Yesterday I watched Dragonslayer and I wholeheartedly agree with Christian here. A good film score isn't recognized by the viewer, it supports the images by enhancing the right emotions at the right time. While watching Dragonslayer I had always the music in my face, contrasting the really stunning landscape images with dissonant, irritatingly un-epic arrangements and melodies. The music in the scary scenes is quite good but not above average. So if Mr. North wanted to bring some avantgarde music to the movies he failed miserably. Dragonslayer would have profited much of a Goldsmith or Horner score.

I get the feeling that there are some people here that perhaps should stick to film scores by James Horner, Hans Zimmer or John Williams and let masterpieces like "Dragonslayer" for the ears of "connoiseurs".

Pearls should not be given to swines or, to say it mildly, cliché lovers.

Excuse my manners, if you please, but the thing is that I've never had read so dumb a review about a soundtrack as the one written above.

Each to his own, I suppose.

> I get the feeling that there are some people here that perhaps should
> stick to film scores by James Horner, Hans Zimmer or John Williams and let
> masterpieces like "Dragonslayer" for the ears of
> "connoiseurs".

> Pearls should not be given to swines or, to say it mildly, cliché lovers.

> Excuse my manners, if you please, but the thing is that I've never had
> read so dumb a review about a soundtrack as the one written above.

> Each to his own, I suppose.

Excuse me, but I've never read a more arrogant answer to a post than yours.

I didn't post a review of the score but expressed my opinion in the context of watching the movie. As you wrote, Dragonslayer might be "for the ears of connoiseurs" but it's definitively not "for the eyes AND ears of movie lovers".

What? And who's been arrogant here? It would seem that only you are able to judge how a good score must be. Define what a "movie lover" is, please. What is that? Perhaps someone who likes scores by the likes of Horner or Goldsmith (precisely the ones you enjoy? What a coindidence... Well, don't make me laugh please, I'm tired of hearing opinions about people like you who consider their personal tastes as the yardstick to measure the objective quality of something.

"Dragonslayer" is a neglected masterpiece, it's not for everyone, but it's sheer quality is plain to see, I think.

> What? And who's been arrogant here? It would seem that only you are able
> to judge how a good score must be. Define what a "movie lover"
> is, please. What is that? Perhaps someone who likes scores by the likes of
> Horner or Goldsmith (precisely the ones you enjoy? What a coindidence...
> Well, don't make me laugh please, I'm tired of hearing opinions about
> people like you who consider their personal tastes as the yardstick to
> measure the objective quality of something.

> "Dragonslayer" is a neglected masterpiece, it's not for
> everyone, but it's sheer quality is plain to see, I think.

The "objective quality of something" ... I think with film music there is no such thing. Yes, you can measure the quality of the orchestration, the sound quality, the complexity of the score, the quality-by-atonality etc. But all that is nothing when it doesn't work in the film.

The Dragonslayer score really distracted me from the movie, it was so much in my face and out of sync with the screen action (I think about the awful finale). As I already said, a score must put itself in the service of the movie, it shouldn't be conceived like a composition that stands on its own (if it does it's great but that's only a goodie).

Horner is a good example. There are a lot of people (incl. me) that hate when he reuses the same melodies & tricks over and over again. His latest score for Avatar can be described as Best-of-Horner, many similarities to previous scores. Nevertheless I like the score very much and within the movie it works brilliantly so he must do something right and that is to reflect and support the scene with his music.

> I get the feeling that there are some people here that perhaps should
> stick to film scores by James Horner, Hans Zimmer or John Williams and let
> masterpieces like "Dragonslayer" for the ears of
> "connoiseurs".

> Pearls should not be given to swines or, to say it mildly, cliché lovers.

> Excuse my manners, if you please, but the thing is that I've never had
> read so dumb a review about a soundtrack as the one written above.

> Each to his own, I suppose.

I agree, North is a true master, and this review is absolutely wrong, I think that the person that wrote this, is in love with the pseudo composers of the Zimmer´s gang, and doesn´t know anything about real and serious film music.

> I agree, North is a true master, and this review is absolutely wrong, I
> think that the person that wrote this, is in love with the pseudo
> composers of the Zimmer´s gang, and doesn´t know anything about real and
> serious film music.

Can you enlighten me and tell me something about "real and serious film music" ? Don't you also think that Goldsmith and Horner are also true masters of film scoring ?

> I think that the person that wrote this, is in love with the pseudo
> composers of the Zimmer´s gang

Hehehehe. I'd suggest reading the PotC and Transformers soundtrack reviews and read how much in love is Christian with Zimmer's gang.