music at the movies

urqh – My ambition is that, within a reasonably short time - but not ‘tomorrow’, some 20 or more veterans (W.W.II) will be using computers to, at least, send and receive emails, do a little surfing and type a few letters. The typical objections are; (1) “I’m too old for computers”, (2) “I can’t understand that stuff”, and (3) “I ain’t got the money”. For someone of 80, living alone on a State pension, that’s not unreasonable. Two of my friends in that category, are willing to have a go, the second came onboard last weekend. If their comrades see they can do it, more will try?

I keep hearing stories of companies that, ‘have just dumped X dozen Series II’s or III’s’ after recent upgrades, or sold them off to staff for a tenner a piece. For now then, I’m looking for two machines. Where the men live doesn’t matter as if a whole system was delivered to their door, it would thereafter just sit there. So, the plan is, I will set-up the machines as in they will be fully click-and-go, right through to email accounts. They won’t be networked, but when someone phones me and asks a basic question (emphasis on ‘basic’), I’ll know exactly what’s on their machine and what should or should not be happening. I can quite easily get machines picked-up in London or the home counties. Easiest is south and west London and Surrey + borders.

Expected ex-network office machines probably won’t have modems. However, I see these in Micromart as cheap as £7.00.

Thanks

No.9

 

Its no good to you now, and galling to think of too..Only last year I got rid of about 50 Macintosh 3400c laptops for a fiver each, when one of our offices went pc like the rest of the world... These flipping 2 fingered mouse things eh...

Again wont be tomorrow, but Ill see what I can help you with...Might just be modems in short term..think we have some card modems around but will only be 33k, good enough for internet use.

Could help with support of anything I find. Have to find out when next audit is firstly and make some claims...

I'll come back to you.

 

Thank you for the thoughts urqh. No I’m not upset about missing the laptops. The last thing they need is a device that’s small and fiddley and is cheaper to replace than repair! Anyway, good as Mac’s may be, cheap and plentiful bits/programmes are PC and Gates , it’s the way of the world, (thereby speaks an ex Beta user – superiority don’t count for squat).

I’ll continue my search and be pleased to hear of anything that comes your way.

No.9

 

Panzerknacker's more than right!

Those are films with even greater music!!! Just have to mention that two of them were composed by the Soundtrack GOD, John Williams.

Don't forget "Enemy at the Gates", James Horner was very good at it.

 

Main Title theme for Patton with those trumpet echos suggesting his belief in reincarnation... Goldsmith was a genius.

 

Urqh,This thread is a very interesting one to me, so I wrote an add on. Hope you don't mind. I just wanted to ask... Does it need to be an original theme written for the movie? You've mixed several different types of music in your first five choices.

"It's the whistling" from "Bridge on the River Kwai" is a gross oversimplification to me. The music for aq movie is an essential element of my enjoyment and one of the things that can set appart a good from a great movie.

The march from "Bridge On The River Kwai" (for those who do not know the story) is actually a folk song called "Colonel Bogey" written in 1914 by military band leader Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts. The composer for the score was actually Malcolm Arnold. In film music circles the distinction is as important as the difference between a Sherman or a panzer tank (if you get my meaning).

The song was not written into the script. It improvised on the set by director David Lean and the actors (many of whom were veterans) in order to set the defiant tone of the Brittish soldiers as they entered camp. Also the tune was old enough, it was felt that the rights would be fairly cheap, if they were not already in the public domain.

The song was originally popularized as a golfing song to indicate a "bogey" (hence the title).
At the begining of the second world war it aquired rude and satirical lyrics:

"Hitler has only got one ball,
Göring has two but very small,
Himmler is somewhat sim'lar,
But poor Goebbels has no balls at all."

It was deemed inapropriate for a general audience film, but Lean felt the lyrics were well known enough that if the actors all just whistled the tune it would be enough to get the message accross and get around the sensor. Later composer Malcolm Arnold wrote a counter march called the "River Kwai March" to underscore the Bogey tune.

So chosing "Colonel Bogey" from "Bridge on the River Kwai" is as appropriate as chosing the "Mickey Mouse march" (composed in 1955 by Jimmie Dodd) at the battle of Hué in "Full Metal Jaket".

For me, however they are both in a different category from, say the "Hymn to the Fallen" from "Saving Private Ryan" composed entirely by John Williams or the "Fort Wagner" theme written by James Horner for "Glory". Neither of these themes or original scores have yet stood the test of time as "Conquest" from Alfred Newman's score for "Captain of Castille" or Richard Addinsell's "Warsaw Concerto" which not only became a big hit in the movie "Dangerous Moonlight" in 1941 but went on to become a great favorite in concert halls in the "classical" music repertoire. In fact a lot of people may not even remember it was from a movie.

Martin Bull adds "The Battle of Brittain" to his list and specifies that it is a Ron Goodwin score. While essentially correct, there is a very important theme by William Walton called "Battle In The Air", that like the Warsaw Concerto, has transcended the film it appears in and has become a favorite concert piece for many people. Meanwhile poor Ron Goodwin has been left behind by many film music affictionados as too bombastic due in large part to the German military marches that dominate the score. Personally my favorite cue from the album is a gentle little piece called "The Lull before the Battle" (or "Lull Before the Storm" I'm not sure which).

Then we have yet a third category. Favorite song written for a movie:

"The Green Leaves of Summer" from "The Alamo"
and
"Burning Bridges" from "Kelly's Heroes"

Some film music lovers have trouble with 1970s songs that were dumped onto a soundtrack album just to sell records or promote the recording artists. This practice resulted in songs that were inapropriate for the movie and ruined the listening experience for the listener. While "Alamo" seems fine, "Kelly's Heroes" was very bizarre to me. This is not a reflection on the quality of the song, mind you. I just find that the "Kelly's Heroes" song was like the one used under the credits of "Anzio". For me that's just a big WTF?

I'm sorry for such a long post. I get carried away.

 

No...you carry on mate....Old thread...I've retired and lived another 2 lives since then...Favourite has changed too...Dunkirk still on list but adding The Yangtse Incident...where Amathyst slips anchor and makes a run for it.

 

I guess Leighton Lucas was on a roll. He wrote the wonderful "The Dam Busters" the year before... I'll keep my ear to the ground for that one.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPzTGx96P6U