Ringer Spy Anthony wrote in with some statistics that suggest that Shore has the knack of picking good movies to write for – or his music helps them succeed, either might be true:
“I’ve noticed something about movies that Howard Shore does the music for. They are critically acclaimed. I got a list of many of the movies he composed music for in the last decade, from IMDB and looked them up on Roger Ebert’s site and RottenTomatoes.com.
Many of the reviews from Ebert are 4 stars…and very few below 3 ½ or 3.
“On RottenTomatoes.com, a percentage of positive reviews from a large group of critics, many movies scored above 60%…giving it a “fresh” rating rather than “rotten.”
“I don’t know if this correlates that good music subconsciously alters critics opinions, or if Howard Shore only takes good scripts, or if it’s just a coincidence, but it does add to the stack of evidence hinting that Lord of the Rings will be a critically acclaimed box office smash (a rare phenomenon).
Movie Title ~ Music By Howard Shore, with
Ebert’s Review out of 4 stars, and
Rotten Tomatoes.com (percentage)
Yards. The (2000)
***
59%
High Fidelity (2000)
****
88%
Dogma (1999)
***1/2
88%
Analyze This (1999)
***
75%
Game, The (1997)
***1/2
75%
That Thing You Do! (1996)
***
92%
Looking for Richard (1996)
***
100%
Crash (1996)
***1/2
46%
Truth about Cats & Dogs, The (1996)
***1/2
100%
Se7en (1995)
***1/2
100%
Nobody’s Fool (1994)
***1/2
N/A
Ed Wood (1994)
***1/2
100%
Philadelphia (1993)
***1/2
100%
Guilty as Sin (1993)
***
N/A
Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
***
N/A
Single White Female (1992)
***
N/A
Kiss Before Dying, A (1991)
***
N/A
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
***1/2 ~ later ****
100%
By the Way…Heavenly Creatures directed by Peter Jackson got a ***1/2* from Ebert, and 88% on RottenTomatoes.com.
Yards. The (200) – *** 59% High Fidelity (2000) – **** 88% Dogma (1999) – ***1/2 65% Analyze This (1999) – *** 75% Game, The (1997) – ***1/2 75% That Thing You Do! (1996) – *** 92% Looking for Richard (1996) – *** 100% Crash (1996) – ***1/2 46% Truth about Cats & Dogs, The (1996) – ***1/2 100% Se7en (1995) – ***1/2 100% Nobody’s Fool (1994) – ***1/2 N/A Ed Wood (1994) – ***1/2 100% Philadelphia (1993) – ***1/2 100% Guilty as Sin (1993) – *** N/A Prelude to a Kiss (1992) – *** N/A Single White Female (1992) – *** N/A Kiss Before Dying, A (1991) – *** N/A Silence of the Lambs, The (1991) ***1/2 originally…later **** 100%
