Thor Joachim Haga
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I’m first in line to admit a Williams fandom out of the ordinary. I think he’s the best composer who ever lived. But I’d probably tone that down just a little bit in a book. Definitely something that needs to be said in an introduction, at least to a moderate extent, as he IS a major figure of 20th and 21st century orchestral music, but then I’d probably leave it be after that. Hyperbole always makes me squirm in my seat, no matter how big a fan I am of somebody. Might have something to do with the European, or especially Scandinavian sentiment (what we call “Janteloven” over here, which is ingrained in our very being). Here’s an interview with actor Alexander Skarsgård that really explains a lot about the culture difference between the US and Scandinavians on this issue:
It’s also a genre that isn’t quite dead yet. Paul Verhoeven’s BENEDETTA (2021) falls into this genre, and it was my favourite film that year. Anne Dudley’s score was also my favourite of the year! Nunsploitation for the win!
Hmmm….normally when a composer dies, I get all hyperactive and explore their entire catalogue to build whatever collection I have of them.
But it’s taking its time with Schifrin. Probably has to do with the tinnitus.
But anyway, I mentioned some of my Schifrins earlier in the thread. Could I ask you for other recommendations? Be aware that I gravitate towards lyrical stuff, or loungey, and not so much the abrasive and dissonant (or the heavily action-oriented).
I’ve now reached Piero Piccioni (1921-2004) in my collection walkthrough, and I realize that several of the Piccioni scores I own could have fit perfectly in other threads. BORA BORA (1968) goes in the erotica thread. Both LE MONACHE DI SANT’ARCANGELO (1973) and STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA (1973) are nunsploitation films and could thus have been put BOTH in the erotica thread AND in the religious thread. But I’m “spending them” in this thread, because we need more discussion on Italian film music. Or Piccioni, for that matter. He should probably get his own thread at some point.
Of the three I mentioned, LE MONACHE DI SANT’ARCANGELO is my favourite; in fact it’s my favourite Piccioni score with those gobsmackingly beautiful madrigals:
Not really, but they have a definite spiritual quality. I mean, “The Temple of Doom” from INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM definitely concerns spiritual and occult going-ons, but I’ve never considered it particularly religious.
But I would claim that the theme from Jurassic Park has definitely a Hosannah vibe to it.
Most certainly!
OK, one more Spanish score before the weekend is over.
I’ve mentioned this score elsewhere, like the “What are you listening to now?” thread. It’s Oscar Martín Leanizbarrutia’s score for the 2021 film CLARET. It could easily have fit in the “The Religious Sound” thread as well, as there are psalm-like structures aplenty. But also a more wistful, Delerue-ian approach that I always fall for.
I’m mostly talking to myself here, but that’s okay. Weekends like this is when I feel the posting urge the most. I wanted to mention one other before I let this thread sink for a week, or until someone else chimes in.
Funnily, Jonathan Elias’ TWO MOON JUNCTION was next in line, but Jon grabbed that, which is great.
So I’m on to Karl Frid’s beautiful synth score for PLEASURE (2021). Is it erotica? Well, it’s a perhaps a bit too dark for that, as it concerns a young Swedish girl who turns to pornography as a means of rebellion and self-discovery. Frid captures both sides of the coin in his score, which was one of my top 10 favourite scores that year:
“Immolation” is a good suggestion.
Somehow, I never found MONSIGNOR particularly religioso-sounding, which is ironic given the subject matter of the film. More romantic, like an old Italian film or something. “Gloria” is rather modern in its phrasings, not a lot of psalm in it. In fact, I’d argue that “Exultate Justi” from EMPIRE OF THE SUN is more religoso, in the jubilant “Hosannah!” kind, than “Gloria” ever was.
Not a bad idea, but I want them out in space again, be it a ship, station, planet, what-have-you. I don’t want something earth-bound, at least not beyond a first act.
Whatever one thinks of PROMETHEUS and ALIEN: COVENANT (I obviously adore them), Ridley should at the very least be allowed to finish his David trilogy so that it ties into the original film. If he can’t do it, or dies of old age, then someone else capable (Villeneuve, for example). But Michael Fassbender gets older too, so it either needs to be done quickly, or you need to introduce the ‘ageing android’ concept. I don’t want to see de-aging CGI.
Well, this topic didn’t exactly take off the way I had hoped.
Here’s a screenshot of a John Williams “Religious Sound” playlist I made way back when. That’s a start. There are obviously many more soundtracks and individual cues that could be mentioned, from other composers as well.
I pride myself in not being TOO much of a geekboy, but I quite often fail. An example is this ALIEN thing. Every now and then, I conjure up a scenario in my head that continues the storyline from ALIEN: RESSURECTION, just because I want to see the Ripley storyline continued without introducing the concept of alternate timelines, which the aborted Neil Blomkamp project tried to do.
Fortunately, all the actors who portrayed the surviving crew members from that film are still alive. Since the end of A:R takes place outside a decimated Paris, we’re now almost 30 years later, and settlements have started to crop up. But it’s a chaotic and lawless society. Ron Perlman’s Johner, Dominique Pinon’s Vriess and Winona Ryder’s Call are still together as a rag tag band, doing occasional missions with the Betty. Call looks visibly older, which introduces the idea that androids get older (thereby also opening up to Fassbender’s return in a third David film). Ripley 8 is no longer with them. They get an assignment where they need Ripley’s help and set out to find her. They find her, and then head out into space to face the mission, ripe with xeno threats.
I know, silly. But that’s how my brain works those nights when I can’t sleep. 😀
Anyone else doing their own storylines? And would you admit it?
