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Register General Discussion • Trading Post • Non-Film Score Discussion  Profile • Preferences • Community Rules • Help/Contact • Search Board Search Terms:  Search Within:  topics posts since 2019 2018 posts 2017 posts 2016 posts 2015 posts 2014 posts 2013 posts 2012 posts 2011 posts 2010 posts 2009 posts 2008 posts 2007 posts 2006 posts 2005 posts 2004 posts 2003 posts 2002 posts 2001 posts 2000 posts users  search tips  You must log in or register to post.   Go to page:  1 2 3 4 5 6      General Discussion: Page Cook "Films In Review"    FIRST   PRIOR   4 5 6       Last Post   Posted:   Oct 10, 2020 - 4:32 PM     By:   Sir David of Garland   (Member) Some of Page Cook’s opinions on the scores from 1974: THE GODFATHER PART II (Nino Rota) – “plodding, lugubrious pasta that [Rota] over-boiled” McQ / GOLD (Elmer Bernstein) – “cannot be called polished scores no matter what rationalizations [Bernstein’s] admirers proffer” THE ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD (Maurice Jarre) – “inoffensive, which is enough from this ‘composer’” ...... The more I read of him, the more he sounds like a radio shock jock: wanting to rile up people to maintain his profile.    Posted:   Oct 10, 2020 - 4:33 PM     By:   Sir David of Garland   (Member) it Would interesting to see what his choices were for the Best of 1974. Ford A. Thaxton You can find his entire three-decade history of top score picks earlier in this thread. Courtesy of the Master List Maker!    Posted:   Oct 10, 2020 - 4:45 PM     By:   Bob DiMucci   (Member) it Would interesting to see what his choices were for the Best of 1974. Ford A. Thaxton -------------------------- You can find his entire three-decade history of top score picks earlier in this thread. -------------------------- Courtesy of the Master List Maker! Actually, "John Smith" started it off with the first 16 years, and I filled in the rest.    Posted:   Oct 10, 2020 - 7:35 PM     By:   Rozsaphile   (Member) Somebody above questioned whether Cook actually corresponded with the composers. He certainly did. I discovered one particular instance in the Rozsa papers at Syracuse. It seems that John Green had told Cook that while Ben-Hur was a fine score, the film would have been much better if he (Green) had scored it. Cook must have relayed this to Rozsa! (How accurately we cannot know.) For there exists a letter in which a furious Rozsa wrote to Green complaining about that remark. Green apologized profusely, and I suppose some sort of relations were restored.    Posted:   Oct 11, 2020 - 7:59 AM     By:   William R.   (Member) Cook was definitely amusing to read. But did he actually know anything about music? None of what I've read from him even begins to attempt to analyze anything on a serious level. If you're going to shit on great composers so relentlessly, you better have some schooling to back it up. Forgive me if I'm wrong about this, finding biographical information on him is tough. The fact that he flat-out made up composers and films, although hilarious, pretty much sinks any pretense at professional credibility.    Posted:   Oct 11, 2020 - 8:37 AM     By:   Rozsaphile   (Member) Professional he was not. But he was often generous. And he was there. Which mattered at the time. Regarding his musical knowledge, I recall an instance concerning the Rozsa Piano Concerto -- a tape of which he had acquired decades before we would have a commercial recording. I was younger than Charles and innocently asked whether the first movement was in sonata form. He very quickly changed the subject.    Posted:   Oct 11, 2020 - 4:35 PM     By:   RonBurbella   (Member) In general, I agree with the preceding (and exhaustive) posts. I no longer recall the title of a fictitious but spectacular import compilation LP that he glowingly reviewed in detail and that I doggedly (those of you who know me as a collector know just how dogged I can be) pursued for years...until I found out is was all a phoney-baloney item! Then I wised up to his "schtick." I also recall his anti-Jarre bent. One score of Jarre's was characterized as "droolings," if I recall correctly. A lot of us looked forward to his cuckoo negative opinions, so artfully (or inartfully) phrased. Ron Burbella    Posted:   Oct 11, 2020 - 5:01 PM     By:   villagardens553   (Member) I recall the fictional compilation album. I don't recall most of the contents, but I think Story of Ruth might have been one of the suites. The one thing I always looked for with Cook was his ability to suddenly praise a score by a composer that he had previously, and would again, blast. Ron mentioned his Jarre rants, yet Cook praised Pope Joan and listed it as the second best score of that year. Barry, also not a favorite, was given credit--as well as criticism--for The Last Valley. Sometimes Cook could pretty much knock a score--Barry's The Whisperers--and then later on The Whisperers shows up as fifth best score of the year.    Posted:   Oct 11, 2020 - 6:24 PM     By:   .   (Member) I read that interviewer Page Cook asked Hugo Friedhofer how he ranked himself against other film composers, and Friedhofer responded: "I am just a fake giant among real pygmies." Seems like the kind of answer Cook might have deserved for asking a daft question.    Posted:   Oct 12, 2020 - 5:46 AM     By:   William R.   (Member) Professional he was not. But he was often generous. And he was there. Which mattered at the time. Regarding his musical knowledge, I recall an instance concerning the Rozsa Piano Concerto -- a tape of which he had acquired decades before we would have a commercial recording. I was younger than Charles and innocently asked whether the first movement was in sonata form. He very quickly changed the subject. Interesting anecdote! The fact that professional composers were happy to have ANYONE write about their work on a regular basis - even if that person was a fussy teenager who made stuff up - speaks sadly of how badly the film music art form was and is disrespected and neglected. FWIW re Jarre: I believe Cook named ENEMY MINE as one of the best scores of '85. He more than made up for this by adding WITNESS and MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME to the worst of '85 list.    Posted:   Oct 12, 2020 - 11:19 AM     By:   Joe Caps   (Member) I had corresponded a lot with Page when I was a teen. I was coming to New york and He invited me to stay at his place for a day or two to Listen to tons of rare film music tapes. we not only did that but he made me copies of everything we listened to. During this long session, he called Ken Darby on the phone and he introduced me to him via long distance. This eventually led to my being invited to kens houe in Los Angeles and attending some of Alfred Newmans sessions for his Camelot score. Page was very kind and generous but disgusted with the current state of film music.    Posted:   Oct 12, 2020 - 11:43 AM     By:   scottthompson   (Member) I had corresponded a lot with Page when I was a teen. I was coming to New york and He invited me to stay at his place for a day or two to Listen to tons of rare film music tapes. we not only did that but he made me copies of everything we listened to. During this long session, he called Ken Darby on the phone and he introduced me to him via long distance. This eventually led to my being invited to kens houe in Los Angeles and attending some of Alfred Newmans sessions for his Camelot score. Page was very kind and generous but disgusted with the current state of film music. Imagine how he would have felt today with this crop of composers and "sound wall" scores.... SCOTT     General Discussion: Page Cook "Films In Review"    << < 4 5 6  >   Go to page:  1 2 3 4 5 6   First Post    General Discussion • Trading Post • Non-Film Score Discussion  Profile • Preferences • Community Rules • Help/Contact • Search Board You must log in or register to post.   Go to page:  1 2 3 4 5 6

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