Poll Favorite Soundtrack? (And why are they so hard to find!)
- Thread starter Krupp
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- TMP - Highly original and hugely effective. So much so, it was used for TNG.
- TWOK & TSFS - Rousing nautical themes - and soundtracks that are very nice to listen to in isolation - exciting stuff.
- TVH - Actually quite old school listened to in isolation, it sounds like a classic movie soundtrack.Quite celebratory in places (it was the 20th anniversary after all). Peaceful and relaxing listened to in isolation. Massively under rated - we wont see the likes of this score again in Trek movies.
- TUC - A master piece. A bold change of style - something the old Trek movies weren't afraid of. I love this one. It would have been so easy to slam in the TMP march everywhere for the 30th.
- TFF - Awesome music, if a little derivative of TMP. Possibly the best score to listen to in isolation.
- Generations - I hated this score when the movie was released. It continued the 'music as wallpaper' theme that TNG had. But, if you listen to the score in isolation, there's some nice, refined music here. But I think Goldsmith would have elevated the movie with more bombast.
- FC - Another master piece. Goldsmith doesn't fall back on TMP and creates something new and memorable. Only the rather pathetic use of the Klingon march from TMP during the 'little ship' sequence feels out of place. I love this score.
- INS - This one feels mundane and uninspired. The intro music is twee and the action stuff feels derivative of US Marshalls - which Goldsmith also scored. No Goldsmith score is bad, but this one is not his best work.
- NEM... There’ll probably never be another Jerry Goldsmith – so let’s be thankful that he left behind such an extraordinary body of work. Your appreciation of this one probably depends on how you feel about synth music. There are echos of Executive Decision and Total Recall in the score, but the Shinzon theme is very strong and original. I do confess to finding the music tiring to listen to in isolation. It's quite harsh sounding and aggressive - though this tone obviously suits the lamentable film.
Years ago (crazy to think it's nearly been 10 years), I found a video of Star Trek Into Darkness overlaid with Adele's song Skyfall. Which was the main theme for Daniel Craig's 3rd Bond film.
I found another fan made video, but it's not as good as the one I remember. This one only uses shots from the trailer. You still get the idea though.
That is brilliant. And Cumberkhan fits as a Bond villain.
My favourites from the TOS era are probably:
- The Horner Duo (TWOK/TSFS) -- Stealing the Enterprise tops the charts!
- Goldsmith TMP (not TFF!)
- Eidelman's TUC -- inspired greatly by Holst's The Planets, the Overture is a foreboding introduction to the final TOS chapter. This is a compelling soundtrack, capped off by the excellent "The Battle for Peace" theme.
- Rosenman's TVH -- it was like new Christmas music for the 1986 holiday season!
Never understood the significance of the lyrics for the film, though. This must be a case of song was written anyway and then simply used for the film rather than specifically written for it.
You're probably right - the song goes on about 'hitting a wall' which I suppose could apply to Kirk in the film maybe.
Probably. But it's such a weirdly unspecific metaphor. It feels like a very "Fast and Furious" (or other "tentpole film + end credits song by currently hot pop star) thing to do here, which then isn't very surprising considering that Beyond's director came from that franchise.
Hands down The Motion Picture. It's just sheer brilliance, and has the clinical, impersonal edge that Horner can't do.It really felt "spacey".c Horner at his best is great, at his worst is over bearing, but Goldsmith is constant. Never feel like his music is underplaying or overpowering a particular scene. That's why he was great in so many genres. Horner wasn't . Listen to one Horner piece and you know them all. Goldsmith was a different shark
Well, this is always a fun thread for me. I love film scores and they take up 98% of the music I listen to. So...
Let's do the rundown:
ST:TMP - brilliant work, although I find the first half more interesting than the beginning of the finale, but over time, I've really grown to appreciate the mystery Goldsmith brought to what amounted to a lot of talking and not talking heads. Jerry holds this picture together. For that alone, he should have gotten an Oscar. Seriously, the fact he didn't get a trophy for this score is a travesty. But it's still not my favorite.
STII: TWOK - Horner burst into my life with this class act of a score, a blistering, nautical adventure score. It's a little hard to listen to in the early Khan scenes but for the most part, a joy to listen to. One of the best scores in the film franchise. But it's still not my favorite.
STIII: TSFS - this is my favorite. A beautiful, emotional score that builds and expands on many of the themes he introduced in the prior film. It's not a space opera score, it's a dramatic adventure piece and a more mature score than the one he wrote two years earlier. His Klingon theme is wonderful, Stealing the Enterprise is a joy and, damn it, the rest of it is just lush. Exactly what I wanted - the perfect backing to my favorite film in the series.
So what are my thoughts on the rest...?
STIV: TVH - meh, a crushing disappointment that took decades for me to appreciate. It's a clanger in spots and I feel Roesnman was a poor fit for Trek. But he was Nimoy's pal so he got the gig. I know Horner wasn't interested in coming back at that point, but I can only imagine I would have preferred his voice. Still "Home Again/End Credits" is gorgeous.
STV: TFF - thank the Lort, Jerry's back. Once again holding a wobbly film together with sweeping themes and a return to his action roots. "A Busy Man" is incredible, but really every cue is great.
STVI: TUC - imaginative and very smart music. A darker score than the film actually needed since Meyer kept compromising his darkness with gags. But Cliff Eidelman still created an overture to rival the best of them.
GEN - underrated. Beautiful, lyrical and etheral. McCarthy really doesn't get the respect he deserves because this score is sublime.
FC - Joel and Jerry don't sound alike so there's a little bit of disconnect here even though Joel build off his dad's themes. And, here we go, Joel provides a showstopper with "Flight of the Phoenix" (shamefully left off the original CD back in 97). That and Jerry's main theme/First Contact are gorgeous. The rest of the score feels like horror music and it's not the most pleasant album in the batch.
INS - a better score than a film - as usual for Jerry. A nice album.
NEM - Jerry's swansong for Trek isn't his best but he goes out with pride. Some blistering action cues harken back to his "Capricorn One" days and he knows how to push the right emotional buttons. His end credits music (butchered in the film itself) is heartbreaking.
The Bad Robots:
ST - good solid action score. Really smashing with some really energetic writing. It's breathless.
STID - the best of the Giacchino's. The best score for the worst of the three films, so many great themes. Khan, Klingons, and the evil spaceship theme. Incredibly good, some of Giacchino's best large action work.
STB - my favorite of the three films gets something of a disappointing score. There's nothing wrong with it, it just lacks something. It feels distant. The Yorktown theme is beautiful though.
Let's do the rundown:
ST:TMP - brilliant work, although I find the first half more interesting than the beginning of the finale, but over time, I've really grown to appreciate the mystery Goldsmith brought to what amounted to a lot of talking and not talking heads. Jerry holds this picture together. For that alone, he should have gotten an Oscar. Seriously, the fact he didn't get a trophy for this score is a travesty. But it's still not my favorite.
STII: TWOK - Horner burst into my life with this class act of a score, a blistering, nautical adventure score. It's a little hard to listen to in the early Khan scenes but for the most part, a joy to listen to. One of the best scores in the film franchise. But it's still not my favorite.
STIII: TSFS - this is my favorite. A beautiful, emotional score that builds and expands on many of the themes he introduced in the prior film. It's not a space opera score, it's a dramatic adventure piece and a more mature score than the one he wrote two years earlier. His Klingon theme is wonderful, Stealing the Enterprise is a joy and, damn it, the rest of it is just lush. Exactly what I wanted - the perfect backing to my favorite film in the series.
So what are my thoughts on the rest...?
STIV: TVH - meh, a crushing disappointment that took decades for me to appreciate. It's a clanger in spots and I feel Roesnman was a poor fit for Trek. But he was Nimoy's pal so he got the gig. I know Horner wasn't interested in coming back at that point, but I can only imagine I would have preferred his voice. Still "Home Again/End Credits" is gorgeous.
STV: TFF - thank the Lort, Jerry's back. Once again holding a wobbly film together with sweeping themes and a return to his action roots. "A Busy Man" is incredible, but really every cue is great.
STVI: TUC - imaginative and very smart music. A darker score than the film actually needed since Meyer kept compromising his darkness with gags. But Cliff Eidelman still created an overture to rival the best of them.
GEN - underrated. Beautiful, lyrical and etheral. McCarthy really doesn't get the respect he deserves because this score is sublime.
FC - Joel and Jerry don't sound alike so there's a little bit of disconnect here even though Joel build off his dad's themes. And, here we go, Joel provides a showstopper with "Flight of the Phoenix" (shamefully left off the original CD back in 97). That and Jerry's main theme/First Contact are gorgeous. The rest of the score feels like horror music and it's not the most pleasant album in the batch.
INS - a better score than a film - as usual for Jerry. A nice album.
NEM - Jerry's swansong for Trek isn't his best but he goes out with pride. Some blistering action cues harken back to his "Capricorn One" days and he knows how to push the right emotional buttons. His end credits music (butchered in the film itself) is heartbreaking.
The Bad Robots:
ST - good solid action score. Really smashing with some really energetic writing. It's breathless.
STID - the best of the Giacchino's. The best score for the worst of the three films, so many great themes. Khan, Klingons, and the evil spaceship theme. Incredibly good, some of Giacchino's best large action work.
STB - my favorite of the three films gets something of a disappointing score. There's nothing wrong with it, it just lacks something. It feels distant. The Yorktown theme is beautiful though.
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TWOK tops it for me. Surprise Attack is an all timer. After that it'd probably be TMP and the Kelvin movies, and then everything else in whatever order.
Would love a Clint Mansell take on Trek someday.
Would love a Clint Mansell take on Trek someday.
I think TMP is king. It just feels monumental.
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