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The strings in the introduction remind me of something from Psycho. Not the stabs but the quasi-atonal stuff mixed in with the music box.
rkeaveney Wrote:
> >
> > And you’re basing your judgment on listening to it
> out of the film and therefore out of context. No
> wonder you’re confused.
>
>
>You hit the nail on the head. Ryan. That was exactly what I was thinking.
Dawg Man, I was thinking the same thing when I first heard it. Good ear. Yup, a week has almost past, and I can’t stop listening to this score (okay, I’ll take a few ‘Wanted’ breaks every now and again.) It just gets better and better. Can’t wait to see the movie this Friday.
Lucius
LOL, I seriously can’t choose between this and Wanted. Both contain two of the best themes Elfman has ever written.
Has anyone seen the film yet and knows if the tracks are in chronological order [namely the seemingly out of place music at the end of Finale]?
Danny Burton Wrote:
> LOL, I seriously can’t choose between this and
> Wanted. Both contain two of the best themes Elfman
> has ever written.… Do you really believe that? Batman(Returns), all the nightmare before christmas themes, beetlejuice, corpse bride, sleepy hollow? I kind of agree with international genius. While I haven’t heard Hell Boy, Wanted is boring outside of the movie. Which is ok, i suppose!
Agreeing with International Genius is like agreeing with the crazy guy on the street corner muttering to himself.
rkeaveney Wrote:
> Agreeing with International Genius is like
> agreeing with the crazy guy on the street corner
> muttering to himself.While I agree with you, Ryan…I actually listened to that guy on the street corner. In between taking a dump on the street and calling God a ‘Cup o’ Noodles’ I swear I heard him say that James Horner was a self plagiarizing hack! Hmm, he was right…amazing. I was just about to flip a nickel his way when I heard him say what Elfman’s Batman was too jolly and Spiderman was themeless. My nickel turned into a kick in the stomach. Man, I need to move to a different neighborhood.
Lucius
p.s. RE: Wanted. I don’t think it’s the best theme he’s ever written, but I think ‘Success Montage’ is the best theme he’s written in a LONG time.
I think you’re being a bit harsh on International Genius. While Danny Elfman is my favorite composer, there are certainly scores of his that I don’t really like so much, and that’s because I enjoy scores of a certain type. If there’s an Elfman score I don’t like, I’ll say I don’t like it. While International Genius’s analysis of the scores may not be as thorough as others might hope, he should still be entitled to come here and discuss why he likes or dislikes Elfman scores. Don’t kick me off please! I’ve yet to hear the “Hellboy II” score, but I’m working on it!
Spider-Fan, there’s a way to do things. You wouldn’t go over to your girlfriend’s parents house for the first time and immediately comment on their choice of drapes. A little while later you wouldn’t comment on Mom’s hair. And then alter on deride Dad’s profession. All without a single compliment, good word or pleasant exchange.
That’s what IG did. Signed up just to post a negative comment. And that’s all he did afterwards. I asked him to brighten it up a bit, but he was obviously more intelligent than me, and decided I was wrong. That’s where it got fun. ZAP!
This board isn’t for slavish devotion to Danny Elfman, but it is for appreciation of Danny Elfman. If you’ve got nothing positive and self-deprecating to say in your first post like “Hi! I’m new here, but I’m a bit of an asshole, so watch out!” then I’ll ban your ass faster than you can reload the page!
Poor IG didn’t get much of a chance… maybe he was Danny Elfman!!! ANYHOW, on a more positive and inquisitive note… does anyone happen to know if Rabbits and Rouge will be released on CD?
I guess this is a score you really have to listen to a couple of times. It’s based on Herrmann-esque motifs more than melodies. You know, “In the Army Chamber” is a really, really good track. I just realized this. The reason the FSM guys and most people don’t really “see” the theme is because it’s not repeated enough, like say Batman or Spider-Man, but it’s right there in the Titles. From :55 to 1:45 in track 19, though, the theme is presented in it’s most awesome incarnation, I think.
The themes are way more apparent when you hear the music in the movie.
The “Golden Army” theme, which is what you hear in Tracks 02 and 19, is only heard when the Golden Army is on screen, unfortunately. I love that motif too, and it’s a shame that it’s used to sparingly.
Ron Perlman says, regarding the last shot of the film: “Danny Elfman’s music is sumptuous and so happy and so full of mood and so reflective of what Guillermo had in his heart when he wrote the piece.”
Having listened to the whole album, I have to say that I’m glad to hear Elfman returning to larger-scale films like this. The last third of the score is really gorgeous music. He really kicks the chorals into high gear with this one, something of which I’m very fond. The first portion of the score is in many ways a summary of Elfman’s scores to date, while still having some good strong and malleable themes that pop up in different forms throughout the album. A step up from Beltrami’s score for the first film, which was pretty good on its own.
One thing I noticed though… in “A Dilemma,” play it from 2:20 until the end of the track. Tell me that’s not VERY similar to James Newton Howard’s “Lady in the Water.” I’m not accusing Elfman of plagiarism, but when I heard it I thought I might have accidentally been playing the wrong track. Perhaps he wanted to borrow a bit from that gorgeous score.
Spider-Fan, you’re not the only one, but I asked a friend and he tells me that it’s a very common chord progression.
Good enough for me. It’s probably that the orchestrations were pretty similar so they sounded so much alike. Either way, both scores are quite beautiful.
Yes, I heard that too. It is indeed a very common chord progression that many film composers use, but I agree that with this orchestration, it really reminds me of Newton Howard’s work…
Another chord progression that is common is the one that can be heard in the beginning of the 18th track (“A Choice”, between 0:30 and 0:45). It really reminds me of Goldenthal’s Batman theme
It actually sounded like the orchestration in a lot of his score to CIVIL ACTION to me. That chord progression and instrumentation is also similar to Saint-Sean’s “Aquarium” in CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS, which I heard in earlier cues from the HELLBOY II score as well.
Great score that I love listening to (and that goes for his other two scores this year), actually I still listen to all of Danny’s score regularly going back to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (except for Meet the Robinson – just to disjointed for me). This has been a wonderful string of film scores (and concert work) for Danny!
Ha, I hear the Goldenthal “Batman” chord progression too. As for “Aquarium,” many, many composers have borrowed from or been inspired by this classical masterpiece, particularly Elfman. But the influence is very apparent in the first portion of the “Hellboy II” score. I still think the whole score is very beautiful, but its influences are pretty clear.
I was totally disappointed by the score on cd. But I loved the score in the movie. You are right, there is a whole lot of music not on the cd. I hope a complete score starts circulating soon. I didn’t care for the first hellboy on cd but loved the complete score as well. Way to go Elfman!
I personally don’t think it’s a matter of more (or different) music making the CD a better listen… my feeling is that the music simply works better when heard in the movie than it does on its own.
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