No, not really. See my non-handwriting-related post:
I'm really curious about this. What will be the basis of such a new collaboration? Will Brian Percival ask for a score with a sound that we know from Williams already, or will he give him free reign to follow his own sensibilities when choosing his approach? And would Williams - without the baggage of decade-long collaborations or a whole back catalogue of his own music (as is the case in his franchises) stretch beyond what we have come to expect from him? I'd love him to move more into the territory of his concert works. There's a complexity to them, and at the same time a freshness in sound that might result in something marvelous. If the film allows for it, of course.
I'm really not trying to nitpick on purpose. I like the story, it is good to see many German actors in the supporting cast, and this could be a great film. But given the serious subject matter, I found the photography in the trailer a bit too elegant, too polished. Florian Ballhaus is a gifted DP, no doubt about that, but purely from the images, the beautiful establishing shots, the flowing movements, the immaculate lighting, it looked more like a Harry Potter film than a World War 2 drama to me. Of course, this might be the perfect approach for the film, it's hard for me to tell. My only concern from a film music perspective is that the beautiful images might have inspired Williams to write an equally polished, smooth score. And that might not turn out to be the most interesting thing.
Let's just hope that Williams will deliver an intimate, chamber-textured score for this - and not schmaltz it up as he did in Schindler's List (a fine score off the screen - on screen, not so much).
As in the Schindler case, I think Kilar would have been a great choice for this.
I'm really not trying to nitpick on purpose. I like the story, it is good to see many German actors in the supporting cast, and this could be a great film. But given the serious subject matter, I found the photography in the trailer a bit too elegant, too polished. Florian Ballhaus is a gifted DP, no doubt about that, but purely from the images, the beautiful establishing shots, the flowing movements, the immaculate lighting, it looked more like a Harry Potter film than a World War 2 drama to me. Of course, this might be the perfect approach for the film, it's hard for me to tell. My only concern from a film music perspective is that the beautiful images might have inspired Williams to write an equally polished, smooth score. And that might not turn out to be the most interesting thing.
I agree with that -- the same thing occured to me. Seems to be 'playing it Hollywood safe' a bit too much. But as long as it inspires a great Williams score, that's all that I really need.
I'm really not trying to nitpick on purpose. I like the story, it is good to see many German actors in the supporting cast, and this could be a great film. But given the serious subject matter, I found the photography in the trailer a bit too elegant, too polished. Florian Ballhaus is a gifted DP, no doubt about that, but purely from the images, the beautiful establishing shots, the flowing movements, the immaculate lighting, it looked more like a Harry Potter film than a World War 2 drama to me. Of course, this might be the perfect approach for the film, it's hard for me to tell. My only concern from a film music perspective is that the beautiful images might have inspired Williams to write an equally polished, smooth score. And that might not turn out to be the most interesting thing.
I agree with that -- the same thing occured to me. Seems to be 'playing it Hollywood safe' a bit too much. But as long as it inspires a great Williams score, that's all that I really need.
First impression I had was it has that 'glossy, stylised' look like Verhoeven's 'Black Book'.
I started reading the book because the premise seemed kind of interesting. At first I was curious as to why it was classified as young adult with such heavy themes but the characters and relationships do seem kind of broadly drawn. I've still got a ways to go but that's just my impression so far. So the comparison to Harry Potter may actually be apt if the film tries to convey a younger spirit as opposed to something super gritty and realistic. But I kind of like the idea of a film that is more stylized if that means the score is going to have more to do.
The ideal score for me would be to this kind of film. Serious but with an emotional, poetic strain running through it that lends itself to music. My other hope is that this is a very good film. I feel like John Williams only does flawed films for the last 20 years or so. His films tend to seem better in concept than they do when I'm watching it. But, either way, I'm glad to finally get a non-Spielberg, non-Star Wars score.
Let's just hope that Williams will deliver an intimate, chamber-textured score for this - and not schmaltz it up as he did in Schindler's List
It seems apparent from the trailer that this film belongs to the genre of "uplifting films about the human spirit triumphing during the Holocaust." This is not "The Sorrow and the Pity." Williams will be scoring this film, not composing a tone poem about Nazi atrocities. I'm certain he will be roundly criticized for not treating the Holocaust with the seriousness it deserves, but that certainly doesn't appear to be what the film is.
It seems apparent from the trailer that this film belongs to the genre of "uplifting films about the human spirit triumphing during the Holocaust." This is not "The Sorrow and the Pity."
Could be. As long as it's better than "Swing Kids" ...
WOW. I read this thread when it started but I didn't realize one thing. Just after seeing the trailer I realized I've read this book. I've been trying for some time now to remember the name of it and even the authors name but I couldn't (A Menina Que Roubava Livros), I read it in Portuguese many years ago and couldn't find it. From what I remember the book was a little more darker(?) then what the trailer makes it look like. Can't wait for Williams score.
Some details about the music: * 5 day scoring session * Score was for strings, piano, woodwind octet and for 2 days they added four French horns and two percussionists. * Not much timpani - mostly motorized marimba parts and vibraphone (patterns based on the strings movement) - played softly under strings. * Recorded without click. Musicians didn't need to wear headphones since there was no click. This is unusual in that they could hear each other better and balance more musically.
Deadline Hollywood quotes star Geoffrey Rush about the score:
Rush tells me this is a job the composer actually sought himself. “I think I am right in saying that he contacted the producers and said ‘I read this book and I know you are making a film and I would really like to write the music for it’ , so I think they took that as a plus,” he said.
