Spectre Composer Is Thomas Newman

mattjoes

This review makes me want to revisit both film and score. Spectre too is my second favorite of the Craig era after CR. Very entertaining, despite its flaws, and with a fantastic performance by Craig. It felt like a huge breath of fresh air after QoS and SF. As for the score, on the whole I'm not crazy about it, but I actually prefer it to SF, and my impression is that the themes brought back from SF are in fact put to better use in SP.

Some of the pieces I enjoy the most are Los muertos vivos están, Backfire and A Reunion. The instrumental of the title song is terrific, as well, though credit must of course also go to Sam Smith's compositional skill. Not crazy about his voice, but what a great theme he wrote!

Murdock

I was listening to Snow Plane which I consider to be Newman's worst Bond action track. It wasn't so bad, but it wasn't Bond to me. I'm probably his most vocal critic here but I'm only critical because I'm passionate about Bond music. My disappointment stems from, I was expecting something new and different. Each Bond film has a unique sound which helps makes it stand apart. With Spectre I was expecting a movie with a new sound. So it was really jarring hearing the same music that came before. The officially released soundtrack album doesn't have a lot of the repeated music but there is much more in the film. I love Spectre the film. It's currently #4 in my ranking. That being said, the music was the lowest point for me. Hell Oberhauser being Blofeld doesn't bother me as much as the music did. I'll revist both Skyfall and Spectre's scores and give an objective review of them in depth someday but I still feel disappointed in them that they didn't satisfy what I was wanting in a Bond score.

Walecs

I'm listening to the soundtrack for 1917 and it has some really beautiful tracks indeed.



This is miles better than everything Newman made for either Skyfall or SPECTRE. This pretty much proves that Newman didn't care at all about Bond and pretty much made some generic "dun dun dun" stuff. What a waste. Arnold should have really done the score for both movies, but at least I'm glad he got to score CR and QoS which I much prefer over SF and SP.

MakeshiftPython

I don’t buy the narrative that Newman “didn’t care” about Bond. And even if he did churn out the same material for Bond that he did for 1917 I’m 100% positive there would still be many complaints by fans. Heck, having listened to the soundtrack it would have probably infuriated more fans with tracks like this.





It’s the same rhythmic approach to racking up tension that he’s always been very good at but many fans seem to complain about because it’s not melodic enough. That you can’t hum it to yourself, as if melody is the ONLY truly valid form of music. I get it, it would be nice if more melodic scores would crop up, but this is what contemporary music is in our culture today until melodies make a comeback.

Walecs

You're right MakeshiftPython. That track really does sound like the Skyfall and Spectre tracks. I admit I was wrong (although I still think the track I posted last week was better than Newman's romantic tracks from SF and SP).

CraigMooreOHMSS

MakeshiftPython wrote: »

I don’t buy the narrative that Newman “didn’t care” about Bond. And even if he did churn out the same material for Bond that he did for 1917 I’m 100% positive there would still be many complaints by fans. Heck, having listened to the soundtrack it would have probably infuriated more fans with tracks like this.





It’s the same rhythmic approach to racking up tension that he’s always been very good at but many fans seem to complain about because it’s not melodic enough. That you can’t hum it to yourself, as if melody is the ONLY truly valid form of music. I get it, it would be nice if more melodic scores would crop up, but this is what contemporary music is in our culture today until melodies make a comeback.

Of course - though that is one of the weaker tracks from 1917, to be fair. There are plenty of better examples that are superior.

MakeshiftPython

Oh there certainly are, it’s just that that type of rhythmic track wasn’t something composers of the old days would do, but has become more common especially with the advent of computers.

As for beautiful tracks, I think Newman still accomplished some tracks worthy of his best stuff like “Madeleine” and “Secret Room”. If we haven’t had anything like “The Night Window” from 1917 for Bond that’s mainly because I can’t really think of a scene in Bond that would work with such a big build up as that track. Perhaps had Judi Dench not recited a poem it would have worked in place with Bond running to the inquiry. In a lot of Newman scored movies there’s long scenes stretching without dialogue and 1917 is full of such moments to allow the music to take over. The only montages we get with Bond is when they’re preparing for firefight at Skyfall, but it’s not only a quick montage but also one that demands a kind of score that sounds like one is prepared for action.

RichardTheBruce

DarthDimi wrote: »

PRAISE FOR THE SPECTRE SCORE

Since SP's release, I have made it no secret nor a matter of shame that I love this film and in fact rank it as Craig's second best right behind the perfect CR. SP isn't faultless and when carefully dissected reveals a few weak spots which are hard to ignore in any detailed assessment. But overall I find it to be an almost dreamy adventure, a surreal sort of experience like a nightmare of Bond rather than a factual part of the loose CR-QOS-SF canon, despite the unification effort imposed on the gallery of Craig's Bond villains. And I cannot help but enjoying SP tremendously, looking past the flaws with considerable ease. The film has a powerful mood, my kind of thing, which I especially enjoy in the sweaty and drunk atmosphere of "l'Américain" and in the beautiful and slightly futuristic lair Blofeld occupies in the middle of the desert. This film looks very good and is well shot. I have a lot of love for the character of Madeline Swann too. Léa Seydoux looks great and acts her role well. She may in fact be my favourite Bond girl of the Craig era, ranking slightly above Vesper; and yes I know that's blasphemous.

Another element of this film I cannot but praise, is Thomas Newman's score. Unlike what its haters claim, it is not a carbon copy of his SF score. A minor few cues are brought back, yes, but this score is fuller, richer and in my opinion a genuinely fascinating achievement. Newman channels John Barry in many of the romantic scenes, first with Sciarra's widow, then with Madeline on the train. The strings, harps and flutes ooze sex and warmth in a composition which I can only describe as truly beautiful. There are moments of effective chills too, horror almost, for example when Blofeld first addresses Bond during the Spectre meeting. In the action scenes, Newman delivers pulse, rhythm and depth, toying with the Bond Theme every now and then, in a fashion I find tremendously effective. Another stand-out moment for me would be the instrumental rendition of the theme song while Bond and Madeline are making love on the train, first full of orchestral splendour, then quieted down and overtaken by a soft piano at sunrise. In between the scenes described above, Newman mixes electronics with ethnic sounds, but always adequately adjusted to the setting. The music enhances the pressure and tension and adds to the drama in the film. I furthermore really love the moments when Newman uses those guitar riffs to create a ticking clock sort of tension.

Sam Smith's theme song was pissed on by many, but I think it's a beautiful composition, expertly synced with Kleinman's impressive main titles which, by the way, I love to look at, what with the unsettling octopus effects and all. I have but a minor complaint, and that would be Smith's feminine singing. Don't write yourself a song you can't handle...

I really hope people can give this score an honest reconsideration sometime and appreciate it for what it is. Sadly, John Barry isn't going to return and though I think the world of Arnold's CR and QOS scores, I don't think Newman has to hide in shame. SP greatly benefits from the moody, sometimes dreamy, often exciting and tension building score Newman delivers. I'm in fact on the verge of wanting him back for the next Bond though I sincerely doubt he would return in the absence of Mendes. Either way, Newman brings a different style to the game but then the power of the Bond films is their capacity for changing style now and then and staying fresh and relevant. The SP score, which I think is far better than the similarly misunderstood SF score, blends in nicely with the film Mendes and Craig set out to make.

Personally, I think SP is a far better Bond film than SF, though the rest of world clearly disagrees. So be it, but I'm not going to let the majority vote damage my enjoyment when watching this film. And turning the volume up to get the full Newman experience, I'm never not having a great time with this film. I wish I knew more about music, technically, so that I could more ably describe how I felt about the SP score. But the above comes from the heart; it's the love a fan has for something he will sporadically defend against the harsh criticism it seems destined to endure. Overtime I believe Newman's scores will retrieve some fan love, like how Goldenthal's scores for Schumacher's Batman films have been redeemed over the years, much more in fact than the films they were used in.

I hate to disappoint people but I love SP and the score of SP, and I shan't apologise for that. This isn't me trying to be difficult or swimming upstream for the sake of it. I simply recall sitting in the theatre in 2015, feeling satisfied in ways I hadn't felt since CR. And the music plays a big part in that.

I greatly enjoyed this perspective on sound and vision.

Getafix

RichardTheBruce wrote: »

DarthDimi wrote: »

PRAISE FOR THE SPECTRE SCORE

Since SP's release, I have made it no secret nor a matter of shame that I love this film and in fact rank it as Craig's second best right behind the perfect CR. SP isn't faultless and when carefully dissected reveals a few weak spots which are hard to ignore in any detailed assessment. But overall I find it to be an almost dreamy adventure, a surreal sort of experience like a nightmare of Bond rather than a factual part of the loose CR-QOS-SF canon, despite the unification effort imposed on the gallery of Craig's Bond villains. And I cannot help but enjoying SP tremendously, looking past the flaws with considerable ease. The film has a powerful mood, my kind of thing, which I especially enjoy in the sweaty and drunk atmosphere of "l'Américain" and in the beautiful and slightly futuristic lair Blofeld occupies in the middle of the desert. This film looks very good and is well shot. I have a lot of love for the character of Madeline Swann too. Léa Seydoux looks great and acts her role well. She may in fact be my favourite Bond girl of the Craig era, ranking slightly above Vesper; and yes I know that's blasphemous.

Another element of this film I cannot but praise, is Thomas Newman's score. Unlike what its haters claim, it is not a carbon copy of his SF score. A minor few cues are brought back, yes, but this score is fuller, richer and in my opinion a genuinely fascinating achievement. Newman channels John Barry in many of the romantic scenes, first with Sciarra's widow, then with Madeline on the train. The strings, harps and flutes ooze sex and warmth in a composition which I can only describe as truly beautiful. There are moments of effective chills too, horror almost, for example when Blofeld first addresses Bond during the Spectre meeting. In the action scenes, Newman delivers pulse, rhythm and depth, toying with the Bond Theme every now and then, in a fashion I find tremendously effective. Another stand-out moment for me would be the instrumental rendition of the theme song while Bond and Madeline are making love on the train, first full of orchestral splendour, then quieted down and overtaken by a soft piano at sunrise. In between the scenes described above, Newman mixes electronics with ethnic sounds, but always adequately adjusted to the setting. The music enhances the pressure and tension and adds to the drama in the film. I furthermore really love the moments when Newman uses those guitar riffs to create a ticking clock sort of tension.

Sam Smith's theme song was pissed on by many, but I think it's a beautiful composition, expertly synced with Kleinman's impressive main titles which, by the way, I love to look at, what with the unsettling octopus effects and all. I have but a minor complaint, and that would be Smith's feminine singing. Don't write yourself a song you can't handle...

I really hope people can give this score an honest reconsideration sometime and appreciate it for what it is. Sadly, John Barry isn't going to return and though I think the world of Arnold's CR and QOS scores, I don't think Newman has to hide in shame. SP greatly benefits from the moody, sometimes dreamy, often exciting and tension building score Newman delivers. I'm in fact on the verge of wanting him back for the next Bond though I sincerely doubt he would return in the absence of Mendes. Either way, Newman brings a different style to the game but then the power of the Bond films is their capacity for changing style now and then and staying fresh and relevant. The SP score, which I think is far better than the similarly misunderstood SF score, blends in nicely with the film Mendes and Craig set out to make.

Personally, I think SP is a far better Bond film than SF, though the rest of world clearly disagrees. So be it, but I'm not going to let the majority vote damage my enjoyment when watching this film. And turning the volume up to get the full Newman experience, I'm never not having a great time with this film. I wish I knew more about music, technically, so that I could more ably describe how I felt about the SP score. But the above comes from the heart; it's the love a fan has for something he will sporadically defend against the harsh criticism it seems destined to endure. Overtime I believe Newman's scores will retrieve some fan love, like how Goldenthal's scores for Schumacher's Batman films have been redeemed over the years, much more in fact than the films they were used in.

I hate to disappoint people but I love SP and the score of SP, and I shan't apologise for that. This isn't me trying to be difficult or swimming upstream for the sake of it. I simply recall sitting in the theatre in 2015, feeling satisfied in ways I hadn't felt since CR. And the music plays a big part in that.

I greatly enjoyed this perspective on sound and vision.

@DarhDimi I haven't watched SP since 2015 but at the time I took a similar view. I enjoyed SP a lot more than SF and weirdly I remember thinking the score was better than SF as well. I also have a bit of a soft spot for the Sam Smith song. I think his vocals maybe could have been toned down a bit but it's really not bad.

I still feel overall that Newman is a bit anaemic. I watched Tolkein the other day and noticed that Newman had scored it. It was a perfectly serviceable score but as usual there wasn't much that really stayed with you.

My main bugbear with Newman is that he criminally underused the theme songs in his score. Both films would have been massively elevated had he not taken such an egotistical approach.

Minion

Something about the Snow Plane chase music never fails to get me pumped. Just a great piece of work that one - that and Backfire are more than enough evidence that TN was more than capable of scoring the action elements in addition to the moody bits.

boldfinger

MakeshiftPython wrote: »

Oh there certainly are, it’s just that that type of rhythmic track wasn’t something composers of the old days would do, but has become more common especially with the advent of computers.

Perhaps it has to do with the amount of personality in the music. Barry´s 007 theme was perhaps still very melodic in comparison, despite being primarily rhythmic. But Brad Fiedel´s Terminator scores for instance, or John Carpenter´s scores from the 80s managed very well to give not only the composition, but also the sound itself a solid character. Sure, the 007 theme was used in a number of films, but there was no mistaking what it´s about, and who it´s about. For some reason, this doesn´t seem to be wanted very much by contemporary film productions.

mtm

Quite interesting to listen to this week’s Saturday Night At the Movies in Classic FM catchup as it has an interview with Mendes talking about the scores to 1917 and Bond.