Krull

[Pieter Boelen 1,020]

Every few days I will post a thread on a random score from my collection that we can discuss and rate. I made a playlist on my computer with one track of each score I've got, so by using the random play option, I'll be able to post a truly random score each time. Hopefully this will allow us to discuss some scores that would otherwise never be discussed. Also we can record the rating so that we can create a full list of the ratings given to scores by JWFan.com.

Today's score is Krull by James Horner. Are you familiar with it? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? How do do you think it works in the film? What are your favourite tracks?

You can base your opinion on whatever release(s) of the score you've heard.

So far JWFan has rated:

Zathura by John Debney: 3,17 stars - 16 votes - 10 unfamiliar

Rambo III by Jerry Goldsmith: 3,62 stars - 18 votes - 5 unfamiliar

Star Trek X: Nemesis by Jerry Goldsmith: 3,03 stars - 37 votes - 8 unfamiliar

The Sea Hawk by Erich Wolfgang Korngold: 4,60 stars - 31 votes - 11 unfamiliar

Independence Day by David Arnold: 4,10 stars - 46 votes - 5 unfamiliar

[MissPadmé 17]

I love it.. and was very happy to able to obtain the 2 CD Album at our local used item market for about 9€ lol!

[Neimoidian 14]

I haven't listen to it for a long time, but remember liking it very much. I must listen to it again.

[Jim Ware 589]

Five stars - one of Horner's best. The less said about the film the better.

[Morlock 11]

I loved it when I first heard it. However, upon listening to it recently, I found the theme to be quite annoying.

[Carnifex 5]

Absolutely one of the best of Horner, also one of the best scores in general. So reckless, so sweet...

[Luke Skywalker 2,225]

(no relation to previous posts, just topic matter)

[odnurega1 0]

It's not my favorite, but I do listen to it occasionally.

[GoldsmithFanatic2000+ 0]

Well, apart from its undersized sound... This is a classic Horner score. The film itself was fun, but also really quite bad.

4 stars

[Lady Dimitrescu 10,080]

Oh my god, pick a score that's not my cuppa tea for once!

5 stars. Classic Horner.

[Toontje 0]

Hmm not really sure if I can say I'm familiar with it. I know the score because a few tracks were part of the queue music of the original space mountain in disneyland paris. The love theme, Epilog and the Ride of the Firemares. Those tracks are brilliant but I don't think I can base my opinion on about 8 minutes of music so I'll be undecided

[Ollie 1,310]

I'll give it 4 stars.

The 2 disc set is nice but a bit of an overkill. The 70 minute album that was released would be enough.

However I wouldn't trade the 2 disc set for anything.

[Carnifex 5]

I even bought the DVD because of the music. I watched it once and I am not sure when I will watch again.

[Pieter Boelen 1,020]

I think it's a good score with some excellent parts. I especially like the first track. "Ride of the Fire Mares" and "Battle of the Parapets" are also really nice. The score hasn't entirely won me over though, so I'll give it four stars.

I actually thought the movie was quite fun. Not brilliant, but it wasn't quite as bad as people's comments had led me to believe.

[King Mark 3,848]

5 stars

Best Horner score ever

[Carnifex 5]

Actually I was about to write has King Mark voted yet.

[Incanus 5,858]

I'll give it 4 stars. A very good Horner score if somewhat too exuberant at times. Sometimes there is just too much brass in there. I pity the poor players who had to blast those fanfares all the time

[Carnifex 5]

To me the orchestra does not do its job as good as it has to. I very much would like to hear a new version with LSO & Horner conducting. I do not say that it ruins the score not at all, but there are some moments like Ride of the Firemares, in which some trumpet parts seemed to be too challenging for the player.

[Marian Schedenig 10,431]

Seriously, could we have these threads with .5 star ratings available? This would be another 3.5 star score for me. A great if simple theme, some great moments (plus some Wagner and Strauss stuff), but overall too simplified orchestrations. It sounds too ambitious, if that makes sense - it sounds like Horner really tried to give everything but couldn't fully deliver (with Willow, he did - save for the Schumann stuff).

I'll give it a 3.

[Wesker 0]

Seriously, could we have these threads with .5 star ratings available? This would be another 3.5 star score for me. A great if simple theme, some great moments (plus some Wagner and Strauss stuff), but overall too simplified orchestrations. It sounds too ambitious, if that makes sense - it sounds like Horner really tried to give everything but couldn't fully deliver (with Willow, he did - save for the Schumann stuff).

I'll give it a 3.

I disagree. I actually found it the opposite- Willow in it's theme is too simplistic, whereas Krull had a very well drawn out theme, albight used with an over-emphasis upon drama at times. A solid 4/5.

[Pieter Boelen 1,020]

I can do .5 star ratings next time. Or we can just rate out of 10 like they do for grading exams and projects in The Netherlands.

[Jim Ware 589]

It sounds too ambitious, if that makes sense - it sounds like Horner really tried to give everything but couldn't fully deliver (with Willow, he did - save for the Schumann stuff).

Horner wrote Krull in a very short space of time and nearly hospitalised himself in the process. There wasn't much time available to rehearse or to record (and the length of cues didn't help matters), hence the rough performance in places.

I'd like to hear a decent re-recording!

(I'd also like an expanded Willow but that's a topic for another thread)

[Lurker 5]

This is a five star score on it's own. Again, like The Sea Hawk, what was Horner thinking for this movie(granted having only seen the movie once in 1983 and then re-visiting the first 30 minutes a few years ago I may not be an authority on its use in the film)? The main title on the CD is fantastic and bears no relation to the on-screen events. Later, as the hero scales a mountain and large rocks are falling at him, we get the happiest music possible! Dreadful!

So 5 stars for the CD on it's own....2 stars since it's all wrong for the movie.

Neil

[Jacob 1]

Heh, heh, I just happened to listen to Krull again today.

The main theme is stupendously fantastic. The love theme is, well, lovely. The 2 disc set has a bit of trouble holding my interest throughout, however.

4 Stars

[Marian Schedenig 10,431]

I disagree. I actually found it the opposite- Willow in it's theme is too simplistic, whereas Krull had a very well drawn out theme, albight used with an over-emphasis upon drama at times. A solid 4/5.

It's the overly "basic" rhythm in the Krull theme that puts it down a notch in my book. And the already mentioned cheap orchestrations. I didn't know Horner had so little time for this - it explains a lot, but doesn't help.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Just heard this score for the first time yesterday, and haven't been able to listen to anything else since. It's definitely Horner at the top of his fantasy/sci-fi game, and has that great recklessly exuberant sound he used to do so well. Not sure if it's a 4 or 5 star score, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and go with 5.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

its by the LSO right? Horner seems to use them a lot

[Lurker 5]

Don't hate me Danielle, but Krull gets two thumbs down.

Neil

[Danielle 0]

The main title on the CD is fantastic and bears no relation to the on-screen events. Later, as the hero scales a mountain and large rocks are falling at him, we get the happiest music possible! Dreadful!

I don't think I'll ever be able to figure out what your reasoning is for this! The credits are just that - credits. It's like complaining that the Star Wars Main Title is too bombastic to accompany a bunch of writing scrolling up the screen. Second point... The music for the rocks falling is by no means happy and largely dialed out in the film, and if anything, it's the way the the music is very clumsily dialed back in as the rock fall stops that makes it seem inappropriate. Again, I just can't fault Horner for anything he did with Krull, he knocked it out of the ballpark.

Why would I hate you for attacking the film anyway? It's a turkey, but I'm fond of it. Much like you are for 1941.

[Pieter Boelen 1,020]

I watched Krull very recently and the opening credits music stood out to me as accompanying the film very well, actually. First there's the Main Title, which is just the main theme in heroic form (even though there's an evil space ship approaching; I don't care though, since the film hasn't really started yet) and then the music turns dark when there's evil dudes on screen and there's heroic traveling music when the main character is seen traveling.

4,42 stars for this one on average now. Wow. Didn't expect it to rate that high. I listen to this one some more.

[tharpdevenport 4]

One star. What a loud. If I had had fore knowledge of what the score was going to be, I'd have skipped it alltogether.

Some scores get far more praise than the realistically ever deserve.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Some scores get far more praise than the realistically ever deserve.

This thread is about Krull, not Lord of the Rings.

[Red 75]

I really need to hear this score.

[Marian Schedenig 10,431]

4,42 stars for this one on average now. Wow. Didn't expect it to rate that high.

I did. I think it's good, but overrated. Would be interesting to see a comparison poll for Brainstorm - now that's an early Horner masterpiece.

[Pieter Boelen 1,020]

Would be interesting to see a comparison poll for Brainstorm - now that's an early Horner masterpiece.

I don't have that score, so I won't be posting a thread on it either. Feel free to do it yourself though.

[Maglorfin 213]

Five stars - one of Horner's best. The less said about the film the better.

[Lurker 5]

Decide for yourself: does the main title music in Krull really match the on-screen action?

Neil

[Marian Schedenig 10,431]

It sounds like Horner score only the text credits without the visuals.

[Ollie 1,310]

Well like Jim Ware mentioned earlier, Horner was in a rush to complete this score and became very ill during the process.

After reading the liner notes I imagine the whole production on the film was not exactly structured. Sounds like they were in a mad dash to the finish line.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

It sounds like someone copied WRATH OF KHAN.

Oh wait...

[Romão 2,432]

Decide for yourself: does the main title music in Krull really match the on-screen action?

Neil

You're quite right. That's an awful match

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Decide for yourself: does the main title music in Krull really match the on-screen action?

Neil

Haha, yeah that's pretty bad. It's like the director suddenly decided in post that he wanted the scene to be happy instead of ominous and asked Horner to change it with the score. Awesome music, though.

[Carnifex 5]

Actually watching the film might damage your listening experience, it almost happened to me. So let us not think the score as a part of this awful movie but enjoy the music.

[Marian Schedenig 10,431]

Haha, yeah that's pretty bad. It's like the director suddenly decided in post that he wanted the scene to be happy instead of ominous and asked Horner to change it with the score. Awesome music, though.

More like the visuals were added after Horner had already scored a text-only version. I guess with him falling ill, that might just be the case.

[Jacob 1]

Decide for yourself: does the main title music in Krull really match the on-screen action?

Neil

You're quite right. That's an awful match

I imagine putting a Star Destroyer (or the Death Star) lumbering behind the Star Wars opening crawl would yield a similar disjointing match.

...

What a terrible thought.

[Pieter Boelen 1,020]

It sounds like Horner score only the text credits without the visuals.

My thoughts exactly. It didn't bother me one bit. I can understand why some people think it inappropriate, but I actually like the fact that the music starts out happy and heroic during the opening credits, rather than dark and ominous. In a way it actually works very well because of the contrast that's created.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,088]

I agree with Neil, great music, but it does not match that scene at all.

[Lurker 5]

where our hero has to stick his arm in bubbly, smoky, fiery lava. But first, he better make sure his sleeve is rolled up because he wouldn't want to ruin his shirt!

Neil

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,088]

Seems perfectly reasonable too me.

And Jamie's music does fit here.

[Lurker 5]

Oh yeah, no complaints about the music there.

Neil