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[78]
Name: Jack Arnold
From: London, England
Date: 1999-11-11
I love the music, the production, what it brings to the film. I write music for TV - just starting out, and I love the work. What a dream come true it would be have a crack at writing for features. I love the melodies that Mr Newman creates, and The Shawshank Redemption's stoic main theme is one of the most fascinating sequences of music I know.
[77]
Name: Jenn Edgar
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date: 1999-11-08
I actually just saw American Beauty over the weekend and thought the score was the best thing about the film so, today when I got into the office, I did a search on the film and got Thomas Newman's name from there. Not surprising was that several of the films whose scores I have admired were included in his biography. Now knowing it, I can see a corelation between Desperately Seeking Susan and the score from American Beauty. And, that incredible opening scene in The Shawshank Redemptionwill always give me goosebumps. Well, I'm glad I found this site only to learn that the score will be released without all the other music that was included in the film.
[76]
This is a great website and a real pleasure to use. I bought the soundtrack of Oscar and Lucinda after being stunned by the exceptional quality of the music when I saw the film. I'm looking forward to hearing the others which are described here in such detail. I find that Tom Newman's music has some indefinable quality that I haven't yet found in other music. I'm surprised and delighted to find that other people feel the same way and that his genius is widely recognized.
[75]
The "Stoic Theme" of The Shawshank Redemption filled me with so much emotion because of its ability to capture the feelings of depression, anxiety and comraderie so distinctly. I listen to the "Stoic Theme" again and again and I am always moved. The score was a major contribution to the beauty of the movie. The music was made of passion and of grace. Thank you, Mr Newman, for creating such elegance and allowing me the opportunity to witness it.
[74]
I am a fan of Thomas Newman's "heart-tugging"-CDs. For example: Meet Joe Black, The Shawshank Redemption, Little Women and The Horse Whisperer. I was wondering, after reading the news on this site, if anyone has the cassette tape to Phenomenon that they would like to sell. I've been looking for the music from this movie ever since I saw it in the theater. If anybody can recommend more "tear jerker"-CDs like the ones I mentioned above, please let me know. I crave these. Basically because I'm a sappy kinda guy, and I like listening to this at night while falling asleep because it helps me sleep and forget about the terrors of the day.
[73]
I first heard of Thomas Newman's music through the movie The Shawshank Redemption. I was caught by the deepness and sincerety of the sound of the "Stoic Theme". It is what my feelings are. My emotions marvel at how this song paralled my nature. Amazement is what I feel for such talented and honest music artists to be able to create a song that builds from deep within. In all regards, I hope Mr Newman continues to perpetuate the livelyness of pure emotional music scores.
[72]
I have been a fan of Newman's ever since I first saw How to Make an American Quilt. His music is so beautiful that I find my self missing most of the dialogue because I'm so tuned in to the score. His use of unusual sounds and instrumentation never fails to fascinate me. His is the only music that tricks me into thinking I'm using more than my sense of hearing when I listen to it.
[71]
I would definitely like to see full scores released of Mr Newman's 80s stuff. Thanks for this site - this composer has my highest praise for consistently pushing the musical envelope of beauty and innovation.
[70]
I find this to be a very impressive homepage. I guess I came to Tommy's music via my adoration for the music and songwriting of his cousin Randy. I remember digging Thomas' cut on The Lost Boys-CD early on. Next, I remember being blown away by the beauty and intensity of his score to The Shawshank Redemption. More recently, when I saw Oscar and Lucinda and later The Horse Whisperer, I was particularly taken with Tommy's music for those films. I've enjoyed learning more about Tommy from this site and I think it would be great if a label could put together something like a "Music By Thomas Newman"-collection (along the lines of the 2 CD film music anthology that Ry Cooder had a couple of years ago; perhaps it might take 3 discs to reasonably cover Tommy?). As I fruitfully did with Oscar and Lucinda, I'm starting to go see movies on that basis of the fact that they're scored by Thomas Newman. I'm bookmarking this site! Thanx.
[69]
Mr Newman, I must say, I am completely blown away by your extreme talent of composing such beautiful music. My favorite film scores have to be Little Women and How to Make an American Quilt, which is my aboslute favorite because of all of the oboe solos. I happen to be an oboe major and I wish so much that I had the sheet music to "The Quilting Theme" and "Sophia" so that I could share it with so many other people. This music is so soothing and I've never heard anything that complements the oboe in such a beautiful way. Thank you! I hope to someday be as successful and great as you.
[68]
I admit, I didn't know much about Mr Newman prior to my viewing of Oscar and Lucinda. I loathe being a sap, but I can honestly say that the music from that film made me feel like something was squeezing my heart. You know that feeling? I don't know a better way to describe it. I did a quick search on Thomas Newman, not expecting anything intersting to come up, and lo and behold, there's actually a home page! And a well-arranged one at that! Kudos to the webmaster. Thanks for a great page. P.S. I looked at the picture above the table of contents, and figured he must be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. Whoops! I hope I age that well.
[67]
Having been a huge fan of such soundtracks as The Natural, Awakenings, Avalon, and Parenthood, fabulous arrangements created by Randy Newman, I was quite pleased to find that his cousin, Thomas Newman, has carved out quite a respectable niche himself! I especially enjoy Fried Green Tomatoes, The Horse Whisperer, and Meet Joe Black. Both men should be very proud of their seperate and collective accomplishments at finding those sincere, beautiful and incredibly emotional sounds and rhythms that add just the right spice to our finest productions. A tip of the hat to you both! Thanks from the Rockies!
[66]
I am looking for a CD which will have Thomas Newman's "best of"-selection. I was introduced to his music by The Orchard on the Phenomenon-soundtrack. This site clarified other movies also for my review.
[65]
I was looking for more information about Scent of a Woman's composer, because the soundtrack impressed me so much. I had no idea who had composed the score, and when I did a search on the internet, I found this page at last! I think Mr Newman is a handsome man; I like his face. I am so happy to have found this site!
[64]
I like Mr Newman's music very much. I have about 18 of his soundtracks on CD and some others on LP; I hope I will be able to find all of them... My favourites are Oscar and Lucinda, Fried Green Tomatoes, How to Make an American Quilt and The War. Thank you very much for your music!
[63]
I first heard Thomas Newman's music when I saw the movie The Man with One Red Shoe and have thoroughly enjoyed all his work since. I agree with many of the other fans of this page that a CD release of his unpublished work is way overdue. Keep up the good work.
[62]
I was idly doing a search on my favourite composer - Mr Newman - without much hope of finding anything of interest, and all of a sudden this great site popped up! I was thrilled and quite surprised as I believe Newman is the only composer to have such a well-represented following on the net! I've been a fan of his music since his score for the movie Deceived which I found incredibly haunting. I often see a movie purely based on the fact that his name is attached. I must admit a certain frustration when it comes to tracking his scores down on CD - there's either a load of songs (Phenomenon) or the score is simply not available (Deceived, Men Don't Leave, etc...). Infuriating!!
Thanks for the pleasure of listening to clips from scores I'd never heard.
[61]
Thank you so much! I had found some wonderful downloads of Little Women, my favorite of which is "Spring". I have been searching for days to find a good download of the instrumental music in How to Make an American Quilt. You have made my day. Thank you again.
Name: Patricia Carbo
From: Leeds, England
Date: 1999-02-05
Name: Edna Togba
From: Chicago
Date: 1999-02-02
Name: John P. Townsend
From: West Milford, NJ
Date: 1999-01-28
Name: Aaron Yamada
From: Hawaii
Date: 1999-01-19
Name: Auvrey Stephens
From: Edmond, Oklahoma
Date: 1999-01-15
Name: Brad Emmons
From: Austin
Date: 1999-01-14
Name: Ivan Smason
From: California, USA
Date: 1999-01-09
Name: Alisha Payton
From: Kentucky
Date: 1999-01-03
Name: Andrea Clark
From: USA
Date: 1998-12-31
Name: Dave Wheeler
From: Denver, Colorado
Date: 1998-12-26
Name: David Cheney
From: Sydney, Australia
Date: 1998-11-08
Name: Yoichi Higashida
From: Japan
Date: 1998-11-07
Name: Fernando Martineze de Arellano Coll
From: Spain
Date: 1998-11-04
Name: Mike Paul
From: Atlanta, GA
Date: 1998-10-27
Name: Stuart Clark
From: London, England
Date: 1998-09-23
Name: Erica Smith
From: Springfield, Missouri
Date: 1998-09-19