Why James Horner Is My Favorite Composer (or “Claudia talks about the Apollo 13 music again; feel free to skip”)
Look look look someone else analyzed and broke down “The Launch” and I’m not the only one enamored with how FREAKING FANTASTIC that song is look look look!
Analysis here.
Edit: THAT WHOLE SITE IS FANTASTIC FOR HORNER ENTHUSIASTS LIKE ME!!
Solved!
As many of you probably know from reading my blog, I’m not a movie person. But of the few movies I do like, most of them are space movies. More specifically, space disaster movies.*
I like space. I like disasters (both real-life and fictional). But I think the main draw for this particular genre is the fact that many of them have astounding soundtracks where there is at least one song that results in an unavoidable and severe emotional reaction (usually crying).
Examples (I’ve posted a lot of these before but I DON’T CARE):
Interstellar – No Time for Caution (Hans Zimmer)
The buildup to 2:36 is wonderful and the payoff is so good. I’m pretty sure I damaged my hearing by cranking this up too loud the first few times I listened to it.
Gravity – Shenzou (Steven Price)
I’m posting the clip of the movie where this song is heard because it syncs so beautifully with the amazing imagery in that scene. That breakup of the craft at 1:30. That shot of all the pieces entering the atmosphere at 2:46. The smoke and alarms at 3:00. I re-watched this scene for this blog post for the first time in like three years and I’m freaking sobbing over it, haha.
Armageddon – Launch (Trevor Rabin)
Did Michael Bay fit as many explosions into this movie as was physically possible for its run time? Yes. But the soundtrack is still great.
Mission to Mars – Toward the Unknown (Ennio Morricone)
This movie was…strange. But this even stranger song really fit the scene it was part of and is this weird combination of futuristic and retro (in my opinion).
And the big hitters:
Sunshine – Adagio in D Minor AND Capa’s Last Transmission Home (John Murphy)
Didn’t know this movie existed until I heard Adagio in some YouTube vid, looked up the song, and found this movie. The whole soundtrack is wonderful.
Apollo 13 – The Launch (James Horner)
I know, I know, I know. Every single year I post about this song. But this is honestly one of my favorite pieces of music to ever exist. That heartbeat of silence at the crescendo of music just after 6:17 gives me literal goosebumps every single time.
*Actually, I can’t think of a single movie set in space that does not involve a disaster…but then again, my knowledge about movies is almost nonexistent. Can anyone think of any?
Okay okay okay okay OKAY
I know I bring this song up approximately yearly on this blog, but JEEBUS.
It’s just perfection. This whole soundtrack is perfection, but this song is the pinnacle.
Horner and his TUBULAR BELLS, man.
I think the best part of this song is that absolute PERFECT miniscule but noticeable pause in the sound right at the main crescendo. Right at 6:12 in the above video.
I don’t know how many times they had to record this to get that precious little microsecond of silence in there, but it is stunning.
UGH.
(The movie itself is really good too, haha.)
That is all.
Favorite Movies
Heyo, buttbandits.
So remember back in February sometime when I did my “Top 5 Books” blog post? Let’s do movies today.
‘Cause I’m trying to avoid all the work I’m going to need to do to move my three classes online for the rest of the semester.
From fifth to first:
#5: Toy Story
This movie came out around the time I was in first grade and I loved it so very much. As in, “let’s-force-the-whole-first-grade-class-to-pick-characters-and-then-make-our-own-version-of-it,-‘cause-I-was-mini-Stephen-Spielberg-and-no-one-was-going-to-stop-me” level of love. It still holds a very special place in my heart. Also, Tom Hanks.
#4: Armageddon
Armageddon kind of terrified me when I first saw it as a kid (specifically when the Independence shuttle bit it in the debris, that was horrifying to me as a little). But I love it now. It’s just such an American film, yeah? Awesome music. Bruce Willis. Manly drilling…in space. I love it.
#3: Mystery Men
I had my appendix removed in 2000 (literally as I was supposed to be attending my 6th grade graduation). I couldn’t do much for a few weeks after that, so there were two movies I watched incessantly while I had to stay home: The Music Man and Mystery Men. Mystery Men is kind of a nostalgia trip for me because it just brings me back to that time of my life. It’s funny and weird and has a lot of very quotable lines in it (“you threw a spoon at the guy, Jeff!” “Yeah, what was up with that?”).
#2: Apollo 13
I’ve loved this movie ever since the first time I saw it. It’s a very beautifully-put together movie with AWESOME music. Seriously. The music is probably what pushes this over the top for me. My favorite is “The Launch.” Also, Tom Hanks.
#1: Sunshine
(I have a thing for space disaster movies, can you tell?) Not a lot of people know about Sunshine, which is a shame because it’s freaking fantastic. You look at the DVD cover or you read a brief synopsis of it and you’re like, “oh, so it’s Armageddon but with the sun instead of an asteroid?” Nope, not even close. It’s so different from Armageddon, and I think that’s why I like it. Oh, right, and THE MUSIC OMFG. Here’s one of my favorite scenes with one of my favorite parts of the soundtrack.
It’s so beautiful. And yeah, the whole movie is about that level of intensity.
RIP Bill Paxton
So I’d thought the only movie I’d seen Bill Paxton in was Apollo 13, but apparently I just really suck at recognizing Bill Paxton.
But anyway, since Apollo 13 is was the best movie Bill Paxton was in (it was, fight me), in honor of his passing, here’s the best song from that movie. And probably one of the greatest pieces of music in the history of movies, in my opinion.
Chills, man. RIP, Mr. Paxton.
RIP James Horner
SAD NEWS: the amazing composer James Horner was, in fact, killed the other day when his plane went down in California.
Who is James Horner, you ask?* He’s the conductor/composer behind a lot of really fantastic film scores. Examples:
- The Land Before Time
- An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
- We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story
- Braveheart
- Titanic
- The Perfect Storm
He also did the score for Apollo 13, which has my favorite movie song ever (listen to it here!). Seriously. Awesome.
R.I.P. James Horner. You were an awesome composer.
*Or maybe you don’t ask this. Maybe more people are familiar with his name and works than the news would have us believe.
Crappity Crap Craptastic Crapperton
Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I want death.
You get 30 Day Meme and ONLY 30 Day Meme before I pass out in a heap of neurosis.
30-Day Meme – Day 2: Your favorite movie.
I’m not a movie person. There are approximately seven movies in existence that I would willingly suggest watching if I were in the position of HAVING to suggest a movie for lack of better alternative ways of wasting time.
But one movie I could watch again and again and again (and have) is Apollo 13. Why?
1. Tom Hanks. He’s badass and, in my opinion, one of the better actors out there.
2. Kevin Bacon. See above, plus the fact that he also starred in Tremors as a random cowboy makes me laugh every time I see him as an astronaut in this movie.
3. I have a thing for movies about space. From the more “accurate” movies like this one to the all-out corny “AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!” movies like Armageddon, space movies have always been of interest to me.
4. The soundtrack. Particularly the track “The Launch.”
Listen and chill.
Blog #[some really big number]
Haha, this is awesome.
It also led to about five hours on Wikipedia and miscellaneous other sites reading about Uranus. Uranus is my favorite planet.
Also there’s this little illustration, which I love ever so much because Uranus is on his side:
ALSO, Apollo 13 has to have one of the best soundtracks ever.
Okay, that’s all. Slow day.
Watched Aluminum Never Foils
I think I finally realized why I like the movie Apollo 13 so much (aside from the fact that it’s a good movie and Tom Hanks = awesome).
It’s the music.
The music is very cool.
Haha, sorry, nothing much is going on.
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