Since Mel Gibson had two war epics in the late 90's. The Patriot and Braveheart. I wonder which film and which film score do you prefer? Personally I like both films but I choose Braveheart. Concerning the music I love various tracks from Braveheart but I have to admit that I like The Patriot score a lot more.
Braveheart for me. My favourite Horner score and one of my all-time favourite scores. Braveheart is brilliant, The Patriot is very good.
I'm definitely pleased that this score now has the deluxe treatment and remastering, it has long been one of my favorite Williams scores from the 2000's. I am finding the alternates quite fascinating. Interestingly enough, though, after several listens, I find that I still prefer the original album presentation as it presents the most engaging highlights of the score. For me, 100+ minutes is just too long for a devoted listen and I think it takes quite awhile for this score to get its motor running, even though it has such memorable themes throughout. I like the cues that Williams combined for certain album tracks and the varied, non-chronological sequence so that the high energy tracks can "juice up" the listen at regular intervals.
How is it this score never made it to any digital services?
My Intrada box arrived this morning and as I'm working from home, what a serendipitous alignment it will be. While Bruce, Basil, Maurice, Fernando and Nile await, there was only gonna be one winner in the First In The Player award. And My Oh My, less than 30 minutes in, track 2 (The North Star) and track 5 (Defeat At Charleston) are already blasting my senses. Where were these on the original 65 minute release!!?? Great stuff. Almost double the amount of score to be discovered and enjoyed. Cool package. The 24 page booklet/notes look ace (I love John Takis' writings). This is gonna be EPIC!! Thanks Intrada (and to think REIVERS will be following right soon from LLL...Good Times).
It's crazy how different this score plays out, as score-in-film-order vs Williams' re-arranged/re-edited highlights album. He built a great 'nice piece/dark piece/rousing piece' ebb and flow to the original CD that is SO DIFFERENT from the full score experience. The first 75 minutes of the score (CD1) offers moody, atmospheric music contrasted with tranquil moments of beauty and anguish, with nary a sniff of the marching triumphant music that seemed to dominate the OST. It's not until CD2 kicks in, that pretty much all of the rousing battle/action music gets its moment in the sun. Despite the length (107 minutes) there's hardly a wasted note. Every moment offers tension or beauty or anguish or euphoria. And Williams composed a few of the Source Music cues too (Tavern & Camp tunes and a Wedding celebration that sounds like it came from Endor or Tatooine)* I just wish I'd avoided seeing the risible cartoon movie back in the day, as I can't get Mel's gurning (psychotic?) English hating face far enough out of my mind and away from the glorious music Williams supplied the film with. Ahhh well, maybe with time...
While we are all waiting for the (hopefully) inevitable amazing Legacy of John Williams podcast with Mike Matessino about this release, I thought some folks might like to know that the late Douglass Fake talked with The Goldsmith Odyssey in some detail about Intrada's expansion of The Patriot over a year ago, and we got it "on tape"! As part of our new Islands in the Stream Spotlight which doubles as a Doug Fake Memorial podcast, we decided to include some previously recorded but unreleased conversation with Doug himself at the end, from when he teased both MacArthur and The Patriot to us during earlier Spotlight recordings with him: https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=159437&forumID=1&archive=0
For people who want to skip Islands in the Stream conversation (you shouldn't!), the Doug Fake Memorial section starts at 1:35:25, and the section covering Intrada's expansion of The Patriot is the last 13 minutes or so, starting around the 2hr 23min mark.
While we are all waiting for the (hopefully) inevitable amazing Legacy of John Williams podcast with Mike Matessino about this release, I thought some folks might like to know that the late Douglass Fake talked with The Goldsmith Odyssey in some detail about Intrada's expansion of The Patriot over a year ago, and we got it "on tape"! As part of our new Islands in the Stream Spotlight which doubles as a Doug Fake Memorial podcast, we decided to include some previously recorded but unreleased conversation with Doug himself at the end, from when he teased both MacArthur and The Patriot to us during earlier Spotlight recordings with him: https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=159437&forumID=1&archive=0
For people who want to skip Islands in the Stream conversation (you shouldn't!), the Doug Fake Memorial section starts at 1:35:25, and the section covering Intrada's expansion of The Patriot is the last 13 minutes or so, starting around the 2hr 23min mark.
Yavar
The Podcast with Mike Matessino…Will contain both Releases of John Williams ..The Patriot and The Reiver’s. Toward the end of March! Can’t wait to hear the backstories of both!
"I'm on my second play through the full monty and I'm enjoying it very much. Even when he's channeling his inner Morricone- d1, track 24" ------------------ Yes Damian. That temp-track copy was quite apparent on the original album, as 'Susan Speaks' was on there already. It's not quite as on-the-nose as the Delerue influence in HOOK (You Are...Agnes Of God), but one can hear that Williams was no doubt following some Morricone in the temp.
