My Thoughts on Different Things

1M1: 8/25/99

By Jason Foster

I recently saw something on a film music site about petitioning a record label to release an expanded version of James Horner's WILLOW score. This kind of took me by surprise since the original CD release was over 70 minutes long. And by my count, it was about 40 minutes too long. I think that score was more than well represented by the original album to the point to of being overkill. I mean, you could probably pick three tracks at random off that CD and get the idea. But this got me thinking - soundtrack fans are always blabbering on about how score albums are too short. In fact, a recent FSD poll showed that the vast majority of readers think all score albums should contain the complete score, sequenced in chronological order. I don't agree with this notion.

On the surface, this sounds like a great idea. Why wouldn't you want to have every note of a score written by your favorite composer? Well, let's think about it. How many existing long albums (let's say longer than 45 minutes) can actually hold your attention for the entire time? I can't think of any offhand.

Now don't get me wrong, the occasional complete score on CD is fine. But I think that this kind of treatment should only be given when a film and its score have had a lasting impact on the industry. I think The STAR WARS TRILOGY fits that mold. As do things like GONE WITH THE WIND, BEN HUR, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and PLANET OF THE APES - all of which have recently received the complete score treatment.

There are few scores in the last twenty or so years that deserve to have every note documented on CD. If you've ever had the chance to sit and listen to a random complete score that runs much more than an hour, you have to admit that it can be very easy to get bored. I once had the chance to hear the complete 100 minute plus score to STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE apart from the film and found my attention could easily be diverted after about 50 minutes. It literally took work for me to get through the whole thing in one sitting. But this in no way means the score is bad or uninteresting. It's just that after a while, it started to get old. This can apply to anything. And scores that a small group of people want expanded, like WILLOW, CUTTHROAT ISLAND, LEGENDS OF THE FALL, and a few others - they're already too long and would make much more fulfilling listens if they were about 30-40 minutes shorter.

However, on the other hand, I'm not a huge fan of 29 minutes albums either. But I like to look at it this way: If it takes 15 minutes or 80 minutes to best represent a score, so be it. As long as I can listen to a score and be able to get a good idea of what the composer wanted to do, I'm usually happy.

It's easy to say that the more music there is in a film, the longer it will take to best represent it. But sometimes that can prove inaccurate. For instance, Varese Sarabande, who's well known for releasing the much-hated short albums, chose to release 72 minutes of Don Davis's score to the 1996 mini-series THE BEAST. I'll never know what was going on there. If ever there was a perfect time for a 30 minute album, it was then. The music followed pretty much the same course over the three or four nights the series ran. You get the picture about 15 minutes. But enough about all that. I just know that I've made someone very angry. I just disagree with the notion that every cue in a score is worth listen to outside of the film. But alas...

Changing gears, I finally broke down and bought the recent Cincinnati Pops baseball compilation called "Play Ball." On the whole, I have to say that it's another disappointing Kunzel release. My biggest complaint with these albums continues to be that most of the piece are taken either too fast or two slow, though this wasn't as big a problem here as it has been in the past. The token sound effects are, as usual, pointless and just take up space. However, the one redeeming quality of the album is the inclusion of the End Title suite from Bill Conti's score to the 1993 film ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. Kunzel's interpretation of the lively cue is close enough to the original to suit me, which is good since it's never seen a commercial release. I won't go as far to say that it makes the CD worth having, but it does take a little edge off the disappointment.

Changing gears yet again, I did something last week that I never do - I bought a non-score soundtrack album. Now don't yell, because every now and then there actually is a pop compilation that contains songs that add something to the film. Such is the case with DICK. The film is highly entertaining and currently ranks in my top five list of good movies I've seen this year. The soundtrack album contains a great collection of 1970s period songs that work well in the context of the film and play a sizable role in dishing out the humor. They're also pretty cool songs on their own. I highly recommend both the film and the soundtrack (if you don't mind "breaking the rules" of film score collecting). As for John Debney's original score, it was okay, but basically factorless.

Here are a few reader responses to last week's column on THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and silence instead of music.

>From <bjdonohue@erols.com> (Brian Donohue):

Sorry, I'm one of the ones who was left underwhelmed by the film. Although I do think the final shot is one which stays with you, I was much more impressed, and disturbed, by the slick hollywood production of The Sixth Sense. As to the lack of music in the film, I disagree. As an audience, we are conditioned to accept background music in documentary films. This was supposedly "found" footage. Don't we accept that it was edited into the version we see? At the very least, film and video were combined to make up the whole. If suddenly we were to hear music in a given scene, we would have accepted that also as something that was added to heighten the effect. Just my two cents.

>From <skywise@altavista.net>

I'm excited for independent cinema with the success of Blair Witch, but fearful of the product that it will bring. 70% of Blair Witch's success is in it's style and once the awe of "realism" runs out, I feel the style will become quickly tiresome.

The lack of music never works within itself. It is in contrast to what sound is played in relation. In Jurassic Park, the first T-REX appearance was cue-free, but we had the music of the rain, the crashing the cars, people's screams and the very distinct roar of the t-Rex. In the original Alien, when there is not music, there is the distinctive hypnotic heartbeat of the ships engines. In Blair Witch the screams are the score and the distinct crackling in the distance and the noises of the witch as it harasses them. I've seen both versions of the film (the rough mono product they delivered to Artisan and the remastered version with pumped up THX-audio). It was a clear aesthetic choice.

>From <semih@u.washington.edu> (Semih U. Tareen):

(snip)...Another issue, where you mention about the silent scenes in movies like mission impossible. Those scenes ARE powerful. But why? If we get the idea from those films that music shouldn't be used we are completely missing the point. Let me tell you why: Those scenes are powerful because you are under tension; you are awaiting to reach your relaxing mood. That relaxing mood is the music. Those scenes are powerful because you have been hearing music all along and the next thing you know, it is completely silent. You start trembling. You don't realize that the music is missing until you try to find reasons. Later in the film when you hear the music again, you realize that is was missing in the previous scene. THAT is what makes it so powerful. For some this cognitive process is in the sub-conscious level, but for people like us who go to movies for the music, it can be very obvious.

(snip) It's all about contrast. I am pretty sure that any film that has a very powerful silent scene (i.e., no music) also will have music at another point which, if spotted wisely, will function as a resolution point for the audience. But I still haven't been able to answer my question about music vs sound effects. They have been mixing with each other.

I have to admit that the above isn't something I've ever thought much about, but it does make perfect sense. Thanks for the insight. As always, thanks to everyone who sent their feedback.

Comments: jgfoster93@hotmail.com