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Posted: |
Jun 26, 2015 - 2:24 PM
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By: |
Zooba
(Member)
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Like so many, I'm sure STAR TREK II THE WRATH OF KHAN was pretty much our introduction to the maestro. It was for me. And to be honest, upon first hearing of his Main Title when I went to see the film on the big screen when it opened, I didn't care for it. I was so into what Goldsmith had done for THE MOTIONLESS PICTURE, that I quickly dismissed Horner's Theme as a "Wannabe" and totally 2nd Rate. I remember trying to like it, but I couldn't stop missing Jerry's music. As time went on, my feelings really changed. Probably when Horner scored STAR TREK III THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK, I started GETTING Horner and how beautiful and soaring his music was for III. Then going back to KHAN, I think I like his "Khan" music actually more than his Main and Kirk Themes, but then again, later those totally grew on me. His Duo of scores for Wrath and Search were wonderful and how cool would it have been if Nimoy didn't get a boner for Lenny Rosenman and let Horner complete the story Trilogy!
So initially it was STAR TREK that got me aware of Horner. Those movies were great Horner Operas and the films benefited greatly from his contributions. Moving on, I became aware of BRAINSTORM and COCOON, not really liking BRAINSTORM thinking it was too noisy and initially feeling that COCOON might be a tad, over the top too sweet. These are just honest remembrances and feelings. Of course again, things and feeling change with time. But there was always a sense of Passion and Power in Horner's music and I know I did like that about him. I liked that his name turned up on non-blockbuster films like HEAVEN HELP US and 48 HOURS where he showed versatility in approach and that he could tackle different styles. But it was 1989 when GLORY and FIELD OF DREAMS came out that I knew that the maestro really showed that he could "NAIL" a picture, as he said so many times in his interviews. GLORY both film and score completely knocked my socks off and in my opinion it has to be one of the Best Scored and emotionally passionate melding of story, image and music that has ever appeared on the screen. Simply heartbreaking and powerful. And FIELD OF DREAMS. What can be said? The maestro made grown men weep like babies in movie theaters around the world, cause he NAILED the emotion of the love a man has for his father. I tear up just thinking about it. And I remember being in the theater watching on the big screen with my sister and just losing it at the "Dad, Wanna have a catch?" scene as so many men and women too around me did. Tears grew and continued onto the finale and End Titles. This was a gift from a musical genius that was undeniable. I remember my sister sitting next to me and saying "Are you okay?" The tears lasted on the car ride home and I went to sleep crying through the night. What a powerful memory.
More later. Please share your thoughts on your introduction and first memories of Horner and his music and throughout his career.
I've got to go listen to some James now!
I know there are many threads on Horner now, but I see them all as a great outlet for healing and celebrating and fondly remembering our dear dear and most talented, wonderful Maestro.
Thank you for letting me indulge myself.
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Posted: |
Jun 26, 2015 - 3:23 PM
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By: |
Graham Watt
(Member)
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I shared the same childhood as many of you apparently.
First, seeing on the big screen BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS and HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP - and loving them because they sounded so modelled on Goldsmith. Loved WOLFEN too (and hearing the Goldsmith-Ives-ALIEN-OUTLAND connection made it even more pleasurable.)
That would have been '80/'81. Then STAR TREK II of course, on the big screen and as a soundtrack. This is when I get mixed up about things I actually bought as soundtracks first, or after seeing the film. I loved 48 HOURS though - no soundtrack álbum then of course, but I adored the steel drums, the soprano sax... and the Goldsmith-infused neon-lit climactic scene.
Loved pretty much what he was doing in the early '80s, either through cinema viewings or soundtrack buying or both - KRULL; BRAINSTORM; GORKY PARK..., then I kind of lost interest a bit with his electronic phase. I didn't warm to (at the time) things like THE NAME OF THE ROSE, and a multitude of others.
Then in the early '90s he was back on form for me. BRAVEHEART; LEGENDS OF THE FALL... I still think they're amongst the best scores ever written. I bought TITANIC but never warmed to it, nor saw what all the fuss was about. Great film though (IN MY HUMBLE OPINION THANK YOU VERY MUCH).
Those were the (comparatively) early days. I liked a lot (a LOT) of his later things (DEEP IMPACT; MARK OF ZORRO - but Jeez, I'm still decades away from now)...
I hope I'm not sounding like a politician who suddenly praises a recently-deceased Member of the Opposition, but bloody hell he was good.
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Being born in '84, my earliest memory of Horner's music is The Land Before Time. Now of course, I didn't consciously recognize the music as being the thing that affected me so. But I know that it moved me profoundly, and it was probably one of the most emotional theatrical experiences of my youth.
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Posted: |
Jun 26, 2015 - 4:10 PM
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By: |
Jim Doherty
(Member)
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There was a Saturday morning radio show here in Chicago, hosted by Roy Leonard (who was sort of a Chicago institution). It's the kind of show you just don't hear anymore. It was part talk show, part call-in show, but he also had movie quizzes, he played records, etc. One Saturday, just before the release of STAR TREK II, he played a promotional 45 of the Main Title. I was immediately taken by it. Although I liked the bulk of Goldsmith's score for the first film, I never liked his main theme for it, finding it a little too obvious, with its smiley, upbeat theme (O.K., stone me now). So, I was very pleasantly surprised by Horner's theme, which I felt spoke much more of the awe and infinity of space. I went to see the film and bought the LP, and that opened my pathway to look out for future scores from Horner. I know I saw SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES and liked that score too, but the BIG breakthrough for me was BRAINSTORM. Oh! There was so much going on there. So many different styles, from ultra-romantic to crashing atonalities. I saw the film in a very well-equipped theatre in Chicago (in 70mm, I think), and was blown away by the music. After that, I REALLY started following his scores.
So STAR TREK II and BRAINSTORM were the ones that caught me in the Horner web.
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Posted: |
Jun 26, 2015 - 4:10 PM
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By: |
Jim Doherty
(Member)
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There was a Saturday morning radio show here in Chicago, hosted by Roy Leonard (who was sort of a Chicago institution). It's the kind of show you just don't hear anymore. It was part talk show, part call-in show, but he also had movie quizzes, he played records, etc. One Saturday, just before the release of STAR TREK II, he played a promotional 45 of the Main Title. I was immediately taken by it. Although I liked the bulk of Goldsmith's score for the first film, I never liked his main theme for it, finding it a little too obvious, with its smiley, upbeat theme (O.K., stone me now). So, I was very pleasantly surprised by Horner's theme, which I felt spoke much more of the awe and infinity of space. I went to see the film and bought the LP, and that opened my pathway to look out for future scores from Horner. I know I saw SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES and liked that score too, but the BIG breakthrough for me was BRAINSTORM. Oh! There was so much going on there. So many different styles, from ultra-romantic to crashing atonalities. I saw the film in a very well-equipped theatre in Chicago (in 70mm, I think), and was blown away by the music. After that, I REALLY started following his scores.
So STAR TREK II and BRAINSTORM were the ones that caught me in the Horner web.
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Posted: |
Jun 27, 2015 - 5:59 AM
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By: |
Ny
(Member)
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i went to see Krull for my 9th(?) birthday movie, i guess it must have been in 84 as back then films got released here much later than in the states. i remember liking it a lot but i don't remember if i'd picked up on Horner's name just yet (though i'm sure i did know Williams' at the time).
then Aliens got released. I'd already seen Alien on tv, and after coming across a trailer for the sequel i was super-hyped for it, exclusively drawing pictures of colonial marines in art class until the release day came. i saw it alone on a matinee show, in my town they didn't care too much about age ratings, and i distinctly remember being floored by the Ripley's Rescue sequence, the music in particular.
the first time we got a vhs player we rented one for a weekend and i got Commando and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, i watched the latter three times, and the former five times (take those numbers to the bank) before the weekend was up, and at that point i was compiling lists of Horner's movies to track down.
i don't think it was the first soundtrack of his that i bought as i recall it taking a while to find, but i remember vividly coming across a single cassette copy of the Aliens score, not having any money to get it, then getting the train home to ask my folks, getting a quick affirmative, which was odd so i must have had a don't-fuck-with-me-now look on my face, then going back in to get it the next day, anxious that someone had nabbed it in the meantime. at age eleven and twelve getting stuff ordered or put aside for you was impossible - store workers just didn't believe you were coming back.
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Posted: |
Jun 27, 2015 - 8:23 AM
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By: |
Hurdy Gurdy
(Member)
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As stated elsewhere, buying the Battle Beyond the Stars LP was my introduction.
I previously thought I bought it on one of those film/music alchemy whims that we sometimes have, (I know that's how I met Cliff Eidelman with Triumph Of The Spirit) but the more I think about it, the more I remember hearing his music in a clip from the film, probably shown on Film 1980 (Barry Norman) and thinking 'that sounds pretty cool' - it was Cowboy & the Jackers.
Not long after, I bought the Humanoids From The Deep LP in Probe Records (Liverpool) having seen the film (titled Monster in the UK in a double bill with...When A Stranger Calls I think).
I also remember smuggling a tape into cinema showings of WOLFEN and DEADLY BLESSING to have something to hold onto and replay before VHS sorted me out.
ST II followed and while I really enjoyed that score (and appreciate the break-out/knock-on effect it had on his career) it has never troubled a Top 10 of his for me, cos so many other scores are better to me.
Then there was the BIG UPS (his Holy Trinity/Triple Whammy) of KRULL, BRAINSTORM and GORKY PARK on LP - just so superb and unique - and the BIG DOWNS of hearing so many of his great unreleased works (48 Hrs, Uncommon Valour, Something Wicked...the list seemed endless at the time and yes, I either taped them in the cinema or dubbed them from VHS soon after).
After that, I don't think a year passed where I didn't get excited/hear/buy/enjoy a new score by James Horner.
I'm not gonna say I love each and every one of them (I'm looking at you JADE...and yes, you too CHUMSCRUBBER and LIFE BEFORE HER EYES) but overall, his body of work and my collection thereof (yep, I have everything either available...or not) is something I truly enjoy and will return to again and again.
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