Are the old composers really all they're cracked up to be?

I so frequently hear the laments that there are no new composers as good as the old ones, and on and on about how brilliant Herrmann and Korngold and Rozsa etc were. But I also think they're overrated. There are a lot of old scores that get great reviews, and I listen to them and just don't hear it. I think that if they were written today, they'd be dismissed as boring and pointless, but because they happen to be by a great composer, it's as if no reviewer has the balls to admit that they're not great. Not that all scores by these guys are ungreat, but there are certainly some that I don't think deserve the accolades. Does anyone agree?

 

Sounds like you have a sampling problem.

Just talking about John Williams already gets people to have major disagreements over scores. Eg. is The Patriot overrated or underrated? These are questions impossible to answer. Also recall these are film scores we're talking about, so just listening to them on their own doesn't give you the same experience as those who first heard it with the images.

I say just listen to the scores, enjoy them or not, and that should be good enough. If you think Herrmann, Korngold, Waxman, et al have written brilliant music, then enjoy! I do.

 

It's because you've grown up listening to the "children" of these old composers. They used the knowledge of their "parents," then built on it. In other words, the old composers weren't as evolved. But back then, they were the best of the best.

On the other hand, I think some old music is as good as modern music. Like Korngold's Kings Row. That has evolved into Williams's Star Wars and Superman, but the original is still wonderful to listen to.

 

FIlm music has evolved into something very different from the 'original' composers. The earlier stuff sounds much more like classical music and the works of early C20th composers, such as Shostakovich.

Modern day film music is far more genre-defined - it could only be film music.

I think people just differ on what style constitutes really good film music.

 

I was just listening to Kings Row yesterday. I love that one. Probably my favorite Korngold score.

 

"Are the old composers really all they're cracked up to be?"

Probably, some of those old dudes were pretty cracked.





And while the composers you mentioned certainly didn't turn out a gem for every film, I don't think they're overrated. They are remembered because they were great composers, there are a lot of guys who nobody remembers because they stunk.

And it's the same way today.

As for the people saying that there's nothing like the good ol' days, bleh! People hve always said that, and they always will...



ttbk