It is a very brave film, bizarre in many ways, almost surrealistic in parts, which is astonishing considering is was a large budget studio sequel. I find it a very satisfying film, rewarding in ways you almost never find in a major studio film. The conceptualization of the city is visionary, and realized brilliantly. And it has moments of real emotion and thought somehow elicited from real animals. The music fits well too. As usual, George Miller surprised me and impressed me.
Thank you for the commendation, Ado! You've put into words that which I think fans of the film (myself included) enjoy it for. Do you -- or anyone else here -- have any thoughts on Westlake's compositions in comparison to the sourced music?
I also feel that the music that ended up in the film was very fitting -- Non Je Ne Regrette Rien and Protected by Angels in particular -- though on repeat viewings often find myself wondering what Westlake's compositions must have sounded like for the many scenes where it was replaced; and how it might have affected the film. Hopefully they still exists in a vault or a closet somewhere where they may yet be discovered! Nigel Westlake is an incredible composer whose filmography is far too scant!
I know it's been a long time, but with Varese's (incredible!) release of Babe last year, what are the odds of this score finally getting a full release?
Here's what Nigel had to say about what happened to the score:
"The film got recut two weeks before it was due to be released and quite a lot of music was dropped or replaced – they used quite a lot of stuff from Babe. They felt the music was too dark or too violent. The decision was made to cut or replace it and there wasn't time to rerecord anything before it was released. That's normal by Hollywood standards."
I know it's been a long time, but with Varese's (incredible!) release of Babe last year, what are the odds of this score finally getting a full release?
Here's what Nigel had to say about what happened to the score:
"The film got recut two weeks before it was due to be released and quite a lot of music was dropped or replaced – they used quite a lot of stuff from Babe. They felt the music was too dark or too violent. The decision was made to cut or replace it and there wasn't time to rerecord anything before it was released. That's normal by Hollywood standards."
Sign me up for a release of this score, too. I loved the Varese Deluxe Edition of the original and this might be even more interesting, given how little of what was recorded ended up in the film...
