Film Soundtracks

[bob1029]

I am a big fan of soundtracks, and im sure there are many people here who enjoy the works of Zimmer, Goldsmith, Williams, etc. Recently I discovered a series of recordings made by Silva Screen Music, and performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic/Crouch End Festival Chorus. After hearing some excerpts from the Hans Zimmer compilation, I had no choice but to buy it and all of the other compilations performed in the same way. They did all of the major works from everyone you would expect, and some pieces you wouldnt. I usually stray away from Zimmer's work unless its performed in studio, because of the excellent job he does with sfx and processing, but this is one exception I absolutely had to make. If anyone has even a fleeting interest in film music, there is no reason you shouldnt pick up either the Hans Zimmer or John Williams performances. The 3 Gladiator suites and 2 Pirates of the Caribbean suites make the Zimmer discs worth about 3x what I paid. I was more excited when I recieved the non-descript 3lb box then I was to recieve my rlp18.

If you are nearly as interested as I am, Amazon is running a 4 for 3 promotion on alot of these discs, and I managed to pick up 1 album for free for purchasing 3 others.

Do yourself a favor and check out the reviews of other customers and listen to some sample tracks. You will not be sorry.

I may post some reviews once I get a chance to sit down for a few hours and do some really critical listening.

My positive response to these performances may also be due to the fact that I have not heard an uncompressed non-rock/pop album in a while, and the proper, full dynamic range of the orchestra completely floored me by comparison. Its been a while since Ive been able to turn my reciever up to reference and not be concerned with long-term hearing loss.

[SteveCallas]

I am a fan of movie soundtracks as well. Jet Li's Hero, Matrix Revolutions, most of the Batman films, the Kill Bill soundtracks, and so on.

[ccdoggy]

Pirates 3 sound track is pretty amazing. I am throughly addicted to it.

[bob1029]

Yes, its fairly good, although Klaus Badelt developed the original themes. The first ost is his, and it is even better in my opinion.

[santora]

Little did I realize when I was but a tyke that my collection of movie soundtrack would span into four decimal places and cover six different audio formats (LP, Cassette, CD, SACD, DVD Audio, DAT). Yes DAT.

Luckily my obsession lead me in part to my career - I'm an editor. And I still continue to purchase soundtracks today - although at a much smaller pace.

Favorite Soundtracks (in no order):
Highlander (Michael Kamen Score (unreleased) / Queen)
Die Hard (Michael Kamen)
Superman (John Williams)
raiders of the Lost Ark (John Williams)
Star Trek the Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith)
Gremlins (Jerry goldsmith)
Lawrence of Arabia (Maurice Jarre)
Blue Thunder (Arthur B. Rubinstein)
The Last Starfighter (Craig Safan)
Bridge over the River Kwai (Malcolm Arnold)
Ghostbusters (Elmer Bernstein)
The Time Machine (Klaus Beldt)
I could keep typing all night, but I'm tired...

Mark Santora

[nitrox1]

How about Lalo Schifrin's score for the 1968 movie "Bullitt"?