I feel the same about The Search for Spock. Khan might have more amazing highlights, but Spock is the superior composition as a whole, IMO. More developed, more emotionally powerful. Also better performed and recorded. Horner was always good about refining ideas from score to score.
The Legend of Zorro, while it may be somewhat popular, is in my opinion more energetic and superior in many ways to its predecessor, with far superior thematic development and arguably the best action music of Horner's career. I don't think the majority shares my opinion, however.
As a Mask of Zorro preferer, I often get the feeling that the majority do share your opinion! I hear "The Train" lauded all the time, but when I listen, it gets off to a magnificent start, but the second half barely sounds like Horner to me.
His most underrated score has got to be The Missing. It's quintessential Horner in every way, an incredible piece of artistry.
I would probably agree on this one, but my CD came with a flaw, a purple spot on the disc surface that causes some skipping in some of the later cues. And for some reason I never got around to replacing it and the score rarely gets much play. I should probably rectify this situation.
His most underrated score has got to be The Missing. It's quintessential Horner in every way, an incredible piece of artistry.
I would probably agree on this one, but my CD came with a flaw, a purple spot on the disc surface that causes some skipping in some of the later cues. And for some reason I never got around to replacing it and the score rarely gets much play. I should probably rectify this situation.
I would love it if Intrada would release The Hand by James Horner. I and others would also have more music from Wolfen to add to a minidisc transfer of Wolfen for those who are into minidiscs. Even also have it to enjoy along with Wolfen too.
WOLFEN--Terrific movie (now out on Blu-ray), terrific score...written in 12 days!
THUNDERHEART--Another terrific movie (wish it was out on Blu-ray), a terrific score that is very un-Horner-esque IMHO. (I do believe the score works better in the movie than listened to apart from the film)
THE HAND--A fairly ridiculous movie; however, a great early score that had some eerie Echoplexed moments tracked in brilliantly into WOLFEN. A score that deserves a CD release.
I feel the same about The Search for Spock. Khan might have more amazing highlights, but Spock is the superior composition as a whole, IMO. More developed, more emotionally powerful. Also better performed and recorded. Horner was always good about refining ideas from score to score.
"Horner feels that his score for STAR TREK III is superior to his work on the previous Trek movie. 'That was 2 years ago for me. I was twenty seven and a half when I wrote STAR TREK II and now I’m thirty. So a lot of musical time has gone by for me and I just think that the score for STAR TREK III is just so much vastly better than STAR TREK II. It’s a much more interesting score and, for me, a much more beautiful and emotional score than STAR TREK II.' "
One of my most listened to Horner scores is THE MISSING also. It does seem to rarely get mentioned in most Horner appreciation threads.
Another is WHERE THE RIVER RUNS BLACK. I missed out on this when it was originally released on CD back in the early days of CDs. All I had was a cassette which has since died. Now expensive and hard to find on the secondary market. Would snap up a re-release in a second.
One of my favorite Horner scores and one that really made a deep emotional impression on me in the theater when I was a kid (I was 12 years old in 1987). It didn't even occur to me at that age to seek out film scores to listen to apart from the films, but when I acquired the Varese CD in 2001 it brought back all of those emotions I'd felt in the theater and I realized that it was not so much the story or acting but the music that had made the experience so memorable all those years ago. That's the magic of film music in the hands of a gifted artist such as James Horner.
BLACK GOLD- just got it a a week before Horner's passing. Played it alongside WOLF TOTEM. Beautiful and melancholy and although resounds with the usual Horner's flourishes but it is a very strong and emotionally moving. I cant believe how it escaped me all these years. Its becoming a favourite.
Since this got mentioned several times, I just want to chip in as one of those who thinks STAR TREK III to be at least on par with his more widely admired STAR TREK II. I just never thought of III as all that underrated, given that it's still a Trek score.