Morricone's overture is just plain awful; all of his best riffs were cribbed from his earlier work, mostly "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "My Name is Nobody."
Guess the Academy was embarrassed for missing his genius the first time.
I only could watch 20 minutes before turning this crap off but indeed the music was quite dreadful. Morricone needed a quick buck as well as De Palma did?
1/10
- don't worry that's just my signature.
I liked the music, and appreciated how it was reminiscent of Once Upon a Time in the West and The Sicilian Clan, to name a couple of scores I can see this one being compared to.
"A golden-haired angel watches over him." -Angel Eyes,
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
The hotel scene where Capone gets the newspaper after the failed first bust have some seriously *beep* 80's music going on. First I thought something had started playing in the background, because it was so unfitting and really threw me off the immersion.
Really disappointed in the movie overall, felt cheesy and unrealistic.
Actually I completely agree the score in this movie was so misplaced and didnt complement any of the scenes at all. It was one of the worst parts of this movie. The scene where they raid the deal on the bridge with the canadians has to be one of the worst scores ive ever heard. It felt so ridiculously over the top. I also almost plugged my ears every time Costner was with his family because every time the score was ridiculously sappy and overpowering.
Dear Warden, You were right. Salvation lies within.
You people are fu$&ing stupid.
shareWe're F@*king STUPID ? Why ? Because we are not Fanboys who think that Morricone's dreadful anachronistic, synth-driven score is wonderful ? It has NO place in this film. This isn't TGTBATU. Those Leone films were deliberately over-stylized, over the top and bore no resemblance to reality... and the scores fit that sensibility perfectly.
This was an ostensibly serious film based on real people and events. The score is hackneyed and Morricone was clearly on "I don't give a sh*t" Auto-Pilot when he wrote it. Did anyone bother to tell him that it was set in 1930 ?
One thing I will give him: The music over the opening titles isn't bad... but it belongs in another film.
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If you took this movie "seriously", then you completely missed the point. While based on true events, the movie was over-the-top pulp entertainment. As was the the 1960s TV show on which it was loosely based.
George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.
Loved the music, fit the film like a glove. The Death Theme is incredibly moving but I must agree he cribs a bit (from himself), the suspenseful bit as they wait on the bridge has a synth tune just like from The Thing, when they are chasing the 'dog'.
Some of the music is a bit like that of Leon, sure it's a bit cutey but it is a great juxtaposition with the blood and mayhem.
clivey6 -
Phew - just as I was thinking I'm the only person who loved the score.
Incredibly moving - I can still remember the themes clearly (26 years down the line).
& I agree with your point about juxtaposition - a gangster film with an elegiac, sweeping soundtrack.
Worked for The Godfather, didn't it?
Full disclosure: what I know about Morricone scores can be written on the head of a treble clef.
But I used to write scores & I still hear music horizontally and vertically.
(Not sure whether I should, but I do).
The wrong score can (and does) ruin a film though.
Fair play to all you other posters.
@ribby45 I love the score too - we seem to be in the minority though.
The piece "Al Capone" is terrific (the brass is full of bluster, not unlike the man himself), and I really like the harmonica echo of the main theme when we see Nitti as the elevator operator.
The score during the Canadian bust is a bit much, but I skip that bit to Malone's interrogation of George anyway.
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I thought the score was horrible. When Ness is pursuing Nitti on the rooftops at the end of the film, it felt like a comedy thanks to the score.
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Psst. It's not a documentary.
I thought the music was excellent. Not every movie can be Once Upon A Time in the West.
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stormchaser_1
Job done.
You've persuaded me to find Elliot's book & read it.
Thanks
I seem to remember when this film came out that everyone loved it because it was overblown! It's a film. Back then we liked our films to look and sound like films. Most films today look like they've been made for T.V With De Palma you always knew you were going to see a piece of cinematic art. Not always good but like nothing you would ever see on T.V I saw this on a 70foot screen in 70mm with 1500 people and we all loved it. Came out and close to 3000 people were already waiting in line to see it. Wonderful. Can't remeber the last time i saw 1500 people all enjoying a film together. Not quite the same when you're watching it on Netflix.
shareI feel posters who hate the film & score are probably going through a phase as styles of films go through different fashions. If you go to The Godfather, Superman The Movie, & Raimi's Spiderman films - you'l also find a lot of haters there, they're prevalent & the loudest usually. Everyone wants a TDK film because it is what they consider the ultimate cool film, anything unlike the current fashion is ugly, outdated or crappy. But I think as time passes, people will come around, after the 30s-60s epic films, the 70s slowed down to something more intimate & simple, with Star Wars & Indiana Jones, epic films became in again. So fashion comes & goes but a classic will forever be one despite the influx of haters once in a while. By the next fashion change, they will change their tune again. Such is to be expected.
Global Warming, it's a personal decision innit? - Nigel Tufnel