BLADE RUNNER 2? SUK MY (PHILIP K) DICK
film_scifi
SAUL BASS — QUEST
culture_film_scifi
From 1984. Deep.
WE ARE ALL CYBORGS NOW
culture_scifi
TRON SOUNDTRACK ‘LACKS CHARACTER’
film_music_scifi
So no big surprises there then. Shame though as it really had the potential to go next level & open up a whole new way of looking at big budget Hollywood soundtracks. Even though I was cynical from the start, like u I was secretly hoping for something a bit special.
But the review I’ve read was based upon a listening experience without the visuals, so maybe together it makes more sense. Though as the reviewer rightly says (Jonny Trunk no less) the best soundtracks stand apart from the films they we’re made to accompany.
Maybe one day we’ll hear the Daft Punk version minus the Disney input. Here’s a taster of what it should have sounded like (in my mind anyway):
Goblin — Buio Omega (Alternative Take)
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STILL NOT CONVINCED…WHAT DO U RECKON?
film_music_scifi
Krull (The Greatest Love of All)
culture_film_scifi
Nothing says ‘I love and I want to spend the rest of my life with you’ quite like an honour guard dressed like these guys. And nothing makes me feel like I was born at the wrong time, than finding out 27 years too late that in 1983 I could have won the opportunity to have a ‘Krull wedding‘.
On a hot summer day in 1983, a dozen couples gathered in a soundstage in Burbank to take part in a group wedding. One after another, they walked past a pair of futuristic soldiers in fanciful armor, down a red carpet flanked by strangers in folding chairs, and up to an altar made of faux stone. These were the lucky winners of a national contest sponsored by Columbia Pictures. They had penned the winning statements describing, as the studio’s press release states, “why their ‘Fantasy Come True’ would be to have a ‘Krull’ wedding in Hollywood.”
The Krull wedding concept was part of a broader ‘thinking outside the box’ marketing strategy which was for the most part beyond parody;
And the weddings weren’t the only promotions that the folks at Columbia had dreamt up. The press-book sent to theater owners, a thin pamphlet filled with ad art and short articles to plant in local papers, outlines a number of interesting promotional gimmicks. One suggests approaching the local bakery about creating special pastries in the shape of the Glaive and dubbing them the punny ‘Krullers’. “Everyone knows what a cruller is…a tasty glazed donut. Now comes the Kruller…a tasty Glaived donut.” Another elaborate scheme involved acquiring a dark van and driving it around town (“like the Fortress, it’s apt to be anywhere”), improbably evoking the dark fortress from the film and, more improbably, inspiring passing motorists and pedestrians to rush to their local theater and plop down $3.50 for a seat.
My heart goes out to the poor bride/groom, for that moment when the cold reality of what they had embarked on hit home. I’m guessing it was somewhere between a worried sideways glance at the honour guard and when they turned to face the fake “guests” for the first moments of the rest of their lives….
Much, much more here
STILL DREAMING
film_music_scifi
Happy to report that Inception is a killer movie. In the words of brother Jack ‘it’s a masterclass in intelligent film making’. One of a rare breed that might have actually started with a good idea rather than a marketing plan. That really is living the dream.
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HYPE MACHINE
film_music_scifi
I’m not convinced. After watching the new Tron Legacy trailer and now hearing some of Daft Punk’s (supposed) tracks for the film, I’ve started to get that sinking feeling. No doubt it’ll look slick & sexy, what Hollywood blockbuster doesn’t?, but I suspect it will once again be a triumph of style over substance – no surprises there then. But why get Daft Punk in the mix and not actually let them do their thing? It’s early days, and I’ll admit to being a tad over cynical, but I guess it’s in the vain hope that come Christmas I’ll be proved wrong,
Monsters
film_scifi
This is looking SO dope.
TRON DISC GAME
music_quaid_scifi
No it’s not some new Quaid concept mix sleeve art, but a chance to geek out over some Tron Legacy costume promo shots.
But speaking of Quaid & promo’s, he’s currently mixing down the first couple of tracks from his forthcoming Metropolis project: ‘Adonis Blu’ & ‘Futura (love theme from Metropolis)’ both to be released digitally as part of a Metropolis promo package.
There may even be a short film to go with it…we’ll keep u posted.
FRIDAY FUSION (MUSIC FROM THE FUTURE SPECIAL)
music_scifi_unified theory
Had to have one from ‘Battlestar Galactica’ in the series. Like the previous Music from the Future post it’s once again Stu Phillips at the controls – though all the synthy tracks I can find off the score seem to have a similar feel to that ‘Something kinda Funky’ vibe from ‘Buck Rogers’, so my guess is he’s got Ian Underwood in the mix too.
And like Buck much of the soundtrack is predominately orchestral with an obligatory spacey disco track thrown in. But digging a little deeper I found this gem which is a more noodly proggy synth piece, hence bringing it back ever-so-tangentially into the fusion sphere for today’s FF post.
Overall, though there are some electronic moments in the score, particularly in the SFX, it’s hardly noteworthy when compared to the out-there futuristic vistas of ‘Logan’s Run’ or the analogue madness of Gill Mellé’s ‘The Andromeda Strain’.
But to my mind this track at least feels like something you should be hearing on a Cylon Base ship, even if in the rest of this future the music is fairly predictable.
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Aliens 3
film_scifi
(pic via kiel bryant’s insanely good flickr stream)
Aliens 3 seems to be one of those films that always causes ructions (sci-fights, maybe?). I still remember the crushing disappointment of seeing it at the 11 am showing on the day it came out. It was so, so poor. In recent years (especially since the release of the alternative Fincher cut) I’ve often heard it described as a ‘hidden gem’ or a film that’s ripe for re-evaluation. Maybe. But I’m not so sure.
What is clear is that the behind the scenes struggles were the root cause of the films (many) failings. Although vaguely aware of the pre-production pain, I hadn’t realised quite how much till reading this amazingly thorough overview.
The image above is taken from the concept art from one of the scrapped script revisions. In an early version the monastic/futuristic medieval themes which eventually turn up in Fincher’s version are explored in more depth. (More here)
Some people claim this is the long, lost classic Alien3 we should of had. Again, I’m not so sure. I think the problem for me with Alien 3 revisionism in general is it’s hard to get past what a body blow the film ended up being to the franchise. To think of how it could have been just makes it even worse.
My view is echoed in the conclusions of the Aliens 3 overview link from earlier in the post. The films should have followed the plot lines of the Dark Horse graphic novel.
“Alien: Book One” would have been a helluva film.
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