the jump down between the great First Contact score, excellent Insurrection score and the so so Nemesis score is jarring. I've had that feeling for years.
Stewart Baird wasn't one to know anything about Star Trek and less about film music. I'd look to him first.
It was a poor representation of the score, and releasing it concurrently on SACD probably wasn't a very profitable decision either. It remains the only Trek score I don't own, and have no intention of buying at this point unless expanded. I've even passed over it when I came across it for a couple bucks at a local used music store.
Isn't that the truth. With all due respect to the late Jerry Goldsmith, he picked some of the most mundane and repetitive cues for Nemesis's soundtrack. There are far better jewels yet to be released from that score.
The score as a whole isn't bad, but I can't help but have this nagging feeling that in the last part of his life, this score in particular was partially ghostwritten.... the jump down between the great First Contact score, excellent Insurrection score and the so so Nemesis score is jarring. I've had that feeling for years.
Also the "Mines of Remus" story cue is far better in the film than the version on the album.
The OST for Nemesis is a bit of a mess and not the greatest of listening experiences. However, the unmentionable for the score is MUCH better than the OST. A LOT of good music was left off and made the listening a lot better.
Goldsmith was in poor health when he wrote Nemesis; however, there's absolutely no evidence anyone else did any ghostwriting on it. When Goldsmith has had help on projects it's been quite above board--McNeely on Air Force One, Joel Goldsmith on First Contact, Mark McKenzie on The Last Castle. Even on the rare occasions there isn't a credit for an additional cue (I don't think Morton Stevens was credited on Outland but I may be mistaken), the word gets out. There's never been so much as a whisper about anyone else contributing to Nemesis and all the material certainly sounds like Goldsmith wrote it. So just because you don't like the score is no reason to accuse Goldsmith of using a ghostwriter on it.
The OST for Nemesis is a bit of a mess and not the greatest of listening experiences. However, the unmentionable for the score is MUCH better than the OST. A LOT of good music was left off and made the listening a lot better.
Bald Afro Descendent Dude from Federation of Planets is quite right!
If they are trying to be consistent with Enterprise then the Klingons would likely have to be augmented ones. I think the "Helmet" solution was just a little fun idea by J. J. Abrams or his staff. I don't think that J. J. Abrams actually is too concerned with his many variations in 2009. His outlook is one to create a spectacular action picture that the masses will like with the flavor of Star Trek. They have changed a lot of the details unexplained. Anyway, you did notice that most of the Klingon footage was cut from 2009. Not sure even the staff liked the "Helmet" solution/look.
J. J. Abrams's version of Star Trek isn't perfect but it is fine by me. There are a lot and I mean tons of directors/movie companies that would do far worse than Bad Robot. I am eager to see his new Star Trek movie and also believe he is a good choice for Star Wars.
- Stewart Baird wasn't one to know anything about Star Trek and less about film music. I'd look to him first.
If you really want to know just how bad a choice Stuart Baird was, look up LeVar Burton's list of credits and awards. You'll see that Burton has won numerous awards in various areas and has himself directed episodes of Star Trek that span four whole series. Stuart Baird on the other hand has only been nominated in his field of editing and was given this directing gig simply because he re-edited Mission Impossible 2 and Tomb Raider for Paramount. And throughout the entire production of Nemesis, he kept calling LeVar Burton "Lavern" and was somehow convinced that his character Geordi was an alien crew member.
It's almost amusing how Rick Berman was honestly surprised that Star Trek Nemesis wasn't a big hit.
- Stewart Baird wasn't one to know anything about Star Trek and less about film music. I'd look to him first.
If you really want to know just how bad a choice Stuart Baird was, look up LeVar Burton's list of credits and awards. You'll see that Burton has won numerous awards in various areas and has himself directed episodes of Star Trek that span four whole series. Stuart Baird on the other hand has only been nominated in his field of editing and was given this directing gig simply because he re-edited Mission Impossible 2 and Tomb Raider for Paramount. And throughout the entire production of Nemesis, he kept calling LeVar Burton "Lavern" and was somehow convinced that his character Geordi was an alien crew member.
It's almost amusing how Rick Berman was honestly surprised that Star Trek Nemesis wasn't a big hit.
The direction did not help Nemesis but what really sunk that film was the terrible script. Not even Jonathan Frakes as director could have saved that screenplay as written.
I think it might have been probably because at the time it came out it went up against other major hit films and wasn't given the chance.
I'm sure that exacerbated things, but mostly I think it was that the film stank worse than the finale of Enterprise.
As wary as I am of Abrams "vision" of Star Trek as a space action adventure popcorn flick, as a failure of a space action adventure popcorn flick Nemesis rates even lower.
You know, that is one thing that I wouldn't have minded seen digitally removed/cleaned up on the 2009 BD. His artistic use of lens flares was interesting for the first viewing perhaps. But it doesn't do anything for me on repeat viewings except annoy.
Super-psyched about this release. Huge Giacchino fan here, got a lot of his stuff including some promo CD's, so I can't wait to get it. Liked his first score for Star Trek 2009.
You know, that is one thing that I wouldn't have minded seen digitally removed/cleaned up on the 2009 BD. His artistic use of lens flares was interesting for the first viewing perhaps. But it doesn't do anything for me on repeat viewings except annoy.
My eyes are very sensitive to bright lights like that. I mean it wouldn't have been as annoying if they came off of natural light sources but most of the time he had them there because he liked them and thought they looked cool IE: behind the scenes
I'm with SchiffyM on NEMESIS. And I even worked on the movie as a visual effects PA back in 2002. Stuart Baird is a brilliant editor, but a lousy director. The script was heavily derived from THE WRATH OF KHAN, even more so than any of the other TNG movies, which is saying something. Still, I think a less lethargic movie could have been made from it, and the film commits the unforgivable sin of being thoroughly dull.
I'm with SchiffyM on NEMESIS. And I even worked on the movie as a visual effects PA back in 2002. Stuart Baird is a brilliant editor, but a lousy director. The script was heavily derived from THE WRATH OF KHAN, even more so than any of the other TNG movies, which is saying something. Still, I think a less lethargic movie could have been made from it, and the film commits the unforgivable sin of being thoroughly dull.
