Page 1 of DVD sound and your score preferences

Now I`ve got a 5.1 set-up, i`m becoming a bit of an audiophile. You can`t beat decent film music, but I`ve found that cinema sound highlights overly emphatic scoring. James Horner for example, his cheesy orchestra tunes on "The Perfect Storm" spoilt it for me. It`s trying to push for emotion too hard and it`s often intrusive (and it continues all the way through for heavens sake). My favourites are Brad Fiedel (T2) and Ennio Morricone (Untouchables), not necessarily the best musicians, but their recordings complement the movies perfectly]. They both use a combination of electronic and traditional styles (whichever is appropriate). Constant Re-workings of old orchestra themes is getting a little tiresome don`t you think?

I kinda agree - Titanic was a film that I wasn`t sure about the music at first, but having listened to the soundtrack on it`s own quite a lot, there`s a lot of dynamics in there - when I watched the film again, I enjoyed the soundtrack more. I think it was the mix of modern and old scoring that put me off at first - for such an `old` (in setting) film, I didn`t think the modern sounds fitted very well at first. Agree with T2 - that`s a score that doesn`t necessarily show of the composer`s ability, but that fits the film perfectly. Some films do try too hard, though - whereas some films don`t try hard enough. Can`t think of any specific examples, but when I do, I`ll post for comments.

Some of my faves, more-or-less in order: Dracula, Leon (Eric Serra), Michael Collins and Interview with the Vampire (I think they`re both the same composer, from memory). All superb soundtracks that stand on their own, but also fit perfectly with the film.

However, if you want an all-round musical experience, especially on a 5.1 setup, get Jesus Christ Superstar (the new version with Glenn Carter), crank it up to 11 and enjoy!