King Kong

so the best buy in carbondale had the king kong soundtrack a day early and i decided to get it. overall i thought it has a good score. James Newton Howard did the score for it. i can't wait to listen to the music while watching the movie on wednesday. i'd have to say my favorite track is number 12 - Tooth and Claw

 

Is it all classical music?

 

yep. it's all classical/orchestral music. whatever u like to call it

 

I've heard the album and I like it. For a score that was written and recorded in 6 weeks or so, it's really impressive and should work very well in the film.

Standout cues for me are A Fateful Meeting, Tooth and Claw, That's All There Is... (shades of The Legend of Bagger Vance), and Beauty Killed the Beast V.

 

i agree. considering that Jackson switched composers within 1 1/2 - 2months of release this score is very good. i know he let Howard Shore go because he didn't like shore's take on the music. however, it still would've been nice to know what shore had in mind for the movie

 

You can get a very small taste of Shore's score in this Post Production Diary from www.kongisking.net.

 

thanks. i just watched it. some interesting stuff.

 

I have not heard the music yet, but I will say that I was a little scared to hear that JNH was repacing Howard Shore with only a few weeks to write and record. I am looking forward to seeing the movie and hearing the music. I have never heard anything that JNH wrote that I did not like.

 

There were a lot of moments that felt like JW music.

 

Nope. Film score.

 

I didn`t find the score memorable nothing really stuck out.

 

Would you call this a typical "subtle" (read: No themes, development, music that's too quiet) Howard score, or is it something we would expect from a giant monster movie?

 

Neither did I. Although it was a good listen, it seems that it will only work with the film. After I see the film I'll probably enjoy the soundtrack more because I'll have scenes to associate it with.

And like that...he's gone.

 

I liked the score in the movie. Don't think I'll buy it... also, I fear somehow that the best parts could be absent from the CD.

I didn't know JNH was capable of a score like this. All I can remember are his Shyamalans and Peter Pan.

but with how the music turned out, he could just as well have stuck with Shore. One or two cues are quite Khazad-Dûm-esque (minus choir)

oh, and, it's kinda funny that Shore left Kong, but still kept his cameo as conductor at the theater

 

The only thing similar in JNH's score to any of Shore's work that I can hear is the solo vocal in the last track. Everything else is distinctly Howard.

JNH is definitely capable of large-scale action and spectacle. Just listen to Waterworld, Dinosaur, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, etc. He's incredibly versatile as a composer.

 

Again, can anyone answer my question? Are there themes? Does the music develop? Or is it Batman Begins/Signs/Sixth Sense/Village again? He tends to create an excellent theme, and just repeat it with very few repititions. I haven't heard Waterworld, so I'm no expert, but I really hope he did justice to a giant monster movie. Subtle scores can be great in films, but there's a time and a place, you know?

 

King Kong is far from subtle and it has many themes. They make an impression, but not in that jump out and punch you in the face sort of way. It takes a few listens to absorb them all, but that's the fun of it.

 

Ahhhhh. That explains it. I wondered why this score sounded so much like A Beautiful Mind.

Check my take on the movie here.

 

That's a comparison I wouldn't have expected to hear.

 

How's it compare to John Barry's score for the '76 version of King Kong?

 

No clue. I went back and listened to the snippets on iTunes and now I hear nothing of ABM. Dang it. Now I have to back and watch it again. It was near the end went he climbing the building, and in the credits. I think I have James Newton Howard mixed up with James Horner too.

 

I saw the film last night and while I was highly disappointed with it overall, the score worked very well. One of the highlights, actually.

 

How about some discussion branching out over all the Kong films? This hype for this movie got me interested in the music, and I went and picked up King Kong by Max Steiner (the re-recording), and I have bits and pieces of Barrys' hard to find Kong score. I hope to get Howard's score for Christmas, and I am eagerly seeking the impossible to find King Kong Lives score by John Scott that I hear is league's better than the crapfest of a film itself.

By the wya, can anyone help me out in finding King Kong Lives?

Anyways, I personally feel that the original was the best, Kong 76 (from what I've heard) is well-developed and interesting, as well as beautiful, but at times you can tell it's a 70s flick. It'd be interesting to see how it holds up against Howard's.

 

The main Kong theme doesn't really have much development, it's just simply re-stated and re-stated. I don't consider this a bad thing, but it seems to be a trend among rock band refugees, which includes JNH, Danny Elfman and a few others. You'll also hear some modern Elfmanisms in "A Fateful Meeting". But for me, the true highlight of this score is the theme for Kong and Ann, which is developed quite well in "Beautiful" and "Central Park". I haven't heard a love theme as touching as this in a long time.

And no, it's nothing like Batman Begins. I'd rather that score die a quick and forgettable death. King Kong is really the first JNH score I've sought out since Dinosaur. Sure, it isn't Max Steiner, but it's a winner with me.

By the way, I've only heard the Max Steiner score within the film, but I know there are a few re-recordings out there. Could anyone recommend the best one? I'm not buying the 1933 recording from Rhino for obvious reasons.

 

The Marco Polo version, reconstructed by John Morgan, with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by William Stromberg is fantastic. One of their best efforts in that series. A bang-up job. And it's only six dollars!