So as we start the new year and reflect on the last, I admit my list of favorite scores for 2011 is rather small. Not to be dreary, but on a personal side, I'm finding the state of new film scoring is getting pretty bland. I certainly have an appreciation for the current film score vernacular, and it sometimes yields innovative work (GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO), but I find myself listening to the "oldies but moldies" a lot more and the newbies a lot less. I wasn't around during the Korngold and Steiner heydays. My introduction to movie music came during the Bernstein and Goldsmith era. As we moved into the seventies my joy spread in two directions. Backwards to Herrmann and Newman and Friedhofer and Rozsa and Skinner and all those guys... and forward to Williams and Horner and Broughton and Poledouris and Chris Young and James Newton Howard and the rest of the incoming breed. And in between were my beloved Bernstein and Goldsmith and Barry and company. What treasures everyone had to offer! BEN-HUR and DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES and ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD in one direction, JAWS and CAPRICORN ONE and SILVERADO and HELLRAISER in the other, and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and THE GREAT ESCAPE and PLANET OF THE APES and GOLDFINGER in between. Wow! I mean literally... wow!
But today, those are all backwards. With the single exception of WAR HORSE, I'm just not enthused about all that much that is happening with the movie music scene right now, and going forward remains uncertain. No matter what their tastes may be, almost everyone appreciates the beauty of Mozart. His music will last forever. Thus should be the case with the great film composers I think of as I look backwards. But as for current scores, I'm not overly optimistic, and as to the future ones, only time will tell. To be sure, there are terrific composers now making their mark... Giacchino is sensational. So there's hope for others. Please... may this new year bring wayward film producers back on board to once again to seek out genuinely memorable music for helping tell their stories!
--Doug
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Nothing new excites and to be honest it is often a chore to listen to a new score. I think Zimmer's first Sherlock Holmes was the last score I thrashed for a long period, as well as Powell's Paycheck. Shame he hasn't sustained the early promise of that score. Very rarely do modern composers manage to rekindle the magic of the composers that are sadly long gone. I continue to look backwards and enjoy the magic of film music from the 60s, 70s, 80s and some from the 90s too. All thanks to Intrada and the other lablels, the Musician's Union and the Studios. 
