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has anybody heard a score where he sounded bored or wasn’t that interested in the project?
No.
I personally think Wisdom was kind of a half-assed effort. I don’t know if Elfman feels the same way.
Well, if you’re asking if there are compositions that sound like Elfman just “phoned them in,” I would say that there aren’t any at all. Most professionals strive to do as well as they can with each turn at bat, be it on LA CONFIDENTIAL or THE COUNTRY BEARS. Some compositions, or course, are more successful than others, but that doesn’t mean that the work and thought that went into them was any less professional.
That said, I can’t imagine that Elfman took a lot of joy in scoring FLUBBER or in writing the main themes to MY FAVORITE MARTIAN or HEARTBREAKERS. The music for those films is well composed and recorded and does everything a piece of score should do, but Christ are the accompanying films bad. Then again, he could very well count them among his most personal and satisfying achievements. I guess we’ll never know.
I’m thinking Danny’s pretty much got enough leverage, that he wouldn’t have to take on a film unless he thought it would be interesting. I mean, granted some of the films he’s worked on are crap (or, at the very least, not my kinda movie).
But, I’m still thinking an artist, in general, is going to try and go for something that’s challenging–or at the very least, maybe for something they’ve never done before, you dig?
I mean, I wouldn’t agree to invest a ton of time and effort into something I don’t like (and drawings don’t take nearly as long to complete as scores do)!
Still, I’m sure there’s other circumstances that go into it–like who else is working on the film, how much leeway there is, and all that other stuff I know absolutely nothing about….
Elfman has written some excellent music for some really crappy movies. I think Nightbreed is the best example. It is one of my favorite scores, but the movie is howlingly bad.
I thought MIIB sounded a little uninspired. But not even a really, really good score could shine through that piece of shate, in my opinion.
Proof of Life is really dull (at least the soundtrack, I refused to see the film.)
I have to admit that until reading that last post, I’d forgotten about Proof of Life completely. I did watch the movie some years ago, but only because Elfman scored it and I worked at a video store and could rent it for free. It was astonishingly terrible. I think I’ve only listened to the Proof of Life CD once.
The PROOF OF LIFE music works better when you hear it in its entirity in the picture. The problem, however, is that — as Mootum and others have stated — the film itself isn’t really worth the effort.
Some scores can play alright when cut down to 30 minutes for a CD, but PROOF OF LIFE, unfortunately, is not one of them. It could have used maybe 15 – 20 additional minutes to form a cohesive album. Nevertheless, the music is an interesting forebearer to the next summer’s PLANET OF THE APES.
Oh, ya, I forgot about proof of life. That one wasn’t very great.
yeah But it did have great musicPOL I mean.
I’m not saying Elfman is bad but sometimes I’m sure they’re deespreate for a gig to do. But the music would be greatI think you people are nuts (just my opinion hehe).
There has not been a single score that Elfman has done that I have not liked, not ONE! Now that is just my taste in music. Elfman never ceases to shock me on any score that he does. Now I can understand that there may be some scores that you like less than the others, as there are some that I like more, and I have that kind of feeling towards other composers sometimes, but I would NEVER call them lazy or tired on it, because they probably put more sweat, blood, time, and passion into these scores that they do than any of us (except fellow composers) can possibly dream of. You have to understand that a composers primary audience is themselves (because they are the first to hear it), and they may have a different taste than you on what they like, meaning that you might not be as attacted to the score as other people. This is not to say that the score was bad, boring, or even uninspired, it’s just that you don’t like it as much as the composer does. Luckily, Danny Elfman’s taste in music matches with what alot of other people like, so he has made it in an industry that is extremly critical, and he made it because he gave it his all. This was his dream, and I have no doubt that he puts all the passion that he can give into every single score that he has ever done. Thank you and good night.
Knight (Proof of Life was awesome in my opinion)
I did like”Proof of Life”, too. But “A Civil Action” wasn’t that great.
Nin.
Knight that is true The composers do write for them selevs 90% of the time,
But I’ve heard that they have to concider the adience that is going to the film it self and the age rages tooMr. Elfman if you by part see this in ay time please don’t think I hate you or jugding you I am a fan it seems as though the music is not in your usual mode of style sometimes that us fans love
It took me a long time to get into A CIVIL ACTION, but now there are parts of it that I really love. I don’t like the noisy “scheister” parts of the score as much as the quiet piano passages that take over toward the end. It’s sad, sad music without hitting the same emotional heights as THE FAMILY MAN or EDWARD.
I loved Family man and edward too Civil was different for a drama score
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