Expanded soundtrack CDs these days contain every last note, including the short bits that don't normally make it into the OST. Some of these cues are fascinating and wonderful, albeit too short! My favorite short cue is "The Past" from Poltergeist II: The Other Side. It was finally made available from Kritzerland Records; Intrada and Varese omitted it on their editions. It's only 30 seconds long, but it contains many interesting elements packed in such a brief duration. Jerry Goldsmith includes what sounds like the electronic noodling of a time machine at the beginning, a striking string figure, and a fading keyboard melody. I wish this music would keep going just to see where it would go. What's your favorite short score cue?
Wow, that's pretty amazing that Jim asked the same question 15 (!) years ago and gave the same answer as he did in this thread. That must be one helluva cue.
"The Landstrider Journey" from THE DARK CRYSTAL (Trevor Jones) "Morning in Fantasia" from NEVERENDING STORY 2 (Robert Folk) "It Happened that Way" from WYATT EARP (James Newton Howard) "Kong's Final Battle" from KING KONG LIVES (John Scott) "Josh Walks through Town" from MUTANT (Richard Band) "She's so Pretty" from FROM BEYOND (Richard Band)
... Come instantly to mind though there's got to be so many more!
And, while it's just a tad over 2 seconds and thus break my rule of sticking to just over a minute, "Pran's Departure" from THE KILLING FIELDS (Mike Oldfield)
One of the most-wanted unreleased cues that's not even a full minute long was unreleased until that recent still-incomplete 4CD set of Indy scores: Marcus Is Captured/To Berlin
Unfortunately the release crossfades it with another cue.
"In the Soup Kitchen" from SOAPDISH. While I can take or leave the score's prominent cha-cha flavor, this is 51 seconds of peerless suspense scoring. An album of music like this would be worth any price.
"Don't Touch That Switch!" (30s) by Bruce Broughton from Honey I Blew Up the Kid. Amazing performance from the orchestra on that score.
I was just going to say the same thing. I would love to have seen the looks on the collective faces of the orchestra when then charts were laid in front of them.
1:09, :43, twenty seconds bah humbug y'all wouldn't know not only a short cue but a GREAT short cue if it came up and bit'cha. Try the cue underscoring when Henry talks to Elizabeth after Dr. Pretorius gives him the faux-telephone near the climax of Bride Of Frankenstein. 4seconds of pure stand alone out-of-nowhere Waxman that packs a wallop!
On TRADING PLACES, EB and John Landis get it together with Mozart, but late in the film there's this piece of pure Bernstein as THE TRAIN departs... I believe it is 30 seconds long, or thereabouts... but a piece of Elmer magic.
