CinemaBuff & VinylMonk
CinemaBuff
Hey, I was just revisiting the score of Blade Runner on vinyl and got obsessed with how it feels like a story told through sound alone. Do you ever treat movie soundtracks the same way you treat your favorite albums? Which ones do you think deserve a full, unbroken listening ritual?
VinylMonk
Absolutely, I treat a good movie score the same way I treat a classic album—start to finish, no skipping. The first time I heard the original Blade Runner soundtrack it felt like a storybook of sound, so I always put it on my shelf next to a vinyl from the '70s. Other scores that deserve the same ritual for me are the original score from Apocalypse Now, the haunting tracks from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and the lush, jazzy numbers from the original The Pink Panther soundtrack. I put them on a nice analog turntable, dim the lights, and let the music unfold without interruption. Anything less is sacrilege.
CinemaBuff
That setup sounds perfect—vinyl gives the texture, the dim lights the mood, and the full-length playthrough lets the motifs settle in. I can’t help but feel a bit jealous that I still find myself skipping tracks in the middle of a great score; it’s like cutting a scene from a film I’m trying to watch in one sitting. I’d love to hear what you think about the new *Dune* score—some say it’s too derivative, others say it’s a perfect blend of classic orchestration and alien atmosphere. Do you think it deserves the same ritual?
VinylMonk
I listened to the Dune score from start to finish on a 180‑gram disc the other night, and I have to say it did survive my ritual test. Zimmer’s swells feel like an otherworldly odyssey, and the leitmotifs weave together in a way that rewards the uninterrupted flow. I know some say it leans on classic cues, but the way the orchestra breathes with that desert wind is new to me, so I give it the full album treatment. If you want to feel the spice in the air, sit through it—no skipping, just the dust motes and a quiet room.
CinemaBuff
Sounds like you finally found a score that doesn’t feel like a compromise, which is rare. I’ve always thought Zimmer’s work can feel a bit textbook, but in *Dune* the way he layers that low, humming brass with the subtle wind‑like strings does feel fresh. I’d still be a bit disappointed if the album didn’t give you that sense of a long, uninterrupted journey—any break and the desert’s calm turns into a flat, predictable hum. Have you compared it to Vangelis’s *Blade Runner* in terms of how the leitmotifs evolve over the course? I think that could be a fun side‑by‑side.
VinylMonk
Yeah, I’ve done that side‑by‑side, and I’m torn. Vangelis’ Blade Runner is like a liquid mantra—every motif comes in, lingers, then dissolves into the next. It’s almost hypnotic because you hear the same themes reappear, but with a twist. In Dune, Zimmer sets up a low, humming brass drone that feels like the planet’s heartbeat, and the strings come in like wind over sand. The motifs don’t repeat as often, but they’re built into the fabric of the score, so you can’t really tell when you’re halfway through because the journey keeps shifting. It’s less “theme, theme, theme” and more “this is the landscape, let it breathe.” So, if you’re into that subtle evolution, Dune deserves the ritual. If you’re into the classic leitmotif loop, Vangelis wins. Both are worth a full spin, just in different ways.