Brilliant point. Arnolds action pieces are quite messy and dont actually sound all that good. But again (and I apolgise) Come In 007, Your Time Is Up although laced with electric Arnoldisms is very orchestrally driven and well done, quite Barryish.
As you mentioned and I know this is off topic but I feel that he Arnold really is improving, proof lies in Night at the Opera and the last 30 seconds of Time to Get Out is so Barry that its not funny. {[]
Very true, those cues are excellent. Looking forward to Arnold's next Bond score- let's hope he gets to write the title song next time!
Arnold is getting better, though I think the theme songs are, too -- they're no longer predictable, 80s-esque ballads warbled by pop stars without the vocal range to pull them off, nor quasi-dance tracks warbled ironically by pop stars who have the vocal range to pull off a ballad. It would be nice if Arnold could find a more creative way to incorporate them into the incidental music, and I agree that his "action" music tends to be a confusion of percussion and odd notes, though his Quantum soundtrack shows he is maturing as a film composer.
I think partly it's how tastes have evolved, films aren't scored quite as they were, and I don't think it's due to lesser talent (although can't get away from that sometimes). What Arnold's been doing with Bond of late fits right in with the more modern approach IMO, may not be top of the heap but he does have his better moments, like anyone. I thought QOS gave him a lot of room to flex, and he did to pretty great effect (loved his transition cues almost without exception, and the opera one was very nice indeed).
What Barry was doing in the 60s has been aped by people then and since then, but it hasn't been "cutting edge" or even the norm for over 30 years- think of The French Connection or The Exorcist in the early 70s (or even some B films in the 60s using off-kilter music cues), underscoring has evolved as much as the scenes composers are scoring for. Not a defense of Arnold's follow-through, but more a the old days are gone and I don't expect them back - Barry included. I'm fine if the series as a whole continues in the ways of QOS, ie telling a Bond story thrillingly and pushing the envelop, as Bond started out doing in '62 on film.
One thing I've found extremely lacking from the last couple of films is a sense of urgency about Bond's assignment. In films like GF, TB, TSWLM and others, Bond was often racing against the clock to thwart the bad guy's master scheme, especially in the big climax. That really hasn't happened in a while and I think the films lose some tension because of it. In QoS for example, the climax could have taken place a few days or even weeks later than it did in the film and it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference to the outcome of the story.
Likewise, I wouldn't mind seeing the filmmakers up the stakes in terms of what Bond is fighting for. Both CR and QoS had relatively modest villains pursuing relatively modest goals - Le Chiffre was just looking to make back some money and save his own skin and Greene wanted to basically turn Quantum into a glorified utility company. Maybe the world threatening plot doesn't fit into our post 9-11 world but I do miss those more ambitious villains like Goldfinger, Largo or Stromberg.
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Very true, those cues are excellent. Looking forward to Arnold's next Bond score- let's hope he gets to write the title song next time!
"Better make that two."
What Barry was doing in the 60s has been aped by people then and since then, but it hasn't been "cutting edge" or even the norm for over 30 years- think of The French Connection or The Exorcist in the early 70s (or even some B films in the 60s using off-kilter music cues), underscoring has evolved as much as the scenes composers are scoring for. Not a defense of Arnold's follow-through, but more a the old days are gone and I don't expect them back - Barry included. I'm fine if the series as a whole continues in the ways of QOS, ie telling a Bond story thrillingly and pushing the envelop, as Bond started out doing in '62 on film.
Sorry, I couldn't resist the chance to paraphrase Bond (from GE)
Likewise, I wouldn't mind seeing the filmmakers up the stakes in terms of what Bond is fighting for. Both CR and QoS had relatively modest villains pursuing relatively modest goals - Le Chiffre was just looking to make back some money and save his own skin and Greene wanted to basically turn Quantum into a glorified utility company. Maybe the world threatening plot doesn't fit into our post 9-11 world but I do miss those more ambitious villains like Goldfinger, Largo or Stromberg.
Wouldn't mind seeing the clock tick down to 0.07 again.