Arrival to Earth

[ehowton]

I'm too old to have grown up with Transformers. I'm familiar with it, but never watched it. My son became interested in the cartoons and toys a couple of years ago, and was sore excited when news of the movie began to surface. I wanted to take him to see it in the theater, but that never materialized, so to make up for it, we got it the day it was released on DVD, and sat and watched it as a family that Friday night.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

My wife has watched it at least a dozen times now. I had downloaded the score prior to having seen the movie, and I found the tracks short, and uninspiring. No surprise since The Island though tepid, was at least consistent. But as I watched the movie again and again, and started picking up cues and finding that I enjoyed the music immensely, realized I didn't have the score. What I had, it seems was the video game score! Armed with this new found information, and after hitting stores for about a week - I finally ordered it online. It came today!

I then began down that emotional roller coaster: Tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10,12,18,20 - ^*Different Version in Film

The last time I was this crestfallen was when I purchased the score to The Saint and discovered the Title Track was on the CD was different than the one they used in the film.

Then I became angry! "How can they call this the score?" I screamed at my wife! "Under half the tracks actually appeared in the film!" So I started doing a little research. Wikipeidia offers:

This may refer to the fact that these tracks, though complete on the CDas originally scored, are not heard in their entirety in the film or are broken up.

When has that ever justified "Different Version in Film?" It hasn't. So I grow increasingly frustrated. Still, my wife had listened to it the car all day...told me it gave her goosebumps and she wanted a copy of it. Maybe, just maybe, I'll give it a try...

Yeah, its that good.

Comments

[swashbuckler332.livejournal.com]

This may refer to the fact that these tracks, though complete on the CD as originally scored, are not heard in their entirety in the film or are broken up.

When has that ever justified "Different Version in Film?" It hasn't.

This isn't unusual in the least. There are often many different takes recorded for different versions of scenes, especially one with as complicated a post-production as The Transformers must have had, what with unfinished visual effects shots and whatnot. Often a scene will be recut after it has been scored, and either the composer has to go back and rescore it or the music will be edited.

What appears on the album is representative of the score at the time that the album tracks are due. Everything has a deadline, and sometimes score albums are released before the score is completed... that's why Alan Silvestri's The Mummy Returns only features cues from the first two thirds of the movie, similarly the original release of John Barry's Thunderball never music from the second half of the film... hell, it even accounts for "The Prophecy" being included on the original Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack album, which Howard Shore had to put together before the prologue had changed.

What you generally hear on the soundtrack album are is what the composer wrote for the scene... if changes were made after the fact, they may not be reflected for personal reasons or aesthetic ones. Sometimes both: Jerry Goldsmith included both his original and the requested re-score of one of the climactic scenes on the original Alien LP. Or the title track of Shawshank Redemption finally reaching its crescendo, oafishly edited out of the theatrical and original video releases of the film (it has been restored for the most recent DVD).

But think about what a fragmented and unsatisfying listen the "Ultimate Edition" of John Williams' The Phantom Menace or the complete score CD of Trevor Jones' The Dark Crystal... cutting with little regard for musical continuity, phrases repeating, tracks truncated... and figure that it is entirely possible that the tracks on the album consist of what the score was supposed to sound like in the first place.

[galinda822.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sending it to me last night. I finally downloaded it but didn't get the chance to listen to it. All those late night VP calls - ugh! :)

[irulan-amy.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I want to see Transformers. I didn't watch the cartoon either, but it looks like good fun. And I really like Shia LeBouf, he's a fine young actor.

Bummer about the soundtrack though. :/

Speaking of soundtracks, do you by chance have the Nightmare Before Christmas?

Transformers:

[snapper521.livejournal.com]

[Before I get into the comment: I got my Elkhart EMS application today. :-) I'm happy and my mom is about three steps behind me in the rejoicing. Says that this time around, she is going to make me do the best I can even if she has to drag me in by my toes... (*giggle*) anyway :-)]

I had that happen to me also. (where there was songs on it that weren't in the film) But it was so minor... and it was a CD for my brother and my brother loved it so I wasn't going to take it back... *shrugs*

Anyway :-) I'll catch you later