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First "Polar Express" review-score

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Author	Topic: First "Polar Express" review-score

Bond1965 Standard Userer	I got this from AOL Entertainment news' review of The Polar Express. It's what the Hollywood Reporter said about Silvestri's score, etc. James Visually, this train ride is both majestic and edge-of-your-seat. Directors of photography Don Burgess and Robert Presley's compositions are nourished by shafts of light and shadings, while production designers Rick Carter and Doug Chiang have distilled a timeless Saturday Evening Post look. Most fittingly, author Van Allsburg's drawings are integrated into the look of the movie. Alan Silvestri's lushly sweeping score, whose locomotion often seems churned out by Gene Krupa, is bolstered by his and Glen Ballard's stirring songs. There's also some perennial standards from Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, which make it feel a lot like Christmas.
posted 10-24-2004 04:36 PM PT (US)

SBD Standard Userer	"...lushly sweeping score"? Paging Robert Townson!
posted 10-24-2004 05:12 PM PT (US)

Crono/Kyp Standard Userer	Totally! Or Warner Records... --Bri
posted 10-24-2004 11:23 PM PT (US)

Jeremy Standard Userer	Why do they taunt us so? They tell us that Silvestri's music is "lush" and "sweeping" but then they don't confirm whether there will be a release of the score! stop toying with my emotions Warner Brothers!
posted 10-25-2004 09:06 AM PT (US)

SchiffyM Non-Standard Userer	The review in "Variety" was not so enthusiastic – they didn't care for the film at all. As for the score, here's the mention: "Despite unrelenting use of an aggressively heart-tugging score by Alan Silvestri, the story merely plays out as an inflated spectacle with not much to tell."
posted 10-25-2004 12:05 PM PT (US)

Dr Know Standard Userer	Well, the score tracks on the cd are excellent. I still want the music from the original trailer, though.
posted 11-06-2004 10:29 AM PT (US)

Mark Olivarez Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by Dr Know: Well, the score tracks on the cd are excellent. I still want the music from the original trailer, though. Buy David Arnold's Stargate & James Newton Howard's Peter Pan and you'll have some of the Trailer music.
posted 11-06-2004 11:04 AM PT (US)

Bodhizefa Non-Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by Mark Olivarez: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>Originally posted by Dr Know: [b]Well, the score tracks on the cd are excellent. I still want the music from the original trailer, though. <HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE> Buy David Arnold's Stargate & James Newton Howard's Peter Pan and you'll have some of the Trailer music. [/B] I'm pretty sure he means the original teaser trailer in which Silvestri wrote the music explicitly for the preview. That music was allegedly the basis of his score and you can hear pieces of it (orchestrations and thematic teasers) in the three tracks available on the commercial soundtrack release. But the main theme repeated over and over at the beginning of that teaser trailer was very interesting and well-written. It would be a shame if that doesn't make itself into the film. I may see the film tonight, so I'll try to find out the scoop on this.
posted 11-06-2004 03:02 PM PT (US)

Dr Know Standard Userer	Yes, that's exactly what I meant... the original teaser trailer. I'm hoping to see the film tomorrow, and will also be listening for this music.
posted 11-06-2004 03:14 PM PT (US)

Steve Hughes Standard Userer	How long are the score tracks on the CD? Thanks
posted 11-06-2004 06:08 PM PT (US)

Dr Know Standard Userer	Seeing is Believing (3:47) Spirit of the Season (2:33) -- choral Suite from The Polar Express (6:02)
posted 11-06-2004 07:04 PM PT (US)

Bodhizefa Non-Standard Userer	The teaser trailer theme is nowhere to be found in the actual film. Silvestri has instead opted to make his main theme based on the song he and pop rock producer Glen Ballard wrote, "Believe" (yes, that awful thing of a song with Josh Groban, the bane of film soundtracks, singing). It's unfortunate, as this motif could've been used as a secondary theme and done rather well. But as the main theme, it doesn't even come close to the teaser trailer's thematic riff.
posted 11-07-2004 01:15 AM PT (US)

Bryan T Standard Userer	quote: Silvestri has instead opted to make his main theme based on the song he and pop rock producer Glen Ballard wrote, "Believe" (yes, that awful thing of a song with Josh Groban, the bane of film soundtracks, singing). It's unfortunate, as this motif could've been used as a secondary theme and done rather well. It's a nice little theme, but did anyone else think it bore a strong resemblance to some of Danny Elfman's music for Edward Scissorhands? [Message edited by Bryan T on 11-15-2004] [Message edited by Bryan T on 11-16-2004]
posted 11-15-2004 11:17 AM PT (US)

rkeaveney Standard Userer	I had a similiar thought, but I can't remember half the film to point out where (sorry, POLAR was a bit forgettable!). I think it's the cue where Santa gets in his sleigh and calls the boy over to him. Celeste solo will do that. Ryan [Message edited by rkeaveney on 11-15-2004]
posted 11-15-2004 02:59 PM PT (US)

Bodhizefa Non-Standard Userer	<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>Originally posted by Bryan T: It's a nice little theme, but did anyone else think it bore a strong resemblance to some of Danny Elfman's music for Edward Scissorhands?<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, the second part of the music from the teaser trailer is obviously from Edward Scissorhands, although there is no direct thematic resemblance from the first theme stated in the teaser to any part of the Elfman score that I can think of. There may be some similar orchestrations, but nothing concrete that I can find. I mean, it's nowhere near a situation like Fellowship of the Ring where the Fellowship theme is pretty much precisely the second half of a theme used by Randy Newman in The Natural. But these points can be made over and over again about similarities to themes. Is Silvestri's theme a rip-off of Edward Scissorhands, though (as well as Shore's of Newman)? No, it's not. And therefore it's a very solid theme that could have (and should have) been developed more in the full score setting. Just so we're on the same page, I'm speaking about the very first motif uttered in the original teaser trailer, not the music after the train arrives. [Message edited by Bodhizefa on 11-16-2004]
posted 11-16-2004 12:54 AM PT (US)

rkeaveney Standard Userer	Thinking about EDWARD while watching/hearing POLAR is not that big a stretch. I think you have to look less at whether or not the notes line up and more at the tone of the picture: Do both films involve themes of innocence? Do both films feature major Christmas-time sequences? The answer is yes. Alan Silvestri is a total pro -- no one is discounting his abilities. But EDWARD has become a staple of temp tracks for this kind of film for more than a decade. Ryan
posted 11-16-2004 01:13 PM PT (US)

Bryan T Standard Userer	quote: Just so we're on the same page, I'm speaking about the very first motif uttered in the original teaser trailer, not the music after the train arrives. I'm sorry; I thought you were talking about the song "Believe." The melody during the verses in the song is the one I'm talking about. An orchestral version also plays over a portion of the end credits. At any rate, I didn't mean to imply that it was a rip-off of Elfman's Edward theme, but it does follow a very similar chord progression. And I am also certainly not doubting Silvestri's abilities. It was just something I noticed. But it does happen a lot to the majority of today's composers. Only so many notes, I guess. EDIT: edited after hearing the song again [Message edited by Bryan T on 11-22-2004]
posted 11-19-2004 11:10 AM PT (US)

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