'Sean, Sean... Sean, Sean' More Annoying than Chalkboard Scratching?
"Sean Sean... Sean Sean" sung over and over again.
Man was that irritating.
moby dick had a giant whale
I love Sean's theme. It's beautiful music, though I can understand why some people find it irritating. You either like the soundtrack or you hate it.
Once Upon a Time in the West...there was a man called Sergio Leone
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...I like the main title theme especially, but it's not as timeless-sounding as most of Morricone's other soundtracks. You can pretty much tell this is from the early 70's as you're listening to it/watching the film.
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Most when they knock the "Sean, Sean, Sean" of the soundtrack entirely overlook the couple of times it is sung slowly at the end of John/Coburn's flashback sequences.
This rendition of "Sean Sean,Sean" gradually fading away is extremely haunting. It shows John not only recalling his friend, but how he betrayed his friend. (Please refer to my other just-posted thread on the often missed plot point for an explanation).
Whether or not the Sean music is redundant or not, no discussion of it should leave out this argument.
Anyway, I think this is one of Morricone's best soundtracks. The main theme may sound somewhat 70's dated, but "Inventions for John" played during the opening credits is completely timeless.
I wager any one listening to this music, especially the nine-minute version on the soundtrack album, who hasn't heard it before would not be able to guess when it had been composed. It could have been in 2007.
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So we are in an era of great film music? And the late 1960's and early 1970's were inferior? And a score being "completely timeless" means that it sounds as if "it could have been [composed] in 2007"? (And John Mallory informed on Nolan, not vice versa?)
shareYou missed my point.
All I meant by writing the soundtrack could have been released in 2007, as opposed to the early seventies, was to demonstrate the timelessness of the music. I'm not in any way comparing one decade to the other.
And John did indeed initially inform on Sean Nolan. See my other thread about often missed plot point for the MANY evidences, of which any true scholar of the film would agree.
concept: good
execution: worst than chalkboard scratching, unless one's into early 70s stuff that was already dated when it came out. I mean, I know it was supposed to evoke longing for utopian days of years past... but c'mon. I found myself pressing the "mute" button everytime the damn piece started. (as a side note, it also made me realize how damn long some of leone's sequences can be, and how they can seriously infuriate someone who's not in the mood for it.)
morricone went got back on track with the "leone longing" thing much better later with the flute in "once upon a time in america": a short, memorable theme which is both evocative and timeless. and on top of that leone found a better way to weave it into the storyline - if I remember correctly, at least two times someone is playing the flute before a major conflict occurs. could be even more. but "sean, sean, sean"? that's both cheap AND cheesy, at least in my book.
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Absolutely! "Invenziones per John" is still one of my fav pieces of music ever! The 9 minute version is the best.. even has guitar feedback in there and the soft acoustic guitar at the end is wonderful! Also listen to the title track from Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain for a little tribute!
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I definitely agree with you RabidAnchovy in that you can instantly tell it's from the 70's.
I was a bit disappointed with the score for this film, definitely didn't meet my high expectations from Morricone :(.
According to the trivia section it's not 'Sean', it's a sound with no particular meaning, and left to his own devices Morricone would have gone for wah-wahs:
The chanting of "Shon shon shon" in Ennio Morricone's soundtrack were the suggestion of Carla Leone who thought it would sound better than the original "Wah wah wah" chants. Contrary to popular belief Morricone himself has said in interviews the chants do not represent the names of characters but are just part of the soundscape like the chants in all the other Leone westerns.As it is, the 'shon shon shon' material does sound rather like a parody of a cheesy Burt Bacharach arrangement. But perhaps it was intended to? In any event I think the score would have been better without it. I guess that's what can happen when the director's wife makes the music choices.
"I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken." share
I love Sean's theme.
There aint no Sean in the movie, how the feck can he have a theme?
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