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NOW you're talkin'!
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Posted: |
Oct 11, 2011 - 2:36 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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I love the film, flawed as it is, because as a child it introduced me to the story of the great battle and made me go out and read all the fine books that have been written about it like Walter Lord's "Incredible Victory" and Gordon Prange's "Miracle At Midway". In that respect, the movie did the best it could do in not letting it be the only thing for us to learn about the battle but to get us to read more. I'm of a similar mind about the film. I liked it because, unlike most battle films, it tried to clearly lay out the ebb and flow of the battle, and explain the reasons why the participants took the actions that they did, when they did. In that regard it is more like a History Channel documentary than a standard war film, but with the added benefits of major Hollywood stars doing the reenacting and a great composer doing the music. On the down side, all of the verisimilitude comes at the expense of any character development.
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Posted: |
Oct 11, 2011 - 10:46 AM
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By: |
jackfu
(Member)
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I also have the Varese rerecording from ’98 and have ordered this new release as well. This one is on my list of all-time faves. I recall seeing it in ’76 at the theater. Even with the recycled “Ruptured Duck” takeoff scenes from “Thirty Seconds over Tokyo”, when the music started with the piano and drums, I thought “gotta be Williams”, even tho I hadn’t known it beforehand. Anyway, I was hooked. I enjoy the transitional feel of it as Mr. Williams moved from Jaws style to that of “Black Sunday”, “Close Encounters”, et. al. As for the film, it was indeed too much of an ensemble effort; sorta Irwin Allen-ish disaster-type, but I enjoyed it, especially the “Sensurround”. I seem to recall that when it was premiered on TV extra scenes were added which recreated the Battle of the Coral Sea, which was only mentioned in the theatrical release. Also, if I’m not mistaken, the TV premiere ended with the “Men of the Yorktown March” instead of the “Midway March”. One caveat for me being the Chronologically Obsessive type, I’m a little apprehensive about the “Matt Takes Off / Matt’s Crash / Red Parks Fighters / Attack Begins” (Track 17). Even so, I’m really looking forward to receiving it.
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Posted: |
Oct 11, 2011 - 7:56 PM
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By: |
Eric Paddon
(Member)
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As for the film, it was indeed too much of an ensemble effort; sorta Irwin Allen-ish disaster-type, but I enjoyed it, especially the “Sensurround”. I seem to recall that when it was premiered on TV extra scenes were added which recreated the Battle of the Coral Sea, which was only mentioned in the theatrical release. Yes, and in keeping with the Universal practice of the day, all of those additional scenes for TV were shot long after the actual theatrical release and were not scenes rescued from the cutting room floor. In addition to the entire Coral Sea battle sequence, there was the additional subplot of Heston and his girlfriend, Susan Sullivan, and also two additional scenes for James Shigeta as Nagumo. The first shows him talking with a pilot who goes off to the Coral Sea battle and gets killed there, and then a new scene during the Midway battle shows Nagumo reflecting on that pilot he'd met. Other Universal films of the day that got similar padding for TV after-the-fact included "Earthquake" and "Two Minute Warning". Also, if I’m not mistaken, the TV premiere ended with the “Men of the Yorktown March” instead of the “Midway March”. Also correct. It's interesting how the "Midway March" theme is almost invisible throughout most of the film but "Men Of The Yorktown" dominates much of the actual score. The RSNO 1998 recording remains a worthy complement since it presented the material in a somewhat different take from the film version, but like other RSNO recordings of this era (Jaws) I like having them as additional ways to enjoy a good score.
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Second favorite release of this set. I only ordered two this time.
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Murder By Death has a really good score by Dave Grusin.
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Posted: |
Oct 12, 2011 - 8:49 AM
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By: |
jackfu
(Member)
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In addition to the entire Coral Sea battle sequence, there was the additional subplot of Heston and his girlfriend, Susan Sullivan, and also two additional scenes for James Shigeta as Nagumo. The first shows him talking with a pilot who goes off to the Coral Sea battle and gets killed there, and then a new scene during the Midway battle shows Nagumo reflecting on that pilot he'd met. Thanks so much, Eric! I had forgotten about most of those except for the added battle scenes. I’d like to see those “personal” scenes again, wish they were available somewhere. For me, James Shigeta and Robert Ito were the highlight of the film. Shigeta’s portrayal of Nagumo was excellent. He had the best line in the whole film; “Fifteen brave crews. They sacrifice themselves like Samurai, these Americans.” “Men of the Yorktown March” is a very moving piece, I think. I wonder if it or the “Midway March” has ever been used for any military functions (no offense intended if there are any military requirements for such). I’ve been to several Junior ROTC functions at which soundtrack music was used for parades, marches, awards ceremonies, etc.
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Posted: |
Oct 12, 2011 - 3:08 PM
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By: |
Grecchus
(Member)
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you pay quality, not quantity. ) but 37 min is fine, really. It's not 15 min or a suite. Problem is today we are accostumed to CDs that play for +70 min, even if that music dooes not really deserves it. I don't fancy this, but the running time wouldn't put me off. One of my favorite soundtrack CD's is Intrada's Mary Queen Of Scots (Barry) & that's only 28 minutes long! Surely, this must go with FSM's excellent volume for Tora, Tora, Tora. They're exactly two halves of a whole. The styles may clash; the one being from a thoroughly well produced film, the other a missed opportunity. However, it's the John and Jerry show and nothing can really top that. Actually, there is great scope for debate about the composer's approach to rendering both scores as they are. For instance, just imagine what might have been had both composers scored each other's fare?
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Posted: Sep 27, 2011 - 12:46 AM By: mxmx (Member) And just to keep things interesting I'll clarify further... there are actually TWO Williams releases I worked on that are coming out soon. Mike Okay, so "Midway" was ONE of them . . . (Insert sound of crickets here.)
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