> I started a chronological rundown of my ENTIRE Goldsmith collection on
> August 18th. All 115 scores that I owned/knew the location of at the start
> of the survey (films, tv seasons, tv movies, and miniseries) were
> in-scope. And yes, that included the multiple album programs that some of
> them have (film versions, LP recordings, subsequent re-recordings).
> Initial assessments of the recently unpacked Thriller Vol. 1 and the
> recently purchased The Don is Dead were deferred for post-survey listening
> (so, apologies, I cannot comment on the synth noodling in the latter
> work...yet).

> I tried listening to other stuff so I didn't get fatigue. But as a result
> it took over a month to do the whole thing!

> Honestly, not a TON of movement happened. I was already fairly familiar
> with most of these, and in what should be news to, like, no one, Jerry
> wrote a lot of really good stuff in every decade he composed during.

> A few scores got dropped a half rating, namely some **** works that were
> more like 'guilty pleasure' ***1/2 works (here's looking at you, Extreme
> Prejudice). I liked older stuff like The List of Adrian Messenger and The
> Going Up Of David Lev more than I recalled. Seconds gained a full star;
> it's still not one of his most listenable works in my book, but it didn't
> deserve a 'poor' rating. A lot of early-mid period Goldsmith 'Americana'
> scores (many of which sort of function like harmonica concertos) do tend
> to blend together.

> Probably the only monumental shift occurred with QB VII, which gained a
> half star and jumped into my JG top 10, courtesy of blasting the full
> Prometheus rerecording CD on a good sound system.

> All listed below by rating and order of preference. Rating drops
> identified. Feel free to applaud, debate, hate on, and/or ignore.

> ***** (the top 10)
> Under Fire
> Star Trek: The Motion Picture
> The Wind and the Lion
> Legend (U.S. rejected / European cut)
> Patton
> Lionheart (1987)
> Hoosiers
> QB VII +1/2
> The Russia House
> Total Recall (1990)

Still can't fathom the love of Total Recall and Patton, outside their fantastic main themes/opening cues. Also think Wind and the Lion is a bit overpraised, but whatev's, still damn good.

> ***** (the rest)
> First Knight
> The Omen (1976)
> The Blue Max +1/2
> The Shadow
> Mulan (1998)
> Poltergeist (1982)
> Planet of the Apes (1968)

Can't disagree much, except that Apes I find a lot more fun to talk about than actually listen to. Also, why do people love Poltergeist so damn much???

> ****½ (round up to 5)
> The Secret of NIMH
> Rambo: First Blood Part 2
> Masada (parts 1 & 2)
> The Ghost and the Darkness
> The Sand Pebbles -1/2
> Papillon (1973)
> Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
> First Blood

> ****½ (round down to 4)
> Gremlins 2: The New Batch
> Rudy
> The Mummy (1999)
> The Final Conflict
> Rambo III
> The ‘Burbs
> Basic Instinct
> The Swarm
> Night Crossing
> Rio Conchos
> Star Trek: Insurrection
> Medicine Man

Rudy definitely needed to be in that top 10. Fo sho.

> ****
> Gremlins
> The Red Pony (1973) -1/2
> Take a Hard Ride
> Capricorn One
> The 13th Warrior
> Islands in the Stream -1/2
> In Harm’s Way
> Explorers
> Lonely Are the Brave
> A Patch of Blue
> Small Soldiers
> Twilight Zone: The Movie
> Timeline (rejected)
> Star Trek: First Contact
> The Edge
> The Haunting
> The Boys From Brazil
> Ransom (1975) / The Terrorists
> The Going Up of David Lev +1/2
> The List of Adrian Messenger +1/2
> The Artist Who Did Not Want to Paint
> The Flim-Flam Man
> The Chairman
> Contract on Cherry Street

Wow, I haven't heard any of the last, like, five or six things you listed there haha.

> ***½ (round up to 4)
> Extreme Prejudice
> 100 Rifles
> Air Force One
> Supergirl
> The Great Train Robbery / The First Great Train Robbery
> Tora! Tora! Tora!
> The Sum of All Fears
> Damnation Alley
> A Gathering of Eagles
> Barnaby Jones Season 1 “Requiem for a Son” -1/2
> Innerspace
> Forever Young
> Hour of the Gun
> The Salamander
> Alien
> Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Season 2 'Jonah and the Whale' -1/2
> Damien: Omen II
> King Solomon’s Mines (1985)
> Leviathan (1989)

I'd definitely rate Sum of All Fears and Air Force One higher than 3.5/5. Agreed with lots of others though.

> ***½ (round down to 3)
> Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend
> Wild Rovers
> Logan’s Run +1/2
> Chinatown
> Lilies of the Field -1/2
> Star Trek: Nemesis
> Chain Reaction
> Magic
> A Girl Named Sooner
> Seconds +1
> The Prize
> Powder
> Raggedy Man
> Bad Girls
> The Twilight Zone Season 2 “Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room”, “The
> Invaders”, “Jazz Theme #2”

Take it from someone who also used to rate Chinatown 3.5/5 -- you're wrong!!! Hop on the Chinatown train, buddy, it's wonderful.

> ***
> Bandolero!
> Stagecoach (1966)
> The River Wild
> In Like Flint -1/2
> Our Man Flint
> Warning Shot (1967) -1/2
> L.A. Confidential -1/2
> Love Field
> Sleeping with the Enemy -1/2
> High Velocity
> Freud
> U.S. Marshals
> I.Q.
> Matinee
> The Stripper -1/2
> The Homecoming: A Christmas Story
> Cain’s Hundred Season 1 (four episodes) -1/2
> Nick Quarry (unaired pilot)
> Archer (1975) Season 1 “Shades of Blue”

Awh! LA Confidential is awesome, man!!

> **1/2
> Escape from the Planet of the Apes -1/2

Yeah, recently watched the film and was shocked his name was on it. Didn't sound like a Goldsmith score at all.

This was fun, cheers bud!