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Bad Movies with Good Music/Good Movies with Bad Music

DominicCobb

DominicCobb

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I've been listening to the brilliant Philip Glass a bit recently and learned yesterday that he co-composed last year's monumentally bad Fant4stic with Marco Beltrami. Now I didn't see the movie (because I don't hate myself) but I couldn't imagine a Glass/Beltrami team-up being anything but awesome. So I checked it out the main theme, and I wasn't wrong:

It's really a shame to see such solid music go to waste on such a waste of a movie. But, of course, here at FE.org, it's not really a waste if we can repurpose it! My immediate thought when I hear that theme is some sort of modern sic-fi Western mystery (so basically HBO's Westworld, although that already has great music). 

Anyway it got me thinking, what are some bad movies with really good music? And the flip side of the coin, what are some good movies with really bad music (that could do with a good replacement)? 

Bad music, good movie is a bit tougher. There are a lot of good movies with bland or disappointing scores (the recent Marvel score discussion comes to mind) but not many that I can think of with truly bad scores. Ladyhawke is a famous example (though I've yet to see the film). I think probably a lot of movies with synth scores from the 80s and 90s would qualify (as the the quality on them ranged drastically and they rarely fit the tone of the film). Legend's another good example though the Goldsmith score in the director's cut more than makes up for the Tangerine Dream of the original.

Another bad one with good music is the Frankenstein Bruce Lee film, Game of Death. The movie's a total train wreck, but check out this epic John Barry theme:

What examples can you guys think of? We could get some fanedit ideas rolling here. Maybe we can even match a good score from a bad movie with a good movie with a bad score! That'd be cute.
 
Transformers: the Movie.  what the hell is The Touch doing in that movie? 
opposite side.
Mortal Kombat.  i shamelessly enjoy that score, but the movie missed the mark so far from the game, it's laughable now.

(i'm obviously not a film score guy.)
 
I immediately thought of "Adventures in Zambezia". It's the first feature film from Triggerfish Studios in Cape Town and is decidedly amateur (their next film, Khumba, is a huge improvement). But the score is incredible! The score won awards. The film did not!
I couldn't find an official video on youtube, but here is "flying to zambezia"

Here is the official music video with the song "Get Up"

The composer is Bruce Retief
 
There are plenty of ace movies with forgettable scores but probably less of the other kind? The elephant in the room is course the Star Wars prequels with JW scores far, far better than they deserve.

I don't know if I ever mentioned this before ;) ... but the critically despised 'Heaven's Gate' has one the most beautiful scores ever by David Mansfield...


Most everybody thinks 'Dune' is a bad movie (They are of course wrong!! :mad: ) but you can't argue that the score by Toto and Brian Eno is epic and stirring stuff...


'Santa Clause: The Movie' is commercial trash (I still love it though) but Henry Mancini created some lovely music...


Star Trek has always had great music (Maybe not 'Enterprise'), even the worst ST movie there will hopefully ever be, had a good Goldsmith score...

 
I've been toying with the idea of faneditng the Expendables trilogy and giving them a more "80's" feel by changing the music  with what's called "new-retrowave", music that sounds like it's from the 80's but is all new (Drive soundtrack is a good example), using old school gunfire sound effects (dirty harry's magnum and the terminator shotgun blast, anyone?) and altering the color timing to remove the typical modern day teal blanket look and get it down to a more normal, neutral, color palette.

Then add fake movie trailers of arnie and sly's other recent work with that '80's' feel to them.
 
Transformers

How in the world can such a trashy movie have such a beautiful soundtrack? Oh, because Jablonsky was a Hans Zimmer understudy.



Oh, and can't forget these diamonds hidden in a triple lump of coal.



 
DigModiFicaTion said:
Transformers.  How in the world can such a trashy movie have such a beautiful soundtrack? 
Click to expand...

Score? yes. Soundtrack? aww, heeelllllll no. Ima just leave this here:

 
^yes, the score. Sorry for the gross error :)
 
LOL, it's fine. Michael Bay loves some cock rock.
 
'Gremlins 2' just came out in the UK on blu-ray for I think the first time and upon rewatching it, I was really struck with how wonderful Jerry Goldsmith's score is. You could launch the Enterprise to some of it ;) . I'm not saying G2 is a bad film, I think it's great but it's got a really classy score for a zany madcap comedy satire. To me it sounds like Goldsmith incorporated influences from New York (Where the film is set) film composers like Bernard Hermann and George Gershwin in places.

This youtube guy has put together a nice little suite of some of the best bits...


Again not bad movie to me (I looooove it! A masterpiece) but I know many can't stand 'Planet Terror'. Still the score is the best thing Juan Carpenter never recorded...


I almost can't let a week go by without listening to the squealing Spanish guitar solo from the main title at least once. It kinda reminds me of the 'Fun House' LP by The Stooges and that's one of my all time favourite albums.
 
While I think of it... a James Horner "bad" movies bonus round...





When you look at the full and extensive list of his work, the late great master has scored a heck of a lot of questionable projects starting off with Roger Corman but always elevated the material.
 
Yeah there's a good amount of mismatched movies and scores. 

For example I recently watched Lifeforce, which is not great but still solid. Yet, the film's spooky, sci-fi, supernatural mystery angle didn't really fit with this awesome, bombastic Mancini score:
 
Willow is a musical, visual, and cinematic masterpiece to me.  :p

TM2YC said:
[font=Raleway, sans-serif]Star Trek has always had great music (Maybe not 'Enterprise'), even the worst ST movie there will hopefully ever be, had a good Goldsmith score...[/font]
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I thought Leonard Rosenman's ST IV score was pretty bad, not to mention a complete ripoff of his Lord of the Rings score.


Compare the above 1:04 timestamp with the below 4:10 timestamp

 
An otherwise forgettable parody comedy (although some movie nerds like myself remember it), I LOVE the theme to National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1. As a smooth jazz lover, regardless of how cheesy it is, I have no shame in saying that I've probably listened to this jam a thousand times:

 
DigModiFicaTion said:
I thought Leonard Rosenman's ST IV score was pretty bad, not to mention a complete ripoff of his Lord of the Rings score.
Click to expand...

They are very similar for sure but I love them both.
 
TM2YC said:
DigModiFicaTion said:
I thought Leonard Rosenman's ST IV score was pretty bad, not to mention a complete ripoff of his Lord of the Rings score.
Click to expand...

They are very similar for sure but I love them both.
Click to expand...

His Robocop 2 score is very similar to both. 


On topic: Robocop 3.  I'd actually go so far as to say both sequels are just "okay", but most would put 3 well into the bad column.  As such...


 
Two more entries: Ocean's 12 and The Goblet of Fire

Great music, terrible movies.


 
Nobody has mentioned 'Suicide Squad' yet :D . A good jukebox soundtrack on it's own but worked quite badly for the movie IMO.
 
DominicCobb said:
For example I recently watched Lifeforce, which is not great but still solid. Yet, the film's spooky, sci-fi, supernatural mystery angle didn't really fit with this awesome, bombastic Mancini score:
Click to expand...

Not familiar with that movie, but the artwork was lifted from a classic Crimson Glory album (or vice versa).

 
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