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How important is the score to your enjoyment of Bond films?

w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
edited March 2013 in Music Posts: 2,252
Lately I've realised how much the score of a Bond film is integral to my enjoyment of it. The score to OHMSS, OP, AVTAK and TLD are so incredibly rich and...I can't even find the words for it. I find myself humming the score in the shower, and just about anywhere. I am certain my like of AVTAK and OP is influenced by the score. And on repeat viewings FYEO and LTK despite having similar flavour to the other 80's Bonds are missing a critical element - musical identity.

And I've also realised that, say what you like about him, I have found a new appreciation of certain themes in Arnold's scores (mainly in TND and TWINE) which include the title song melodies in them.

On another note, TB is an interesting example because it incorporates the music from both the official and rejected theme - both of which I really like, and improve my liking for the film

Comments

  • jfree92jfree92
    Posts: 20
    I personally love the FYEO score...being a disco fan its not surprising, more cowbell!!

    But yes, I find the music very enjoyable, for any Bond film. I often listen to the soundtracks purely for fun. :)
  • thelordflasheartthelordflasheart
    Posts: 1,370
    I find that a good score can augment a film, but it won't turn a poorly written, poorly acted, and poorly directed Bond film into a good one. To me, those three elements are far more important than the score. Of course, if a great Bond film had a mediocre score it would lessen it a bit but not ruin it for me. But we all have different elements that are important to us.

    I think the most important thing is that it isn't an either/or situation. Before the "There can be only one!" arguments start, you can have both a good score and bad film, or bad film with good score, or both bad or both good.
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    edited March 2013 Posts: 12,837
    I agree with @thelordflashheart. A score can help or hinder a film, but it won't ruin a great film or save a crap one.

    EG- I love Skyfall (it's in my top 10), but I really don't like the score much at all.

    However, I rate Moonraker very lowly but I love the score and I think that has one of the best soundtracks of the series.
  • dkem91dkem91
    Posts: 66
    I think the score is very influential to my personal liking of a Bond film. My favorite scores are the ones that incorporate the title song, it makes everything feel like one piece, not just a random song at the start then a seperate score. That's one thing I wish Skyfall did more of was incorporate Adels theme into the score more than just the one time.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,205
    I don't think its absolutely pivotal but I will say that my favourite Bond scores accompany my favourite Bond films. Take from that what you will.
  • ThepastykidThepastykid
    Posts: 553
    I agree that it complements a great film, but cannot save a bad one. The only Bond film in the series with a personal ranking damaged by it's score is Goldeneye...I would have it a little higher I think if I didn't hate the music so much..
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    dkem91 wrote:
    I think the score is very influential to my personal liking of a Bond film. My favorite scores are the ones that incorporate the title song, it makes everything feel like one piece, not just a random song at the start then a seperate score. That's one thing I wish Skyfall did more of was incorporate Adels theme into the score more than just the one time.

    I agree with you @dkem91. Without Barry, I fear we'll always be lacking and never reach the heghts of the earlier films. Almost as if, one of the best Bond films of all, can never be made now.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    The score is absolutely critical for me! It really adds a sense of atmosphere and identity. However, it doesn't define the overall making or breaking of the movie.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,105
    A good score is important, although not essential. I do not like the score of FYEO, however the movie is far superior to most of Moore's Bonds.
  • SoundofthesinnersSoundofthesinners
    edited March 2013 Posts: 3,236
    I've never really understood what the big deal is about the scores, to be honest. Sure, most of the Barry scores are pretty good, and Goldeneye's can get grating at it's worst, but I really don't notice it all that much.

  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    I suggest watching films like OHMSS, TB, CR and TND purely from a perspective of how the score is incopotated within the movie and how the music of the theme songs are interwoven. Then, compare it to scores like GE and see the glaring difference.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    Interesting views. Maybe I overrate the importance of the score, but I find that when you're nitpicking your rankings especially between similar entries, things which are normally in the background come to the foreground. In most other movies, I don't even notice the score.

    I place GE and CR in my top tier of films, but GE loses a few places largely because of the mediocre score, whereas with CR it neither hinders nor helps it. In contrast, OP is another of my favs largely because the score glues the film together and amongst other elements hides its inadequacies.
  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    I always found Moonraker had the best score, but that's only one opinion. Just about goes hand in hand with some of the more epic or memorable scenes or sequences from that years release
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    my personal favorite or "go to" scores have always been OHMSS, DAF, MR and TLD.. they are just wonderfully crafted scores... yet half of those mentioned above are not the best Bond movies.. and usually when i am watching the movies themselves i am not overly conscious towards the score, unless it's so out of place that it's distracting - but there are times when a score and a scene go so beautifully together that you can't help but notice it..

    so i guess i am 50/50 on scores.... i love SF, but i find the score average... i dont care for DAD, but i think it's score is above average......

    the only film i am unanimous on both is TMWTGG - i dont really care for the film that much, and i think the score is lazy for Barry's standards (funny enough, Barry would actually agree with me on that one lol.)
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    A film score is very important in setting the mood and providing an emotional connection to a scene. That said the most important factor in any movie first and foremost is the story. The story always is the really vital component on whether I care for the movie or not.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited March 2013 Posts: 28,694
    While the music doesn't ever make or break a film for me (in Bond or otherwise), it is a great essential piece of the Bond films and something I always pay attention to. The music can just get you in the Bond mood from jump, and I often find myself head bobbing to the tunes as the film plays out and I root for Bond in his mission, whatever it may be. It is and always will be as much a staple of the franchise as the tuxedo, PPK, DB5, etc. as far as I am concerned.

    I am going to really listen and analyze the scores more closely than ever presently, especially Barry's scores that I want to give the deep attention to that they deserve. At the end of the day, the great thing about the music in these films (and in cinema in general) is that they can make a great scene that much better. I can assure you: Skyfall's Tennyson scene wouldn't be quite as emotional for me as it is if Newman's powerful score was absent. The track complements M's recitation of Ulysses and places that much more weight and importance on Bond getting to her as fast as he can, though he is already exhausted and battered. The music is a brilliant addition to the onscreen action/visuals and can sometimes be what makes them memorable or that much more special (as seen in the Tennyson scene), and for that I find it absolutely essential and forever welcome.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    It's very important, It's a character within itself. It takes us on Bond's journey, it emotes feelings. It's one of the driving forces of a Bond film. lately the last three Bond movies have been severely lacking use of the Bond theme reserving it for the end credits which ticks me off. It's a James Bond movie! why can't his theme drive the movie? I'm in the minority with this opinion but Tomorrow Never Dies had the best use of the James Bond theme. It showed us who Bond was, what his business was, what he was living through. The music fit the scope of the film. Subtle hints of it in the score isn't enough, I want to hear the Bond theme when James Bond does something Kick@$$!
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    the music of 007 was always a major part of my enjoyment of the 007 series, I was that nerd that bought the soundtracks upon release which was frowned upon as I went out during the New Wave period and that kind of music was always very different to the music I liked to dance to.
  • CrabKeyCrabKey
    Posts: 1,971
    It's something I think even the producers haven't always appreciated. This new idea of not including the title track on the soundtrack album, and barely using any of the title track motif in subsequent tracks is not in keeping with the Bond tradition. Skyfall as an instrumental is quite effective, but it rates only a cameo appearance with permission on the album. It should have been a theme used throughout. Even CR, which I love, is woefully short of YKMN strains.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    CrabKey wrote:
    It's something I think even the producers haven't always appreciated. This new idea of not including the title track on the soundtrack album, and barely using any of the title track motif in subsequent tracks is not in keeping with the Bond tradition. Skyfall as an instrumental is quite effective, but it rates only a cameo appearance with permission on the album. It should have been a theme used throughout. Even CR, which I love, is woefully short of YKMN strains.

    the amount of time a track is used throughout a film is not a decision made by the producers... that boils down to whoever is composing the score, and the director..

    every bit of music used in the film must first go through the director, if he doesn't like it - then it's up to the composer to arrange something that works.
  • EllisEllis
    Posts: 224
    The score helps. My favorite is Carly Simons "Nobody Does It Better". I love the movie on its own. But adding a great singer like Carly to that tune along with seductive and "on a pedestal" Bondian lyrics... makes for an ideal and eventful movie, for me.
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