Star Trek the Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBmI68OyiPQ Theres no denying that Star Trek The Motion Picture is one of the most polarising Star Trek movies. You either love it or hate it and each camp has its own passionate arguments to support their case. But the thing that everyone can agree on is that it had awesome special effects and one of Star Treks best soundtracks. Jerry Goldsmith is one of the most revered movie composers having scored the soundtracks to films such as Planet Of The Apes, Papillon and Chinatown. In the late 1970s he was responsible for two soundtracks that are considered classics, Alien and Star Trek The Motion Picture with the later earning him an Academy Award nomination. Due to significant production problems with Star Trek The Motion Picture, Goldsmith was scoring and recording music for the film up to six days before its release. And due to the delay in the films special effects, Goldsmith had to score most of the music from the words on the script, which frustrated him. But Goldsmith revelled in the opportunity to explore the themes of the film and experiment with unusual instruments to bring Vger and the alien cloud to life. One of the most important tracks to come from the soundtrack is the main theme (above), which was later reused as the theme tune to Star Trek The Next Generation and became the franchises signature. Goldsmith original version of the theme was considered too nautical and it reminded the films director Robert Wise of sailing ships. He asked Goldsmith to start from scratch and he came up with the theme that we all know today. There is also the Klingon theme that was introduced in this film but properly used in Goldsmiths soundtrack for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and later for Worf in Star Trek First Contact. In true Original Series tradition, the film's antagonist is a cloud. As it doesnt speak and therefore cant convey its threat through dialogue, its left to sound and music to do that for it. Goldsmith used an instrument called The Blaster Beam, an electronic instrument that is essentially a hollow metal tube that runs along 18-foot of tensed wires. The result is a strange metallic, alien sound that gave Vger its voice.
Amarpal Biring