Jerry Goldsmith Appreciation Thread

Today, in a "Star Trek" thread on the Community board, I posted that one of the fundamental laws of the universe was that it was utterly impossible for anything with a Jerry Goldsmith score to be a total loss. So, working from that, and assuming no one else has already started such a thread, I figured I'd start this one.

May as well open things with this...

 

Quite possibly my favourite film score of all time (although that might be due to it being my favourite film), and Jerry Goldsmith composed it in about ten days when the original score by Phillip Lambro was rejected at the last minute:





(Started a Chinatown score thread a while ago - http://boards.theforce.net/threads/chinatown-1974.50007887/ - Lambro's score is well worth a listen, even if it's not the masterpiece Goldsmith's was)

 

Thank you for creating this thread.

 

Here is another great one of his:



I also want to say that his son, Joel Goldsmith, should also be appreciated too. He had produced a lot of great pieces over the years and was too sad when he passed away so suddenly.

 

True. Here's a cool piece Joel wrote for ST:First Contact using Jerry's themes.

 

Not only a great movie theme, but it brings back memories of "The 4:30 Movie" on Channel 7.

 

]Here's the opening titles for "The Satan Bug". It's one of Goldsmith's less-known scores, but it's good. The visuals make it sound very disturbing.

 

Here's another lesser-known Goldsmith theme. It's from his score for "Seconds". Coupled with these Saul Bass titles, the effect is rather scary. Appropriate, since the movie is, in the end, a horror film.

 

Here's two themes from thrillers Goldsmith scored in the late 70's:





Completely different styles, but both pretty creepy, when you think about it.

 

La La Land Records is releasing an expanded score to Goldsmith's Dennis the Menace later this week.

 

Kenneth Morgan, that dummy in Magic gave me horrible nightmares. Very effective score by Goldsmith. Anthony Hopkins was brilliant in it.

Here's an interesting tidbit about that score- Goldsmith was going to compose the score for Richard Donner's Superman following their successful collaboration on The Omen. However, Goldsmith was unable to take on the project due to commitments to Attenborough's Magic. Composing duties went to John Williams and it was another great triumph for him. Some say Goldsmith's score to Supergirl utilized themes intended for Superman, but that's conjecture as far as I know.

Here's another Goldsmith classic from the late '70s

 

Another great Goldsmith theme from the late 70's:

 

My brother Bri and I figure that on some channel, this and/or "The Dirty Dozen" will be shown at least once a month.

 

Two pieces from two scores Goldsmith did for Steve McQueen.

 

http://www.lalalandrecords.com/DennisTheMenace.html

1. Our Town 2:54
2. Take an Aspirin* 3:16
3. The Plant* :46
4. The Doll* 1:24
5. Sound Games* :43
6. Hide and Seek* 1:55
7. Dollnapping* 3:04
8. The Shower / Broken Flowers* 2:07
9. Spilled Paint* 1:10
10. A Funny Taste* 1:15
11. Babysitting† 3:45
12. The Dentures† / The Purse* 4:00
13. Bed Time† 5:13
14. Shaggy Dog Story 4:05
15. Redecorating* 1:00
16. A Mistake* :48
17. The Heist 4:16
18. Remembering Dennis* :56
19. The Slingshot 1:22
20. Tied Up 2:11
21. Beans 4:11
22. The Search* :38
23. Real Love 1:31
24. Hung Up 1:30
25. He's Back 2:20
26. Forgetful Sam 1:29
27. Toasted Marshmallows† 4:30
    Film Score Running Time: 62:29
    
    Bonus Tracks
28. Babysitting (original album version) 3:53
29. Fun With False Teeth (original album version) 1:57
30. Bed Time (original album version) 5:12
31. Toasted Marshmallows (original album version) 4:23
    Bonus Tracks Running Time: 15:29
    Total Album Running Time: 77:58
    * = previously unreleased
    † = contains previously unreleased music

RETAIL PRICE: $19.98

 

Hehe, I was just listening to the Gremlins theme too.

 

On this date in 2004, Jerry Goldsmith passed away. So, I figured I should update this thread.

 

I was going to mention Patton soundtrack. One of my all time favorite Goldsmith scores. The man was a marvel! I also love Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek The Motion Picture, Supergirl (He even made a bad film sound great), Logan's Run, and Twilight Zone the Movie.

 

"Under Fire" is a brilliant album. Never seen the film and I never want to, would rather keep it as a music only experience. Quite a shock when a track turned up in the middle of "Django Unchained"!

 

The Logan's Run soundtrack has an amazing spectrum of music. My favorites from that are The Sun, End of the City, and the Love Theme.

 

And, since my original posting got deleted...

 

I love the Dome theme from Logan's Run (that beginning synth bit sends chills down my spine.) Sets up the world nicely (if that world could be set up nicely.)

Speaking of setting the tone, Planet of the Apes is still my favorite Goldsmith score. It's so discordant and alien.

 

Not sure if I'm committing sacrilege here by going with a non-classic, but I thought I'd throw into the pile a very modern Goldsmith score. =D



I can't even imagine how he came up with this theme for the opening. If I saw that sequence without his music, I would've imagined a completely different (and much less original) direction to take.

 

In honor of the anniversary of Jerry Goldsmith's birthday, I figured I'd post three which hadn't been put up previously:

 

I liked Goldsmith's score for Mulan. I love that movie, anyway, but the music for the film was better than many Disney films of the 90s, though Zimmer did magnificently for The Lion King. I'd say my favorite score of his was for Planet of the Apes. I need to listen to more of his work, though.