Oscar Score Nominations and Winners: Now Discussing the Year 1967

GK edit:

THE NOMINATIONS DISCUSSED
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1967

Cool Hand Luke - Lalo Schifrin
Doctor Dolittle - Leslie Bricusse
Far From The Madding Crowd - Richard Rodney Bennett
In Cold Blood - Quincy Jones
WINNER: Thoroughly Modern Millie - Elmer Bernstein

1968

The Fox - Lalo Schifrin
WINNER: The Lion In Winter - John Barry
Planet of the Apes - Jerry Goldsmith
The Shoes of the Fisherman - Alex North
The Thomas Crown Affair - Michel Legrand

1969

Anne of the Thousand Days - Georges Delerue
WINNER: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Burt Bacharach
The Reivers - John Williams
The Secret of Santa Vittoria - Ernest Gold
The Wild Bunch - Jerry Fielding

1970

Airport - Alfred Newman (Posthumous nomination. Newman died 17th November 1970)
Cromwell - Frank Cordell
I Girasoli - Henry Mancini
WINNER: Love Story - Francis Lai
Patton - Jerry Goldsmith

1971

Mary, Queen of Scots - John Barry
Nicholas and Alexandra - Richard Rodney Bennett
Shaft - Isaac Hayes
Straw Dogs - Jerry Fielding
WINNER: Summer of 42 - Michel Legrand

1972

Images - John Williams
WINNER: Limelight - Charles Chaplin, Raymond Rush, and Larry Russell
Napolean and Samantha - Buddy Baker
The Poseidon Adventure - John Williams
Sleuth - John Addison

1973

Cinderella Liberty - John Williams
The Day of the Dolphin - Georges Delerue
Papillon - Jerry Goldsmith
A Touch Of Class - John Cameron
WINNER: The Way We Were - Marvin Hamlisch

1974

Chinatown - Jerry Goldsmith
WINNER: The Godfather Part II - Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola
Murder on the Orient Express - Richard Rodney Bennett
Shanks - Alex North
The Towering Inferno - John Williams

1975

Birds Do It, Bees Do It - Gerald Fried
Bite the Bullet - Alex North
WINNER: Jaws - John Williams
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest - Jack Nitzsche
The Wind and the Lion - Jerry Goldsmith

1976

Obsession - Bernard Herrmann
WINNER: The Omen - Jerry Goldsmith
The Outlaw Josey Wales - Jerry Fielding
Taxi Driver - Bernard Herrmann
Voyage of the Damned - Lalo Schifrin

1977

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - John Williams
Julia - Georges Delerue
The Message - Maurice Jarre
WINNER: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - John Williams
The Spy Who Loved Me - Marvin Hamlisch

1978

The Boys From Brazil - Jerry Goldsmith
Days From Heaven - Ennio Morricone
Heaven Can Wait - David Grusin
WINNER: Midnight Express - Giorgio Moroder
Superman - John Williams

1979

10 - Henry Mancini
The Amityville Horror - Lalo Schifrin
The Champ - David Grusin
WINNER: A Little Romance - Georges Delerue
Star Trek - The Motion Picture - Jerry Goldsmith

1980

Altered States - John Corigliano
The Elephant Man - John Morris
Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back - John Williams
WINNER: Fame - Michael Gore
Tess - Philippe Sarde

1981

WINNER: Chariots of Fire - Vangelis
Dragonslayer - Alex North
On Golden Pond - David Grusin
Ragtime - Randy Newman
Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams

1982

WINNER: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial - John Williams
Gandhi - Ravi Shankar and George Fenton
An Officer and A Gentleman - Jack Nitzsche
Poltergeist - Jerry Goldsmith
Sophie's Choice - Marvin Hamlisch

1983

Cross Creek - Leonard Rosenman
Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi - John Williams
WINNER: The Right Stuff - Bill Conti
Terms of Endearment - Michael Gore
Under Fire - Jerry Goldsmith

1984

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - John Williams
The Natural - Randy Newman
WINNER: A Passage To India - Maurice Jarre
The River - John Williams
Under The Volcano - Alex North

1985

Agnes Of God - Georges Delerue
The Color Purple - Quincy Jones, Jeremy Lubbock, Rod Temperton, Caiphus Semenya, Andraé Crouch, Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Joel Rosenbaum, Fred Steiner, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey and Randy Kerber
WINNER: Out Of Africa - John Barry
Silverado - Bruce Broughton
Witness - Maurice

 

Brokeback Mountain will win because it pushes the envelope.

 

I've heard each of these scores (minus the Constant Gardner) in one form or another. I've heard both Memoirs and Munich in the film as well as on album, Pride and Prejudice on album only, and Brokeback Mountain in the film only.

I can say that the nominations for Memoirs and Munich are well founded, but I just don't understand the others. The score to Brokeback was just OK. It worked well most of the time, but I have to admit there were a few scenes that seemed badly mis-scored. It also seemed like the same little bit of music each time without ever changing much.

Pride and Prejudice is nice to listen to, but I didn't find it extraordinary. As for the Constant Gardener, I can't comment on since I've not heard it at all. If I were to choose the scores to be nominated, I would choose:

Memoirs of a Geisha - John Williams
Munich - John Williams
Kingdom of Heaven - Harry Gregson-Williams
The Chronicles of Narnia - Harry Gregson-Williams
The Great Raid - Trevor Rabin (This may sound like an odd choice, but he has written a really good score for this film)

As for who I think will win out of this year's nominations, I have no idea. I want it to go to Memoirs of a Geisha, but I just have this feeling that it won't. I hope that I'm wrong of course.

 

I've only heard Munich and Pride and Prejudice. I think P&P was one of the best scores I've heard in a long time, and I hope it wins. Munich was also fantastic, and serves as a nice musical reference to Schindler's List at more than one point. It wasn't brilliant, though.

 

Most of the nominated scores sounded stereotypical to me, but P&P the most. I realize it fits to the context of the film, it just didn't impress me.

 

haven't heard any of the nominated scores, but I agree that Charlie/Chocolate, Potter and RotS should have been nominated (if only because it's the last time). Charlie more so than Potter, maybe.

actually, I really should check out Geisha - I'm sure I'll like it, if it fits to the topic of the movie

 

Really? The Purcell quotes didn't impress you?

 

I'm not as familiar as I am with other Classical Composers. Perhaps I'd appreciate the references more if I had been.

 

Ugh... I vote

6. None Of The Above!

The Oscars continue to get more political and less artistic every year...

 

Okay, listen to "A Postcard to Henry Purcell". Get the violin theme in your head. Then, listen to "Leaving Netherfield", 0:40. Do you not see the same chords and a distinct resemblance?

 

Yes, you are correct. I admit that maybe I overlooked it during my first listening to the soundtrack on my computer (since the volume system on my comp isn't that great). I'm playing it now and maybe I'm thinking I've underrated Pride and Prejudice and overrated Brokeback Mountain. Hmm.

EDIT: But I think I still might rank the Constant Gardener over it.

 

I'd have to go with P&P - more subtle than most scores but IMHO it's simplicity was its strength: brilliant and poignant score.

 

Glad to hear you are relistening, Hook.

Well I just bought Munich and am listening to it now. To me, it sounds a direct cross between Schindler's List and Angela's Ashes, two great scores. It doesn't quite hit the emotional highs of either of those scores, but it is certainly a fantastic piece of work from Williams.

 

Okay, we're on to the year 2004. I'll get General Kenobi to update the title and also begin a list of the years and nominations we've discussed and are on for the top of the first post. Just for easy reference when the thread gets larger.


The Nominations for the year 2004...

WINNER: Finding Neverland - Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Harry Potter and the Prisonder of Azkaban - John Williams
Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events - Thomas Newman
The Passion of the Christ - John Debney
The Village - James Newton Howard



I like all of them. There were other scores that could have been nominated like the Incredibles by Michael Giacchino, The Terminal by John Williams, King Arthur by Hans Zimmer, Hidalgo by James Newton Howard, The Day After Tomorrow by Harold Kloser and Thomas ****er, and Howl's Moving Castle by Joe Hisaishi, but I think this years nominations were pretty good.

Though I might have gone with...

1. Finding Neverland - Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - John Williams
3. The Incredibles - Michael Giacchino
4. The Passion of the Christ - John Debney
5. The Village - James Newton Howard

Do I think Finding Neverland should have won though? No. Once again my vote goes to a John Williams score and that's Prisoner of Azkaban. I can't get enough of Double Trouble, Buckbeaks Flight, and Window To the Past. I just love them. They're so memorable.

Finding Neverland is playful and the piano work is good. Passion of the Christ when combined with the film is very emotional with it's vocal solos and even without the film stands out. Lemony Snickets isn't as good as the others in my opinion, but the nomination was okay. It still had good themes and somewhat mystical sounding. The Village would come in second place for me. I'm really getting into Howard's work as of late. I never used to. But this is a solid score.

 

I posted my thoughts on Finding Neverland in the Critic thread but I was actually rooting for it. I was in a little Neverland craze at that time, too, so I didn't exactly have a professional opinion
Azkaban is wonderful (I also own it) and of course I wouldn't have minded if it had won, but FN made me happy, too, and unlike a lot of other awards I don't feel it's unfair or anything.
Didn't even see Snicket and Village and never remembered much of Passion. I would have welcomed The Incredibles as a nomination. I would have liked it if it had won, then, too. Very exciting score.


I think this is the year I know the most nominated scored of.

 

Out of these I've only heard Azkaban. A great score, really fantastic. One of William's best.

 

Not as much discussion as I thought there would be on 2004. Oh well. Moving on now.

The nominations for the year 2003...

1. Big Fish - Danny Elfman
2. Cold Mountain - Gabriel Yared
3. Finding Nemo - Thomas Newman
4. House of Sand and Fog - James Horner
5. WINNER: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Howard Shore


Do I believe ROTK should have won? Yes. Fantastic score that deserved the win. Gondors theme kicks but and I love the end of all things. Into the West was perfect also.

Do I agree with the nominations? Not entirely. Though there were other great scores this year such as the Last Samurai by Hans Zimmer, the Triplets of Belleville by Ben Charest, Veronica Guerin by Harry Gregson-Williams, Mystic River by Clint Eastwood, Love Actually by Craig Armstrong, and Girl With A Pearl Earring by Alexandre Desplat, there are two scores that I wouldn't have minded seeing up there. One was a total snub though.

Replacing Danny Elfman's Big Fish, I would have put X2: X-men United by John Ottman. I think the main theme is pretty good as well as the other themes found throughout. Like the Phoenix's theme or the music that plays for Pyro. Great stuff.

The other I would have replaced would be Thomas Newman's Finding Nemo score. I think another Disney Film that year had a much greater score. It would be the Pirate of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, by Klaus Bedalt. How could they snub this score? It was perfect. I totally didn't expect such a great score when I sat down to watch this movie. The music playing when the girl walks out onto the deck of the Black Pearl with the skeletons is so awesome. This was a total snub by the Academy.

As for the two that I kept, House of Sand and Fog is so sad. Very emotional score. Especially the part when Ben Kingsley and his wife die.

Cold Mountain is an epic as you would expect as deserves the nomination.

So this would have been my nominations...

1. Cold Mountain - Gabriel Yared
2. House of Sand and Fog - James Horner
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Howard Shore
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - Klaus Bedalt
5. X2: X-Men United - John Ottman


So what do you all think about 2003?

 

ROTK is a fantastic score, but also the only one I have heard from the nominations.

I'd have loved Triplets of Belleville to have been nominated, and won. It is one of the most imaginative scores of the last 15 years, and really makes and carries the entire film.

 

For 2003, I have only heard The Return of the King and I think it is a fantastic score. It deserved to win.

2004 also had some good scores nominated. I was going for Prisoner of Azkaban because I knew the Harry Potter scores really well and thought that Williams had really done a great job with them. This was before I heard the Finding Neverland score. I really think it deserved the Oscar over Prisoner, even though I love a lot of Williams' score, and had some great themes and orchestrations. Kaczmarek did a great job with the score and I really felt that I was feeling Barrie's emotions through the score, which is probably why it won. It connected with the audience.

This year, I hope Williams walks home with an Oscar, even though I haven't really listened to the nominees extensively.

 

The only problem is ROTK was mostly a re-hash. People say ROTS score was re-hash, look at this!

 

Well I'm one of those people who doesn't believe ROTS was a total rehash. I say if you strip away all of the old themes from the score, you'd still have a great score with the new material. ROTK I believe has this. Gondor's theme, the end of all things, Into the West, the Grey Havens, Aragorn singing, Pippin singing, etc It's all great.

 

Now the nominations for the year 2002

Catch Me If You Can - John Williams
Far From Heaven - Elmer Bernstein
WINNER: Frida - Elliot Goldenthal
The Hours - Philip Glass
Road To Perdition - Thomas Newman


Hmm. Well I don't agree with the nominations for the most part nor the winner. All of these seem to be emotional scores. Soft and tranquil. No action adventure scores. While I don't think Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by John Williams, 25th Hour by Terence Blanchard, Star Trek: Nemesis by Jerry Goldsmith and Minority Report by John Williams were strong enough scores to be nominated, I do think some others were.

Catch Me If You Can isn't Williams best score, but the main theme is memorable.

Far From Heaven is only on here because it's Elmer Bernstein at the end of his days. The score is nice, but I think there were better.

Frida isn't Goldenthals best score but I suppose it's okay for a nomination. Very ethnic and fitting for the film.

The Hours is another one like Far From Heaven. Glass is good, but the score doesn't rush into my head immediately. But I only saw the film once.

Road To Perdition reminds me of American Beauty. I guess because Thomas Newman scored both. So maybe I like it for that reason.


Scores I think that should have been nominated...

Spider-Man by Danny Elfman is one. I thought it was good action score. The biggest film of the year. I snub in my opinion.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by Howard Shore. They nominate Fellowship and Return, but not this one? It may have been the weakest of the three, but it was way above the nominations. Rohan's theme, Gollums Lullaby, etc. Sure their was rehashed themes presented in different ways, but they were too good to be ignored.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones by John Williams. Just like TTT only the oscars never nominated a single prequel score. I am a Star Wars fan and I am a John Williams fan, so my opinion is biased as I would have declared this the winner. But it's still a tragedy that Across the Stars wasn't recognized.

So my list would have gone...

Catch Me If You Can - John Williams
Frida - Elliot Goldenthal
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Howard Shore
Spider-Man - Danny Elfman
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - John Williams

 

Ye gode. What a terrible score to win. Blech. Any of these other scores would have been better. Anyway my list would be this:

Minority Report - John Williams
Star Trek "Nemesis" - Jerry Goldsmith
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Howard Shore
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - John Williams


Minority Report is a solid score from Williams that seems to me to be somewhat different than Williams' usual action fare. It is less theme driven and more mood driven in my opinion. The one major standout theme for me is natually Sean's theme, which is just poignant, touching and beautiful. The music representing Anne Lively is just chilling and interesting. So many memorable cues on this score. "Spyders" and "The Greenhouse Effect" are very cool and memorable tracks. "Anderton's Great Escape" reminds me so much of the action cues of the Prequel scores, without being rehash or uninteresting. And I have to say two cues really stand out to me as Oscar material. ""Sean" By Agatha" and "Leo Crow... The Confrontation." The level of power and emotion in both the loudest and quietest parts of this score reiterate to me why Williams is THE master of film scoring today.

Star Trek "Nemesis" is a widely slagged film, even by Star Trek fans. This I do not understand as I think the film is great, but that can be discussed elsewhere. The true gem here is one of Maestro Jerry Goldsmith's last scores. The score for this film is just top notch Goldsmith. He weaves the existing tapestry of Star Trek themes in so adeptly. He uses new themes for the 10th Star Trek film as skillfully. His augmentation of the traditional orchestra with synthesizer sounds has never been better or more seamless. His use of the original motion picture theme (TNG theme) in several places in the film is just breathtaking. The "Odds And Ends" motif is a wonderful blend of tension and curiousity, using the aforementioned synth sounds. No where is Goldsmith's main Nemesis theme used more effectively than in the "Ideals" track. Haunting and beautiful, signifying what could be if only Shinzon followed Picard's path, this track is definately Oscar material. An Oscar nomination was definately deserved for one of the Goldsmith's best later scores.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers needs little explanation. Suffice it to say that the Rohan theme alone deserved a nomination for this film. So many amazing moments I don't even know where to start. "Foundations of Stone" is one of the best film opening tracks I can think of. The music for the Last March of the Ents is just fantastic. "Forth Eorlingas" gives me goosebumps. This being the only LOTR film without an Oscar Nomination is just ridiculous in my book.

Attack of the Clones also needs little explanation. "Across the Stars" is one of the greatest things Williams has EVER composed in his entire career and the score deserves the Oscar if ONLY for this amazing theme. However, there is so much more to AOTC's score that I could write a whole paper about it. This is my pick for Best Original Score for 2002.

 

I actually listen to the TTT soundtrack more than the other two LOTR scores. It definitely deserved a nomination.

I agree with Strilo about Goldsmith's Nemesis score, and while there are issues with the final AOTC edited score, WIlliam's work was certainly worthy of a nomination. Of course it's my choice of the lot, but that may be my Williams/Star Wars bias. I know we've had discussions before about whether the Academy should revisit their "rules" for "original" score criteria.