Only saw ROAD GAMES once, more than decade ago, but was reasonably impressed by that too (it's the movie that got him the PSYCHO II job.)

Shot-for-shot remake of PSYCHO II, hehehehehehehe ... is Tom Holland available? http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/biggrin.gif">

I saw ROAD GAMES about two or three years ago on Joe Bob's MonsterVision and found it mildly-entertaining. Not great, but I'm seen far worse.

np THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Maybe someone could help me with this: I have a definite recollection of reading a LONG time ago that Richard Franklin included a kind of Hitchcock "cameo" in PSYCHO II. I seem to recollect that it might have been something like a shadow of Hitchcock's famous profile on the closet door in Mrs. Bates' bedroom. Unfortunately, I read this AFTER seeing the movie, so I haven't been able to confirm it. Does this sound familiar to anybody?

(One bit of continuity between the first two movies that I find amusing is that Norman apparently ended up working at the same diner that he mentioned in the original. MARION: "I want sleep more than anything else. Except maybe, food." NORMAN: "Well, there's a big diner about ten miles up the road. Just outside of Fairvale.")

And the score seemed very tossable. But it also reminded me of the music in the original Deathwish and I'm not sure why, 'cept for its TV movie-ish feel. I'm glad Perkins appreciated the score because he acted his role in earnest. Which only makes the out-and-out contemporary slasher movie that followed reprehensible.

The charms of Psycho II are subtle, for sure, though palpable when you find them. But because it has subtle charms, I would argue that it is a subtle film.

Another masterfully scored moment in the film: Goldsmith's underscoring Norman's being on shaky ground in the diner, as Dennis Franz is egging him on. There's that quick-cut to the knife by the cake. We see it, we see that the flop-sweating Norman sees it. Goldsmith does this quease-inducing, wavering tone that just absolutely nails the psychology of that scene. Norman's unease really came through there brilliantly. If Psycho II were truly hack-work, it wouldn't have such moments.

I've got a million of 'em. ...And I'll just keep citing them until people come around! Heh-heh...

--Cooper

I'm a big fan of Goldsmith, and I love his music, but, unfortunatelly, he is capable of mediocrity. Gremlins 2, Poltergeist 2, Mom and Dad Save the World, Mr. Baseball, Executive Decision, Chain Reaction, U.S. Marshals, Deep Rising, Star Trek - Insurrection, The Haunting. Mediocre scores for mediocre films.

Hello producers, directors, agents (Blue Focus Management), the GREAT Jerry Goldsmith deserves better movies!

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnnyK:

Goldsmith is incapable of mediocrity.

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Preach on Brother!

NP: Dreamscape (M. Jarre)

Every composer has a bad day, just as everyone has a threshold for pain. What it takes for Goldsmith to be "mediocre" is about as much as it takes to wear down one of the characters for which he wrote music--Rambo. Of all of the film composers out there, if someone's going to score a film under the worst of conditions, it might as well be Goldsmith--because no one else can negotiate better the needs of a film--be it one that's brilliant or one that's stupid. http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/smile.gif">

That said, why do you think the scores you mentioned are mediocre? Is it simply because you don't like the music on album--or do you have legitimate gripes about the dramatic significance of the music functioning as score? If it's the latter, I'm happy to take issue with you about almost *every* one of the scores you mentioned.

Cheers,

Dan

But even his mediocre scores feature, at least, one interesting cue and are miles ahead of many of others...

And PSYCHO II is not mediocre by any means!
http://www.blarg.net/~dr_z/Movie/Posters/Cult/psychoII.jpg">

quote:

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Originally posted by Bill R. Myers:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by JohnnyK:

Goldsmith is incapable of mediocrity.

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Preach on Brother!

NP: Dreamscape (M. Jarre)
[/QUOTE]

Talk about mediocrity! One of Jarre's worst(the synth music almost too horrible to describe!)

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Originally posted by Tom:

Talk about mediocrity! One of Jarre's worst(the synth music almost too horrible to describe!)

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I love the way he layers the weird textures and sounds in the score. The crazy, disorienting array of percussive effects adds real excitement to the film's limp chase scenes. All the nightmare stuff is scored with maniacal fury, and Jarre's deft musical touch erases his tracks, so that the music doesn't drone in endless self-indulgence like some of the other synth scores of the period. The love theme was also very nice, although I could've done without the muzaky arrangement at the end. All this and the Beam too!

NP: From the Terrace (E. Bernstein)