Desolation of Smaug

John Williams – The Book Thief

So, 2013 has passed and now its time to pick 5 scores for the list and since I saw very few movies this year, the pickings are pretty slim in a not-so-outstanding year for film music. That being said, I did find 5 scores that I thought were list-worthy so here goes. The first score is an unexpected release from the maestro himself. John Williams' score for The Book Thief is the only non-Spielberg or non-Lucas score he has done in several years and I'm mentioning this score first because the movie is one of the finest I've seen in the last several years and the best movie I've seen so far this decade.  It is a quiet affair lying somewhere between The Accidental Tourist and Presumed Innocent with typical beautiful themes and superior orchestration.  There are lots of familiar names on the list this year including Hans Zimmer with his score for The Lone Ranger (and not for his higher profile summer blockbuster, Man of Steel which I thought was lackluster) which was an utterly fun and enjoyable movie with a good score from Zimmer that actually had some themes and wasn't his droning, drumming self. Danny Elfman appears on this list with his score for Oz, the Great and Powerful which was a very mature and intricate score which features some great orchestrations. Brian Tyler is quickly becoming a mainstay on this list and he returns this year with Thor 2. Now the movie was sort of a mess but the score was a highlight and showcased Tyler's style perfectly (not as good as Doyle's score for Thor and the film was not as dismal as Iron Man 3, but still good stuff). And lastly is the score for the next Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug with the customary composer for Middle Earth, Howard Shore. This is another big score with a lot of action material (and not as good as An Unexpected Journey) and some new themes for the new characters and situations. I'm just getting to know this score but it is quality and goes on the list easily.