The Score of Skyfall

WeSweatBlood

PeterGreenhill wrote:

Arnold also admitted that when he got stuck for ideas he simply used the James Bond Theme.

Clever scoring.

Yes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't use it at all...

petergreenhill5

It's used in Skyfall. I heard it in one of the Amazon clips!

Sandy

BondWillReturn wrote:

http://www.bol.com/nl/p/skyfall/1000004013111514/ Dutch website Bol.com lets you download the samples :)

Thanks for posting this link @BondWillReturn, the samples don't show up in amazon anymore (at least for me). I'm glad to say that this sounds more like what I was expecting from Newman :)
The Bond theme is there, hidden but there (track 22 is obvious but for example 26 and 28 have it there). I'm surprised how middle-eastern a lot of the tracks sound.
Based solely on the few seconds available for each track here are my favourites:
5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 (the beginning is very Barry), 14 (love it), 15 (how languid does this sound?), 16, (love it), 18 (unmistakably Newman artistry, reminds me of the 6 ft under title theme), 20, 22 (gunbarrel and opening?), 13 (quite eerie), 24, 26, and last but definitely not least and so far my favourite 30!

thelivingroyale

Apparently it's too early to judge but it was fine to declare it'd win Oscars before we heard the clips.

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of what I've heard. I think everyone was hyping Newmans score so much I was expecting more. Maybe once I hear more I'll change my mind but I feel a bit let down.

SaintMark

I reserve judgement untill I have heard the cd put the music through the boxes of my stereo set. Which is generally the way I prefer it.

gt007

@Sandy, if I remember correctly you're on Linux, aren't you? Unfortunately the "play" buttons do not appear for us. I guess they work on Windows Media Player. They're there, we just can't see them.

Sandy

gt007 wrote:

@Sandy, if I remember correctly you're on Linux, aren't you? Unfortunately the "play" buttons do not appear for us. I guess they work on Windows Media Player. They're there, we just can't see them.

They work for me on other albums :-?? just not Skyfall.

SirHenryLeeChaChing

Smithers wrote:

I keep reading DA isn't JB, but then DC isn't SC either (read into that what you will but it cuts both ways). I second what was said earlier. DA respects the franchise and while not the best film TND had one of the best sound tracks of any film (Bond or not). The pretitle sequence was almost perfect.

He may lack what some people think is imagination, but part of Bond is the sound and the underlying riff has to remain to keep the character. Don't change too much if it ain't broke.

I say I hope he gets it if for no other reason than continuity is important at the moment.

Smithers my good man, that's an excellent observation in particular. When I saw my first Bond film in 1968 (Thunderball), one of the things that most attracted and captivated me was the both the music of John Barry and the Bond theme. It was a creation and marriage that helped define the Bond films. Whenever you heard the Bond theme, you knew that he was about to swing into action or do something that made him the greatest secret agent in history. I haven't heard the rest of the Newman snippets, but at least from what I've been reading people are stating that the Bond theme appears to be noticeably and mostly absent and that is entirely unacceptable if that is a trend we will hear in Skyfall. I don't care how many times Barry, Arnold, or anyone uses it, overuse is better than underuse. It isn't broke, has never been broke, and doesn't need to be fixed. Can you imagine Connery uttering "Bond. James Bond" for the first time without it? Or the Union Jack ski jump? Not blasting away during one of the greatest finales in series history with Bond and Sanchez battling on a runaway tanker?

In summation if Newman has indeed, and keep in mind my statements may be premature to make and subject to change later on if you plan to criticize this post, relegated the theme to an afterthought in favor of his own ideas, then he's clearly taken the wrong path and disrespected the legacy in a manner even more egregious than Serra. I hope I'm wrong, because I certainly expect a man with 10 Academy nominations to be more savvy than this.

gt007

Sandy wrote:

gt007 wrote:

@Sandy, if I remember correctly you're on Linux, aren't you? Unfortunately the "play" buttons do not appear for us. I guess they work on Windows Media Player. They're there, we just can't see them.

They work for me on other albums :-?? just not Skyfall.

Really? That's weird.

I'd never tried any other albums before, but I did just now try this. And you're right, it works. But it's different than SKYFALL. It looks different, it behaves differently, ergo it probably is different. They're not using the same system. No idea why.

Sandy

gt007 wrote:

Sandy wrote:

gt007 wrote:

@Sandy, if I remember correctly you're on Linux, aren't you? Unfortunately the "play" buttons do not appear for us. I guess they work on Windows Media Player. They're there, we just can't see them.

They work for me on other albums :-?? just not Skyfall.

Really? That's weird.

I'd never tried any other albums before, but I did just now try this. And you're right, it works. But it's different than SKYFALL. It looks different, it behaves differently, ergo it probably is different. They're not using the same system. No idea why.

Yep, that's what I always see. Skyfall is different, perhaps they removed the tracks and just left the names?

4EverBonded

SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:

Smithers wrote:

I keep reading DA isn't JB, but then DC isn't SC either (read into that what you will but it cuts both ways). I second what was said earlier. DA respects the franchise and while not the best film TND had one of the best sound tracks of any film (Bond or not). The pretitle sequence was almost perfect.

He may lack what some people think is imagination, but part of Bond is the sound and the underlying riff has to remain to keep the character. Don't change too much if it ain't broke.

I say I hope he gets it if for no other reason than continuity is important at the moment.

Smithers my good man, that's an excellent observation in particular. When I saw my first Bond film in 1968 (Thunderball), one of the things that most attracted and captivated me was the both the music of John Barry and the Bond theme. It was a creation and marriage that helped define the Bond films. Whenever you heard the Bond theme, you knew that he was about to swing into action or do something that made him the greatest secret agent in history. I haven't heard the rest of the Newman snippets, but at least from what I've been reading people are stating that the Bond theme appears to be noticeably and mostly absent and that is entirely unacceptable if that is a trend we will hear in Skyfall. I don't care how many times Barry, Arnold, or anyone uses it, overuse is better than underuse. It isn't broke, has never been broke, and doesn't need to be fixed. Can you imagine Connery uttering "Bond. James Bond" for the first time without it? Or the Union Jack ski jump? Not blasting away during one of the greatest finales in series history with Bond and Sanchez battling on a runaway tanker?

In summation if Newman has indeed, and keep in mind my statements may be premature to make and subject to change later on if you plan to criticize this post, relegated the theme to an afterthought in favor of his own ideas, then he's clearly taken the wrong path and disrespected the legacy in a manner even more egregious than Serra. I hope I'm wrong, because I certainly expect a man with 10 Academy nominations to be more savvy than this.

I agree with both of you. The only thing I missed in GE was the James Bond theme; its omission in any Bond movie is a grevious error in my opinion. I want it, not just at the beginning or end but during key scenes. I so hope that Newman has incoporated it during action or other approppriately dramatic moments. No matter how excellent Skyfall turns out to be, if this theme is missing I will be sorely disappointed in that regard and it will bother me and take away from the overall complete satisfaction I hope to otherwise get from this film.

gt007

Sandy wrote:

gt007 wrote:

Sandy wrote:

gt007 wrote:

@Sandy, if I remember correctly you're on Linux, aren't you? Unfortunately the "play" buttons do not appear for us. I guess they work on Windows Media Player. They're there, we just can't see them.

They work for me on other albums :-?? just not Skyfall.

Really? That's weird.

I'd never tried any other albums before, but I did just now try this. And you're right, it works. But it's different than SKYFALL. It looks different, it behaves differently, ergo it probably is different. They're not using the same system. No idea why.

Yep, that's what I always see. Skyfall is different, perhaps they removed the tracks and just left the names?

No no, they're there. I've checked with another computer running on Windows. ;)
It looks like this.


PS: Sorry for going a bit off topic there everybody. :P

Sandy

4EverBonded wrote:

SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:

Smithers wrote:

I keep reading DA isn't JB, but then DC isn't SC either (read into that what you will but it cuts both ways). I second what was said earlier. DA respects the franchise and while not the best film TND had one of the best sound tracks of any film (Bond or not). The pretitle sequence was almost perfect.

He may lack what some people think is imagination, but part of Bond is the sound and the underlying riff has to remain to keep the character. Don't change too much if it ain't broke.

I say I hope he gets it if for no other reason than continuity is important at the moment.

Smithers my good man, that's an excellent observation in particular. When I saw my first Bond film in 1968 (Thunderball), one of the things that most attracted and captivated me was the both the music of John Barry and the Bond theme. It was a creation and marriage that helped define the Bond films. Whenever you heard the Bond theme, you knew that he was about to swing into action or do something that made him the greatest secret agent in history. I haven't heard the rest of the Newman snippets, but at least from what I've been reading people are stating that the Bond theme appears to be noticeably and mostly absent and that is entirely unacceptable if that is a trend we will hear in Skyfall. I don't care how many times Barry, Arnold, or anyone uses it, overuse is better than underuse. It isn't broke, has never been broke, and doesn't need to be fixed. Can you imagine Connery uttering "Bond. James Bond" for the first time without it? Or the Union Jack ski jump? Not blasting away during one of the greatest finales in series history with Bond and Sanchez battling on a runaway tanker?

In summation if Newman has indeed, and keep in mind my statements may be premature to make and subject to change later on if you plan to criticize this post, relegated the theme to an afterthought in favor of his own ideas, then he's clearly taken the wrong path and disrespected the legacy in a manner even more egregious than Serra. I hope I'm wrong, because I certainly expect a man with 10 Academy nominations to be more savvy than this.

I agree with both of you. The only thing I missed in GE was the James Bond theme; its omission in any Bond movie is a grevious error in my opinion. I want it, not just at the beginning or end but during key scenes. I so hope that Newman has incoporated it during action or other approppriately dramatic moments. No matter how excellent Skyfall turns out to be, if this theme is missing I will be sorely disappointed in that regard and it will bother me and take away from the overall complete satisfaction I hope to otherwise get from this film.

I don't think the theme is missing. Didn't you watch the snippet of the PTS? I'm sure it will pop up here and there. We cannot take conclusions about it's inclusion just based on the preview of the tracks.

@gt007 it's funny indeed. The amazon.co.uk looks the same as the .de one, no play buttons. I have a spare computer running Windows but I'm too lazy to put it working now to check, it takes ages to start (I'm spoiled by Linux, this babe takes only a few seconds and is up and running).

OwenDavian

Love the Komodo Dragon and Breadcrumbs samples

OwenDavian

Kill Them First also has an ominous vibe which was missing from QOS IMO.

doubleoego

Are people forgetting this is the 50th anniversary? I think the Bond theme is being saved for the right moment in the movie and not carelessly issued out as a cheap sample before the film's released.

petergreenhill5

When John Barry queued up to see Dr.No, at the London Pavilion in Piccadilly Circus on a Sunday afternoon in October 1962 (probably 7th) he was expecting to see 'The James Bond Theme' over the opening credits and maybe the closing credits. Instead, he was surprised, to put it mildly, to find the theme pasted all over the movie. The theme worked perfectly in scene after scene. However, Dr.No is a very different kind of Bond film to the Daniel Craig movies. The films have changed and maybe, just maybe a theme that was so powerful in 1962 is less relevant to a 2012 Bond film. It should be used in the modern films but not over and over again in the same film.

battleshipgreygt

I really like the samples we've gotten so far. I can see though, why some wouldn't really like it. It's not the conventional Bond sound but I like that. It's gotten a bit old, it's good to shake it up once in a while.

WeSweatBlood

With the 50th anniversary and all, I would say it's as relevant now as it were 50 years ago. Of course they shouldn't "overuse it" (no risk there as we can see in the past two films) but it's part of the James Bond DNA. As we all know, there are some key ingredients that separates the Bond films from other action movies. The James Bond theme is without a doubt one of those ingredients.

doubleoego

Exactly! Look at mission impossible and how they use the updated melody of schiffrin's theme in the movies as an example. Nobody wants the Bond theme playing every other scene but it should still be present and not just for ending the movie either.

xolani

Tracks that use parts of the Bond theme - or a variation of it (from what I've heard so far, which isn't much):
- Someone Usually Dies
- The Bloody Shot (presumably - might be the same track we've heard in the first preview clip)
- Breadcrumbs (Gunbarrel?)
- Kill Them First (it has elements of the theme!)
- She's Mine
- Deep Water (at the end - bombastic!)

Ok, I admit, some of those are a bit far fetched, but the theme is there, IMO. And I agree, a Bond movie needs the theme, but not EVERYWHERE. Makes it far more effective once you actually hear it!

Gustav_Graves

doubleoego wrote:

Exactly! Look at mission impossible and how they use the updated melody of schiffrin's theme in the movies as an example. Nobody wants the Bond theme playing every other scene but it should still be present and not just for ending the movie either.

Well, Tom Cruise, who was/is one of the producers of the last Mission Impossible film, wisely for the first time used a James Bond-like main titles sequence where Lalo Schiffrin's signature theme is used full throttle.

nobodydoesitbetter

Gustav_Graves wrote:

doubleoego wrote:

Exactly! Look at mission impossible and how they use the updated melody of schiffrin's theme in the movies as an example. Nobody wants the Bond theme playing every other scene but it should still be present and not just for ending the movie either.

Well, Tom Cruise, who was/is one of the producers of the last Mission Impossible film, wisely for the first time used a James Bond-like main titles sequence where Lalo Schiffrin's signature theme is used full throttle.

Didn't the first Mission Impossible film use the theme over the main titles? I don't recall number 2 at all and I don't think it played (or maybe very quickly) at the beginning of MI3.

CraigMooreOHMSS

nobodydoesitbetter wrote:

Gustav_Graves wrote:

doubleoego wrote:

Exactly! Look at mission impossible and how they use the updated melody of schiffrin's theme in the movies as an example. Nobody wants the Bond theme playing every other scene but it should still be present and not just for ending the movie either.

Well, Tom Cruise, who was/is one of the producers of the last Mission Impossible film, wisely for the first time used a James Bond-like main titles sequence where Lalo Schiffrin's signature theme is used full throttle.

Didn't the first Mission Impossible film use the theme over the main titles? I don't recall number 2 at all and I don't think it played (or maybe very quickly) at the beginning of MI3.

The MI theme played during every main title in the MI films.
Zimmer had a rock version for MI2.

Gustav_Graves

CraigMooreOHMSS wrote:

nobodydoesitbetter wrote:

Gustav_Graves wrote:

doubleoego wrote:

Exactly! Look at mission impossible and how they use the updated melody of schiffrin's theme in the movies as an example. Nobody wants the Bond theme playing every other scene but it should still be present and not just for ending the movie either.

Well, Tom Cruise, who was/is one of the producers of the last Mission Impossible film, wisely for the first time used a James Bond-like main titles sequence where Lalo Schiffrin's signature theme is used full throttle.

Didn't the first Mission Impossible film use the theme over the main titles? I don't recall number 2 at all and I don't think it played (or maybe very quickly) at the beginning of MI3.

The MI theme played during every main title in the MI films.
Zimmer had a rock version for MI2.

Yes, that was bloody awful if you ask me. The best MI-main title sequence still is the obe from 'Ghost Protocol':

<youtube>

The best Lalo Schiffrin rendition of his theme if you ask me. A total 200% perfect Mission Impossible-feel. And also...they decided to make the main titles sequence as long as possible, making it look a bit more 'Bond-ian'. And to be honest, I prefer the 'Ghost Protocol' main titles over those dreadful 'Quantum Of Solace' titles. And if a Mission Impossible-film gives you a great Bond-ian feel, then the Bond franchise is doing something wrong.

A mistake that will be corrected completely with 'Skyfall' though :-). I just can't bloody wait for Daniel Kleinman's first full main titles sequence ever since 'Die Another Day'. I have a gut feeling the titles will look very simple, with less CGI, more slow moving 'real' girls. A bit like the titles from 'Goldfinger' and 'Moonraker'. A true hommage to Bond's 50th anniversary, which Daniel Kleinman actually failed to do with 'Die Another Day'.

Zekidk

Gustav_Graves wrote:

Newman's, thus also Barry's, romantic themes always sound slightly more exotic, more mysterious than David Arnold's romantic themes. Perhaps it is Newman's use of instruments, for example the harp, the german flutes, etc.?

One thing that surprises me is that a piano is nowhere to be heard on the 30 sample tracks. Both Barry and Arnold used piano extensively.

nobodydoesitbetter

[quote="Gustav_GravesI just can't bloody wait for Daniel Kleinman's first full main titles sequence ever since 'Die Another Day'. I have a gut feeling the titles will look very simple, with less CGI, more slow moving 'real' girls. A bit like the titles from 'Goldfinger' and 'Moonraker'. A true hommage to Bond's 50th anniversary, which Daniel Kleinman actually failed to do with 'Die Another Day'.[/quote]

Didn't Kleinman do Casino Royale???...However...for Mission Impossible i still prefer the original film opening....

CraigMooreOHMSS

Gustav_Graves wrote:

CraigMooreOHMSS wrote:

nobodydoesitbetter wrote:

Gustav_Graves wrote:

doubleoego wrote:

Exactly! Look at mission impossible and how they use the updated melody of schiffrin's theme in the movies as an example. Nobody wants the Bond theme playing every other scene but it should still be present and not just for ending the movie either.

Well, Tom Cruise, who was/is one of the producers of the last Mission Impossible film, wisely for the first time used a James Bond-like main titles sequence where Lalo Schiffrin's signature theme is used full throttle.

Didn't the first Mission Impossible film use the theme over the main titles? I don't recall number 2 at all and I don't think it played (or maybe very quickly) at the beginning of MI3.

The MI theme played during every main title in the MI films.
Zimmer had a rock version for MI2.

Yes, that was bloody awful if you ask me. The best MI-main title sequence still is the obe from 'Ghost Protocol':

<youtube>

The best Lalo Schiffrin rendition of his theme if you ask me. A total 200% perfect Mission Impossible-feel. And also...they decided to make the main titles sequence as long as possible, making it look a bit more 'Bond-ian'. And to be honest, I prefer the 'Ghost Protocol' main titles over those dreadful 'Quantum Of Solace' titles. And if a Mission Impossible-film gives you a great Bond-ian feel, then the Bond franchise is doing something wrong.

A mistake that will be corrected completely with 'Skyfall' though :-). I just can't bloody wait for Daniel Kleinman's first full main titles sequence ever since 'Die Another Day'. I have a gut feeling the titles will look very simple, with less CGI, more slow moving 'real' girls. A bit like the titles from 'Goldfinger' and 'Moonraker'. A true hommage to Bond's 50th anniversary, which Daniel Kleinman actually failed to do with 'Die Another Day'.

Yes, Zimmer wasn't the right man for Mission Impossible. But then again, Woo wasn't the right director either.

Gustav_Graves

nobodydoesitbetter wrote:

[quote="Gustav_GravesI just can't bloody wait for Daniel Kleinman's first full main titles sequence ever since 'Die Another Day'. I have a gut feeling the titles will look very simple, with less CGI, more slow moving 'real' girls. A bit like the titles from 'Goldfinger' and 'Moonraker'. A true hommage to Bond's 50th anniversary, which Daniel Kleinman actually failed to do with 'Die Another Day'.

Didn't Kleinman do Casino Royale???...However...for Mission Impossible i still prefer the original film opening....



[/quote]

You are partially right. The design was made by Daniel Kleinman for 'Casino Royale'. Though the actual work, filming and digitalizing the silhouettes of Bond and other guys in the main titles were done by Framestore CFC. It's a visual effects company in London headed by William Bartlett. William Bartlett did actually most of the main titles work for 'Casino Royale'

Framestore CFC is quite similar to MK12 in their approach to main titles. MK12 did the main titles for 'Quantum Of Solace'.

So far, there's no mention of Daniel Kleinman again working together with Framestore CFC and William Bartlett. If any Bond fan has some news about that? Please tell us :-). As far as I know, Daniel Kleinman will be solely responsible again for the titles for 'Skyfall'.

Concerning the Mission Impossible titles. I prefer the titles from the 4th movie 'Ghost Protocol'. It uses Lalo Schiffrin's theme much longer. And I prefer Michael Giacchino's version of the theme over Danny Elfman's version that was used for the 1st MI-film.

By the way, one of my favourite Bond main titles is Maurice Binder's very simple work for 'Moonraker'. It suits the slow Hal David song very well. And I love the slow moves of the girls combined with lots of spacious blue colours and smoke. Actually watch the Moonraker titles with Adele's song. Fits wunderfully :-):

<youtube>

W_PPK

gt007 wrote:

@Sandy, if I remember correctly you're on Linux, aren't you? Unfortunately the "play" buttons do not appear for us. I guess they work on Windows Media Player. They're there, we just can't see them.

I'm on Linux too. On Chromium I also don't see WMP "Play" button.