John Barry

[Marky B]

Hi,

We have Sir Cliff,Sir Elton,Sir Paul,Sir Mick,Sir George (Martin) - all very worthy I'm sure. I also agree with Roger Moore getting a knighthood,as for Sean Connery as well.

But what about John Barry? Born John Barry Prendergast in York,he is arguably Britain's greatest film composer.

Apart from scoring for most of the Bond films,he has done Zulu,The Ipcress File,The Quiller Memorandum,Midnight Cowboy,King Kong,The Deep,The Black Hole and Raise The Titanic to name but a few. He has won Oscars for Born Free,The Lion In Winter,Out of Africa and (for me his best) Dances With Wolves.

I believe he has something in the order of the British Empire,but what about a tap on the shoulder from Her Maj.

Anybody else agree?

Ta Ta

MArky B :)

[DAVID RAYNER]

I do agree. Another of our great British composers, Malcolm Arnold, was knighted some years ago. In this respect, I can't understand why John Barry has been overlooked. However, on the last television interview with him that I saw, he was living in America. Maybe he's become a US citizen. If so, though, he could still be given an honoury knighthood.

[Gibbie]

DAVID RAYNER:

I do agree. Another of our great British composers, Malcolm Arnold, was knighted some years ago. In this respect, I can't understand why John Barry has been overlooked. However, on the last television interview with him that I saw, he was living in America. Maybe he's become a US citizen. If so, though, he could still be given an honoury knighthood.

David,



You are correct. John Barry now lives in New York, but what his status is his private knowledge.



I agree that he is a musical genius. An excellent collection of his themes is:

Themeology: The Best Of John Barry

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B...9342057-6832401



Gibbie

[Brian Brandt]

I quote from the National Public Radio show 'Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me' -



"Someday the Knights of England will rise up in defense of their country!



Here comes Sir Elton, sword in hand, riding into battle!"

[Marky B]

Again,our leading film composer has been ignored in the annual hand outs. And why did Eric Sykes get only a CBE (or whatever)? This genius is well over due for a knighthood like John Barry.

Ta Ta

Lord Marky B of Billingham thumbs_u

[Jim]

You are spot on there Marky B. Both of them are evocotive of an era now gone. Although both of them are still working. Hopefully, they will realise that what they do for a living is reward in itself, but it nice to be recognised for what you do, especially when they give so much pleasure to us!

[smudge]

Whilst both still working their profiles have, arguably, diminished in recent years - hence they are never likely to be recognised in Blair's 'let's please the masses' populist gong scheme.



Mind you, I have long been outraged that Christopher Lee is merely a CBE ; so prolific an actor with such a long and illustrious career (ok, let's skip Count Dooku fighting the CGI snot-blob!) SURELY deserves a Sir-hood ?



SMUDGE

[ollie]

From the mediocrity that was the BAFTA'S (apart from the mike leigh/imelda staunton thing) just to say hurray for JOHN BARRY,some recognition which hopefully would prompt futher acolades( SIR) as stated previously on other threads.



His overiding ability to marry,probably the most important thing in music, MELODY,

with images to me is humbling.There are probably more technically gifted film composers,maybe Herman, but B******S barrys an Englishman and in my opinion in his field, a great one.



cheers Ollie. :grin:

[ollie]

Bond composer rails against successors



Modern scores meaningless, says Oscar-winner



Charlotte Higgins, arts correspondent

Thursday February 10, 2005

The Guardian





Others "just messing around with notes": film composer John Barry



The film composer John Barry - whose stellar 50-year career has encompassed scoring the great Bond movies, Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves - has lashed out against his musical successors.

"[The composers] have nothing to say. They are just messing around with notes. I'm at a loss," he told the Guardian.



"I walk out of the cinema bewildered these days. I think, what was the producer or director thinking of to allow 45 minutes or an hour of music that doesn't mean a damn thing?"



On Saturday, the 71-year-old Yorkshireman receives the Academy Fellowship at the Baftas for an outstanding lifetime contribution to cinema, an honour previously awarded to Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and, last year, John Boorman.



Talking about the generation of Hollywood composers such as Miklos Rozsa, Franz Waxman and Bernard Herrmann, many of whom were exiled from central Europe in the prewar years and ended up defining a golden age of film music, Barry said: "They were my heroes. The people I adored and learned from. But today I don't see there's anything to learn."



"Today it's very empty. There's a whole thing of loading films up with songs - it's a commercial choice. The composers seem to ignore what's going on on screen. I look at movies; in the old days you knew what the composer was about. Today you don't - the scores are like a filler."



Asked whether he could be tempted to write a score for Casino Royale, based on Ian Fleming's first 007 novel and due for release in 2006, he said: "It would depend. Films like From Russia With Love and You Only Live Twice were based on an old tradition of moviemaking. They were great stories - the idea of raiding Fort Knox is a great story. But the Bond movies have totally changed. They don't have any stories any more.

"Sean [Connery] was marvellous. George [Lazenby] - well, we won't talk about that. Roger Moore was good. Pierce [Brosnan] was fine. But the films wouldn't have made it without Sean. We don't have those stars any more.



"The formula has run out. It was great and it had its day. Now they are just treading water."



Barry, who is based in New York state, has recently received poor reviews for his musical version of Graham Greene's novel Brighton Rock which premiered in October at the Almeida theatre in London.



"When people think of musicals these days they think of Mary Poppins," he said. "When there is murder and deceit they are confused. But I think that's wrong. Think of West Side Story, which is very dark."



The four-times Oscar winner, born the son of a cinema-owner and a pianist, recalled his earliest memories of film. "My father had eight movie-theatres in the north of England. I remember his taking me to the Rialto in York when I was about three or four. I was taken to the back and I saw a big black and white mouse on the screen - and there was all this wonderful music and people were going crazy. I forget what I did last week but I remember this so vividly."

[Allen Dace]

Originally posted by smudge@Jan 14 2005, 08:16 PM

Whilst both still working their profiles have, arguably, diminished in recent years - hence they are never likely to be recognised in Blair's 'let's please the masses' populist gong scheme.



Mind you, I have long been outraged that Christopher Lee is merely a CBE ; so prolific an actor with such a long and illustrious career (ok, let's skip Count Dooku fighting the CGI snot-blob!) SURELY deserves a Sir-hood ?



SMUDGE

Long been outraged about Christopher Lee's CBE? Well as he only got it in 2001 you'd be (rightly) even longer outraged that he had no recognition at all!



Here's hoping that Barry's BAFTA Fello wship might prompt someone to upgrade him from his 1999 OBE soon.

[smudge]

[quote] Long been outraged about Christopher Lee's CBE? Well as he only got it in 2001 you'd be (rightly) even longer outraged that he had no recognition at all!



Here's hoping that Barry's BAFTA Fellowship might prompt someone to upgrade him from his 1999 OBE soon.



Yes Allan, you're quite right ; it WAS annoying year-on-year to see both Lee and Cushing overlooked. When awards finally did arrive, they were far less than one would have hoped for !



It sticks even more given Tony Blair's populist sportsmen/women awards in the run up to the election for that 'feelgood factor.' I mean they have done well, given, but they have hardly lived !



Anyway - I too hope there will be some good John Barry news.



And now that His Holiness is out of hospital, I hope we can take positive steps towards the beatification of Mr. Cushing...



SMUDGE

[Allen Dace]

I don't mind so much the likes of Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson as a real groundbreaking inspiration for the disabled or Sir Matthew Pinsent with 4 straight Olympic wins but although I have great admiration for Dame Kelly Holmes and Dame Ellen McArthur I do think that 'Dame' at this stage is a step too far too soon considering the way others have to work long and hard to get less.



Don't you have to perform a miracle to be a Saint? Well I suppose Peter Cushing worked miracles time and again with substandard scripts!!

[smudge]

Don't you have to perform a miracle to be a Saint? Well I suppose Peter Cushing worked miracles time and again with substandard scripts!!

See Allen - you knew exactly what I was talking about,



SMUDGE

[batman]

John Barry is, for me, the best Bond composer, with OHMSS being my favourite Barry Bond score. How do people think David Arnold's music compares? And what's your favourite non-Bond Barry score.



Bats.

[Wolfgang]

Somewhere in Time.

[batman]

Somewhere in Time for me too.



Bats.

[Marky B]

Dances With Wolves.

Ta Ta

Marky B

[Frank63]

Somewhere in Time.

But wasn't that Rachmaninnov Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini ? or have I missed something.



John Barry did a cracking CD called something like " A Moment in Time".



For me it's Dances with Wolves

[christoph404]

His work on the Bond films is his best i think, I also like OHMSS and You Only Live Twice, lets not forget Zulu though and interstingly more or less the same score is used on Cry the Beloved Country. I really like the music on " Deadfall" The film has its moments and Eric Portman is good in what I think might be his last film role, but the music is great and Barry himself makes a cameo appearance in the film as....an orchestra conductor, what else! In terms of comparrison between modern composer Arnold and Barry, well for me Barry is in a very different leaugue, he's the maestro as far as I'm concerned.

[batman]

But wasn't that Rachmaninnov Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini ? or have I missed something.

No, you are correct about the Rhapsody being part of the score, but the majority is original Barry music, which is beautiful.



Bats.