I, also, was glad to see the Misty Mountains theme gone. It was too obviously being used as a faux-Fellowship theme (especially when they leave Rivendell, where it's very obvious that it's supposed to mirror the scene from FOTR*). The lack of development was part of what bothered me, but I'm also not sure the dwarves merited such a blatantly heroic theme.
Some of the more reflective statements were fine, but in any case I still prefer Shore's own themes he wrote for them, which *are* being developed more gradually. And I would agree that the theme not being entirely Shore's is probably a factor in it being dropped so entirely (though I'd still be surprised if it's not in the next film at all).
In short, I think operatic scores that are too heavily infused with choral work are often too much. Just a matter of taste, though, so there's really nothing to argue about!
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While it probably does come down to a matter of taste, saying that probably sounds too close to "agree to disagree" for Yov
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, so I will continue to argue by saying that while it might have been too much for a more subtly directed film, it was exactly what PJ's LOTR needed; take it away and I'm not sure I'd like the Trilogy at all. Put a more low key score in the Weathertop scene, and it wouldn't work at all. Have a more atmospherically creepy scene to begin with, and it probably wouldn't need so much music. I can readily imagine a less heavily scored LOTR, but that's the next adaptation of it, fifteen years from now.
Though surely the music in the Smaug scenes (particularly before the dwarf-dragon confrontation) with those Balinese bells, was the best music across all five films??!!
It's up there for me! But I agree that the music should have higher in the mix there. I'm one those people that likes it when music dominates a film!
I also agree (darnit, there I go not arguing again!
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) that silence was used well in DOS. That might be my one complaint about the LOTR scores, cut the amount of music down to 75-80% instead of 95% (not too much though!) and it would increase the impact of the music that is there.
I thought the music fade out at the end as Smaug flies off (after that amazing choral piece as he shakes off the gold) worked very well. On the other hand though, I dislike the similar end to AUJ; I love the huge melodramatic statement of Smaug's theme Shore wrote for him opening his eye and the fade to black.
*I much prefer
Shore's original intentions for that scene, where theme is used to much better effect, IMO