FILM SCORE FRIDAY 9/20/02

This year's Emmy Award winners in the music categories:

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (DRAMATIC UNDERSCORE)
"BLUE PLANET: SEAS OF LIFE"
Music Composed by George Fenton

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL (DRAMATIC UNDERSCORE)
"SHACKLETON, PART 2"
Music by Adrian Johnston

OUTSTANDING MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC
"SIX FEET UNDER"
Main Title Theme by Thomas Newman

OUTSTANDING MUSIC AND LYRICS
"FAMILY GUY: BRIAN WALLOWS AND PETER'S SWALLOWS"
 SONG TITLE: "YOU'VE GOT A LOT TO SEE"
Walter Murphy, Composer; Seth MacFarlane, Lyricist

OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION
"OPENING CEREMONY SALT LAKE 2002 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES"
Mark Watters, Music Director

Varese Sarabande has announced an impressive group of new CDs due later this fall. On October 29th, they will release Thomas Newman's score to WHITE OLEANDER. The film is based on the Oprah's Book Club bestseller by Janet Fitch, and tells the story of a teenage girl (Alison Lohman) and her life with a series of foster parents (Robin Wright Penn, Renee Zellweger, Noah Wyle) after her mother (Michelle Pfieffer) is arrested for murder. The director is Peter Kosminsky, who helmed the little seen Wuthering Heights remake which paired Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche several years before The English Patient. White Oleander falls squarely within two of Thomas Newman's most familiar film genres -- Oscar® bait and films about women (Fried Green Tomatoes, Little Women, How to Make an American Quilt).

Last week in this column, I complained that Varese had announced a song album to the upcoming action thriller BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER, featuring less than seven minutes of Don Davis's score. Well, I have to apologize to Varese because I bitched too soon. On October 29th, they will follow it up with a score album featuring over an hour of Davis's music, the first time the label has ever released both the song and score albums to the same movie. I've been buying Varese albums for over two decades -- I should have known not to doubt them.

The same day, Varese will release John Frizzell's score to GHOST SHIP, the latest film from producer Joel Silver's horror imprint Dark Castle. Like the company's previous productions (House on Haunted Hill, Thirteen Ghosts), the film is expected to boast first-rate production values, an overqualified cast (in this case, Julianna Margulies and Gabriel Byrne), and a lot of really noisy sound effects.

Varese will also release Anthony Marinelli's score to THE MAN FROM ELYSIAN FIELDS, an offbeat romantic drama starring Andy Garcia as a writer who becomes a gigolo to support his family, and co-starring Olivia Williams, Mick Jagger, James Coburn, and the apparently ubiquitous Julianna Margulies. The film is directed by George Hickenlooper, who helmed the underrated The Low Life and the memorable Apocalypse Now documentary Hearts of Darkness. Elysian Fields was the subject of a fascinating Los Angeles magazine article in the spring of 2001 about the process of casting an independent film.

One week later, Varese will release Elmer Bernstein's score to FAR FROM HEAVEN. In what is perhaps the most inspired composer casting since Miklos Rozsa was hired for Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Bernstein scores this Douglas Sirk-inspired woman's picture starring Julianne Moore as a housewife in the 1950s. The film is directed by Todd Haynes, for whom Moore gave her most unforgettable performance in the movie Safe.

The Aleph Records website gives a full cue list for Lalo Schifrin's expanded rerecording of his score to THE AMITYVILLE HORORR, which according to CDNow will be released on October 22nd.

Atlantic will release John Williams and William Ross's score to HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS on November 12th. The upcoming soundtrack to AUTO FOCUS will feature only three Angelo Badalamenti cues. The MOONLIGHT MILE soundtrack will feature only one Mark Isham piece. UMG will release the soundtrack to FRIDA; no word on how much of Elliot Goldenthal's score the CD will feature

FSM contributor Daniel Schweiger has informed us that Teddy Castellucci (Mr. Deeds, Anger Management) will be scoring DATE OR DISASTER for director Richard Elfman (Forbidden Zone, Shrunken Heads). This satire on reality dating shows stars Robert Maschio (Scrubs) as "a smarmy host who gets his comeuppance when a mis-matched date goes postal". Jeff Tchida (MTV's Undressed), Rachael Rowan (Bundy) and Schweiger himself co- star. Readers can check out the new trailer and the site to see how you can become a contestant at www.dateordisaster.com.

The Four Feathers - James Horner - Sony Classical
Trapped - John Ottman - Varese Sarabande

September 24
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling - Joss Whedon, Christophe Beck - Rounder
Just a Kiss - Sean Dinsmore - Milan
Red Dragon - Danny Elfman - Universal
The Wicker Man - Paul Giovanni - Silva
October 1
Naqoyqatsi - Philip Glass - Nonesuch
The Tuxedo - John Debney, Christophe Beck - Varese Sarabande
October 8
Tuck Everlasting - William Ross - Disney
Welcome to Collinwood - Mark Mothersbaugh - Sanctuary
October 15
Below - Graeme Revell - Varese Sarabande
Swept Away - Michel Colombier - Varese Sarabande
October 22
The Amityville Horror - Lalo Schifrin - Aleph
October 29
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever - Don Davis - Varese Sarabande
Ghost Ship - John Frizzell - Varese Sarabande
The Man From Elysian Fields - Anthony Marinelli - Varese Sarabande
White Oleander - Thomas Newman - Varese Sarabande
November 5
Far From Heaven - Elmer Bernstein - Varese Sarabande
November 12
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - John Williams, William Ross - Atlantic
Date Unknown
The Busy Body/The Spirit is Willing - Vic Mizzy - Percepto
The Emperors' Club - James Newton Howard - Varese Sarabande
The Hours - Philip Glass - Nonesuch
Star Trek: Nemesis - Jerry Goldsmith - Varese Sarabande
The Swarm - Jerry Goldsmith - Prometheus CD Club

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever - Don Davis - Score Album due on October 29 from Varese Sarabande
The Banger Sisters - Trevor Rabin - Song Album on Sanctuary
Das Experiment - Alexander Von Bubenheim
8 Women - Krishna Levy - Soundtrack available on Warners in France
The Four Feathers - James Horner - Score Album on Sony Classical
Invincible - Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt - Score Album on Milan
Secretary - Angelo Badalamenti - Soundtrack due October 8th on Lion's Gate
Spirited Away - Joe Hisaishi - Score Album on Milan
Trapped - John Ottman - Score Album on Varese Sarabande

BARBERSHOP - Terence Blanchard

"Tech credits are pro all the way, particularly the magnificently modulated score by the always standout Terence Blanchard."

Ronnie Scheib, Variety

To cleanse the palate after last week's John Williams' bashing from Pauline Kael, I present some of her more positive film music opinions:

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

The music [by John Williams] seemed to saturate and enrich the intensely clear images.

(from 5001 Nights at the Movies, published by Henry Holt & Co.)

Even the sequences in the sunlight have deep tones -- elegiac yet lyrical, as in The Conformist, and always serving the narrative, as the Nino Rota score also does.

(from Reeling, published by Warner Books)

Viewers may even feel grateful that the director's attempts at suspense fail: without pressure on your nervous system, you can enjoy the well-behaved crooks, their finely tailored dupes, the deft Jerry Goldsmith score, and the many teasing touches.

(from When The Lights Go Down, published by Henry Holt & Co.)

Somehow, Schepisi and his two longtime collaborators, the composer Bruce Smeaton and the cinematographer Ian Baker, achieve that special and overwhelming fusion of the arts which great visual moviemaking can give us.

(from State of the Art, published by Bookthrift Co.)

And there may be a few times when the generally dazzling score, by Denny Zeitlin, the jazz pianist turned San Francisco psychiatrist, overpowers the action, but the music is a large contributor to the jokes and terrors.

(from When the Lights Go Down, published by Henry Holt & Co.)

Throughout the film, Georges Delerue's exquisite music -- simple and fragrant, popular without being banal -- is part of the atmosphere; it is so evocative that if you put the music on the phonograph, like the little phrase from Vinteuil's sonata, it brings back the images, the emotions, the experience.

(from I Lost It At the Movies, published by Marion Boyars)

In a massacre at a fortress on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, where Hidetora sees his retinue and his concubines butchered by his own sons' troops, Kurosawa cuts off the noise of the flaming arrows and the cries of the warriors and their victims; the carnage is a horror show, an elegiac ballet with no sound but Toru Takemitsu's harshly poignant music.

(from Hooked, published by E.P. Dutton)

The Willow (Theme From The V.I.P.s)
Lyrics by Mack David, Music by Miklos Rozsa

They all say the willow is wise
It will bend with the wind
And they say that I must be wise
Like the willow

Only fools defy the gods
Dare to fight impossible odds
And they say
You are gone and I must forget you

So goodbye, love
Tho' dark clouds may form
I will not cry, love
This willow will ride the storm

But when no one is near
Sometimes at night I can hear
The tears of a weeping willow

Originally published by Robbins Music Corporation

From: Greg Bryant <gabryant@fuse.net>

"On October 1st, Nonesuch will release Philip Glass's score to NAQOYQATSI, the final film in the trilogy begun by Koyannisqatsi. For readers wondering what happens in this film -- trust me, nothing will happen in this film."

I was taken aback by your "capsule" review of the new Godfrey Reggio film "Naqoyqatsi" in Film Score Friday last.

Your review essentially said "ignore this film, it has nothing to offer."

I beg to differ. In a business that values only sameness, Reggio's films offer a breath of fresh air. Reggio's films are non-narrative meldings of visual and sound, that in their 90 minute to two-hour length say more about the state of life on earth than just about all other films released put together.

It's a shame that Reggio's films basically go ignored until names with clout (Steven Soderbergh, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas) get behind them to force their release.

Your review is an additional slur to Reggio who has spent most it not all of the past 20 years making this series of films. It shows a definite lack of film maturity to put down his films as inconsequential.

I would recommending cutting back on your steady diet of Adam Sandler and Pauly Shore films and get thee to a better video rental store to find "Koyaanisqatsi," "Powaqqatsi" and "Anima Mundi."

While there, you might also check out Ron Fricke's "Chronos" and "Baraka."

You said pretty much the same thing, only you put it more delicately, describing the Reggio trio as "non-narrative meldings of visual and sound." "Non-narrative" pretty much means "nothing happens."

It does not mean that there won't be impressive filmmaking technique on display, or that the filmmaker has nothing to say about the world we live in. However, I saw Powaqqatsi in the theater in its original release and found it remarkably boring. And as one who has seen all of Andrei Tarkovsky's films -- in the theater no less, not on video -- I resent being lectured on my "steady diet of Adam Sandler and Pauly Shore." And since Mr. Shore hasn't had a movie released in several years, I feel he should be retired as a whipping boy for arthouse denizens.

However, I did make one mistake in my item. I misspelled the title of the movie. For that, and that alone, I am sorry.

From: "Lothar Derichs" <lothar@derichs.com>

Subject: THE WORDS I HEARD: Are You In There?

No one never heard? I'm sure you are aware there is a 45rpm with Andy Williams performing the song version of the Love Theme from King Kong. I am one of the happy few who own this recording. I believe John Barry even produced it himself. The A side contains a film-like arrangement, the B side has a typical mid-70s disco-version.

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

Subject: Friday responses

Though I can't say I agree with all of Taylor's opinions [Charles Taylor's tribute to title designer Maurice Binder in salon.com], such as that Spy Who Loved Me featured Binder's greatest Bond titles and was one of the best Bond films as well (this from a critic who proclaimed Mission to Mars a "masterpiece") --
 
Not this has much to do with film music, I agree that Binder's titles to TSWLM was one of the best and I believe, even to this day, that TSWLM is one of the very best of all the Bonds, especially for the Moore series. I also think that Mission to Mars was one of the worst pieces of garbage I had the pleasure of walking out of. Go figure? I bring all this up because it's TSWLM 25th anniversary, and for some reason it's never mentioned. A film that some thought blew Star Wars away when it came out -- maybe it just doesn't have the legs.
 
Regarding the lyrics to King Kong, does anyone have the actual sheet music and chords to this lovely melody?
 
Please stop publishing Goldsmith hate mail--it's sacrilegious.

Along with From Russia With Love's great plot, probably the best in the series, putting Sean Connery up against Robert Shaw was a masterstroke. The air practically crackles with tension when they're together. But when you put Roger Moore and Curt Jurgens in a room together, you get less than nothing. And even Binder's titles, skilled as always, had an unsexy cartoonishness that reflected the decline of the series.

From: "John S. Walsh" Spark654@aol.com

Subject: What's missing from your columns?//Williams vs. Goldsmith...not again!

Dear Mailbag...uh, I mean...

What's missing from your columns? Nothing. Tell the brave complainer who wouldn't let his name and letter be printed to replay his Project X cd for the nine hundredth time instead of taking potshots in secret.

On another note, something has been on my mind since you jokingly (I hope) mentioned that comments about some composer or other might start another war. I'm not saying this is the case all the time, but does anyone else get the sense that people who love John Williams and run down Jerry Goldsmith as an also-ran really believe that theirs is THE standard for music, and that the Goldsmith fans really, really agree with them deep down, but for loyalty or nostalgia refuse to admit that Williams is the better composer? It's an unspoken idea in many letters--comparing the number of Oscars Williams has over Goldsmith, that sort of thing.

Instead of just poking a stick at the hornet's nest, I have a theory as to why this attitude exists. Williams' music is traditional scoring, dramatic, and something like the Schindler's List theme is enjoyed by people who ordinarily don't like film music. Williams' music is traditional, and thus safe--you can listen to the Clones love theme and it has a sweep that we've heard many times before. (Nothing wrong with this at all.)

But when you listen to much of Goldsmith's music, this accessibility is not evident. The people I've played scores to over the years don't grasp Goldsmith because he uses harsher ideas, etc.

How does this come into play in the fan arguments? Well, I get the sense that Williams-types truly believe everyone prefers Williams' grandiose style--that Goldsmith-boosters secretly play "Minority Report" more than "Sum of All Fears," that Goldsmith fans don't really prefer his stuff, as if they want to come out and say, "COME ON, just listen to them...you KNOW who's better!"

Some people--especially in matters of politics, but often in art--believe that their standard is the true one, and if everyone had their eyes and ears opened, they would all come around to right thinking. As nice as much of Williams' music is, and as many times as I listen to "Zam the Assassin," I still listen to Goldsmith more than I do WIlliams. (I don't care about Oscars, my Schindler's List CD hasn't been played in years, while Total Recall, Ghost and the Darkness, Apes, etc. never leave the shelf under my cd player.)

Just some random thoughts on this not very timely topic.