The Hobbit - Awards thread

[Primula Baggins]

PtB, don't you go being all inhibited.

[Smaug's voice]

I will just add that I enjoy the FotR and RotK OSTs more than DOS (which I like better than the TTT OST) and get back to lurkdome.

[yovargas]

Which is exactly why it has gotten less attention (and less praise at certain Tolkien fan sites).

It could also be because it's less interesting.....

[kzer_za]

I really do think the LotR soundtrack is better. The only music I can recall from DoS right now is the clever use of the half-finished Ring Theme. I think I may have liked the Woodland Realm and Gandalf vs. Sauron music too, but I can't actually remember any of it.

I know some would say movie music is better when it's not noticed, but I like LotR's operatic style, and there are plenty of classic movies with very noticeable soundtracks. And LotR's soundtrack is subtle in the sense that it carefully weaves so many different leitmotifs and variations together.

[Smaug's voice]

Exactly kzer ca. Plenty of examples, Ben Hur, Star Wars, Ten commandments, The Great Dictator and most old films actually. Even Hugo, Star Trek, some of the HP films and so forth as recent examples..
And subtle doesn't always mean quiet. A score is meant to take you into the film. Memorable scores are also the ones most popular. Which DoS is not doing for some people.

[TheTennisBallKid]

I know some would say movie music is better when it's not noticed, but I like LotR's operatic style, and there are plenty of classic movies with very noticeable soundtracks.

Yes. Operatic is a key word for me here; it's not just a supporting element, it is a telling of the story by itself. You can argue that it's too much, and you might be right in some places, but it's an excess I can forgive.


I really, really like DOS a lot, too, though.


I may just be a Shore fanboy. (that would explain the backyard shrine )

[kzer_za]

I'm sure DoS will grow on me as I see the movie more times (only twice so far), and eventually I will sit down and just listen through. Still, all the LotR movies' music made a much bigger impression after a single viewing. Even AUJ had the dwarf singing and the Goblin King's song.

EDIT: Okay, I forgot the choirs when Bard recites the poem. That was good.

[yovargas]

( TTBK )

[Elentári]

And subtle doesn't always mean quiet. A score is meant to take you into the film. Memorable scores are also the ones most popular. Which DoS is not doing for some people.

I wonder if the DoS OST suffered because of the pace of the movie...perhaps if the EE gives us more time to breathe then we will notice the music more?

[Passdagas the Brown]

I don't mind the operatic from time to time, and there are moments in the books and the films that call for that.

It's just that LOTR's score is so relentlessly operatic all the time, even when it shouldn't be (e.g. an operatic chorus does not serve a scene that should be atmospherically creepy, like the Nazgûl attack on weathertop, etc)..

And the DOS is not only more atmospheric and less operatic, it also stops and allows the quiet, and the sounds of nature, to augment the drama more often.

IMO, it doesn't suffer at all and is significantly better than the LOTR soundtrack.

And it is free of the "Fellowship" theme, which always got on my nerves...da da da da da, da da DA da da DA da da DA da da da...

ETA: And if you're gonna go with opera, I think Williams is a better fit. His Star Wars music is much better than Shore's LOTR music, IMO.

ETA 2: There are some exceptions, for me. I like the Ring theme, Dwarrowdelf, some of the music in Moria and the Black Gate, the eagle rescue music, the Rohirrim theme, and possibly a few other moments.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I suppose it is a matter of taste.

To be clear, I am talking about the soundtracks of the movies, not the soundtracks as separate entities to be listened to separate from the films. I don't have much interest that. What I am interested in is how the music serves the whole.

And the DOS is not only more atmospheric and less operatic, it also stops and allows the quiet, and the sounds of nature, to augment the drama more often.

This.

[Smaug's voice]

I don't mind the operatic from time to time, and there are
moments in the books and the films that call for that.

It's just that LOTR's score is so relentlessly operatic all the time,
even when it shouldn't be (e.g. an operatic chorus does not serve a
scene that should be atmospherically creepy, like the Nazgûl attack on
weathertop, etc)..

And the DOS is not only more atmospheric and less operatic, it also
stops and allows the quiet, and the sounds of nature, to augment the
drama more often.

IMO, it doesn't suffer at all and is significantly better than the LOTR
soundtrack.

And it is free of the "Fellowship" theme, which always got on my
nerves...da da da da da, da da DA da da DA da da DA da da da...

ETA: And if you're gonna go with opera, I think Williams is a better
fit. His Star Wars music is much better than Shore's LOTR music, IMO.

ETA 2: There are some exceptions, for me. I like the Ring theme,
Dwarrowdelf, some of the music in Moria and the Black Gate, the eagle
rescue music, the Rohirrim theme, and possibly a few other
moments.

I actually like the LotR operatic score significantly better than SW but I suspect I am in minority.Anyway, as V says it's a matter of taste and while I love the DoS OST I like FotR and RotK's significantly better. I am even listening to that right now! This is a timeless score!

[Smaug's voice]

I suppose it is a matter of taste.

To be clear, I am talking about the soundtracks of the movies, not the
soundtracks as separate entities to be listened to separate from the
films. I don't have much interest that. What I am interested in is how
the music serves the whole

if we are talking about only the score in the film itself then I have no doubt about it. DoS for me was the least effective one. Even less than AUJ (which, for all it's rehashes had two of the best pieces in the 5 films - misty mountains and over hill)

[yovargas]

(e.g. an operatic chorus does not serve a scene that should be atmospherically creepy, like the Nazgûl attack on weathertop, etc)

I freakin' love the music on Weathertop. That choir part is so deliciously ominous.

[Passdagas the Brown]

The Misty Mountains song by the dwarves was great, but I really didn't like the way the theme burst in in its heroic form (worst offenders being during the troll scene, and Goblintown).

I think AUJ was still trying to hang its clothes on the "LOTR" frame, while DOS admirably cut loose from it.

[Passdagas the Brown]

(e.g. an operatic chorus does not serve a scene that should be atmospherically creepy, like the Nazgûl attack on weathertop, etc)

I freakin' love the music on Weathertop. That choir part is so deliciously ominous.

Couldn't disagree more (though it's not the worst music in the score, IMO - that I reserve to the Fellowship theme and the music during Flight to the Ford). And as I've said before, I love some of the music (and in FOTR, the prologue, the Ring theme and the Moria stuff is the best).

But too often, the LOTR shouts "be scared!" or "be emotional!" and doesn't trust its actors, choreography, in-scene sounds, or images to get that across. It harangues me. I feel like I need to wear a helmet to watch those films! Might soften the hammer blows.

ETA: And like Voronwë, I am talking about the scores as integrated into the films, NOT the scores as standalone pieces. Separate from the films, I enjoy the LOTR scores a bit more.

[yovargas]

Yeah, the score sometimes shouts "be emotional!" at you, but much more often it is simply being emotional!

[Passdagas the Brown]

Yeah, the score sometimes shouts "be emotional!" at you, but much more often it is simply being emotional!

But should the score BE the primary emotion in a film, as it is in a music video?

Perhaps that's okay from time to time, but I like when that emotion originates in me, the viewer, and is more subtly facilitated by a balanced combination of images, story, sound effects and music.

The LOTR score seemed to often overwhelm everything else. Like Dave Matthews' cr@ppy voice and attitude overwhelming his talented musicians.

ETA: Like The Dude in Big Lebowski's hatred for the Eagles, and I have a deep-seated hatred of Dave Matthews.

[Elentári]

I don't mind the operatic from time to time, and there are
moments in the books and the films that call for that.

It's just that LOTR's score is so relentlessly operatic all the time,
even when it shouldn't be (e.g. an operatic chorus does not serve a
scene that should be atmospherically creepy, like the Nazgûl attack on
weathertop, etc)..

And the DOS is not only more atmospheric and less operatic, it also
stops and allows the quiet, and the sounds of nature, to augment the
drama more often.

IMO, it doesn't suffer at all and is significantly better than the LOTR
soundtrack.

And it is free of the "Fellowship" theme, which always got on my
nerves...da da da da da, da da DA da da DA da da DA da da da...

ETA: And if you're gonna go with opera, I think Williams is a better
fit. His Star Wars music is much better than Shore's LOTR music, IMO.

ETA 2: There are some exceptions, for me. I like the Ring theme,
Dwarrowdelf, some of the music in Moria and the Black Gate, the eagle
rescue music, the Rohirrim theme, and possibly a few other
moments.

I actually like the LotR operatic score significantly better than SW but I suspect I am in minority.Anyway, as V says it's a matter of taste and while I love the DoS OST I like FotR and RotK's significantly better. I am even listening to that right now! This is a timeless score!

Guess what, Sidd, we agree again! The LotR score does work better as a standalone piece than TH so far. I own the LotR symphony DVD. and attended amagical performance of it at the RAH in London.

[Alatar]

Was that where I met you Elen, or was that the Fellowship screening at RAH?