Likes: what were the flaws in your eyes?
Faceplams: 0
Active Member
what were the flaws in your eyes?
Stubby Member
I feel there were too many separate pieces to the story that struggled to connect. There’s a moment that happens towards the end regarding the futures of both of the main characters that came out of nowhere and felt forced in to conclude the plot. I also didn’t completely buy the central relationship. It’s Mendes first script and from what I understand 95% of it is the first draft and it kind of shows. All that being said, it’s impressive if so much of it is that first draft as the sections that work, and there’s many of them, are incredibly powerful.Originally Posted by bobbie solo
Administrator
This movie is streaming on HBO Max now.
Hairy Member
I heard a few similar criticisms from reviewers I trust when the movie first came out, but will give it a watch anyway as it still sounds from them and your post that there's some good stuff in there.
Stubby Member
Honestly, I loved the film but Sam Mendes is one of my favorite directors. The score plays a really prominent role throughout too so if you are a fan of the music, it's worth checking out.
I was a little apprehensive about TRAR doing the score for this as Thomas Newman has always done an incredible job with Mendes' films. Road to Perdition is an overlooked masterpiece which deserves far more recognition than it gets, both the film and Newman's fantastic score. I have to say though, the pairing worked well for Empire of Light. I really hope this gets a release on vinyl because it is certainly one of my favorite scores from TRAR, could be in the top three for me.
Flaccid Member
Hello, fellow NIN fans. Am I alone in thinking that the track "Empire of Light," from the soundtrack of the same name, is reminiscent of "A Warm Place" from The Downward Spiral?
Administrator
I can confirm that the same people worked on both tracks, so there might be a connection there.
Stubby Member
Considering Empire of Light still hasn't been added to the discography page on the official site, I have very small expectations of this wonderful score ever receiving an official physical release which makes me sad.
Also, the official site is a total bummer right? When it launched in 2016 it was fun to read through all the descriptions of albums, etc. but they haven't updated anything in a few years now in that regard. For a band that has always put so much thought into presentation and detail, it surprises me that the official site is essentially a glorified tumblr page.
Throbbing Member
I’m late to the party, but this soundtrack has moments of utter, devastating beauty. It has some of TR&AR’s most transcendently stunning compositions. I feel so utterly blessed to live in a world where there is both a deep, rich catalogue of mainline NIN work, and a growing body of score work that is rivalling the band’s for its emotional impact and sheer scope.
How fucking lucky are we?
nindivinedebris
I know it's a bit off topic, but I agree and disagree with your thoughts on the website. Yes, the website felt fresh when it re-launched back in 2016. Stark white, easy to navigate, minimalistic. But in 2023, I tend to feel like the purpose of the official NIN webpage is really just to share news, tour info, and host a webstore. Everything else is more than covered by the many fan run sites.
I'm not sure that the lack of updates to the webpage should signify any future plans for physical releases though. I do think it's a shame that this and the other scores haven't seen a CD release at least. Aside from Soul, the last one to receive a CD release was The Vietnam War back in 2016. Obviously vinyl as a format as a lot of logistical issues, which is why some people are starting to turn back to CD's because they're cheaper.
Throbbing Member
Nah nah nah my friend. I went ahead and fixed that right up for you.
Stubby Member
They updated the Discography section of the site to include the TMNT score, but still no Empire of Light. Maybe there's more to the story than just negligence? I looked back and there was never any mention of the score on the homepage either. I wonder if something happened that essentially has stopped them from promoting this work? I'm glad that we did get the music though because Empire of Light is in my Top 3 scores by them. Hopefully it gets recognition someday.
Active Member
They've got Patriots Day and Bird Box on there, so I can't see them excluding Empire Of Light too even if something happened behind the scenes. The fact that they still have the Patriots Day vinyl listed in the store as coming soon tells me that whoever is running the site isn't always the best at keeping up with things.
Last edited by BRoswell; 08-01-2023 at 11:23 AM.
Active Member
This is such a fascinating movie to me. It was set up to be a huge awards contender: Sam Mendes, Olivia Colman, Roger Deakins, Trent & Atticus. And then it was panned in reviews and overlooked during awards season. I think it's a perfectly fine movie, but it's almost like the potential was so great that the final product felt more disappointing to reviewers & awards committees than if it were made by a relatively unknown cast & crew.
I think it's pretty obvious Trent & Atticus don't really care about how well a movie does reviews/awards-wise, but it's possible they took the job as a bit of a hired gun / try out working with a new filmmaker gig, and when the movie wasn't looking like it was going to make the rounds, they just decided not to bother promoting it.
Also, they've gone from scoring one movie every year or two to scoring 2-3 movies most years, even when they've been touring. We're going to have to make peace with the fact that not every score is going to get a physical release or in some cases even much of a mention by the guys.
Hairy Member
Ugh, I so want the expanded version of the Bird Box score, which isn't even on any service. I can't even buy that ridiculously expensive LP to get a download code, since it is sold out.
And of course I want a CD release for all the other scores that haven't gotten one. I want artwork, liner notes, a physical object,...
Stubby Member
I don't think you take a job with Sam Mendes as a hired gun,I'm sure they admired him as an artist. I mean they have taste in cinema lol. And the material was something that pushed them to new territory too. I can't guess why it's not promoted but I refuse to believe this is a gig taken for the sake of taking gigs(although I believe that above every movie they scored)
Active Member
Yeah, I mentioned working with Mendes as a no-brainer a couple pages back (or maybe in the general score thread, actually). What I meant was there are definitely cases of T&A being sought out directly by a filmmaker but probably also cases of them and a filmmaker being connected by a producer in a sort of “maybe try this pairing out” kind of a way. This could have been the latter.
Empire of Light would have been perfect for Mendes to use his usual composter Thomas Newman, but he was doing the next Pixar movie, so it could have been that they ended up swapping places.
Last edited by Toadflax; 08-02-2023 at 06:25 PM.
Hairy Member
Not sure if it's due to this thread, but notice Empire Of Light is now in the discography section. Wonder if a sign that the site is getting updated and they'll add to Mank links for vinyl and Bandcamp extended version, HEALTH single etc?
Stubby Member
Noticed that the work on Halsey LP is not mentionned as well in the misc section (while Saul Williams or Manson are).
Let's check in few days if these posts has been read.
Throbbing Member
is there any confirmation that EofL is NULL14?
Administrator
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote