Avatar Score by James Horner and King Kong 1976 Score by John Barry Similarity

[nicolashrv]

James Horner makes such trivial scores, I barely can remember of any. Avatar's was forgotten 10 minutes after I saw the movie.

[RkivUnderground]

I never cared for Avatar's score.

[01tnql]

@RkivUnderground  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH­H!!!!!!!!!!

[Triskanivious]

@ Dicarts: Can you upload the Kong version alone? Some have put up the 1976 soundtrack but minus this song and another similar to it.

[jayce79]

Kinda'of a stretch. Certainly not as close as Danny Elfman Wolfman and '92' Dracula.

[bluestriker4444]

Oh come on this is really a stretch,I dont find them very similar at all.

[VaderHater99]

I'm sure music has been accidently used twice. There is only so many patterns you can make before you'll eventually start repeating. They sound incredibly similar, but nothing to wow at.

[juancho661]

The musical interpretation is nowhere near close the same.... The diminished chords on King Kong make it more of a direct order in attacking an object and agitation vs Avatar with a more contemplative notion in major-minor chordial formation for an end to a dramatic scene...sort of like an end.

[caligodzilla]

It isn't a coincidence that we all noticed the similarities. I actually just typed in Avatar and King Kong music and came up with the link to your You Tube page. I was curious if they had just used the same music or if someone had simply made a score similar to Kong. Good job on your comparison. I think there were some more scenes with the same music in Kong, but we got the idea. Good Job!

[juancho661]

@caligodzilla You should check again....

[Chazam3663]

Both of these great composers are "borrowing" from Rachmaninov's Symphony No.1. Listen to that and you'll notice a familiar four note motif.

[ironhandz1]

Interesting and true. But both composers, though geniouses, are notorious for reusing their own material. That four-note horn motif is a signature of Horner (listen for it in Mask of Zorro, Star Trek II, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, etc.), while the string section is a rearrangement of A Beautiful Mind. The instrumentation is switched in Barry's score, with the strings doing the four-note motif, and horns doing the melody. . Still, I am a HUGE Barry fan . . . and a Horner fan, as well

[DigDug73]

King Kong Lives on Pandora!!!!!!!! They should have been worshiping him instead of a tree... that's why their village was destroyed!

[Rockstarkong]

What a rip-off! John Barry still outclasses all younger contemporary composers by a long shot.

[ZioCarl]

YES! I was hoping someone else noticed this! The second that music came up in Avatar I immediately recognized it as the music from 70's Kong. It's not identical, but it evokes the exact same tone and emotion. I could never forget that music because it was a signature of one of my favorite movies as a kid. I do have to say that the Avatar version is a lot better, and that James Horner is my all-time favorite movie composer, but shame on him for copying Barry.

Didn't notice the roar. Load it!

[themange59]

Timing and key sounds completely different as does the instrumentation.

Horner does sound like he borrowed from his beautiful mind soundtrack though.

[ladner3000moviebuff]

i don't mean to stray off topic but this version of king kong was followed a decade later with the even campier "king kong lives". in the sequel scientist linda hamilton has sustained the giant gorilla but needs a lot of blood for a transfusion,so luckily a FEMALE kong is discovered in borneo!

[Dicarts]

I noticed the roar too!  I'm tempted to upload the clip of the Thanator with Kong but it might get taken down.

[ironhandz1]

I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who noticed that roar! However, I have reason to believe that at least one element of the roar effect had been used countless times before in B-dinosaur-films. Listen to the original mono track of Spielberg's Duel (no spoiler, but it's at the end of the climax).

[Kidchair]

@ironhandz1 Yes! I noticed that too, do you know of any way to get a hold of that "roar?" I figured it must've been an old oft used one too after hearing it In Avatar, but I have been looking everywhere for a clip of it searching "King Kong roar" to no avail.

[Monoclesaurus]

@Kidchair 

[Deepestblue42]

Interesting observation. I did notice the Thanator uses the Kong 76 roar at a pivotal moment in the finale, so look for that. Love this night scene where Kong is chasing Dwan and Jack. How fast would you run? This Kong is a MONSTER MOVIE!