Wanderer, you a pirate?

Angela, I'll let you know; the main thing with which I'm concerned is that this movie redeems (for me at least) DMC.  I listened to that podcast... it seems that Zimmer didn't really think about the concept of spoilers much?  I'm not too familiar with Zimmer; does he usually follow up movie soundtracks at all?

I picked up the early release this morning (read: store broke street date), and after my first full listen, I concede: At World's End could very well be the best score of the three.  Serving as a bookend to the trilogy, it's immensely satisfying; the many, many themes introduced and laid out from the first two all make strong, memorable statements, developing into a worthy finale.  The new multi-sectional main theme is all at once adventurous, epic, tender, and emotive, clearly receptive to a wide array of musical arrangements.  "Up Is Down" is still the best representation of the piece; the swashbuckling heft is awash in its jaunty melody and appropriate instrumental choices.  (Love that Irish fiddle!)  Both Hoist The Colours and Singapore are welcome additions as well.

Zimmer's orchestrations have definitely gotten tighter up to this point, where the synths play more to the backdrop.  The woodwinds really do add a great element to the score, and certainly proves that there IS a place for them in a Bruckheimer film.  There are elements from Zimmer's recent works that creeps into the darker aspects of the soundtrack, like the ethereal choir from The Da Vinci Code and that systematic two note-minor key progression from Batman Begins.  It all works extremely well when laced with the Pirates flavor.

My only real nitpick is that "Drink Up Me Hearties" feels a bit thrown together as an edit on the album.  Dunno, it sounds sloppy as it transitions between He's A Pirate and the new main theme, and abrupt when it segues into its variations.  It's not nearly as smooth as the end credits in Dead Man's Chest; perhaps it'll sound less truncated during the end credits in the film?  We'll see.

Also..... no Kraken arrangements? -_-;  I know it was prominent enough in DMC, but it's just as much a part of Davy Jones' Theme as the music box one.  Would've been nice to hear at least one variation.

Drink Up Me Hearties is definitely not the full ending credits, which is a total disappointment, but perhaps because he is considering either full score releases (DOUBTFUL!) or that suite idea from the podcast.

Yeah, I pirated this Friday and found the last track a disappointment only because I was hoping for the full end credits theme (at least on one of these darn soundtracks!)

I wish Best Buy would break street date on the blu-rays.

The soundtrack to this movie is phenomenal.  It's way better than typical Zimmer scores and a lot better than the first two scores, which just seemed a bit too standardized Hollywood film score for a movie.  This one has a lot of dark and ambient tones to it and gives the whole soundtrack a really chilling feel at times; and at others it's very bombastic.  Well done.

My biggest problem with the score is that every time I hear the love theme, I'm reminded of "My Heart Will Go On." It's not a pretty picture.

Agreed 100 percent. Zimmer fans should be eating this up, at the very least.

The Blu-ray releases are sounding VERY promising:

Curse of The Black Pearl - http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/pirat … bluray.php
Dead Man's Chest - http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=28121

I really need to pick up that PS3 soon.  *_*

Better than Dead Man's Chest, and redeems that movie for sure.  I'll say no more, other than be sure to wait for the after credits scene.  I hope you enjoy it, Angela (and anyone else), and look forward to what you have to say.

Just got back, and I'm still reeling from giddiness; it was everything I was hoping it would be, and more.  At World's End really returns to being a character piece, and indeed, every character, big and small, gets a memorable moment. (Sometimes several!)  Bold choices were made as to where some of our key players end up, but that's what has made this series so brilliantly fun and unconventional up to this point. 

The coda scene is a wonderfully-moving extension of the ending, though its intended meaning may be unclear because of an apparent piece of dialogue that was cut from the final film.  Needless to say, if it's true, it does make for a happier ending. :)

The music, again, sounds far less condensed in film than it does on the CD soundtrack, though I admit that the soundtrack remains an excellent representation of the score as a whole.  The edit of "Drink Up Me Hearties" on the CD is exactly the same as in the film, so I was mistaken on my previous assumption -- but they did cut out a new, lengthy suite arrangement of Hoist The Colours, which makes up the majority of the credits. 

In short, At World's End strengthens Dead Man's Chest's role as a legitimate middle part of the trilogy, while following through with the final payoff, as well as coming full circle with finishing what The Curse of The Black Pearl had begun.  And like the first two films, AWE warrants repeat viewings, with its layers upon layers of plot intrigue and subtext, mind-melting eyecandy, and incredible entertainment value.  You can bet I'll be going back to this one a good number of times before its theatrical run is over.

I haven't seen the movie yet but I've heard the final battle cue is like 25 minutes, obviously truncated on the soundtrack cd. That's a lot of action music.

Yep, much of the first half of the battle didn't make it onto the soundtrack.  And just like what Zimmer said on the podcast, the CD representation of "I Don't Think Now Is The Best Time" is arranged a bit differently.  What they've done is they took the final part of the battle as it's presented in the film, and made it into the first five minutes of the track -- and the last five or six minutes is actually the middle part of the battle.

I actually don't hate Davy Jones after this movie, but he still is nothing compared to Barbossa.

What was the cut dialogue?

I'll white it out here, but I absolutely encourage anyone who's still planning on seeing the film to NOT look:

...."According to the film's writers, there's a line of dialogue that got cut between Davy Jones and Calypso, that explains why he was so hurt because she wasn't there for him when he came ashore after his first 10 years.  Not only did it mean he didn't get to be with her, but it also meant he was cursed to go back out to sea for another 10 years.  The curse of The Dutchman is broken if, after the ten years, the captain's lover remains faithful. The final post-credits scene suggests that Will can return to land as he pleases, as Elizabeth has remained true. The green flash, which symbolizes a soul returning from the dead, supports this.".....

The books came in yesterday, and I gave them a detailed skimming.  Both make a fabulous first impression; they're large, nicely-binded, and of very high paper quality.

"The Art of Pirates" is just that; comprised entirely of artwork, from initial sketches and conceptual pieces to final designs, punctuated by brief production notes.  Just shy of 160 pages, the build of this book is impressive; it's HUGE, first of all, so the full page artwork really benefits.  (Some pieces actually come close to poster size if a certain piece of artwork spans two pages!)  It's got a very classy leather-bound hard cover and matte paper quality.  The designs really remind you just how much goes into the making of these films, and it's fascinating to see how a lot of the characters developed from a first idea to their final design.

"Bring Me That Horizon" is the more detail-oriented book, chockful of information from just about every facet of the production of the films, from conceptual art, storyboards, detailed bios of all the characters, actors and film makers, costumes, set layouts, and various fight choreography.   At 176 pages, it's also really pretty to look at, with full-colored photos and behind the scenes shots.

Hands down the two best franchise books on the market thus far, and for making-of books in general, these are definitely some of the better ones I've seen.  I fully recommend them in tandem, as they cover both sides of the production so well.

Ok, I'll admit; I went to see it again last night because a friend came back in town and had not seen it.  Still good on the second viewing.

Box Office Mojo's got an interview up with Rossio and Elliot, with some nice insights as to what went into the writing of AWE.  Verily, spoilers:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/features/? … all&p=.htm

I couldn't help but go back in and record this part of the end credits.  It's a crude recording from a tape recorder, but at least the theater was practically empty at this point so there's little in the way of noise interruption. ;)  I left in the coda scene at the end, by the way:

That mixing of "Colours" and "He's A Pirate" at 3:07..... *swoon*

I saw this yesterday and I greatly enjoyed it. Perhaps a bit too long but it kept my attention more than the second movie. Plus, how can you resist a movie with that awesome wedding ceremony?

Musically, I felt that everything of importance was released on the soundtrack. Some of the unreleased final battle stuff rambled on so monotonously that I actually wanted to scream, "ENOUGH ALREADY!"

Angela, it would be really helpful to us all if Zimmer would release full scores instead of those hachet jobs.  I'm hoping you'll get the DVD version just so you can rip the audio from the end credits like you did DMC.  = )

Hmm, I have a feeling I know who you're talking about.... maybe?  If so, then yeah, I think his death left me a bit cold.  Worse still is who actually killed him.

(... So, how much longer till we can start spilling out spoiler discussions here?) ;)

The wedding was nuts, wasn't it?  It's sort of amusing to retroactively recall that scene at the beginning of Dead Man's Chest, when she asks if they're going to get married "Properly?" ;p

I wouldn't hold my breath for full score releases, much as I'd love to see them myself -- but then, given how popular the movies are (and even the soundtracks), I won't dismiss the possibility.  But you can bet that the very first thing I'll be doing once the AWE DVD hits is ripping the end credits, then splicing it into "Drink Up Me Hearties."   Seriously, Hoist The Colours has fast become one of my most favorites themes in the trilogy.  ^_^

By the way, Ryu, have you watched the Blu-ray releases yet?  Any opinions?

While we wait for Ryu, I have also watched the Pirates Blu-Rays and they're absolutely amazing and reference quality IMO.  Just unbelievable in the best ways possible.

I've been so thrilled with my PS3 since November and its because of discs like these, Casino Royale, and some others. Truly jaw dropping video and audio.

Eventually I'll even have some games on it besides my PS2 backlog.

This firmware 1.8 that came out recently enabled upscaling/upconverting for DVD's, PS2, and PS1 games. Phenomenal.

Thrilled with the PS3 just because of the blu-ray too, huh?  I'll agree with your assessment regarding the movies; they look amazing on blu-ray.  I recall watching CotBP on DVD and there was a difference in quality between it and the DVD of DMC.  It's nice to see them both looking really good on HD.

It would be nice to actually want to play, much less own, a PS3 retail game.  I haven't noticed the upscaling of the games having that great of an effect though; GoW2 looks better (IMO) left alone.

I'm not sure... I would say no later than after it is released on DVD... no sooner than two months after release in theaters?

He's A Pirate is still my favorite, but I really enjoy Up is Down.

Just to add regarding PotC on blu-ray, if you have a nice hd-tv and a PS3, I highly recommend them.  The one nagging complaint I have about them (and this goes to a lot of DVDs from various studios too) is that Disney frontloads it with a bunch of previews and crap when I honestly would like to get to the movie.  I'll further add that I've ignored the bonus features entirely... so I can't comment on them.

Agreed.

Right now, it doesn't help the PS3 to be in that typical first year (more or less) doldrum that just about every new console goes through. It also doesn't help that the gaming industry continues this senseless cycle of basically almost nothing during the summer months but then you'll have months like November where a bunch of games all come out at once in less than a two week period and then you're back to trickling for several months, repeat the cycle in March or so, and then you're back to trickling again for some more time. Rinse and repeat. </rant>

But I digress...

They need to start cranking some games out and especially some compelling exclusives, but in the interim, I adore Blu-Ray and I adore the nice upscaling/upconverting refinements on my PS2 games.

Even the home theater magazines and sites are giving the PS3 rave reviews and I've even see the giant killer label thrown a couple of times. Home Theater Magazine, Sound and Vision, Widescreen Review...I have yet to see anyone give the PS3 anything lower than a 93-95/100 score.

That doesn't surprise me.

It greatly depends on the kind of TV a person has. Sometimes the scaling in the TV is actually better so sometimes it's just better to leave well enough alone. 

Forced ads suck, although if you press the R1 button you can usually skip past all of that thankfully.

Great to hear all the positive buzz over the Blu-ray releases.  You can bet I'll be picking up both of them (likely all three) by the time I purchase a PS3.

Then perhaps you'll like this seven minute suite I put together the day I got the CD.  No new material, but I've combined some of the best melodic bits of the love theme into one track.  What do you think?

World's End - Love Theme Suite:
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/angie_liu … c.&.view=l

Thanks, it's downloading now!

The home releases of At World's End has officially been announced for a December 4th U.S. release.  That's about the same time frame as the previous two movies, but I figured AWE would get an earlier release seeing as how it hit theaters early as well.  Dang.

Movieweb.com has the first details:

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End arrives in time for the holidays on multiple platforms including 2-disc DVD and 2-disc 75GB Blu-ray sets featuring hours of extra material highlighted by bloopers and extensive behind-the-scenes content -- plus the Blu-ray exclusive Enter the Maelstrom: a BD-Java feature that takes Blu-ray interactivity to an astounding new level! Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which catapulted to become the #1 global box office hit of 2007 to date with over $946 million generated at the box office, arrives December 4 on multiple platforms, including a 2-disc DVD for the SRP of $34.99, 2-disc 75GB Blu-ray for the SRP of $35.99, and single-disc DVD for the SRP of $29.99.

The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 2-disc Disney DVD set immerses users in hours of behind-the-scenes content and pirate lore from the four corners of the earth. Features include a behind-the-scenes documentary, "Keith & the Captain"; "Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom"; "The Tale of the Multiple Jacks"; "Hoist the Colors"; "Masters of Design"; "Inside the Brethren Court"; "The Pirate Code: Revealed"; "The World of Chow Yun Fat"; "The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer"; "Bloopers of the Caribbean"; and much, much more!

Relive the breathtaking action and mind-boggling special effects in glorious high-definition detail with the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Blu-ray 2-disc release. The Blu-ray Disc high-definition feature film presentation was created from the original digital source files, delivering an unequaled, demo-worthy home viewing experience. Marvel at the wondrous 1080p detail of Davy Jones' slimy, barnacle-encrusted crew and tremble at the ground-shaking cannonade of ship to ship battles with 7.1 channels surround, 48 kHz, 24-bit uncompressed audio -- you'll swear you smell the gun powder and feel the salty sea-spray splash across your face!

The Blu-ray Disc release includes all of the standard DVD bonus content re-mastered in high-definition, plus exclusive BD-Java enhanced features including "Enter the Maelstrom," an extensive interactive look at the climactic sequence of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and the return of the Jolly Roger host, who navigates users through animated menus with state-of-the-art BD-Java enabled artificial intelligence. This scurvy scallywag entertainingly guides you through the pirate waters of your Blu-ray experience, responding to your actions (and inactions) with humorous commentary.

About "Enter The Maelstrom":
"Enter the Maelstrom," the exclusive showpiece of the Blu-ray Disc, takes you deep into the perilous whirlpool of the Maelstrom, a sequence of unimaginable scale. The colossal battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman stands as one of the most impressive action set pieces in cinema history with its photorealistic blend of live-action footage and computer-aided FX wizardry. Jerry Bruckheimer hosts the BD-Java feature -- a one-hour immersive, interactive tour that explores the sequence from stem to stern, covering everything you would want to know and more about this awe-inspiring cinematic achievement. Explore the Palmdale hanger that housed the sets from floor to ceiling seamlessly through an interactive, time-lapse footage interface. In-feature pop-ups and selectable icons appear throughout the time-lapse footage over different areas of the massive set; navigating to each of these reveals multimedia content about how the Maelstrom was created, from set construction to special effects. Discover the Maelstrom on your own, or take a tour of the highlights of the set with Jerry Bruckheimer, who also provides optional commentary throughout the feature.

Synopsis:
Just when he's needed most, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), that witty and wily charmer of a pirate, is trapped on a sea of sand in Davy Jones' Locker. In an increasingly shaky alliance, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) begin a desperate quest to find and rescue him. Captain Jack's the last of the nine Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court who must come together united in one last stand to preserve the freedom-loving pirates' way of life. From exotic Singapore, to World's End and beyond, from Shipwreck Island, to a titanic battle, this adventure's filled with over-the-edge action, irreverent humor and seafaring myth and magic. Everything has led to this twisting, turning, wild swashbuckling ride in this final chapter of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 2-Disc Disney DVD Bonus Materials:

Disc 1:
- Feature Film Presentation
- Bloopers of the Caribbean - hilarious outtakes of cast and crew

Disc 2:
- Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom - a detailed breakdown of one of cinema's most complex and impressive action set pieces
- Keith & the Captain - A revealing look at the dynamic relationship between living legends Keith Richards and Johnny Depp
- Tale of the Multiple Jacks - an in-depth look at the mind-blowing FX that went into creating multiple Captain Jacks
- Hoist the Colors - reveals the inspiration for the "Hoist the Colors" original composition
- Masters of Design - five individual documentaries highlighting the talented design teams behind this immense production
- #1: Jim Byrkit and The Map
- #2: Crash McCreary and the Krusty Pirates
- #3: Rick Heinrichs and the Singapore Set
- #4: Penny Rose and the Captain Teague Costumes
- #5: Chris Peck and the Pirate Code Book
- Inside the Brethren Court - a closer look at the legendary Pirate Lords and their costume designs, origins and unique personalities
- The Pirate Code: Revealed - explores the pirate code and the history of piracy
- The World of Chow Yun Fat - a look at the man behind devious Captain Sao Feng, international sensation Chow Yun Fat, and his meteoric rise to fame
- The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer - meet the renowned composer who created the film's rousing score

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Blu-ray 2-Disc Bonus Materials:

Disc 1:
- Feature Film Presentation
- Jolly Roger Host - BD-Java Exclusive

Disc 2:
- Enter the Maelstrom - BD-Java Exclusive
- All Standard DVD Bonus Content - available in high-definition

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Single Disc Disney DVD Bonus Materials:
- Feature Film Presentation
- Feature Audio Commentary
- Bloopers of the Caribbean

Technical Specs:
- Run Time: 150 minutes
- MPAA Rating: PG-13
- Rating Reason: Intense Sequences of Adventure Violence, Including Frightening Images
- Languages: English, Spanish
- Blu-ray Disc: English, Spanish, French
- Subtitles: U.S. DVD: English SDH, Spanish; Canada DVD: English SDH, Spanish; Blu-ray: English SDH, Spanish, French
- Blu-ray Disc Sound: 5.1 48 kHz, 24-bit uncompressed sound (English) 5.1 Dolby Digital (English, French, Spanish)
- Blu-ray Disc Encoding: AVC
- Blu-ray Disc Resolution: 1080p

---   

One thing I'm noticing here; could the feature audio commentary (which is almost guaranteed to be the writers commentary) be exclusive ONLY to the single-disc release?  I sure hope not..... I do recall the preliminary DVD announcement for Dead Man's Chest making that same error, and the audio commentary did end up on both releases.

AccessHollywood.com's also got the cover for the DVD: 

http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah6221.shtml

I can't say I like it, and I'm praying like crazy they change it before release.  I see they've smacked that hideous "3" on the spine, like they did with "2" on Dead Man's Chest.   And I was hoping they'd stayed consistent with the previous two movies, with the main characters' faces and the pivotal scene on the bottom gracing the front cover.  In other words, I wish they'd have used this shot:

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5305 … 3adbz4.jpg

Well, there may yet be a chance for redemption.  Apparently, this is what the two-disc edition of the DVD (and presumably the Blu-ray release) will look like:

http://www.spielbergfilms.com/forum/att … 1185922485

It's fairly close to the concept that I posted above, with the addition of the world's end waterfall WITH the maelstrom.  Hardcore!

The color saturation is awful, though.  Tone it down, Disney!

Just a little revision here.  I've uploaded a slight reworking of the Love Theme Suite; changed up the ending, so instead of allowing "Up Is Down" to finish, I spliced in the ending of Drink Up Me Hearties for the finale.  This puts the new running length at 8:43. 

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/angie_liu … c.&.view=l

Comingsoon.net has a new interview up with Zimmer.  It's mostly about the Simpsons, but this particular excerpt caught my eye:

CS: It would be interesting to hear a CD or DVD where we could hear the evolution of one of your scores.
Zimmer: Well, that's what I sort of do. Actually, it's one of the things I'm going to do for the "Pirates" DVD release. I'm going to do a CD and I'm actually going to get the orchestra in for just one day and we're just going to go and play the evolution of each of these themes, because I do it like a diary. Whatever gets done the first day, and then I just carry on every day writing a little bit more, so I keep the bad bits in as well. Sometimes you hear the beginnings of a theme but I don't quite know how to make it work yet, and it's not until ten days later then suddenly, "Oh, that's the theme!" I'm going to record my naughty diaries for "Pirates" because it was three years of my life or something.

Sounds like Zimmer's serious about going through with a Pirates suite album!

Disney released the final, official artwork for both Blu-ray/2-Disc DVD and Single DVD versions:

Blu-ray / 2-Disc DVD Edition:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/ … dlarge.jpg

Single DVD Edition:
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/6 … SS500_.jpg

The single version does have an interesting take on the angle between the two ships, but that orange backdrop is terribly distracting.  I like the white title logo of the Blu-ray/2-Disc version over the single's red, too.

I like the single better, but I'll be happy with the blu-ray.

There's a five-disc Pirates Of The Caribbean: Soundtrack Treasures Collection set announced for December 4th.  Don't get too excited; it's just the three previously-released CDs repackaged, with a new remix CD and a making-of DVD. 

Diehard fan that I am, even I don't see myself fessing up $75 beans, no matter how good the remix CD and DVD may turn out to be.  But I'd certainly slap down twice that had this been a Complete Recordings type of thing.

Got around to listening to the Silva Records release of the Music from The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy.  As to be expected with the City of Prague Philharmonic, it's a generally smaller and more concentrated listen.  There are some falters here and there as far as replicating the more distinctive musical traits of the Pirates trilogy, but with it also comes an equal number of intriguing new instrument and choir section choices.  The nuanced variations alone, such as the brand new finale they added for "I Don't Think Now Is The Best Time," makes this a recommended listen.

Well, early word is that the audio commentary really is exclusive to the single disc version after all -- not even the Blu-ray version is getting it.  You suck, Disney, you money-grubbing asshats. You really do. 

Not only that, but the commentary apparently isn't even going to be the ever-informative writers commentary, with Elliot and Rossio.  Instead, it's going to be Verbinski and Depp, and another one with Geoffrey Rush.  Geoffrey's may be interesting, but if the first Pirates' commentary with V & D is any indication, we might be in for a masssively boring letdown.

UPDATED EDIT: It looks like the commentaries aren't featured in any of the three releases, period -- as evidenced by DVD Empire's shots of the back covers:

http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/1358484bh.jpg
http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/1358483bh.jpg

However, the Verbinski/Depp/Rush bit isn't entirely unsubstantiated; a close source told me that they were indeed recorded, as well as one for Elliot and Rossio.  Disney is clearly holding back for the inevitable double-dip in the near future.  Peh.   

Thoughts on the DVDs (and that promised rip of the "Hoist the Colours" end credits) next week.

I'll not be double-dipping for that.  I honestly never watch or listen to the extras anyway.  The only reason I double-dip is for extended/director's cuts or better video/audio reasons.

I'm rather happy with the blu-ray AWE... now if only they get that fixed CotBP available.