Showing posts with label Jerry Goldsmith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jerry Goldsmith. Show all posts
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Monday, December 07, 2009
The Wow, She DID Look Kind Of Like Halle Berry Post.
She being Dorothy Dandridge. A YouTuber put up an episode of Cain's Hundred in which she was the primary guest star, and she does look a fair bit like the woman who played her to Emmy-winning effect in HBO's Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.
That said, I mainly visited the video to see the end credits. And for Jerry Goldsmith.
That said, I mainly visited the video to see the end credits. And for Jerry Goldsmith.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
The Rambo Post.
The Movie: One of the writers of First Blood (the movie, not the book) was also one of the prime movers behind Hill Street Blues; one of the writers of Rambo was one of the prime movers behind High Incident. That kind of says everything, really. That and the lipservice it pays to being serious before bringing on the action - and there's lots of it for sure, but it's kind of uncomfortable to see all the gruesome violence (people getting blown to smithereens, arms lopped off, children shot dead at close range etc)... plus both good and bad guys are so skimpily built up, even for this kind of movie, that it's never particularly rousing; not wanting people to cheer the sight of men dying horribly is a good thing, but this movie doesn't give you much of anything in return (the way First Blood genuinely put humanity above violence) except show you how horrible death is, and we know that already. On the upside, a) this means I'm not part of the audience for Funny Games, and b) at least Sylvester Stallone doesn't take his shirt off.
The Music: Even though Brian Tyler's score not only covers Jerry Goldsmith's guitar-and-brass main theme from the first film in the opening and closing credits but also works in other Goldsmith motifs from the previous movies throughout (such as in ***SPOILER ALERT*** the "final showdown" between Rambo and the evil pederast general (this assumption is based on the fact that at one point he summons a small boy to see him, and lets him go later on. Admittedly we don't see what happens, but judging from the way he caresses his head on entering it's safe to say he didn't invite the lad over to talk about last night's episode of Supernatural) - i.e. Rambo takes him by surprise and guts him, though his knife is incredibly clean very soon afterwards), the only acknowledgement is buried in amongst the song credits as "Rambo: First Blood Theme." Still, at least Goldsmith gets some kind of mention, which is more than can be said for Michael Kamen on Live Free Or Die Hard.
Anyway, Tyler - no stranger to following in Jerry Goldsmith's footsteps, since he wrote a good replacement score for Timeline (which is, however, left standing by Goldsmith's stunning thrown-out score) - tries to stay true to Jerry, even unto writing his own Goldsmithian theme for our hero in a thoughtful line, first heard in the opening with Rambo hunting for snakes. The ethnic drumming is present and correct, but when it comes to the action scenes it's Tyler all the way - the short string stabs from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift come along again, and though it keeps the movie barrelling along (particularly in the scene where Rambo uses a WWII bomb - don't ask - to wipe out a whole load of pursuers) and it's efficient, it's not exactly classic. It doesn't help that the Northwest Sinfonia (conducted by David Sabee) fights a losing battle with the sound effects in the climax, perhaps explaining why that particular cue gets a second chance over the closing credits. But at least no one'll accuse the score of being flag-waving tosh, and it's not nearly as weak as the Omen IV: The Awakening music; just proves yet again, however, that Jerry Goldsmith is a very tough act to follow. His widow Carole and his agent Richard Kraft receive "Music Special Thanks"; album on Lionsgate.
The Music: Even though Brian Tyler's score not only covers Jerry Goldsmith's guitar-and-brass main theme from the first film in the opening and closing credits but also works in other Goldsmith motifs from the previous movies throughout (such as in ***SPOILER ALERT*** the "final showdown" between Rambo and the evil pederast general (this assumption is based on the fact that at one point he summons a small boy to see him, and lets him go later on. Admittedly we don't see what happens, but judging from the way he caresses his head on entering it's safe to say he didn't invite the lad over to talk about last night's episode of Supernatural) - i.e. Rambo takes him by surprise and guts him, though his knife is incredibly clean very soon afterwards), the only acknowledgement is buried in amongst the song credits as "Rambo: First Blood Theme." Still, at least Goldsmith gets some kind of mention, which is more than can be said for Michael Kamen on Live Free Or Die Hard.
Anyway, Tyler - no stranger to following in Jerry Goldsmith's footsteps, since he wrote a good replacement score for Timeline (which is, however, left standing by Goldsmith's stunning thrown-out score) - tries to stay true to Jerry, even unto writing his own Goldsmithian theme for our hero in a thoughtful line, first heard in the opening with Rambo hunting for snakes. The ethnic drumming is present and correct, but when it comes to the action scenes it's Tyler all the way - the short string stabs from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift come along again, and though it keeps the movie barrelling along (particularly in the scene where Rambo uses a WWII bomb - don't ask - to wipe out a whole load of pursuers) and it's efficient, it's not exactly classic. It doesn't help that the Northwest Sinfonia (conducted by David Sabee) fights a losing battle with the sound effects in the climax, perhaps explaining why that particular cue gets a second chance over the closing credits. But at least no one'll accuse the score of being flag-waving tosh, and it's not nearly as weak as the Omen IV: The Awakening music; just proves yet again, however, that Jerry Goldsmith is a very tough act to follow. His widow Carole and his agent Richard Kraft receive "Music Special Thanks"; album on Lionsgate.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The I Wish I'd Been There Post.
More than 650 people attended "Another Opening, Another Show," an all-star salute to television theme music held Thursday, Oct. 11 on the campus of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
The two-and-a-half-hour show featured clips from more than 120 different TV series dating back to the early 1950s, as well as live performances of classic TV themes and several stars introducing montages of great "main title" sequences through the years.
In addition, journalist and author Jon Burlingame – whose 1996 book TV's Biggest Hits chronicled this quirky genre of music – interviewed television composers Earle Hagen, Vic Mizzy and Mike Post, along with producer Steven Bochco, about the role of TV themes and the use of music in the medium generally.
Singer Monica Mancini, whose father Henry Mancini practically launched the TV-theme craze in 1958 with Peter Gunn, served as host. "We knew the names of the people who wrote the music for shows like Dynasty and The Fugitive and Bonanza," she said, citing the composers for those shows by explaining that "to the Mancini kids, Bill Conti and Pete Rugolo and David Rose weren't just names on the screen, they were the guys our dad hung out with."
Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch fame introduced the sitcom montage, as well as her former boss, Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island creator Sherwood Schwartz, in the audience. And while the original Brady Bunch opening was projected on the big screen, with Schwartz's original lyrics appearing beneath the images, the entire audience sang The Brady Bunch theme to the 90-year-old producer.
The opening sequences for The Addams Family and Green Acres were screened, after which Burlingame introduced Mizzy, the composer of both iconic themes. He regaled the crowd with amusing anecdotes about shooting the sequences and directing the Addams Family cast in the famous finger-snapping of the opening; and of coaching singer Eddie Albert and non-singer Eva Gabor in performing his Green Acres words and music.
Actor-singers John Schneider and Jean Louisa Kelly did a 10-minute segment devoted to live performances of classic TV theme songs. They dueted on "This Is It!", the theme from The Bugs Bunny Show, as well as Car 54, Where Are You?, Three's Company, the rarely heard vocal version of Bonanza and "Happy Trails" from The Roy Rogers Show.
Schneider soloed on "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" from The Beverly Hillbillies, I Love Lucy, Davy Crockett and The Dukes of Hazzard. Kelly sang Petticoat Junction and Welcome Back Kotter and wowed the crowd with a torch-song rendition of The Mickey Mouse Club March.
Former St. Elsewhere costars William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett introduced clips of great themes from medical and legal dramas; Mancini (subbing for an ailing Robert Conrad) introduced the Westerns segment and producer Steven Bochco introduced the cop and detective show montage.
Burlingame was joined onstage by Bochco and Mike Post for a discussion of their collaborations on Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue and other series. Especially interesting were Bochco's recitation of the struggles involved with several different producers attempting to decide on a musical approach to L.A. Law – and Post's attempts to reconcile the idea of an all-percussion theme with another involving subway sounds for NYPD Blue.
Robert Vaughn, best known as Napoleon Solo on the seminal 1960s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., was summoned from the audience to the podium by the original pen-communicator sound effect from that show. It was a 1960s flashback that the crowd loved. Vaughn saluted U.N.C.L.E. composer Jerry Goldsmith – who also wrote the themes for Dr. Kildare, The Waltons and Star Trek: Voyager – in his introduction to the segment on spy and action-adventure show themes.
Former Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner quoted Rod Serling in her introduction to a montage of clips from science-fiction, fantasy and superhero shows. She mentioned John Williams' early career efforts in such Irwin Allen shows as Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel, and quipped that the Wonder Woman lyrics ("in your satin tights, fighting for your rights") were "the greatest in the history of television music."
Stacy Keach revealed a talent as a jazz pianist by performing "Harlem Nocturne," composer Earle Hagen's theme for his long-running Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer series, and then introduced a montage of great themes from drama and anthology shows, mentioning Bernard Herrmann's work on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and the fact that Aaron Copland even wrote the theme for CBS Playhouse.
Burlingame brought Hagen to the stage after a medley of several of his long-running series: Make Room for Daddy, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle USMC, That Girl, The Mod Squad, Mike Hammer and I Spy. Hagen talked about his years as a composer in television, noting that he was the whistler on the Andy Griffith theme and pointing out that "I had never whistled before, and I've never whistled since."
Post surprised the veteran composer by returning to the stage (along with Academy Chief Operating Officer Alan Perris) to present Hagen with a special award from the Academy "for his pioneering work and enduring contributions to television music."
Emmy-nominated composer Ray Colcord, a governor of the ATAS music peer group, produced the event, from a script by his co-producer, Arthur Greenwald. Stan Beard was the musical director.
Thanks to the Film Music Society.
The two-and-a-half-hour show featured clips from more than 120 different TV series dating back to the early 1950s, as well as live performances of classic TV themes and several stars introducing montages of great "main title" sequences through the years.
In addition, journalist and author Jon Burlingame – whose 1996 book TV's Biggest Hits chronicled this quirky genre of music – interviewed television composers Earle Hagen, Vic Mizzy and Mike Post, along with producer Steven Bochco, about the role of TV themes and the use of music in the medium generally.
Singer Monica Mancini, whose father Henry Mancini practically launched the TV-theme craze in 1958 with Peter Gunn, served as host. "We knew the names of the people who wrote the music for shows like Dynasty and The Fugitive and Bonanza," she said, citing the composers for those shows by explaining that "to the Mancini kids, Bill Conti and Pete Rugolo and David Rose weren't just names on the screen, they were the guys our dad hung out with."
Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch fame introduced the sitcom montage, as well as her former boss, Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island creator Sherwood Schwartz, in the audience. And while the original Brady Bunch opening was projected on the big screen, with Schwartz's original lyrics appearing beneath the images, the entire audience sang The Brady Bunch theme to the 90-year-old producer.
The opening sequences for The Addams Family and Green Acres were screened, after which Burlingame introduced Mizzy, the composer of both iconic themes. He regaled the crowd with amusing anecdotes about shooting the sequences and directing the Addams Family cast in the famous finger-snapping of the opening; and of coaching singer Eddie Albert and non-singer Eva Gabor in performing his Green Acres words and music.
Actor-singers John Schneider and Jean Louisa Kelly did a 10-minute segment devoted to live performances of classic TV theme songs. They dueted on "This Is It!", the theme from The Bugs Bunny Show, as well as Car 54, Where Are You?, Three's Company, the rarely heard vocal version of Bonanza and "Happy Trails" from The Roy Rogers Show.
Schneider soloed on "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" from The Beverly Hillbillies, I Love Lucy, Davy Crockett and The Dukes of Hazzard. Kelly sang Petticoat Junction and Welcome Back Kotter and wowed the crowd with a torch-song rendition of The Mickey Mouse Club March.
Former St. Elsewhere costars William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett introduced clips of great themes from medical and legal dramas; Mancini (subbing for an ailing Robert Conrad) introduced the Westerns segment and producer Steven Bochco introduced the cop and detective show montage.
Burlingame was joined onstage by Bochco and Mike Post for a discussion of their collaborations on Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue and other series. Especially interesting were Bochco's recitation of the struggles involved with several different producers attempting to decide on a musical approach to L.A. Law – and Post's attempts to reconcile the idea of an all-percussion theme with another involving subway sounds for NYPD Blue.
Robert Vaughn, best known as Napoleon Solo on the seminal 1960s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., was summoned from the audience to the podium by the original pen-communicator sound effect from that show. It was a 1960s flashback that the crowd loved. Vaughn saluted U.N.C.L.E. composer Jerry Goldsmith – who also wrote the themes for Dr. Kildare, The Waltons and Star Trek: Voyager – in his introduction to the segment on spy and action-adventure show themes.
Former Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner quoted Rod Serling in her introduction to a montage of clips from science-fiction, fantasy and superhero shows. She mentioned John Williams' early career efforts in such Irwin Allen shows as Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel, and quipped that the Wonder Woman lyrics ("in your satin tights, fighting for your rights") were "the greatest in the history of television music."
Stacy Keach revealed a talent as a jazz pianist by performing "Harlem Nocturne," composer Earle Hagen's theme for his long-running Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer series, and then introduced a montage of great themes from drama and anthology shows, mentioning Bernard Herrmann's work on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and the fact that Aaron Copland even wrote the theme for CBS Playhouse.
Burlingame brought Hagen to the stage after a medley of several of his long-running series: Make Room for Daddy, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle USMC, That Girl, The Mod Squad, Mike Hammer and I Spy. Hagen talked about his years as a composer in television, noting that he was the whistler on the Andy Griffith theme and pointing out that "I had never whistled before, and I've never whistled since."
Post surprised the veteran composer by returning to the stage (along with Academy Chief Operating Officer Alan Perris) to present Hagen with a special award from the Academy "for his pioneering work and enduring contributions to television music."
Emmy-nominated composer Ray Colcord, a governor of the ATAS music peer group, produced the event, from a script by his co-producer, Arthur Greenwald. Stan Beard was the musical director.
Thanks to the Film Music Society.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
July 21st. The magic ends.
Today marks the occasion of the departure of a magician. A fellow who took us on a fantastic ride for years. One who will be, and is, missed by many who know the real thing when they see it.
Today is also, I understand, the day the last Harry Potter book goes on sale (assuming that it is the last one, like when The Sopranos was supposed to end a few years before it actually did), but it's the third anniversary of the passing of a real magician; Jerry Goldsmith.
A tribute video for Rudy, containing his wonderful music from said film:
His down-home theme from The Waltons (though he always preferred the theme he wrote for the TV movie that spawned it, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story):
A scene from The Challenge:
From Supergirl, one of many, many lousy movies that benefitted from his work:
Jerry winning his only Oscar, for The Omen:
And to finish:
Today is also, I understand, the day the last Harry Potter book goes on sale (assuming that it is the last one, like when The Sopranos was supposed to end a few years before it actually did), but it's the third anniversary of the passing of a real magician; Jerry Goldsmith.
A tribute video for Rudy, containing his wonderful music from said film:
His down-home theme from The Waltons (though he always preferred the theme he wrote for the TV movie that spawned it, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story):
A scene from The Challenge:
From Supergirl, one of many, many lousy movies that benefitted from his work:
Jerry winning his only Oscar, for The Omen:
And to finish:
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Jessica Alba and Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith, may he rest in peace, said he didn't like scoring horror movies (Alien, The Omen) or action movies (he liked to joke that Rambo: First Blood Part II paid for his house). But he was so damn good at it!
Jessica Alba states that she doesn't like being considered sexy. But...
The Bastardly can... I was going to say "kiss her ass" but they might like it despite their comments on her (overrated? This from a blog that likes TheArchivist non-favourite Adriana Lima?). So they can kiss Vanessa Feltz's ass instead. Or Anne Robinson's. Or Barbara Bush's. And as for the rest of you, check out anything of Goldsmith's that you can. (Except maybe Criminal Law.) I have spoken.
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