Composers of Final Wars and Music Discussion

[Benjamin Haines]

There's one thing I've been wondering that I'm really curious to know. Keith Emerson, Nobuhiko Morino, and Daisuke Yano were the three composers for Final Wars, but I don't know who composed what. I know for certain that Yano did the new theme for Godzilla (King of the Monsters), and that Emerson did the Ending Title theme (supposedly it was a piece he had originally done on his own and wasn't produced specifically for this film). But I haven't got a clue about the rest. Can anybody fill me in here?

Also, feel free to use this topic to discuss the music of Final Wars in general. What did you think of it? I myself would normally be turned away by the prospect of a mostly-synth score, and when I first listened to the soundtrack before seeing the movie I was indeed taken aback by it considerably. It didn't seem "bad" per se, just so completely out of left field and mixed-up that I couldn't imagine it working, even for a Kitamura film. But once I saw it, it seemed fine. Now, as I'm getting back into the film and contemplating it more, I've realized that the music for this flick really fits it down to a tee. Every piece works perfectly for every scene it's used in, every cue hits the mark exactly as it should. And aside from that, I think it's a very catchy score overall. It may not be complex or awe-inspiring like an orchestral work, and it was clearly all done with computers and synthesizers, but whenever I'm in the mood to hear something of this type, this score is most definitely the best of this type.

One thing that does puzzle me though is why the soundtrack album isn't complete. There are several themes heard throughout the film, some of them among the best of the entire score, which are definitely not present on the soundtrack. Likewise, the soundtrack includes six tracks which never made it into the finished film, a few of them being synthesized remixes of Ifukube themes. I can understand why these tracks went unused, as there simply wasn't any place in the movie where they were needed. But why several great themes from the actual movie went left off from the soundtrack is just baffling.

[Dogora]

I hated it. Ifukube Forever!

[MouthForWar]

I love Final Wars.... I know its not a "GOOD" film per say, but its a great time and it has plenty of homages to past Godzilla and Toho sci fi films that are a lot of fun. Its a cheesy 70s style Godzilla movie lensed through a modern filter. I think its great... but I also love Godzilla vs. Gigan, so what do I know?

As for the music, I dig Keith Emerson's stuff (such as his soundtrack for Argento's Inferno) so I didn't have a problem with the music. Emerson is one of the best keyboardists that ever lived and he's a prog-rock legend. I couldn't imagine any OTHER music in GFW because its the only music that I can imagine fitting with this weird movie.

Anyway, to answer your questions about who did what:



But I didn't notice any themes in the movie that aren't on the soundtrack

[Benjamin Haines]

[Legacy_Of_Gamera]

[Andrew Nguyen]

[Baradagi]

[Benjamin Haines]

[planetxleader]

[Tyler E. Martin]

In all honesty, I find "Final Wars" to be a terrible, headache-inducing waste of time. I keep trying to give it another chance, but I just can't bring myself to like it. There really aren't many positive things I can say about it at all.

As far as the music is concerned, I was for the most part thoroughly disgusted. There are a couple of tracks that I enjoy. I don't normally go for "remixes," especially since Ifukube himself stated that he did not want his music used in such a style, but I can't help but enjoy "Beginning of the End." It's very catchy and using the original Godzilla theme as a hook makes the piece, I think. That and "Kazama's Sacrifice"--nice listening as well, in a video game sort of way. But the rest of it is mind-numbingly atrocious. I can go for some good techno every now and then, but the majority of the music for "Final Wars" just doesn't cut it for me. It's as inappropriate and insulting to Godzilla as the rest of the movie.

That's my two cents, anyway.

[Legion]

[gojira_fan]

[dIsCoMbObuLaTor]

[Benjamin Haines]

[Robert Saint John]

Nice job, Ben! It's also worth noting that there are a number of repeats in those Emerson tracks on the Godzilla 50th Anniv box version.

Something else I brought up back in early 2005, but never dug into. I heard two of Emerson's tracks used as stock music, one for a radio commercial (Cruising the Cirro-Stratus) and one for a television commercial (High Battle). Since then, I've wondered how much of his music was even composed exclusively for GFW in the first place (similar to what Brad said above).

[Benjamin Haines]

[jellydonut25]

[ebirahsmeg1]

I really enjoyed GFW alot...not a perfect film by any means (though I found many of this film's biggest critics to be extremely prudish/yuppy-ish/prissy/hypocrital and over the top at times...but I'm not opening that can of worms again...to each their own, and the debate about this film became quit boring and pointless a long time ago), but for me personally, it restored alot of the fun and magic that had been missing from the beyond-description bordom of the Kiryu snoozefests that I endured the previous 2 films. When I saw it for the first time, it reminded me of my childhood days watching G films on TBS Super Scary Saturdays.

Having said that...I can't say I liked the soundtrack much AT ALL.

When Keith Emerson was announced as a composer, my reaction was initially very positive, despite it seeming to be an oddball choice. I felt his work for NightHawks to be one of the best, most underrated movie soundtracks of the 80s, and his rendition of "I'm a man" during the epic Stallone-Hauer staredown created an intense, amazing atmosphere unmatched in the action genre. I held him in high regards and looked forward to his unique take on a kaiju film's soundtrack...

...um...yeah...the rest you could say is history :-\ :th-dn: Needless to say, the final score was EXTREMELY disappointing.

I didn't hate all the music in the film...in fact, I felt there was some very solid stuff hidden here and there. The film started off with some great music (the theme during the GvsGotengo opening battle was fantastic, the opening credits theme is one of my favorite themes of the series, the subtle nod to Minilla's old theme was a nice touch, and the motorcyle chase theme later on really got the adrenaline running). But as far as I know, those weren't even composed by Emerson (if I am wrong, please feel free to correct me on this)...and his ending score was, as people described, more suitable for a video game ending or something played between innings at a baseball game...just terrible. And don't even get me started on that terrible Ebirah battle/Gotengo charge theme (though again, I don't know if Emerson was responsible for that putrid theme or not). :puke: Ebirah's factory scene stole the show, but his scene was nearly ruined by that annoying theme. Playing the awful "We're All to Blame" during the G/Zilla battle was totally rediculous and came out of left field, and the themes played during the both the monsters' world rampage and Godzilla's battle with Anguirus/KS/Rodan were both very hokey and detracted from what should have been epic scenes. The fact that the best themes of the film are Ifukube's classic KKvsG theme and Sato's GvsMG theme says volumes for most of the "new music"...

About the only positive I can say is that at least GFW's soundtrack wasn't as bad as Hattori's astrocious "made for TV-Direct to Video" work on GvsSG and G2k...but then again, that's not saying much...