Golden Globe Best Original Score Motion Picture: Atonement by Dario Marianelli
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Is this going to be another bash at the Golden Globe Awards? Not really, I’m just going to say my honest opinion. So as predicted, Atonement won the Best Original Score in a Motion Picture award. Everybody seems to agree that it’s a great score for a great movie. I’ve had the score for a while, and I saw the movie about a month ago. I’m not here to talk about the movie, but the soundtrack for it. So what did I think?
I think it’s overhyped and not as good as people want it to be. I think this is a case of great movie = great soundtrack. Sometimes people do that, it happens all the time. It doesn’t fool me though as I actually listen to the music when I watch the movie, and I listen to it without watching the movie. My brain then somehow figures out what it likes and dislikes, it’s as simple as that. Some people have told me that my top 10 movie scores for 2007 didn’t have any odd choices, because it’s the popular thing to do. What does that even mean? Either I like it or I don’t, I will never go: “Well, there are too many male composers on this list, I need a female”. I just like what I like and Atonement was a boring, even annoying score. What’s with the typewriter? I know it’s important in the movie, but do you have to use it as a rhythmic device Dario Marianelli? Did I mention that It’s a boring score? No? Well it is. Ok, so not every score has to be Transformers (Why not!?), but this score is just too classical. I like classical music, but Dario Marianelli wouldn’t have a chance against the masters. What saves it from disaster are a couple of cues. I would give it 2 out of 5
So what about the other nominees? They were Grace Is Gone by Clint Eastwood, The Kite Runner by Alberto Iglesias, Eastern Promises by Howard Shore and Into The Wild by Eddie Vedder
- Grace Is Gone by Clint Eastwood: 4/5
- The Kite Runner by Alberto Iglesias: N/A
- Eastern Promises by Howard Shore: 1.5/5
- Into The Wild by Eddie Vedder: 3/5
The reason The Kite Runner get a N/A is because I haven’t heard it yet, but I intend to. As you can see, I think that Grace Is Gone by Clint Eastwood should have gotten this award, not that I care about Golden Globes anymore. In fact, none of the 5 nominees would be nominated for my Golden Globe Awards.
So what about the other musical category?
Golden Globe Best Original Song Motion Picture: Guaranteed by Eddie Vedder (Into The Wild)
It’s a fun song, and it’s ok that it won. I would have preferred Grace Is Gone on the Grace Is Gone soundtrack by Clint Eastwood though. The other nominees were Despedida by Shakira from Love In The Time Of Cholera, That’s How You Know by Alan Menken from Enchanted and Walk Hard by Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
I’ve made a little soundbyte of Atonement by Dario Marionelli, so if you want to listen to it, by all means do 
http://soundtrackgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/atonement.flv
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i clicked on your top 10 movie scores 2007 link, but there’s nothing there. 
mike’s last blog post..The Da Vinci Code
Thanks for the info Mike! Seems like a plugin was causing all the trouble and I’ve deactivated it. It should work now
Anne, great observations! I am happy to hear that it’s not only me who notices these things. There were a couple of cues on that soundtrack which was above standards, but the soundtrack as a whole left me with a sense of disappointment as it could have been so much more.
I really liked the soundtrack for Into the Wild
nursemyra’s last blog post..brown eyed brunette eats blue eyed blonde
Yep, Into The Wild was an quite good overall. I hear the movie is great too, and I will see it, maybe this weekend
Soundtrack Seek
Great observations. I thought the Atonement soundtrack during the Dunkirk beach scene was brilliant. It had the orchestral score going and while the long camera shot slowly moved around the men’s chorus. We could hear their voices mingling and weaving around the score, sometimes dissonant, sometimes beautifully harmonizing. It was a rich and wonderful musical moment.
That being said, I thought the music got a bid droney and overdone during some other parts of the movie.
Anne Florenzano’s last blog post..The TeaSource Story
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