Once again I've been editing my little mutant fingers off and have some more rejected score clips for you. This time, it's from Howard Shore's rejected score to Ron Howard's "Ransom"
Just found this interview with Howard Shore in the book The Score. (Michael Schelle) When asked what happened:
"Well, these things happen-all the time. It's frustrating because you spend so much time and so much energy. I aged about ten years in those two weeks!"
"...All I can figure out is that he (Ron Howard) came into the picture wearing a black leather jacket and left wearing a white sports coat. I think he got nervous-the music was probably too contemporary or too experimental in the long run."
I just love Howard Shore's way of scoring! He has always been in my top 5 for fav' composers (# being Morricone)... and as Cronenberg my fav' director is, it's no wonder that I love 50% of his movies because of Shore's wonderful music!
Amazing what a difference a change in music can make! I don't know about the other two (I'll have to listen a few more times), but Shore's "Kidnap" cue was much better (as I said in the "Air Force One" thread). It's nice to finally know the starting point for "The Ransom." I never could figure that one out.
I wish Touchstone had included a "Shore" version of the movie on their Special Edition DVD (I assume he completed the score before he was dismissed).
Wow! Yet again, you've done amazing work. I'm loving every one of these.
What an amazing difference. Haven't seen the film since 1996, but I just listened to Horner's score for that sequence against the video. It is completely different -- hopeful, always strong and rising. It telegraphs the film's end, as I expect Horner was required to do.
I always thought this was an unnaturally dark topic for Ron Howard to take on. Shore's brilliantly bleak score must have unsettled him, though how he expected something different is anyone's guess.
At least for the small amount of time Horner had, he was also able to turn in a great score.
Thanks! I totally agree. Shore's darker, tragic, brooding style fits the subject matter and gels better with the Billy Corgan tracks. I wish he would do more of these kinds of scores.
I definitely prefer Shore's "Escalation." I especially enjoy the second half. His gives off a feeling of numbness, rather than Horner's overly-sympathetic-to-the-bad-guys version. I, too, think he should write more scores like this.
Totally. I also love the strange screeching synth as the blood plume erupts from his neck on the heat-vision monitor. And yes, Shore takes that second half much more seriously with a true sense of hopelessness. Love it.
