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Posted: |
Apr 23, 2013 - 12:05 AM
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By: |
Lokutus
(Member)
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OK then... hopefully this is just stage 1 with this following not too much later...
GH: You’re releasing the soundtrack to Kon-Tiki on your own. Why did you decide to follow this path?
JS: I think that releasing worthwhile soundtracks has become harder and harder in the last few years. I could simply put up the music for download at my site, but considering the hours, the days and the weeks I put into a score, I want to see something in return. There’s of course digital distribution (Kon-Tiki will have an online release too), but that’s missing a very important part of the equation. I feel that in order to earn your money from a soundtrack release, you should give something special to the buyers. I’m talking about things that can’t be ripped or downloaded, extras that make the soundtrack much more than a CD in a slipcase.
GH: What will this entail in the case of Kon-Tiki?
JS: The physical edition of Kon-Tiki will have several bonus features not available in the online release. We’ll have a CD that’s a traditional soundtrack: an hour’s worth of the best cues, arranged in a musically satisfying experience. There will also be a Blu-ray, which will contain the music in 5.1, in film chronology, and some bonus cues that didn’t fit on the regular CD. All this is housed in a neat package, with an extensive, richly illustrated booklet and liner notes detailing the historical journey, the making of the film, the creation of the score and a complete, chronological discussion of the film. If all goes well, the Blu-ray will also contain some additional extras (perhaps some video bonuses), but I don’t want to speak too soon as we’re still working on the assembly. I envisioned the Kon-Tiki album as a journey that follows in the path of Thor Heyerdahl and I hope the listeners will find the same thing.
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Posted: |
Mar 15, 2014 - 1:58 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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Finally saw this via Netflix.
A good, if light, film. Very nice cinematography. It nicely captured the feel of the book.
The score was completely wrong and was a major drag on the film. The best parts played with no music.
Ouch.
For me, this was the very BEST score of 2012 (or 2013 if you count the international premiere), so we're planets apart in our evaluation. Particularly love the haunting theme performed on conch shell that represents the sun God Tiki and, as an extension, Thor's desire for exploration. That scene where the camera goes up from the raft into the clouds and down again -- with that very Strauss-ian quality -- is goosebump-inducing. It's called "Into Space" on the soundtrack.
As for the film, I agree that it's very light, but that's part of the charm for me. It has some fantastic visuals that can rival the best of what Hollywood can offer, IMO. What doesn't always work that well, IMO, are some of the characters. There was some great controversy in Norway, particularly in the portrayal of Watzinger. He's portrayed as somewhat of a 'weak' man in the film, while he was quite rugged and tough in reality. A creative liberty, of course, that nonetheless upset some of Watzinger's descendants.
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Posted: |
Mar 15, 2014 - 8:30 AM
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By: |
OnyaBirri
(Member)
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It has some fantastic visuals that can rival the best of what Hollywood can offer, IMO.
And that is one of the film's problems for me. Major generalization coming, but the aesthetics of European cinema appeal to me infinitely more than those of mainstream Hollywood, so I always scratch my head when the Europeans attempt the latter.
I thought the film ran a tad short, considering the subject matter. It did not provide a feel of how long they were on the raft. When Thor drops to his knees on the island, I did not feel it in the same way that I'd felt it in the book. It actually could have used some more scenes of, basically, nothing happening on the raft. I didn't get the sense of the long stretches that occurred between the dramas.
As for the score, it sounded like someone deliberately trying to do a contemporary Hollywood score rather than trying to get inside of the narrative and/or complementing the visuals with appropriate music. The awesomeness - I use "awesome" in its intending meaning - of the ocean and the untouched tropical beauty of the Oceanic Islands cry for rich orchestral colors and harmonies. I heard none of that. Lots of major triads. As far as the music for portraying the God Tiki, you're talking to someone who has a tiki room in his house, so I know better than the composer.  I think the film would have been better with a different score, but of course, this is purely subjective.
On the other hand, I'm glad a film was finally made, and it's kind of amazing that it took so long, considering the popularity of the book. I thought the film did capture the look and feel of the era and the journey itself, if only in somewhat of a Disneyfied fashion.
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Posted: |
Mar 15, 2014 - 9:08 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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Well, if you were expecting some loungey 'exotica' cues like the ones you love from the 60s, I think your expectations were a bit wrong. IMO, Söderqvist masterfully used the ethnic elements (like the conch shell) while subscribing to ethereal textures, gorgeous themes and cool, syncopated rhythms. One one level, it's quite an intellectual score; on another it's purely visceral. In my opinion, this is in a league of its own -- I adore the score both IN the film and on album.
It's interesting that you call for a "cry for rich orchestral colors and harmonies" (which, incidentally, I think it has in spades) while at the same time accusing it for being "too Hollywood".
But of course, this is always subjective.
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Posted: |
Mar 15, 2014 - 9:20 AM
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By: |
OnyaBirri
(Member)
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Well, if you were expecting some loungey 'exotica' cues like the ones you love from the 60s, I think your expectations were a bit wrong.
That's not at all what I was expecting. You're making a generalization about 1960s scores, which were incredibly diverse.
It's interesting that you call for a "cry for rich orchestral colors and harmonies" (which, incidentally, I think it has in spades) while at the same time accusing it for being "too Hollywood".
I don't consider Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, or Villa-Lobos to be "Hollywood."
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I finally saw the film. A good one!
I found the score quite nice and relaxing. It sometimes reminded me of Zimmer's Gladiator.
I hope the CD sold a few copies, clichéd track titles and all (Thor Is Sad, Thor Laughs)...
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