Let me get this straight. You're forming an opinion about this score "not going anywhere" without having even seen the movie?
How asinine.
At least your opinion is clearly rooted in the minority for this one.
Hey why don't you go to a steel factory and tell me whether that industry machine noise is "going anywhere"? -- Or are you so challenged that you need an accompanying movie to understand that it's just noise?
Definitely effective (the vocals, were they in the final cue in the film, or is it just like that in movie?), but not memorable or anything.
Those vocals are so cliched that they should constitute a criminal offense.
Wailing woman in Space!!
This score is as stupid as that of District 9, ruining an otherwise great film.
Edit-- the finale cue "Gravity" is essentially composed as a pastiche of John Murphy's "Adagio in D Minor", only layered with inane wailing woman vocals.
This Steven Price guy was a temp score editor. No wonder his "music" is so cliched and derivative.
An intense movie for sure! I loved the way Price underscored the sound effects of the space, was very effective and created a lot of tension. This movie is an experience, don't miss it!
I smell an Academy Award nomination for this score. That would mean, it'll probably win.
Let me get this straight. You're forming an opinion about this score "not going anywhere" without having even seen the movie?
How asinine.
At least your opinion is clearly rooted in the minority for this one.
Hey why don't you go to a steel factory and tell me whether that industry machine noise is "going anywhere"? -- Or are you so challenged that you need an accompanying movie to understand that it's just noise?
Short answer, you're dumb as usual.
You're right, a lot of the score doesn't go anywhere, but it isn't supposed to. It works well when it is used to emphasize certain things about the scenes. Like it or not, a lot of this discussion has turned to how well the score works in the film. I'd agree with you that it wouldn't be something that works for me outside the film but thankfully by seeing it I don't have to waste my time outside the film to see if it works for me.
Let me get this straight. You're forming an opinion about this score "not going anywhere" without having even seen the movie?
How asinine.
At least your opinion is clearly rooted in the minority for this one.
Hey why don't you go to a steel factory and tell me whether that industry machine noise is "going anywhere"? -- Or are you so challenged that you need an accompanying movie to understand that it's just noise?
Short answer, you're dumb as usual.
Nice to see that you can't effectively make a point without resorting to inaccurate personal attacks.
You're right, a lot of the score doesn't go anywhere, but it isn't supposed to. It works well when it is used to emphasize certain things about the scenes. Like it or not, a lot of this discussion has turned to how well the score works in the film. I'd agree with you that it wouldn't be something that works for me outside the film but thankfully by seeing it I don't have to waste my time outside the film to see if it works for me.
I don't have a problem with ambient scores. It's just that this particular one is not done well and is cliched.
I'll probably watch the film next week anyway, as I'm a fan of Children of Man and Azkaban.
Well, this comment will probably soon disappear within the great vacuum of "This musics dumb" "No its not" "Your dumb" "So are you" remarks that have laid siege to many a decent thread in the past, but for what it's worth, I just got back from seeing Gravity and found it a wonderful film experience. Hands down, one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen. I definitely understand why people have been saying "See it in theaters...and in 3D"...and I have long been a naysayer of what I've considered (and still do consider) to be the gimmicky medium of 3D. Gravity is the exception. So, see it in theaters...and in 3D. Beautiful, marvelous, life-affirming film. The music really drives the film as well. The incredible flying debris sequences are really punctuated by the steadily building menace of the music and there are some lovely ethereal synthesized moments as well. The female vocals during the finale are for the most part just audible over the sound effects, but it all builds to a very satisfying, cathartic finish. As for the performances, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are deceptively playing more than their usual selves, embodying real, normal and sympathetic, yet charismatic and interesting-to-watch people. This has been the highlight of the year for me so far. I recommend it.
I expected to like this movie and maybe hate the score. Too many posters lead me to believe that the score would be endless beehive droning, mostly electronic dissonance, or just soundscapes.
I liked the movie a lot. The special effects are stunning.
I also was very surprised by the score. It is not just droning. (See Broxton's interview which really nails it.) Yep it has purposeful electronic dissonance in places, in appropriate places. Some of the music can be as scary as some of Beltrami's scores. Certain scenes backed by this score truly increased my blood pressure.
And then came the orchestra. Certain emotions (which I won't reveal) were beautifully scored with a traditional orchestra. Final cue was amazing. The music that plays right before the end credits was very loud and lovely, but I'm not sure I've reconciled that piece to the visuals.
Some CGI effects can look cheap and cheesy, but Speilberg's Jurassic Park certainly opened my eyes to the rich power of CGI effects. Jackson pushed the CGI envelope even further with the Lord Of The Rings. I felt today like Gravity was again pushing the visionary power of CGI forward.
... there are some lovely ethereal synthesized moments as well
I was pleased to discover that some of the ethereal synthesized moments are not synthesized at all, but from a unique instrument, the glass harmonica. I discussed this in my review (link first page of this thread). Anyway, this was another discovery that increased my appreciation for the score.
Saw the movie today and I liked it mostly for its visuals which is the movie's main selling point and it delivers on just that alone. Great 3D and the long sequences with no cutting are beautiful. That said, I wasn't moved by the score nor by Bullock's or Clooney's performances, I didn't connect to any of it. As a matter of fact I got annoyed with Bullock's panic stricken reactions and Clooney's boring anecdotes whenever danger arose. Based on how little of standard procedure she apparently knows and how badly she held herself together in space, I didn't find it very believable that Bullock's character was there in the first place. At times, I got annoyed by her inability to problem solve to the point I was rooting for space to get her! The movie at times also felt like a manual/instructional video for what can go wrong in space, and there is one great moment where you think it overstepped its credibility, but it turned out to be a nice gimmick.
Getting back to the score, at times it felt a bit too intrusive for me, there are some climactic moments where it did resonate, but I have to admit after seeing the movie and the stunning visuals, it felt to me like a missed opportunity for something better.
I have a lot of things to say about this score and also the film but I do not feel intellectually stimulated or even entertainingly engaged by conversation here anymore, but I would like to leave one thought on the criticism regarding what those inclined around here refer to as "wailing woman vocals." Nah. They do, however, remind me somewhat of the lovely vocal contributions which I believe Tori Amos contributed to Patrick Doyle's score for Mr. Cuarón's adaptation of Great Expectations.
I have a lot of things to say about this score and also the film but I do not feel intellectually stimulated or even entertainingly engaged by conversation here anymore, but I would like to leave one thought on the criticism regarding what those inclined around here refer to as "wailing woman vocals." Nah. They do, however, remind me somewhat of the lovely vocal contributions which I believe Tori Amos contributed to Patrick Doyle's score for Mr. Cuarón's adaptation of Great Expectations.
You have to take into consideration of the context in which such musical techniques are used.
"Wailing woman vocal" is fine in its own right, just like a heroic French horn march, or a whimsical flute glissando. --However, if for the 1,000th time you hear a wailing woman singing to accompany a scene depicting some "epicness", then you can't help feel that it is used in such a cliched way that it loses its effectiveness and becomes laughable in the end.
The ending scene of Gravity is strong enough on its own. We don't need a wailing woman hammering our heads telling us "Oh look! Sandra Bullock is VICTORIOUS in the end! Can't you feel the EPICNESS?"
--But on the other hand, the final act of the film is pretty redundant in itself. The film should have ended with Sandra Bullock crashing into atmosphere, without the cliched Hollywood victorious ending. Given that Cuaron usually has good judgment, maybe he IS deliberately dumbing it down so certain audiences can have their "emotional resonance" and "sense of closure" expected from a conventional Hollywood McBurger.
The film should have ended with Sandra Bullock crashing into atmosphere, without the cliched Hollywood victorious ending.
For me, the only thing that suggested that the ending might be "victorious" was the score. Since Bullock is alone, half-naked, and without communications, food or water at the end of the film, for all we know she might well die of stavation in some uninhabited spot of the globe after the fadeout. If the final music cue had been a despairing one rather than a triumphant one, that horrid fate could have been the feeling left with the audience instead.
I loved the movie; the score was effective although I doubt I'd listen to it on its own (however that now applies to about 90% of the scores I hear in movies). The only thing I outright hated was the overbearing Dolby-amplified noise that opened and closed the film. Given the constant feeling of motion and momentum, if I had my choice I would have loved to have heard a Philip Glass score in the movie--which I'm sure 90% of people would have hated.
I find it odd that there were solo vocal female performances in a score where practically the only character is a female. It's like there's some weird connection there, but I can't quite figure out what it is...
There's an art to this score that seems to be going over a lot of people's heads. Sound design is beyond important to this film. Most of the film had no sound effects aside from what carried through the vibrations of the suits. The score basically had to be the sound of the movie. Something orchestral would've been completely inappropriate. This score even has a disorienting whirl effect to it as if you're spinning out of control. Even the emotional parts have it though not quite as much.
To me, this score is a great effort, used perfect in the film, and makes me excited to see more from Steven Price (I also enjoyed his score to The World's End).
Also, did anyone else notice the film version of the final cue (Gravity) actually had more to the vocal part?
