Hi ellisc -- I'm glad you posted because it drew me back to this thread and I was able to read all the subsequent (mostly out-of-sequence!) posts.
Actually, one theme of some posts that I do tend to agree with is that on occasion the music in FALL does seem either a bit miscued or inappropriate for a scene, likewise the drowning-out-the-dialogue complaint some have made. I touched upon this aspect broadly earlier but I think it has merit.
I agree with you that the score (or at least large swaths of it) sounds very "un-ancient". Earlier I had mentioned the balalaika, which is obviously misplaced, and other passages sound anachronistic, such as the orgy in Rome the night before the finale, which sounds 19th century Italian. I think they make for an interesting mood and are at least different compared to the usual music for such epics of the ancient world, so I give Dimitri points for trying something original anyway. But overall I do think his score makes dramatic sense and adds to the picture, not detracts from it, so we'll have to agree to disagree on that score [sic]! In fact, we may not be so far apart even on this as it may appear, since you seem to see some points of merit and I some problem areas.
For comparison, listen to Rosza's scores for BEN-HUR (1959) and KING OF KINGS (1961). The latter sounds so close to the former in so many passages that it's clearly a reworking of Miklos's AA-winning score for HUR. (There are of course some original elements.) Most of his epic music sounds very similar, whereas while Tiomkin's style is noticeable, he did try variations on his main themes.
But as to DT's other scores, start with his Oscar-winning music for THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA to get an idea of his broader work. He wrote for Capra (LOST HORIZON, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, MEET JOHN DOE, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE), Hitchcock (SHADOW OF A DOUBT, I CONFESS, DIAL M FOR MURDER), Hawks (ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, RED RIVER, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, THE BIG SKY, LAND OF THE PHARAOHS, RIO BRAVO), Stanley Kramer (CHAMPION, HOME OF THE BRAVE, CYRANO DE BERGERAC, THE MEN, and of course HIGH NOON), and also wrote such film scores as DUEL IN THE SUN, THE COURT-MARTIAL OF BILLY MITCHELL, GIANT, FRIENDLY PERSUASION, THE ALAMO, GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL, THE SUNDOWNERS, THE UNFORGIVEN, THE CORSICAN BROTHERS, PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, THE WESTERNER, THE MOON AND SIXPENCE, TOWN WITHOUT PITY, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, 55 DAYS AT PEKING...I'm doing all this from memory, so I know it's a bit random and repetitive from previous posts, but you get the idea. In his career he had 24 Oscar nominations (15 for his scores, 7 for songs, and 1 as producer of a best foreign film nominee, TCHAIKOVSKY), for what that's worth, and won four, including his two for HIGH NOON, so again, someone thought he wrote quality stuff! The thing about Tiomkin for me is that even when I don't think a score quite works right, or is appropriate, I always find him an interesting composer. Some people on this thread have said his music distracts them from the picture, but I've never found that to be the case, even with a lesser DT score -- to me, it's an added point of interest, even if I find fault with it. (By the way, I do like his theme for D.O.A., and he also wrote scores for other films made by that movie's producer, Harry Popkin, such as AND THEN THERE WERE NONE and THE WELL.)
Anyway, thank you very much for your post, and the discussion, and perhaps we can resume it sometime, here or on another film's board!
hob
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