I’m in the minority – I actually like Giorgio Moroder’s soundtrack for Metropolis. Most people hate it, although they liked the Morodor re-edit of the film (at least until the proper restoration twenty years later, then the addition of the REALLY “Lost” scenes shortly after that), so there were places that screened it but with a different score (usually performed live by orchestra or organ). My big complaint, in fact, is that the soundtrack album they sold didn’t actually feature the real score by Moroder and the others, but different versions of them.
I also liked the original Ladyhawke music, although I can see why it annoyed a lot of people.
I honestly don’t recall the scores for Gallipoli and Sir Gawaine. But I’m a big fan of Jean-Michel Jarre, and probably liked the former.
Scores that didn’t work for me:
– The “new” material they wrote for the film adaptation of Grease. Why would you use anything but 1950s-style music for this film, even if you’re trying to appeal to a 1979 audience? The title music was hideous.
– Rick Wakeman’s score for the silent Phantom of the Opera. I love Wakeman, and thought his piece “Judas Iscariot” from Rick Wakeman’s Criminal Record was the perfect kind of music for The Phantom – it sounds like the work of a psychotic organist. But then I saw the film, and was appalled. It was terrible. I can’t say this was a “rewatch ruined”, because I’ve never wanted to go back and rewatch it.
The Princess Bride: I was never a fan of the synths. It’s not like it was a low-budget production; they certainly could have afforded a real orchestra, but Mark Knopfler chose to synthesize it instead. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it “ruined” the movie because it did not, but it was not a good choice.
I feel the same about The Spy Who Loved Me. Bill Conti’s pounding disco just screams 1977!!, whereas other films’ lush John Barry orchestral scores seem, let’s say, period appropriate (pre-Craig Bond always is a creature of the 60s, regardless of when the film was released) but not dated.
If you’ve ever wondered why the soundtracks to The Never Ending Story and Top Gun have such similar music…
Seriously. Listen to “Ruined Landscape” (the scene where Artax traumatizes a generation) and “Memories” (various scenes, most notably after the crash/bail-out scene with Maverick and Goose in the water). He just phoned that one in to whoever he happened to sell it to second.
But back on subject, I recall either from the commentary or a making of documentary, the Director for Chariots of Fire taking some of the blame for popularizing the synth soundtrack in the 80’s (though they can’t be blamed for Gallipoli, going off release dates). Vangelis…
I wanted to be the first, but I figured that this would be the OP’s example anyway, it is so, so, so, so bad. Makes a movie I might otherwise use as background noise unlistenable…
I just finished watching, for the first time, The Bounty; if Vangelis had scored his soundtrack for orchestra, it would have been OK. The synths just sound synthy. Of course, the movie had several other problems worse than the score.