Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

"Parlay" is a very obvious homage to Ennio Morricone's score to Once Upon A Time In The West, the track "Man With A Harmonica" in particular.

 

I've had Up is Down stuck in my head all night. Great track.

 

I've been avoiding this thread for a bit, until I saw the film and purchased the soundtrack. After having done both this afternoon, I can say that I find this score quite enjoyable, perhaps more "polished" than the first two.

 

Saw the movie last night and have to say that the score worked very well in the film. When I first listened to the soundtrack, I really didn't care for the Multiple Jacks bit, but in the context of the movie, it fits in nicely. My favorite scene both in terms of music and what happens was the wedding of Will and Elizabeth. The whole thing was just so over the top that you couldn't help but love it (paticularly the string flourish when Will and Elizabeth cross to stab two members of Jone's crew). And Geoffrey Rush just absolutely nailed his performance in that scene.

Overall, I found the film to be fun and entertaining if a bit convoluted at times.

If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to stick around after the credits.

 

After a day of listening to the soundtrack, I bought it today, yeah, yeah; my favorites are:

5. Up is Down

10. What Shall We Die For

11. I Don't Think Know is the Best Time

13. Drink Up Me Hearties

But I still haven't seen the movie.

 

Dull, interminably serious, dark, repetitive, predictable... Zimmer used the orchestra more, but the orchestrations must have been very simplistic, because most of it sounded like the same synthesized stuff, at least in the sound mix of the film. There were occasional moments where drama began to emerge from the music, especially the last scenes with Will and Elizabeth, and the Jack Sparrow theme, with its lively cello solo, worked well, but by and large the score was lifeless. Even the lifeless theme from the first film, "He's a Pirate," would have been welcome because of its nostalgia value, but it was reserved for the end credits (save for a few boring, low-key variations in dialogue scenes).

Zimmer tried, but he just doesn't have it.

 

Wow. I respect your opinion, but I found the score to be a vast improvement over the first two (even many of the guys over at JWFan think the same, and many of them hate Zimmer with a firey passion that I could never wish on anyone). I felt that the new and a few of the older themes were developed particularly well. The new love theme and Hoist the Colors were used to great effect in many different instances, both action and dramatic. I love it when composers take a theme and sculpt it to work in many situations -- like The Imperial March, Williams uses it for action and drama (not that I am saying anything in AWE is on par with The Imperial March). The new developments for the Davy Jones theme as well as Beckett's theme were quite surprising as well.

And "He's A Pirate" did get some interesting variations during the final battle. Granted, the score could be a bit hard to hear at times through the cacophony of sound, but it was definitely there a number of times.

 

It was hard for me to tell the themes apart, since they are all so similar (one minor scale interval exercise after another). I definitely noticed that new "Hoist the Sails" theme, and didn't like it at all. "He's a Pirate" tends toward generic, of course, but this theme could be mistaken for music from dozens of recent blockbuster films. There is absolutely nothing interesting about it for me.

Davy Jones's theme was well-developed, but I hold it in particularly low regard because, while the rest of the score is at least apart from the characters, the music of Davy Jones is directly involved. The strongest and most tragic love ever felt, and that was all Davy could come up with? It's hard to feel very emotional about that boring little music box theme.

Oh, and the electric guitar music during the parlay on the island scene? No. It didn't work.

 

I felt that AWE was a huge step up from the largely dull DMC, which itself was a huge step down from the largely swashbuckling COTBP. Although it's no John Williams, Zimmer has done a great job with the third score. All though the only full out version of He's a Pirate is in the credits, the variations in "I don't think now is the best time" are great. Almost all of the tracks have merits, in contrast to DMC, which had a lot of tracks I really couldn't care less for. The only one I really loved was "Wheel of Fortune". I felt that the electric guitars during "Parlay" would turn out to be similar to the cheesy music in 300 when I was watching the movie, but the comparitively subdued use of them here isn't too bad.

All in all a score easily equal to Curse of the Black Pearl, and much better than Dead Man's Chest.

 

I was given a $20 gift card to FYE and at first I didn't know what to use it on and then I saw AWE on Monday and I knew immediately that I had to get the soundtrack. So I bought it today.

I think Hans Zimmer did a tremendously great job with it. I was a fan of the 1st score but not so much a fan of the 2nd but I am a huge fan of this 3rd installment.

Here is my review on each of the songs (the ones with * are my favorites):

1. Hoist the Colours- Eerie but very nice. Love the theme and how they kept the boys voice singing with it and then the chorus part.

2. Singapore- Love the international oriental style going on. It gives it a creep factor to it but overall the song is great. I loved how they went that internation route.

*3. At Wit's End- Definately captures my heart. While I'm not familiar with the instruments used, I am a fan of this song. And then they add in that sort of music box/organ sound which gives it a sad touch to it. Very nice.

4. Multiple Jacks- Actually a very fun song. Kind of strange in a way but it definately suits the scene

5. Up is Down- Another cool track. Even if you haven't seen the movie, the title and the song itself can leave an image into your head as to what is being accomplished. The faster beat, the faster the motions you imagine on the ship. Great touch.

*6. I See Dead People in Boats- Such a sad song. Very heartbreaking. Especially knowing the desperate hour that Elizabeth is faced with. Having to find out that her father has died and she desperately tries to reach out for him. Zimmer does an excellent job with this piece. This song kind of reminded me of the music used in "The Mists of Avalon" score such as when Arthur and Morgain are being sent away when they are children.

7. The Brethren Court- Another creepy but fun loving song.

*8. Parlay- Loved this one! Love that old western type music they use only with an electric guitar (at least I think it's an electric guitar). It's very cool and hip.

9. Calypso- Very somber song only then to get louder to the climax by the 1:50th minute then back down to being somber. Very nice touch

*10. What Shall We Die For- Definately one of the most heart-felt moments. Elizabeth once again takes control of the situation before her and offers hope when they all once believed was lost

11. I Don't Think Now is the Best Time- Very intense song and I really enjoyed it.

*12. One Day- And yet we are brought back to another heart-breaking song. I just love how this one brings out even more emotions to it.

*13. Drink Up Me Hearties- Another spin to what we all love about Jack Sparrow... Excuse me, I mean Captain Jack Sparrow. Enjoyed how the music stayed similar to "At Wits End" and then to some of "Singapore". This song definately captured the essance of the entire soundtrack.

Overall I give the third and final installment to the Pirates of the Caribbean music a 10+. They really out-did it on this one.

 

This is the best musical score all year and definitely a MUST for an oscar nomination for Zimmer. Dead Man's chest on the other hand felt like just a rehash of Klaus Badelt's music. Not so in this case! The two new themes written for this movie are simply stellar, and I cannot get "One Day" off of my playlist! Finally, some new key musical themes for this series that impact the viewer in a serious way!

concerning the electric guitars on the island, I too wasn't particularly fond of that moment, and I could have probably swallowed it better had they not decided to use that music directly after the scene Keith Richards was in.

 

Some standouts IMO:

2. Singapore

5. Up is Down

10. What Shall We Die For

11. I Don't Think Nows The Best Time

12. One Day

 

I finally found the soundtrack this last Friday after looking and then looking some more, only to find that no one had it. The music had been on my mind since I saw the film the previous Saturday (then it was even more on my mind after I saw it again the previous Wednesday), but all I could get was little excerpts of the tracks over the internet. Not cool. But since I've gotten the soundtrack I've been listening to it almost non-stop, even parts of the score that I wasn't as crazy about after seeing the film I've grown to love. All of the tracks are wonderful in my opinion. I really do hope Hans Zimmer gets an Oscar nomination, but, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think the Academy nominates scores for sequels too often. Before I finish I just want to add the I thought Zimmer did good work with DMC, at times it wasn't the best for sure, and it can get a little dull if you're just listening to it on CD without the added entertainment of a movie (plus the techno-remix of 'He's a Pirate', I just didn't care for it much). I thought that it was more polished than Klaus Badelt's score, but that doesn't always necessarily mean it's better, when it comes down to it, usually it depends on what mood I'm in as to which of the two I like more.

 

Zimmer probably isn't eligible for an Oscar nomination because he didn't write, let alone orchestrate, the score on his own. And, jeez, even Christopher Young's sleepy adaptation of Danny Elfman's style for Spider-man 3 deserves an Oscar more.

 

I find this score to be highly entertaining and better than just a guilty pleasure, but in no way is it Oscar-worthy.

 

I'm listening to it now.

Its damn good.


Zimmer has done it once again. Hes beaten JW to my favourite composer spot.



Which tracks do you guys suggest I pay particular attention too.

 

Does the Academy take orchestration into consideration? I know that a suprising number of composers don't orchestrate their own scores, and many that do have one or two helpers. Either way, you're right, I don't think Zimmer has a chance of being nominated. It's a fun score to a movie that got little critical acclaim, which doesn't usually bode well for the score nominations.

 

No, self-orchestration is just something that I personally respect in a composer. Zimmer would be disqualified based on his lack of authorship of the full score, not orchestration. Of course, anyway, the Academy doesn't go for scores to mediocre blockbusters. The score award nominees typically consist of scores to either critically praised dramatic films or dramatic films that weren't nominated for the high-level categories (Best Picture, Best Actor, etc.) as a consolation prize (Brokeback Mountain, Munich, etc.).

 

Brokeback Mountain and Munich were both nominated for Best Picture, and Heath Ledger got a nomination for Best Actor in Brokeback Mountain.

 

At this point the Academy is such a mess of politics that its almost worth ignoring all together. Case in point(s): Babel and Brokeback Mountain win over much more deserving scores.

 

Well then... fah. Let's say the winner of the score category gets consolation. That's more like what it is.

 

IMO, he's not quite John Williams class - but then, who is? Still, his music is very good. I particuarly like the love theme motif used throughout World's End - heard during "At Wit's End", at the start of "I See Dead People in Boats", towards the end of "I Don't Think Now is the Best Time" and in all its epic glory to round off "Drink Up Me Hearties". "Up and Down" is pure, mad-grin-worthy fun music, and "Parley" is a surprising but welcome ode to Ennio Morricone. All recommended, though I tend to skip "Singapore", the forgettable "Brethren Court" and "Calypso".

 

I've really fallen in love with this soundtrack lately. It's definitely not as good as COTBP's soundtrack, but it's a huge improvement from DMC. My favorite tracks are Singapore, Up is Down, Calypso, One Day, and Drink Up Me Hearties.

 

I agree. The Academy wouldn't know a good score if it slapped them in the face. It's why I tend to look at sites like Soundtrack.net and filmtracks.com.

As for Pirates 3, I thought this was a major improvement from the 2nd movie's score. The love theme was a good addition. Pirates 3 is probably the best released score since Transformers and Spiderman 3 aren't released (yet?) out there this summer (though Ratatouille's deserves a nod in that category). It's a pretty weak year for scores though especially with record labels not even releasing the decent ones. Really a big letdown after last year brought X3, Superman Returns, The Da Vinci Code, Casino Royale. Hopefully 08 will be better with Indy 4 coming out.