I was listening to the Silvestri soundtrack from Van Helsing while working in the studio, and it occurred to me how much I disliked the film and yet enjoy the soundtrack. Anyone else have a similar?

"The Fury" from the late 1970's; I don't remember much of the film, but John William's soundtrack was terrific.

Not a film, but the anime mini-series BASTARD. I bought the soundtrack, and loved it, but hated the show.

The only redeeming feature of the godawful Dino di Laurentiis 1976 remake of King Kong is John Barry's score. I'm especially fond of the lilting, romantic "Maybe My Luck Has Changed" theme.

The only redeeming feature of the godawful Dino di Laurentiis 1976 remake of King Kong is John Barry's score. I'm especially fond of the lilting, romantic "Maybe My Luck Has Changed" theme.

Spot on.

Jaws 2 also has a better score than it deserves, courtesy John Williams. The opening theme is quietly haunting, and a number of thoughtful pieces are dragged down by the mediocrity of the film itself. I have the score on vinyl, but alas no phonograph currently.

If we extend this discussion to television, some of Star Trek TOS's third-season episodes were absolute garbage but had great music. I'm thinking particularly of George Duning's evocative, melodic scores for "The Empath" and "Is There In Truth No Beauty?". (He also scored the second-season ep "Metamorphosis," but that was a good episode.)

My short list of bad flicks with good scores:



Alexander
Batman Forever
Dune
First Knight
Home Alone 1&2
Hostage
Masters of the Universe
The Musketeer
Star Trek V
Supergirl
Van Helsing
Wing Commander

A couple of guilty pleasure films that I actually like, but really aren't very good: the scores from "the Final Countdown," and Chuck Norris' "An Eye for an Eye" are outstanding.

And, hey, "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" is one of my favorite Trek episodes, score and all! It's, like, the perfect sixties story!

Brain of Blood. Don't bother looking, you'll probably never find it.

Most Inappropriate Score, if I may add it: The Asphyx.

EDIT:

Brain of Blood is on DVD and available at Amazon.

The end is nigh.

The only redeeming feature of the godawful Dino di Laurentiis 1976 remake of King Kong is John Barry's score. I'm especially fond of the lilting, romantic "Maybe My Luck Has Changed" theme.

Wow, you really nailed it. Fantastic score to a sucky movie.

I would however argue that Dino Kong has one or two other redeeming features, e.g Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange's legs.

Another score that comes to mind is Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I'll probably catch hell for this, but in spite of best intentions I've always thought this was a pretty poor film. On the other hand, the score is one of my all-time faves.

Brain of Blood is on DVD and available at Amazon.

The end is nigh.Ah, one of Al Adamson's epics! I love his movies. They make Roger Corman's early drive-in fare look like Lawrence of Arabia.
I would however argue that Dino Kong has one or two other redeeming features, e.g Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange's legs.[IMG-LEFT]http://kingkong.ugo.com/images/galleries/kingkong_jessicalange_girlfriends/kingkong_jessicalange_1_180.jpg[/IMG-LEFT]




Just her LEGS??

Just her LEGS??

Lange's figure gets high marks across the board, but her legs are exceptional. All that dancing, I guess.

Thought of another one: the original Casino Royal. Dreadful film, iconic 60's score.

Alot of time, I will have wanted to see a movie, or series and heard the music first. The music brings so much promise. Two more that does not deliver are, the 50's series MEN INTO SPACE, and the Anime MOLDIVER. The music hints at action, and well....

Just about any score by Jerry Goldsmith...no great composer ever scored more lousy movies.

Mancini's bombastic main/closing theme for LIFEFORCE wasn't bad at all...it just didn't fit the tone of the film.

Just about any score by Jerry Goldsmith...no great composer ever scored more lousy movies.

So true.

There are times when I've listened to the Star Trek score and laughed out loud at the sudden mental picture of Goldsmith struggling to inject some energy into to that otherwise dull and plodding film. The man really earned his keep on that one.

Did you know that the drydock piece was scored much the same way, but with no theme?

It was all kind of big and martial, but the now-familiar TMP/TNG theme was not there. The Director had to ask for it. "Where's the theme?"

I prefer a scored soundtrack over a compilation of songs to accompany the film. That being said, I bought the soundtrack to "Phenomenom" on the strength of Eric Clapton's "Change the World" without ever seeing the movie. The whole CD proved to be a treat. Still haven't seen the movie! Ditto with Danny Elfman's "Nightbreed" soundtrack. Never saw the movie but I enjoy the CD - except for the terrible western-style "bonus" track...

Speaking of iconic scores and, coincidentially, Woody Allen movies, I was watching "Take the Money and Run" last night and couldn't help noticing the Burt Bacharach score, which SCREAMED cliche 1969 soundtrack music...

Speaking of iconic scores and, coincidentially, Woody Allen movies, I was watching "Take the Money and Run" last night and couldn't help noticing the Burt Bacharach score, which SCREAMED cliche 1969 soundtrack music...

I believe Marvin Hamlisch scored that particular picture, but your point is well taken.

Ooops! you're right - For some reason "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head" was running through my head and Bacharach's name came out - thanks for the correction...

Just about any score by Jerry Goldsmith...no great composer ever scored more lousy movies.

One that stands out for me is, Explorers. The music and the movie was building good, then the movie stopped towards the end. Even the music could not help the end! :freak:

Conspiracy Theory (Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Patrick Stewart) is a sucky film, but Carter Burwell's score really jams -- the main theme in particular.

I always thought the main theme to "Wing Commander" was just stunning. The remainder of the film was scored by a different composer but that theme, wow! Loved it. (I also liked the title design which went with the theme, promised far more than the film ultimately delivered)

John Barry's score for Raise the Titanic was particularly stirring, even if the movie wasn't. The CD was released a few years back and remains one of my favorites.

Don't forget John Williams' soundtrack for Space Camp. Great score, not totally awful film - but it had some of the worst SFX matte work ever.

The Time Machine. The Dreamworks remake of 2002. Best soundtrack to any movie ever. The machine is also a really cool design, actually there are a lot of good things in the film, but it simply doesn't come close to the Pal original.

Big-Dog - I'll have to look that one up - I just can't recall it...

Don't forget John Williams' soundtrack for Space Camp. Great score, not totally awful film - but it had some of the worst SFX matte work ever.

Does anyone here have a copy of this score on CD. I have never been able to find it since I lost my cassette tape version back in '92. I always loved the main theme, it was so John Williams, but still had a different flair about it.

In my opinion, the movie "An Experiment In Terror" has a better theme song, of the same name, than the film was. Henry Mancini wrote it. The song was also later used for the early 1970's horror movie show on WGN called "Creature Features". It's really spooky with a double-bass plucking a Dm arpeggio while the drum rides the cymbal and a slightly out of tune zither plays a creepy melody. The sound of the song becomes fuller as a bowed string orchestra plays the bridge.

David Shire's score to The Hindenburg.

John Barry's score to Mr. Moses.

John Williams' score to 1941. And Dracula. And The Towering Inferno.

If I don't like a movie then I'm not likely to appreciate the soundtrack. One movie that has a bad reputation (totally undeserved in my opinion) is The Missouri Breaks. John Williams' original score for this underappreciated film is absolutely delightful.