FILM SCORE FRIDAY 3/01/02

Friday of the Dead

From Numenorean Music:

Numenorean Music (www.numenoreanmusic.com) is proud to present our first release, available for the first time ever on CD, the soundtrack from George A. Romero's horror masterpiece DAY OF THE DEAD by composer John Harrison. We have digitally remastered the suite of music Mr. Harrison produced for the original LP and have added many special bonus "music & effects" tracks which have never been released in any form, including some delightful "zombie munching sound f/x!" Chow down!

This special edition is the ONLY fully authentic and officially licensed release of the DAY OF THE DEAD score on CD. Each CD is hand-numbered to ensure the collector that only 3,000 copies are in existence. The 12-page, full-color booklet features liner notes from composer John Harrison and George A. Romero written exclusively for this limited edition release.

TRACK TITLES AND TIME:

 1. The Dead Suite (19:39)
 2. Breakdown (3:50)
 3. Escape Invasion (3:56)
 4. The Dead Walk (4:51)
 5. If Tomorrow Comes (3:37)
 6. The World Inside Your Eyes (2:29)

BONUS MUSIC AND EFFECTS TRACKS:

 7. Deadly Beginnings (7:25)
 8. Diner of the Living Dead (1:39)
 9. Dead Calm (1:53)
10.Bub's 9th (0:36)
11.Dead End (21:39)

TOTAL TIME: (72:57)

Price: $19.98 plus shipping and handling.

You may order this item at: www.numenoreanmusic.com

Die Hard - Michael Kamen (Varese Sarabande CD Club)
Kate & Leopold - Rolfe Kent (Miramax/Milan)
Logan's Run - Jerry Goldsmith (Film Score Monthy)
The Long Hot Summer/Sanctuary - Alex North (Varese Sarabande CD Club)
Love is a Many Splendored Thing - Alfred Newman (Varese Sarabande CD Club)
Lust For Life - Miklos Rozsa (Film Score Monthly)
Metropolis - Toshiyuki Honda (Domo)
The Shipping News - Christopher Young (Miramax/Milan)

40 Days and 40 Nights - Rolfe Kent
We Were Soldiers - Nick Glennie-Smith (Song Album on Sony)

Though I heartily applaud Beyond/MGM Music for their new Soul Cinema series of CD releases, mixing previously released albums with first-time releases of original score tracks, I must take issue with their release of the score to Friday Foster.

This CD, containing the score by Luchi De Jesus, totals a less than whopping 23:47, which is remarkably skimpy for a full price CD. Most CDs have enough room for eighty minutes of music. You could include this score three times and still have room for a Paul Oakenfold remix.

Friday Foster, the movie, is a disappointingly bland and campy relic from the blaxploitation era, lacking the gritty charm of such classics as Jack Hill's Coffy and Foxy Brown, the glossy slickness of Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, or the shockingly profane Nichelle Nichols of Truck Turner. The best thing about Foster is its stellar cast--Pam Grier, Yaphet Kotto, Godfrey Cambridge, Eartha Kitt, Jim Backus, Scatman Crothers, Ted Lange, and Carl Weathers.

From: "hiphats" <hiphats@attbi.com>

This year's Oscar music nominees are both surprising and not so surprising. I expected John Williams to score a nomination for a beautiful score for "A.I.". Despite the fact it was a box-office bomb, the music was one of the most emotional scores Williams has written so far this decade. Last year at this time I predicted that "Dream Of Me" (from "Get Over It") would be worthy of Oscar contention. Well, given the fact that "Come What May" (from "Moulin Rouge") was declared ineligible for an Oscar, it seemed that Kirsten Dunst's singing debut may have a chance at the gold statuette. But, as you can tell by this year's nominees, I was totally and completely wrong. "Get Over It", as you know, also bombed in theatres last year, and so its omission from the Oscar race may have been well deserved. It does sadden me though that "Dream Of Me" was one of the most beautiful movie songs written this young decade. Marc Shaiman worked hard to write it, and Miss Dunst worked hard on her singing debut. It is too bad that Miramax (and in some degree, the movie-going audience) left "Get Over It", as they say, "out of sight, and out of mind". Many of you will probably think Kirsten Dunst wasn't meant for singing (although I understand she does sing the end title music for Lions Gate's forthcoming production "The Cat's Meow"). I feel bad for both Miss Dunst and Mr. Shaiman on "Dream Of Me" being overlooked. On the other hand, I feel much better that James Horner's "All That Love Is" (from "A Beautiful Mind") is also not in the running for Best Song. Who wants to hear Charlotte Church (substituting for Celine Dion) anyway???

Some other fine songs not nominated include "Three Small Words" from the clever, underrated Josie and the Pussycats; Danny Elfman's near self-parody "Floop Song" from Spy Kids, and Sheryl Crow's "Safe and Sound" from K-PAX which, whatever the merits of the song, blended beautifully with Edward Shearmur's score.

For anyone interested in a non-singing performance by Kirsten Dunst, I highly recommend Crazy/Beautiful, a marvelous piece of acting in a surprisingly solid film.

From: "Randy Derchan" <rderchan@captioneering.com>

Moulin Rouge has to be the worst film ever nominated for Best Picture, Did I mention that I HATE this film?

Kudos! I couldn't agree with you more. I thought Kidman's The Others performance was much more interesting and down-right excellent.

Re: Horner. I have been a fan of Horner's music ever since I saw Humanoids From the Deep in a sleazy theater on Market Street in San Francisco almost twenty two years ago. He has written many scores that I have loved. I will take his Glory over Williams' Patriot any day of the week.

I don't agree. I just listened to The Patriot again and I find it just a magnificent piece of writing, especially the opening and closing pieces. Very underrated Williams. Glory is good, but not inspired. The film is much better than Patriot, hands down.

The Academy nominations for score is the best selections I've seen in a very long time. If any of the nominees won, I wouldn't be upset. There is not a bad score on the roster this time.

I had hopes that Horner would recycle his fishing boat music from Humanoids in his Perfect Storm score, but it was not to be. Similarly, Williams managed not to rework any of his Heartbeeps music into A.I., another film about robot love.

From: "T. LInehan" <tojosline@hotmail.com.>

I agree with the comments about Moulin Rouge; it's the most unwatchable film of last year,. It makes Ken Russell Lisztomania look like The Magnificent Ambersons. I'd rather have seen its Best Picture nomination go to something more entertaining like Bridget Jones's Diary.

From: "Jamborsky, Eric" <eric.jamborsky@ingrambook.com>

It is perhaps fortuitous that MGM has chosen May 7 to release the long-awaited DVD of The Vikings. This was always a favorite score since I first saw the movie on its original release. For those people wanting extras the disc will include commentary by director Richard Fleischer. Other DVDs they are releasing on the same date will include Richardson's Charge Of The Light Brigade (John Addison), Khartoum (Frank Cordell) and The Pride And The Passion (George Antheil). While none of these will feature an isolated soundtrack, we will get the opportunity to hear some great film music the way it should be heard.

The exchange between myself and letter writer "Nalton" has provoked a blessedly column padding number of responses from readers, some beginning with invocations to a higher power. I would present the letters defending Zimmer, but I have yet to receive any.

From: JohnnyK <trek88@yahoo.com>

Good God, now I HAVE seen everything at FSM. The Zimmer panegyric-cum-death-threat to those film score aficianados not sufficiently enthused over the Zimmer Product, written by one Nalton@bellatlantic.net to the FSM editorial offices (Film Score Friday, 2/22/02), was either a clever bit of tongue-in-cheek, or a note written in crayon, smuggled out of some hospital for the tone deaf and scanned into some poor slob's email.

Zimmer the innovator? Zimmer the dare taker? Zimmer the God Beyond Criticism? And the final summation of his talent, his "genius" for taking profit points on each picture? Well, he has indeed given a whole new meaning, appropriate in his case, to the term "music business."

And then this "nalton" anoints Zimmer KING. To wit (and I quote his non-sequitur verbatim): "The creme da la creme is this (and you need NO further proof) to know that Zimmer is THE King!" (it's DE la creme, btw).

Poor Elvis will have to relinquish his jaded title to the new master of musical sensibility.

Oh well. There is a kinship. Elvis had HIS music written for him, too.

Good Lord! Aren't you all sick and tired of the endless debates on Han Zimmer (and even James Horner) from the illustrious Mailbag? How tedious! The Mailbag used to be interesting and, to a degree, informative, but seems now to have degenerated into mindless babble. Come on people, start talking about something that's worth a hoot! Here's a suggestion: Let's bring back Pino Donaggio to America so he can show American composers once again how to properly & effectively score a thriller. Well, there you go, let's see how far this epic goes before the drones of Han Zimmer come clawing back into The Bag!

From: "Rowell Gormon" <imagin8r@bellsouth.net>

hey, man...
 
I wouldn't worry too much about zimmer being "the KING" of movie music.
The designation doesn't mean much.
Look who's called "the KING" of POP!

I loved your duel with the Zimmer fan on Film Score Friday today.

If there's one thing that gets my back up, it's people who think anyone with a different opinion is a "clown" and an "amateur".

Zimmer, from my point of view: crash, bang, wallop music for crash, bang, wallop films; Low brow music for low brow films; synthesizers for pop value rather than artistic integrity.

I find my reaction to Zimmer's music in keeping with my reaction to films like Judge Dredd and the prospect of Collateral Damage. Yawn. Big and noisy doesn't mean good. It just means big and noisy. Give me something like Cinema Paradiso any time. And composers of the same.

But that's me. I don't call someone who thinks Zimmer is King a numbskull, 'cos that's his taste. Allow me mine, as well. Don't call me a clown or an idiot because I don't like Zimmer. I last saw that behaviour when I was six.

Claiming righteousness about preference is redundant.

Cheers.

Re: The Masters Film Music release due in April:

First, I thought and thought and thought...and then got one of "your" migraines, because the "Hitler for the 1980s" reference just does not register for me unless you are talking about Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Moammar Khaddafy, or Shannon Doherty.

As for the letter from Nalton:

Gad! What a patient soul you are! That someone would believe Zimmer to be daring and original had me laughing hysterically. There's nothing he's done that isn't derivative of someone/something else (not necessarily film music, either). When I hear Zimmer, I always think, "That reminds me of......" -- and it's always someone else.

As for your poll about the Zimmer stable: If you really want an accurate reflection of your readers' opinions, try adding an extra option, such as "I don't like any of them." This could be reworded to "None of the Above" if you're asking us to make a choice about "bests." To be fair, you could also add an "All of Them" choice for those who just cannot make up their minds.

But I think you might be very surprised at the results. I, for one, was unable to vote in your last poll because you offered me no "option."

Still guffawing over that silly Zimmer letter (I've just got to believe somebody is yanking you guys' chain with that letter!)

"A Hitler tailor-made for the nineteen-eighties" is a line from The Boys From Brazil, delivered with perfect camp bravado by Gregory Peck. As this was an early release from Masters Film Music many years ago, I had hopes that an expanded version of this truly glorious Goldsmith score would be the first of their new releases, but what little information I have on the matter indicates that it isn't. Oh well. Someone, somewhere, someday.

From: "Madlen & Alan Ellul - Black" <shadow@ssc.net.au>

Hi Scott
 
Well initially I bagged you when you started but, even at this old and very grey stage, I am not above eating humble pie. Welcome, a very nice, humorous and informative article.
 
As to the gentleman's comments on Zimmer, (well we all know what eventually happens to Kings), I applaud your very apt comments.
 
Yes, Zimmer is good but with a style of scoring which I doubt will still make him a popular Director or Producers choice within the next decade. I will still collect his work but then, you cant teach an old dog new tricks, I will still collect Horner, Goldsmith, Williams, Newman, Steiner, Young, Tiomkin, Rosza, Barry, Morricone, Bernstein, etc. etc.
 
Finally I won't be rushing to buy Die Hard from Varese. (Though I could be tempted if they released any Victor Young scores ...hint )
 
Perhaps I am being overly sentimental but I enjoy Film Score Monthly's releases too much to even consider other companies apart from BYU and Screen Archives.
 
Your two new releases are brilliant. The expanded Logan's Run a collector's dream as the previous releases missed the depth of Jerry's true inner scoring. Lust for Life...A Rosza from Film Score Monthly...and what an emotionally power packed score. A wonderful start to your Rosza stable. How about the mysterious, underrated score for Warners ..The Green Berets
 
Sorry this became so long. Regards to Lukas..I miss the young fella's comments..but hell. You'll do.
 
Again my apologies,
Alan
 

Before I leave the subject of Hans Zimmer (with luck, for a long time), I have to admit that I was a little harsher on him in last Friday's column than I needed to be. Nalton, real or imaginary, got my goat.

My main problem with Zimmer boils down to this. When I witness the work of a truly great talent--the acting of Gene Hackman, the cinematography of Gordon Willis--I know that even if I studied acting or cinematography my whole life, I could never achieve anything to compare to their genius.

I feel the same way about the great film scores. Even if I devoted my life to the study of music composition, I could never write a Ghost and Mrs. Muir, an Empire of the Sun, an Alien, an Oscar and Lucinda.

But when I hear Gladiator or The Thin Red Line, Zimmer's best scores, I think "Jeez, I could write that." Maybe it's me.

What does God need with a starship?

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