Sorry, but I got to go with you on this one; Commando is the standard for an 80's score. The steel drums and how they're worked in to the cues are nothing short of genius. You know when you hear those staggered first notes, shit is about to go down. You could argue BHcop too, but that's just because the theme was so big, the working of the score is good but not consistent throughout the film.

My favs:

Goonies - Dave Grusin
Blade Runner - Vangelis
Once upon a time in the West - Morricone


I have a guilty pleasure of loving the Harryhausen scores. Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger has some truly genius character moments led by the score.

quote:

Originally posted by Paradox Lost I had absolutely no idea this thing existed. It certainly tones down the mega-Hollywood stature associated with the one that would eventually be used, and reminds me a lot of the similar, understatedly eerie soundtrack Mark Isham composed for 'The Hitcher:' Mark Isham- The Hitcher, 1986

Oh man, now I very seriously need to see the original Hitcher again. What an underrated classic in atmospheric horror. I love how, in 80s fashion, the score lilts around like dusty sunshafts through plastic blinds- the entire movie might as well be a wretched dream sequence as is.

Nearly opposite in vein (do ho ho hooo):



The 80s was just so great for musical scores, in my opinion:

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quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN Sorry, but I got to go with you on this one; Commando is the standard for an 80's score. The steel drums and how they're worked in to the cues are nothing short of genius. You know when you hear those staggered first notes, shit is about to go down. You could argue BHcop too, but that's just because the theme was so big, the working of the score is good but not consistent throughout the film. My favs: Goonies - Dave Grusin Blade Runner - Vangelis Once upon a time in the West - Morricone I have a guilty pleasure of loving the Harryhausen scores. Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger has some uly genius character moments led by the score.

goonies opening cue was brilliant. Cnan't think of one before that that does well what ever movie does now ie Batman dark nighht but ya. That was fantastic. Different guy than the composer i believe but that was great. Um the rock. basically every action movie requires that itnro cue now. And goonies really fucking nailed it. Like that tick tock pause, every uses, goonies. can't think of one before. It is really when things became less wagnerian and more hanz ish.

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quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On Oh man, now I very seriously need to see the original Hitcher again. What an underrated classic in atmospheric horror.

By 15 minutes into the film, I was of exactly the same impression. By the end of the following 80, I understood why it had been so extensively written off. It really does quickly devolve into a bland pattern of cat and mouse. But, seriously, the movie almost always achieves a state of perfection every single time Rutger Hauer steps into frame. I've never seen anyone else perform with such disconcertingly nuanced mannerisms the way he does. He's such an inspiration to watch:



But yeah, that score is as remorseless and unforgiving as the desert itself.

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Last edited by Paradox Lost on Jun-13-2014 at 04:28

quote:

Originally posted by Looney4Clooney goonies opening cue was brilliant. Cnan't think of one before that that does well what ever movie does now ie Batman dark nighht but ya. That was fantastic. Different guy than the composer i believe but that was great. Um the rock. basically every action movie requires that itnro cue now. And goonies really fucking nailed it. Like that tick tock pause, every uses, goonies. can't think of one before. It is really when things became less wagnerian and more hanz ish.

AFAIK it was grusin, unless there's a bit of RCP style sub composer shenanigans going on. People who get score, understand how fucking good that opening sequence is, but the score was never properly released until some music club in France put it out in like 2010. I've never actually heard the score without the film.

You gotta give it though, even if it is played out now, but the 1st cue of DK, starting with that ascending drone in the titles is fucking powerful.

It's something of a weird thing to warm up to, but the soundtrack to 'Cannibal Holocaust' really does pull off the 'morbidly beautiful' aesthetic in fantastic fashion.

Those Italians really know how to score an exploitation film.

Riz Ortolani- Cannibal Holocaust, 1980

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Blade Runner soundtrack is easily one of my favorites. See DJ RANN beat me to it

First used in 28 Days Later, by now it's been used in quite a few movies and commercials, TV shows. This track blew my mind, the way it was used along with the British cinematography, just wow.



No explanation needed..

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quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On Annnnnnnd now SYSTEM-J has to go watch Aliens:

Although I do prefer Aliens to the original and think it has an excellent score (better than the other James Horner stuff posted in this thread), I do marginally prefer the first Alien score by Jerry Goldsmith as it's a bit more abstract and ambient, eschewing clear emotional triggers in favour of an unsettling atmosphere and twitchy little musical spasms that are like tiny flickers of movement in the dark corners of a space freighter's hold:

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I'm rather partial to the score Elliot Goldenthal composed for 'Alien 3,' particular the piece 'Agnus Dei,' played during the opening credits. So much dread and foreboding scaled to cosmic grandeur, and a characteristically 'Goldenthal' composition, which works for or against it, depending upon how you feel about his style:

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Last edited by Paradox Lost on Jun-18-2014 at 12:00

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Two great Mark Isham scores.

Point Break



Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

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