Movie Sound Track: The Alamo

Subject: Movie Sound Track: The Alamo
From: Snoozer
Date: 12 Apr 04 - 07:58 AM

I went to see The Alamo movie on Friday (opening day). As the movie started I thought, 'I recognize this music', and after a couple seconds I thought, 'that sounds just like the Rob Roy sound track' (remember the movie, Rob Roy, from several years ago?). As the movie commenced, every time I heard the music I thought, 'yep, that's Rob Roy'. When I got home I checked my Rob Roy sound track, and sure enough, the composer was the same as the composer for The Alamo, Carter Burwell.
Perhaps other composers reuse music too, and I suppose not many people would recognize the music, but the thing is, the score as a whole did no good for The Alamo movie. For one thing it was much to mellow, there was never any excitement or tension in the music. Sometimes music can help make a movie, but this definately did not.

My other musical beef with this movie is the music Crockett played on the fiddle (it is still debatable whether Crockett played the fiddle at all, but let's not go there). The big number he does is "Listen to the Mockingbird", which, according to our own DT, wasn't published until 1855, the Alamo battle took place in 1836. Now, it is possible that the tune existed in some form before 1855, but how hard would it have been for the Musical Director of The Alamo to come up with a fiddle tune that was unquestionably written/popular before 1836??

(sigh) Hollywood does it again....

Just One Girl's Opinion,
Susan

Subject: RE: Movie Sound Track: The Alamo
From: GUEST,maryrrf
Date: 12 Apr 04 - 08:46 AM

I have some friends who are historians, some of them musical historians, and they report that movie makers almost NEVER pay attention to details like that. Even when they are given the information and suggestions they don't have much interest in historical accuracy. One of my friends is a clothing expert - she says they almost NEVER get clothing right, either.

Subject: RE: Movie Sound Track: The Alamo
From: Coyote Breath
Date: 13 Apr 04 - 12:46 AM

Only time I heard a "movie" song that was period corect (in a "historical" movie) was in "The Long Riders" when Clel Miller tells the string band (Mitch Greenhill on guitar) to play "I'm a Good Old Rebel".

CB

Subject: RE: Movie Sound Track: The Alamo
From: DonMeixner
Date: 13 Apr 04 - 12:59 AM

In "The Sacketts" a guitarist plays "The Yellow Rose of Texas" to a much older melody than most of us hear. And he does so on a guitar that isn't a D-28. If not perfect it's awfully close.

Don

Subject: RE: Movie Sound Track: The Alamo
From: Rasta
Date: 13 Apr 04 - 04:31 AM

dimitri tominkin ,what else can i say ,he i believe was the comoser for the wayne movie , i havnet seen the movie yet the new one that is and i will but it sounds dissapointing from the thread im reading .for a hundred and forty million you would think they would know to do the right thing as for the sound track--oh well once again dimitri tominkin--be well rastaaaaaa