Lost in Space Expanded CD Review
Music by Bruce Broughton ****
Intrada MAF 7086
20 tracks - 67:03
Like Centropolis' remake of Godzilla, New Line's Lost in Space
was the victim of its own expectations after a solid year of hype that
played off a great-looking trailer. When it finally appeared, the film
neither satisfied fans of the original series nor expanded its appeal beyond
that aging demographic, despite a cast seemingly culled from every hip
TV series on the air. As sampled on a TVT soundtrack album full of techno
songs, Bruce Broughton's elaborate score also alienated fans who were apparently
expecting something similiar to John Williams's scores for the television
series, which Broughton's effort only resembled in its mischevous and haughty
theme for Gary Oldman's Dr. Smith.
Broughton seemed to have gotten off on the wrong foot with listeners
because his bustling style played against the sluggishness of the live-action
sequences, which never came together despite the plethora of impressive
set, costume and prop designs. A case in point is the early "Robot
Attack" which is scored by Broughton like it might have been a horse
race (in fact, this would be a fantastic cue for a horse race!) while the
actual imagery of the slowly lumbering blue robot is more inexorably menacing
than kinetic. (John Williams found the perfect way of scoring the original
version of this sequence with his Gort-inspired, groaning robot music.)
On the other hand, Broughton's music jibed perfectly with the CGI aspects
of the film, particularly in his spectacular accompaniment to the launch
of the Jupiter spaceship (the highlight of the film for fans of the series,
with an ingenious homage to the original TV show's disc-shaped vessel).
If Broughton is guilty of anything, it's in doing something that Jerry
Goldsmith often seemed to do in the '70s--namely, scoring the best possible
version of the movie instead of the one that actually got made. Broughton
picks up on the themes and emotions inherent in the storyline and creates
a score far more rousing than the movie for which it was written.
This expanded version of the score from Intrada showcases the composer
in the big, epic idiom for which he initially became known in the mid '80s.
Broughton wrote a lengthy, terrific melody for the movie which functions
in a number of guises, from open, rousing adventure ("The Launch,"
"Into the Sun") to warm, hopeful family-bonding ("Preparing
for Space") and a gentle, romantic treatment ("Guiding Stars").
Even on the truncated TVT album, this melody figured in some spectacular
moments, particularly toward the climax of the Robinsons' confrontation
with a hideously mutated "future" Dr. Smith ("Facing the
Monster") and in the wonderful "The Time Portal" (simply
titled "The Portal" on TVT). While a number of fans complained
that the score "had no theme," Broughton was simply judicious
about introducing and developing the melody (it plays under the film's
opening title), a technique that increases the theme's impact when it is
finally allowed to burst forth in full force. The film's dramatic climax
of neglectful father John Robinson (William Hurt) confronting a Ted Kaczynski-like
future version of his son Will was bungled by the inept casting of the
grown-up Will Robinson (a role that the original Will Robinson, actor Bill
Mumy, badly wanted to play), but Broughton's scoring of the sequence (and
the subsequent destruction of the Jupiter 2 in an alternate time line)
is so deeply felt that he almost single-handedly salvages the idea.
Intrada's expanded release is full of terrific moments, from the spectacular
"Into the Sun" to an equally exciting introduction to the space
spider sequence and the Jupiter 2 false destruction ("Attempted Rescue").
One of the selling points of the album is Broughton's unused end title
music, but it appeared in a slightly truncated form as "Through the
Planet" on the TVT disc. The music that actually plays for the Jupiter
2's flight through an imploding planet at the film's climax is heard here,
and it's an even more kinetic ride, if somewhat of a restatement of the
earlier "Robot Attack."
With the addition of the "Back to Hyperspace" finale and a
fanfare for Will Robinson heard in the background of an early scene, caped
by Broughton's racing end credit music, Lost in Space turns out to be one
of the most satisfying orchestral soundtracks in recent years, and one
made all the more enjoyable by Broughton's recognizable personal style.
Giant orchestral scores are becoming a dime a dozen, but here's one that
actually hearkens back to the early '80s when a lot of fans were first
getting into this stuff. --Jeff Bond
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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