Official "Beauty & the Beast" Film Adaptation Thread

[degrassifan]

mb87 said: "sent you a private DM - degrassifan 

Got it! Just messaged you back. :) 

 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

HEAD'S UP: If you go to the Australia iTunes store, you can hear the Beauty and the Beast songs

OH MY GOD! DAN STEVENS IS INCREDIBLE!!!!

[jonahke]

Disney is releasing the soundtrack song by song on Apple Music.

Besides the previously released songs, 'Belle' and 'How does a Moment Last Forever' (Céline Dion version) are now also available. 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

jonahke said: "Disney is releasing the soundtrack song by song on Apple Music.

 

"

Great to know!

[jacobsnchz14]

jonahke said: "Disney is releasing the soundtrack song by song on Apple Music.

Besides the previously released songs, 'Belle' and 'How does a Moment Last Forever' (Céline Dion version) are now also available. "

Can you provide a link?

[LesWickedly]

I'm not finding it on Apple Music, either. 

[Musical Master]

I would love to hear Dan Stevens but I don't have ITunes, sadly.

[kudelicek]

Now I listened whole soundtrack. Amazing!

[disneybroadwayfan22]

kudelicek said: "Now I listened whole soundtrack. Amazing!

 

"

Where is it?

[DeNada]

I've listened to a few bits and pieces of this and will admit to some confusion.

What on earth is going on with the title song?  Why does the orchestra suddenly go into waltz time but Emma Thompson still seems to be singing in 4/4 (as the song is written)?  Maybe my brain's not working but it feels like the melody and the orchestra are doing completely different things... perhaps I'm just too wedded to the original version.

I feel a bit sad for Emma Watson; while she's clearly no big league singer, she'd sound a lot nicer if they hadn't seemingly auto-tuned her so much... Dan Stevens I can sort-of understand - presumably his voice is being filtered for all his speaking dialogue - although again he sounds pretty good underneath the digital flatness.

 

[Mrtrobz]

I feel like Emma's weakest moments are singing lower notes, when she sings her higher notes she seems to sing surprisingly strong I am theorizing her voice is suited to more soprano than Mezzo. She sounds lovely though I wouldn't mind hearing her sing in other musicals preferably without the reverb.

[froote]

Listened to the soundtrack. Was that Emma Watson singing or a robot?

[Mr. Nowack]

I listened as well.

First the good: The Overture is AMAZING (still assuming it's not actually in the movie though). Really enjoyed "Days in the Sun," it makes sense to have this type of song in between the brisker group numbers around it. Overall the orchestra and arrangements are great, tho there's a lot of change that feels just for the sake of change.

Now the bad: LORDY Emma sounds robotic, even worse than that poor girl in the Annie remake. Emma Thompson sounds a little tinny at times in the title song too. And I am just not a fan of the processing they have going on with the Beast. Some of the songs from the original movie sound lifeless to me, especially "Be Our Guest" (I think the tempo is a looooot slower).

I can't really decide if I like the Beast's new song. I haven't seen the movie obviously but it seems a little too, I don't know, optimistic? At least for the context.

Listening to the soundtrack actually got me really excited to see it next week though. And I've been sooo skeptical.

[pdjennings]

Seriously? Are we listening to the same thing?

I think Emma Watson sounds amazing. She's not big and 'belty,' but I don't think Belle should be for the tone of this film. 

[Musical Master]

DisneyVEVO has released the soundtrack and I freaking LOVE IT! Dan Stevens does a good job and Luke Evans vocals are wonderful. Emma Watson holds up very well for this new interpretation doesn't require a voice like Paige O'Hara and it's a nice voice.

Can't wait for next weekend for the movie's official release.

[RW3]

Days in the Sun > Human Again

[Chowd95]

DeNada said: 

What on earth is going on with the title song?  Why does the orchestra suddenly go into waltz time but Emma Thompson still seems to be singing in 4/4 (as the song is written)?  Maybe my brain's not working but it feels like the melody and the orchestra are doing completely different things... perhaps I'm just too wedded to the original version.
 

I just listened to it and I agree. It's so weird. It's like she's singing to a completely different track. She's not in time with the orchestra at all.. and she unfortunately sounds a lot like Helena Bonham Carter in "Sweeney Todd". Ugh. 


 

 

"

 

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Okay, this is so funny cause I can tell EXACTLY what they were trying to do with the song "Beauty and the Beast" and I agree, it's a little wonk lol and here's why:

When my school did the Broadway production, I distinctly remember my director exclaiming, "How the **** do I block a waltz to a song that is written in 4/4?!" And I think the film tried to modify the 4/4-ness of the song to be in waltz time so Emma and Dan could ACTUALLY waltz to the song and it's uh...a valiant effort but the song is so clearly meant to be in 4/4. Oh well! Lovely orchestration!

[Fan123]

Here's a list of links to the soundtrack on various streaming services:
http://disneymusic.co/BeautySndtrkWS

And the direct Spotify link:
https://open.spotify.com/album/6Aduwt5UqlR9ioOwXwfAip

Sigh. From what I've heard so far, they've really made Emma Watson sound like a robot in a cave. Oh well. I'll give it more of a chance.

[bryan2]

I am listening to this now and I am so confused that they basically got rid of so many songs 

ME/Home/Human Again/If I cant Love her/ A Change in me   its as if this completely new ...

I have never heard of a Musical that was made into a film where they took so much music away...

I think the old songs were much better than the new ones...I am not hating it..but ???????
 

[Theatre Fan3]

They kept the songs from the original 1991 animated film but did not use the songs that were added for the Broadway production.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

I really miss Human Again purely from a musical point of view. It does sort of stop the action but it's really beautiful. 

Evermore seems like a serviceable replacement for If I Can't Love Her to me. They're both about the same level of "it's fine."

Definitely don't miss "No Matter What" or "Change in Me"

I think they should've kept "Home", but maybe tweaked some lyrics. The concept of that song adds another layer to Belle.

I think I'm realizing what is frustrating about Alan Menken's added songs is they often aren't plot drivers. It's "here's a song". 

[GavestonPS]

bryan2 said: "I am listening to this now and I am so confused that they basically got rid of so many songs 

ME/Home/Human Again/If I cant Love her/ A Change in me   its as if this completely new ...

I have never heard of a Musical that was made into a film where they took so much music away...

I think the old songs were much better than the new ones...I am not hating it..but ???????
 

 

"

Emphasis added. Historical note: in fact, it was the custom for the first couple of decades of Hollywood musical adaptations to cut out-of-hand any song from the stage version that had not been a commercial hit. The Hollywood thinking was, "If it were a good song, it would have become a standard." New songs were written to replace the rejects, often written by songwriters other than the original stage writers.

It wasn't until the Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals of the 1950s that Hollywood realized the public was by then listening to CAST ALBUMS (78s then 33 1/3s), not singles, and had fallen in love with entire scores, not just hit songs. So movie musicals began to be adapted with most of the original score intact.

Don't mean to be a smart ass about this. I'm just filling in an important part of movie musical history. I don't know what motivated the subbing of songs in the new BATB. I assume it wasn't an attempt to make commercial hits, but it might have been to add enough new songs to dominate the Best Song category at the Oscars. I'd like to think the filmmakers have more integrity, but I don't know them.

[IdinaBellFoster]

The soundtrack is BAD. Worse than I expected. 

Emma Watson sounds lifeless and auto tuned to death. Luke Evans is the highlight of the recording (besides Audra's few moments). "Days in the Sun" is an awful song...just imagine how spectacular "Human Again" would have looked on screen.

Dan Stevens is meh, but the one new highlight for me is "Evermore"..it's a beautiful song.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

I can tell that she can sing too! She has a nice tonality but these producers just totally messed with her vocals WAYYYY too much. 

[Alan Henry]

RE the title song: I just saw the movie this morning and while I agree it sounds a bit off on the album if you are used to the original - it really works in the movie. It's a stunning moment of cinematography and the music fits in perfectly.