Brokeback Mountain Score

[HornMeister]

I just listened to it
a lot of guitars
still not better than the memoirs
in my eyes

n e one agree?

[Ragingkirb]

I agree. Over the years, the Academy Awards have awarding "New Original Artists", while the Golden Globes have been awarding the scores that SHOULD win. Gladiator should've won the oscar (it won golden globe), memoirs should've won (golden globe), among others.

just my opinion.

[KevinKauai]

I thought the score by Gustavo Santaolalla was the weakest element in all of the barrels that "Brokeback Mountain" loaded up. Not sure why director Ang Lee would search out a South American composer for an American West movie when there would be so many talented American newbies to tap, but then so many decisions in a "low budget" film are skewed by odd forces.

As a side-note, you may have noticed that actor Randy Quaid has dropped his "additional compensation" lawsuit which seemed to have a sound basis in "bait and switch" on the issue of "hire me for a no budget movie for almost nothing and then it makes gazillions isn't fair". I trust he will be getting additional compensation. It would be amazing good if some "re-write" standard comes out of this. How many of you have done "no budget" films for a low or no fee and then had the producers reap surprising profits? A few, I know, how made a decent effort to "share the wealth" but the companies (such as the emerging Focus Features unit of Universal) are more likely to hold to the letter of the contract. I predict that there will be additional lawsuits in this particular area as more "small" productions "break out". Quality and risk should be rewarded.

imho ... :) KevinKauai

P.S. I've not yet seen "Memoirs of a Geisha" or heard the soundtrack. But it's the great John Williams who has a dozen or so Oscars and how-many-knows other awards, right? Am I wrong in hoping that he is actually retiring soon. (Hey, John! How about switching your energies to "serious" concert hall music and letting some newbies in?)

[gstitt]

I was also suprised that the brokeback score won. I guess winning an Oscar doesn't really mean much any more. Just being nominated seems to be the biggest honor.

[HornMeister]

P.S. I've not yet seen "Memoirs of a Geisha" or heard the soundtrack. But it's the great John Williams who has a dozen or so Oscars and how-many-knows other awards, right? Am I wrong in hoping that he is actually retiring soon. (Hey, John! How about switching your energies to "serious" concert hall music and letting some newbies in?)


haha! he doesnt need to retire Spielberg wont let him....

[HornMeister]

I was also suprised that the brokeback score won. I guess winning an Oscar doesn't really mean much any more. Just being nominated seems to be the biggest honor.

regardless that score was nothing compared to what Williams wrote. Buch of GUiitar chords over some lush strings. Typical Western movie had so much hype and its nothing. Soundtrack was the most disappointing. Nominations are cool and all but seriously the Oscar should be given to the BEST ORIGINAL SCORE they def. got it wrong............. AGAIN!!!

[PPH]

I agree. The score for Brokeback Mountain wasn't bad, but there wasn't anything special about it. Compared with Williams' scores for "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Munich", it's nothing. When I listened to the excerpts at the Oscar ceremony, I was shocked by the contrast of "Munich"'s sofisticated harmonics and "Brokeback Mountain"'s guitar chords. It's really that: some guitar chords, with strings here and there. They don't seem to want to give John Williams another award. But they could have given the award for "Pride and Prejudice", for example, which had a very good soundtrack too.

Edit: By the way, I wasn't surprised. I knew Santaolalla was going to win, and when my suspcions wre confirmed, I though "Damn! I knew it!". Why did I think that? Because Santaolalla is from Argentina, so it was a "politcally correct" thing to give him an Oscar. Especially having in mind what the movie, which was good, was about.

[sinkd]

I was completely "underwhelmed" by what I heard on the Academy Awards broadcast of the BBM score. Very political it seems to me. Williams is consistently proving himself to be the MAN as far as I am concerned. Some of the more recent Star Wars stuff notwithstanding.

Anybody ever checked out 'The Witches of Eastwick' score? Very nice. Appropriately spooky and so forth...

Off to watch "The West Wing" one last time. *sniff* No more weekly fantasy of the government I wish we had......

DS