International Film Music Critics Association Award Winners 2007: Commentary
If you're new here, you may like to get all my posts in your feed reader using my RSS feed or get all Soundtrack Geek posts by Email. Also check out Soundtrack Fans, a new social network for soundtrack fans. Thanks for visiting!
Film Score of the Year: Atonement by Dario Marianelli
It comes as no surprise to anyone. It is the “popular” choice this year. I feel that I am warming to this as well, but I still don’t feel 100% comfortable with it yet. It is one of those “classic” scores with long winding scenes and instruments. It has still not received MP3-player status for me yet, but I am definitively thinking about it. The other nominees were “The Golden Compass”, “Lust, Caution”, “Ratatouille” and “Zodiac”. None of these scores were superb in my opinion, but if I had to choose, I would go with “Lust, Caution” by Alexandre Desplat which had some interesting cues.
Film Composer of the Year: Alexandre Desplat
Congratulations to Mr. Desplat, but was it a consolation price? He was nominated for 7 awards, but didn’t win any, except this. To be fair, 7 nominations alone is pretty impressive, but I really thought Mark Isham had this. When you compare the two in 2007, Mark Isham clearly has to be the winner here, but that’s just my opinion. The other nominees were: Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Mark Isham and Dario Marianelli.
Breakout Composer of the Year: Ilan Eshkeri
Maybe someone finds this shocking, especially since Jonny Greenwood was nominated, but I think they made the right choice. We are talking about one incredibly talented composer in the making. Ilan Eshkeri scored for the wonderful Stardust last year and everyone turned heads. It’s a score which put Nicholas Hooper’s Harry Potter score to shame. Jonny Greenwood may be a genius in many eyes, but the problem was that the score for “There Will be Blood” was more dividing than conquering. People loving it, hating it, landing in the middle, and then there was the controversy at the academy award. Maybe that has something to do with him not getting this? For what it’s worth, Ilan Eshkeri, you got this because you are the better composer at the moment. The other nominees were: Jane Antonio Cornish, Jonny Greenwood, Fernando Velasquez, Cristopher Wong.
Best Original Score – Drama: Atonement by Dario Marianelli
Not again, surely! Oh yes, Atonement won again, this time for Best Original Score Drama. Come on, give someone else the chance! I was rooting for Philippe Rombi’s excellent Angel. It feels really classical to me, but it’s refreshing. The other nominees were: Angel, “Eastern Promises”, “The Kite Runner” and “Lust, Caution”.
Best Original Score – Comedy: Enchanted by Alan Menken
This was a rather weak category this year, and I’m not too happy with Enchanted winning this. I couldn’t see any other score winning this though, but I had a favourite and maybe it will surprise you. It’s the score to Evan Almighty by John Debney. I think the reason I liked this better is that it doesn’t feel too much like a comedy score. I guess I am not a big fan of comedy scores, so that has something to do with it as well. The other nominees were: Evan Almighty, Hot Fuzz, Reign Over Me, Tutte Le Donne Della Mia Vita.
Best Original Score – Action/Adventure: The Bourne Ultimatum by John Powell
First, let me just express my happiness that Spider-Man 3 didn’t win. For me, that was the most disappointing score of the year and it shows that whoever steps into Danny Elfman’s shoes more often than not can’t handle it. Secondly, I am happy with the winner in this category. It was a good score by John Powell, fast-paced and full of action like the movie. I also liked that it has a theme throughout. I know some of you (all of you?) will be disappointed that Hans Zimmer didn’t win for the fun score to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The other nominees were: Ghost Rider, Live Free or Die Hard, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Spider-Man 3.
Best Original Score – Fantasy/Science Fiction: The Golden Compass by Alexandre Desplat
It’s hardly a surprise that this score won, but is it just me who found it surprisingly boring along with the movie itself? When you have scores like Sunshine by John Murphy and Stardust by Ilan Eshkeri, you can’t choose The Golden Compass, you just can’t. Interesting that Nicholas Hooper’s Harry Potter score is nowhere to be seen in any award show. I guess me and the critics are in tune on that one, but you have to do better than this! The other nominees were: The Bridge to Terabithia, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Stardust and Sunshine.
Best Original Score – Horror/Thriller: Zodiac by David Shire
Everyone seemed to go gaga over this score except me. It felt like a run-of-the-mill thriller score to me. The movie was great though. But the hype was enough to give this one the winner. For me, this is probably the weakest category this year and I have to say that Zodiac was the best of the scores nominated. Disclaimer: I haven’t heard Debbie Wiseman’s “Flood” yet. I am really happy that Sleuth by Patrick Doyle didn’t win. Quite possibly the worst score of 2007. The other nominees were: Flood, I Know Who Killed Me, The Orphanage and Sleuth.
Best Original Score – Animated Feature: Ratatouille by Michael Giacchino
What a surprise! Ok, I’m kidding. It had to win, didn’t it? It is a really good score in fact, but not good enough to reach my MP3 player. I had in fact another favourite for this category, and it was Bee Movie by Rupert Gregson-Williams. I thought that score was just really great, it had something the other nominees didn’t and that was just pure melodic beauty. It didn’t have character like Ratatouille or as much violence as Beowulf, but it had the songs to make it to the top. IFMCA disagrees with me though. The other nominees were: Bee Movie, Beowulf, Gedo Senki – Tales From Earthsea and Meet the Robinsons.
Best Original Score – Documentary Feature: Earth by George Fenton
I am a little disappointed with this one. Although Earth was a nice score to a great documentary series, to me it had to go to either Darfur Now by Graeme Revell or Le Premier Cri by Armand Amar. The other nominees were: Darfur Now, In The Shadow of the Moon, La Planete Blanche and Le Premier Cri.
Best Original Score – Television: Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi by Joe Hisaishi
What an upset! I’m really happy with this one. I was 100% sure Lost Season 3 would get this, and I still can’t believe it didn’t win. I thought Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi thoroughly deserved to win. This score is just great to listen to and is on my MP3 player. The other nominees were: Battlestar Galactica Season 3, Doctor Who Season 3, Lost Season 3 and Tin Man
Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media: Lair by John Debney
I can’t decide if this is a surprise or not. Lair is by many considered to be a masterpiece. I agree that it was really good, but not a masterpiece. I am also undecided about if it deserve to win. By sheer quality, I would say it does. It plays like an epic movie instead of a video game. It doesn’t have the “lightness” that most video game scores still have. What about Bioshock? It recently won the AIAS award for best score. It’s a beautiful score and so is CoD 4. The other nominees were: Bioshock, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Medal of Honor: Airborne and Warhawk.
Best New Release/Re-Release/Re-Recording of an Existing Score: Alien (Intrada Edition) by Jerry Goldsmith
It’s good to see this score get the proper treatment it deserves. It is as chilling as the movie, and Jerry Goldsmith truly deserved this. Yes, The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King was nominated, but we’ve had many versions of that already. The other nominees were: Godzilla, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and The Wind and the Lion.
Best Compilation Album: Amazing Stories, Anthology 3
From those of you who don’t know, it’s the music from a television series from the 80s. It contains music from Bruce Broughton, Michael Kamen, Pat Metheny, Craig Safan, Alan Silvestri and John Williams. A great compilation album, and if you love this, get nr. 2 and 1 as well. Of course, me being a Karate Kid fan had a little hope that the box set of the complete score by Bill Conti would get this, but I am not complaining. The other nominees were: The Karate Kid Box Set, Mad Mod & Macabre, Miklos Rosza: A Century Collection and The Unforgiven: Classic Western Scores.
Record Label of the Year: Intrada
I love Intrada, the only thing is it can be so hard getting hold of the scores, because they usually release limited releases of 1000 etc. Come on Intrada, share the love! No nomination for Lakeshore this year, which was a bit of an upset. Varese Sarabande is of course the big (bad) wolf, but if it wasn’t for them, it would be a very sad state of affairs. They keep the sales numbers up. The other nominees were: Film Score Monthly, La-La Land, MovieScore Media and Varese Sarabande.
Film Music Composition of the Year: “Elegy for Dunkirk” from Atonement by Dario Marianelli
Getting tired of this? I know I am. It’s clear that Atonement is the big winner in this year’s IFMCA. “Elegy for Dunkirk” is a good cue though, almost epic at times, but still feel a little boring like the rest of the score. I feel that “Wong Chia Chi’s Theme” from “Lust, Caution” should have gotten this. The other nominees were: “Graysmith Obsessed” from Zodiac, “Last Shift” from Lion for Lambs, “Up is Down” from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and “Wong Chia Chi’s Theme” from “Lust, Caution”.
[tags] james newton howard, mark isham, golden compass, nicholas hooper, lust caution, alexandre desplat, jonny greenwood, michael giacchino, talented composer, film score, player status, feel 100, film composer, ratatouille, atonement, right choice, cornish, consolation, academy award, breakout[/tags]
Other articles of interest:
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
I loved the Atonement score, it was definitely original, and suited the film to a tee. There will be blood had a far better score, too bad it was deemed illegible for the Oscars.
Nick Plowman’s last blog post..Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Jed: What is it with westerns and weird scores recently? Marco Beltrami made a good but strange score for 3:10 to Yuma and Nick Cave & Warren Ellis also made a good by strange score for The Assassination of Jesse James. Neither of them are my favorites when it comes to western scores, but they certainly are original and interesting. I’m really happy originality still exists.
When i watched the Zodiac movie, the score didn’t really stand out. It’s an eerie kind of thriller score, but the fact that it didn’t stand out makes it average in my mind.
Nick: You and everyone else it seems. I am warming up to it. When I first heard it, I really didn’t like it at all, but I’m glad I can enjoy it at some level, but it’s not a score I listen to much. There Will Be Blood definitvely gets better every time you hear it, and i like that more than Atonement at the moment.
I LOVED Amazing Stories when I was a kid.
It’s strange…Now when I hear an interesting soundtrack, I think of you. 
Two recent ones I was reminded of were Young Sherlock Holmes and The Machinist (with it’s theremin usage).
DCMovieGirl’s last blog post..DIARY OF THE DEAD
Well… first of all, I must say that I am honored
It’s interesting though… When I listen to a soundtrack, I don’t usually play the movie in my head, sometimes that happens, but most of the time I want to feel something from what I hear. The last thing a soundtrack want is for me to get bored (see how I speak of soundtrack like a person). If I get bored, it’s really hard for me to get interested again, but it does happen on occasion, especially after a few listen.
Is Amazing Stories on DVD I wonder? I’m sure it is. I haven’t seen it yet, but looking at the composer list for the 3 soundtracks, it makes me all giddy 
Soundtrack Seek
This is cool news! I know you don’t dig Atonement too much LOL, but it seems you’re getting the hang of it. I also find the typewriter sound a bit annoying, but seeing the movie in as many times as the weeks, I really enjoyed it very much. This plus Jesse James are beginning to haunt me with their music.
I could not remember the soundtrack of Zodiac, except that it’s quite eerie… given the type of movie it is. Anyway, love this article! When it comes to music, you’re awesome man!
Jed’s last blog post..tMF Top Five – Best Zombie Movies
Reply