James Horner (1953–2015)

[Morn]

RIP. Looks like his Heart Will Not Go On after all.



Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982):

Troy (2004):

The Mask of Zorro (1998):

Bicentennial Man (1999):

[AMSDOS]

He did some memorable tunes for the "Wrath of Khan", and his music in that film plays a vital role for that movie. He came back and did the music for "The Search For Spock", but the tone of the movie had changed somewhat that the music doesn't stand out.

[Morn]

"Stealing the Enterprise" from TSFS was such seafaring, swashbuckling fun. And the main title music is so eerie and wonderful, especially when we see Spock's photon torpedo coffin on the Genesis planet for the first time. Total goosebumps moment.

[Morn]

It's funny to notice how often Horner has reused his own motifs in other films. E.g. the section from 2:05 to 2:30 in this track from Cocoon (1985) below is straight from the ST2 or ST3 score, don't remember which. Then again, he has scored a lot of movies; I guess some slight repetition was unavoidable.

[AMSDOS]

James Horner also did the theme music for Brainstorm (1983) and some of that can be found in The Search For Spock.


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But you'll notice other sections are totally different.

[ZbyniuR]

I think cordially of music from Braveheart and Apocalypto. [']

[robcfg]

The Name of the Rose! Awesome music too!

[Morn]

Good find, robocfg! I didn't even realize that one was by Horner too. Somehow I always thought it was Ennio Morricone.

@AMSDOS: And then there is Resolution And Hyperspace from Aliens (1986), the beginning of which which reuses the motif from TWOK where Genesis blows up I think. That motif also makes an appearance at the very end of Die Hard (Kamen) when the police officer shoots the bad guy.

@ZbyniuR: Too bad Horner isn't going to be around for Avatar 2-4 now anymore. James Cameron must be livid.

[AMSDOS]

@AMSDOS: And then there is Resolution And Hyperspace from Aliens (1986), the beginning of which which reuses the motif from TWOK where Genesis blows up I think. That motif also makes an appearance at the very end of Die Hard (Kamen) when the police officer shoots the bad guy.


Yes I can place the bit from Die Hard in there. Initially I thought there might of been some Star Trek 6 in there as well, though it's a different composer.

[zeropolis79]

Mr Horners music to Williow and Apollo 13 was first class too. His music to Titanic, dare I say it, was also good, each piece fitting the mood of the scene (picking Celine Dion to do the song was a mistake though).

[Morn]

Yes I can place the bit from Die Hard in there. Initially I thought there might of been some Star Trek 6 in there as well, though it's a different composer.

Somehow Cliff Eidelman has never enjoyed the career success everyone predicted based on his fantastic ST6 score. Rarely there is a score that can stand completely on its own, needing zero knowledge of the movie, but ST6 definitely does. Very Korngold I suppose. ST:TMP by Goldsmith works pretty well in that regard too.

Mr Horners music to Williow and Apollo 13 was first class too. His music to Titanic, dare I say it, was also good, each piece fitting the mood of the scene (picking Celine Dion to do the song was a mistake though).

My Heart Will Go On would have been better with a male singer with opera experience. The louder final section where Celine becomes a bit breathless and gasps for air would have benefited.

[AMSDOS]

Somehow Cliff Eidelman has never enjoyed the career success everyone predicted based on his fantastic ST6 score. Rarely there is a score that can stand completely on its own, needing zero knowledge of the movie, but ST6 definitely does. Very Korngold I suppose. ST:TMP by Goldsmith works pretty well in that regard too.

Of the few flaws ST6 has, I was surprised Cliff Eidelman didn't get a mention in the Opening Sequence to ST6 on the YouTube I watched, but that maybe a flaw from the movie itself, how many mentions did Leonard Nimoy get - Executive Producer & part credit for the Story!

[Morn]

Of the few flaws ST6 has, I was surprised Cliff Eidelman didn't get a mention in the Opening Sequence to ST6 on the YouTube I watched, but that maybe a flaw from the movie itself, how many mentions did Leonard Nimoy get - Executive Producer & part credit for the Story!

Maybe you watched one of the fan-made redubs? In the original opening sequence, he's mentioned prominently at 2:10:

[Morn]

And because Bicentennial Man was on ARTE this evening, here's another Horner/Dion collaboration. A nice, overlooked song for a nice, overlooked movie. 

Of course this also reminds me that Robin Williams is dead too.