I've read somewhere (not on this page of course) that Alan Silvestri ripped off a Grail Theme from the third Indiana Jones film, I really heard a very similar motive while watching the film (but I must say that Mr. Silvestri is not that kind of man who rips off other composers themes unless he is asked to do so, like Jerry Goldsmith was asked to copy the opening of Conan The Barbarian in Total Recall), but then the post says that he also ripped (not used a similar theme or motive or melody or whatever, but RIPPED) off Gustav Holst's The Planets and Petr Tchaikovsky's Sugar Plum Fairy Waltz. Did I miss anything, but I haven't heard any of those two pieces in Van Helsing score. If this is true then could someone point me to the moment when rip offs of these two pieces are heard? Thank you.
(By the way, the Van Helsing score is FANTASTIC!!!)

> I've read somewhere (not on this page of course) that Alan Silvestri
> ripped off a Grail Theme from the third Indiana Jones film

I was humming the whole Last Crusade knight's theme after watching Van Helsing. It's most certainly in there. So is Return of the King. So is a lot of boring-ass #####. Not a good score... at ALL.

> I was humming the whole Last Crusade knight's theme after watching Van
> Helsing. It's most certainly in there. So is Return of the King. So is a
> lot of boring-ass #####. Not a good score... at ALL.

Wow!! Response and attack! Impressive!

Itīs not the grail theme, itīs very very similar but itīs not (same begining but different end). You can hear it when mr van helsing is about to be briefed about his mission in transylvania (itīs about 4 seconds long)
Silvestri is too good to rip themes from other compositors

> Itīs not the grail theme, itīs very very similar but itīs not (same
> begining but different end). You can hear it when mr van helsing is about
> to be briefed about his mission in transylvania (itīs about 4 seconds
> long)
Silvestri is too good to rip themes from other compositors
>

I agree, the track sounded ALMOST loke the grail theme, but here Alan did a more personal score, touching the end of the family's curse...William's Grail theme is more grandiose, echoing a forgotten but noble past...

as for Alan ripping LOTR; BLAHHH i said to that; Alan Silvestri (along with John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith) were legends LOOng before Howard Shore became one (ya, i NEVER heard of Shore up until LOTR)...so to say Silvestri rip Shore's work is like what the Cardinal says to Van Helsing in the confessional box; "Don'y BLASPHEME"!!!!