This year 5 nominees are up for Best Original Score:

James Horner for the 3D extravaganza, Avatar.
Alexandre Desplat for the stop-motion animated film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders for the war drama, The Hurt Locker.
Hans Zimmer for the action packed film, Sherlock Holmes.
And Michael Giacchino for the latest Pixar-animated film, Up.

It’s great to see two animated films being represented in the Original Score category.  Some of the great film scores come from animated films, and at times it seems they hardly represented.  Although, Giacchino’s work for the Pixar-animated film Ratatouille was nominated two years ago.

Avatar was last year’s most anticipated film of the year.  And another James Horner score to accompany a Cameron epic had everyone a buzz about what the score would sound like.  And what was the score like? Well, the usual Horner motifs.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Parts of the score were beautiful and majestic, however I felt it didn’t match to the wonderful visuals of Cameron’s world.  Leaving the theater (almost 3 hours later) I couldn’t really remember the film music, which for such a huge film, I thought was a rather huge disappointment.

Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated film, Fantastic Mr. Fox was a delight.  Anderson did such a great job of making this film enjoyable for all audiences.  The music is such a joy.  It felt like the rodents from the film were providing the accompanying music.  It was a clever choice on Desplat and Anderson to keep the orchestra intimate and minimal.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Anderson wanted a sort of a Peter and the Wolf feel for the film’s music. Giving each character a them and instruments associated with that character.  My favorite piece was the Ennio Morricone influenced theme for the rat in the secret cider cellar.  And the lovely march for the game Whack-Bat.

Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders’ score for The Hurt Locker among the nominees was a big surprise for me.  The is not the normal traditional score and it was designed to put you on the edge of your seat, which worked for me.  This was a great film. Very suspenseful, yet for being a war drama, there is a simplicity to it which I appreciated.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

An actual score creeps out at the end but for the majority of the film the score is more of a sound design than actual music.

Sherlock Holmes was actually one of the few films I missed last year.  I’m so bummed I didn’t get a chance to see this film, because after hearing Zimmer’s score, I bet the film was one fun ride.  Although, much of this score has that typical Zimmer sound and feel to it, I thought parts of this score was really clever.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I love the percussion elements throughout the score.  Lot’s of fun.

And finally there is the Pixar gem, Up.  I embraced this film and the music within the first 15 minutes of the film.  How can a film pack in so much emotion in one segment?  Well Giacchino’s simple nostalgic score helped.  Although the themes were simple, Giacchino’s orchestrations made them more complex and brought the character to life.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I love film scores that tell a story and evolve and you listen to them.  Therefore my pick for this year’s award has to go the Giacchino’s lovely work for Up. His scores are simple, yet carry a lot of emotion and add more depth to the film.  Way to go Michael Giacchino for making us listen.  I sure hope to hear more from him in the near future.

Will it be Michael Giacchino’s Up or Star Trek?

Alexandre Desplat’s Coco Avant Chanel or The Fantastic Mr. Fox or New Moon?

James Horner’s Avatar?

Hans Zimmer’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes?

Randy Newman’s The Princess and the Frog?

Elliot Goldenthal’s Public Enemies?

Marvin Hamlisch’s The Informant?

We’ll find out soon enough.

Well, August is here and summer is in full force.  I hope everyone is enjoying their hot dogs and ice cream.  As for me, I’ll have my ice cream inside and listen to some good music.  Is it odd that at the moment, I’m in love with Thomas Newman’s wonderful score for the film, Little Women?  I think not.  Sure, if it snowed here in Southern California I’d probably listen to this soundtrack everyday.  But, for me, anytime is a good time to listen to Newman’s beautiful music for Little Women.

Just listen to the music during the movie’s main titles.  It’s simply beautiful.

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It perfectly evokes the time period and captures that frontier spirit.  I love the horn section and the wonderful trumpets with their triumphant and regal presence.  The soft moving melodies of the woodwinds and strings compliment the horns in this piece.

What I like about Newman’s score is how he captures the film’s emotions.  This score really needs to be heard in its entirety.  The score evolves and each composition has a different tone to them, yet they compliment each other and together create a wonderful film score that can stand on its own.  Even in the middle of the summer.

I love some of the simpler works in this score, where Newman uses traditional instruments including, a piano, flute and strings.  A technique rather far from the Newman scores we hear today.

The flute is beautifully featured in several great solos.

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The piano solo in the piece “Valley of the Shadow” is so moving in film.  Newman knows how to warm your heart during such emotional scenes.

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Newman’s music shines when the film transitions into a new season (my favorite parts of the film).  I love the woodwind and harp intro in the “Spring” piece and how the beautiful main theme flourishes during the “Harvest Time.”

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Jo’s ambitions trip to New York is set to big sounding horns and a rumbling timpani, again capturing that early American spirit of pursuing your dreams.  This is one of my favorite tracks.  The later end of this piece reminds me of his Revolutionary Road theme.

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Another great feature of this score is Newman’s tribute to early composers of the time, such as Francis Johnson’s tribute to the French General LaFayette’s celebrated visit to America, and a waltz by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti.  Newman’s compositions fit interchangeably within theses pieces.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Newman’s own touch is still there, of course.  I love his use of chimes and pizzicato strings.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

This score was a well deserved Academy Award nomination.  Newman was the only double-nominee that year. He was also nominated for The Shawshank Redemption and the two were his first nominations.  Little Women will definitely remain one of his finest works.  Although, I love his inventive style and the more contemporary sound of his recent scores, it would be great to hear another more traditional score.

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, nominated for an astonishing 13 Academy Awards releases on DVD and Blu-ray today.  The film, directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, as Benjamin Button, a man living his life biologically in reverse, is accompanied by a beautifully written score from French composer Alexandre Desplat.  One of the year’s best scores, Desplat created a truly unique and stylistic score perfectly fitting the emotions and stunning visuals of the film.

Desplat’s soft, soothing melodies carefully drive the film forward without overwhelming the audience.  His themes subtly bring out the magical aspects of the film, bringing Benjamin Button’s fantasy world alive.  Writing “Benjamin’s Theme,” Desplat knew he needed to grasp a “going backwards” movement in the piece.

“Working and exchanging ideas with David Fincher (Director) and Ren Klyce (Executive Soundtrack Album Producer), I composed melodies in which the notes could be played both forwards and backwards, and chords that could be switched, like the Cole Porter line, “from major to minor.”

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Desplat’s score is constantly driving and in motion.  Like the characters Button encounters throughout the film, themes come and go throughout the film.  The score is also full of rhythmical elements evoking a ‘ticking time’ concept.  Unique sounds from an electric guitar, vibraphone, cimbalom, harps, and a celeste are used to create the concept.

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Desplat perfectly captured emotions surrounding Button and his constantly changing world, with hints of New Orleans jazz.

“The orchestration colors had to capture the genuine innocence with which Benjamin embraces the human beings that he meets through his life, and the circular motion of the adventurous world around him.”

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One of the film’s most beautiful pieces is set to the lavish and artistic life of Button’s love interest, Daisy Fuller, played by Cate Blanchett.  Daisy’s ballet career theme is powerful, moving, and full of life, yet not too overbearing and manages to successfully continue the rhythmical elements found in the rest of the score.

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“Every melody and motif had to be carefully positioned at the crossroads of emotions-never too dark, or too sentimental, or too quirky, or too frightening or too loud-always on the razor’s edge.”

Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain, which I believe was one of the year’s most beautiful compositions, wonderfully showcases that razor edge of emotion.  A piece that carefully supports the film and embrace emotions.

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This score is one of Desplat’s finest achievements.  He created a relaxing, pulsing, magical sound to the visually stunning fantasy film, capturing the human spirit.

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Original Score Composed, Conducted and Produced by Alexandre Desplat
© 2008 Concord Music
© 2008 Paramount Pictures

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I just had to share this beautiful composition from the film, Iris, starring Judi Dench and Kate Winslet.  About the life of  Irish novelist, Iris Murdoch, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.  The music was composed by James Horner and featured the tremendous talent of Joshua Bell on the violin. This track is a magnificent piece of work.  Bell’s violin solo is so soothing, relaxing, and wonderfully bright.

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So, I just rented Ghost (I love Blu-ray on Netflix) and wow, I forgot how great the score was.  Composed by the late Maurice Jarre, Ghost was his 9th Academy Award nomination.  A well-deserved nomination.  Funny though, how some tracks to me sounded so dated.  Oh, the synthesizer of the ’80s.  However, Ghost had some beautiful themes.  Molly’s theme, as heard during the end credits, is a wonderful composition full of emotion.  Touching and the perfect soundtrack for the heartfelt emotions of her character.  The last scene of the film is another notable track, based on Alex North’s  “Unchained Melody”, one of the most beautiful melodies of all time.  Jarre’s orchestral version of “Unchained Melody” fits wonderfully in that final scene. I’m always moved by it, a great moment in cinema history.

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