FILM SCORE FRIDAY 1/24/03
By Scott Bettencourt
Varese Sarabande
has announced a new crop of CDs to be released in March, beginning with
four new discs due on March 4th:
DAREDEVIL presents Graeme Revell's score to Mark Steven
Johnson's film of the popular Marvel comic. Ben Affleck plays a blind lawyer
who doubles as an equally blind but super-sensitive (he cries at chick
flicks, that kind of thing) superhero. Jennifer Garner is Elektra, Colin
Farrell is Bullseye, Michael Clarke Duncan is Kingpin, and Jon Favreau
is Daredevil's best friend Froggy, who despite his name is not a superhero.
Rising composer Brian Tyler has written the score to DARKNESS
FALLS (formerly titled The Tooth Fairy, and already available
as a MacFarlane Movie Maniacs action figure), a horror film which opens
in theaters today and which stars Emma Caulfield, the adorable Anya from
Buffy
the Vampire Slayer.
Joel McNeely has conducted a new recording of Bernard Herrmann's
peerless sci-fi score THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL at Abbey Road
in London.
And though this CD was announced and quickly cancelled late last year,
Craig
Armstrong's score to the remake of Graham Greene's THE QUIET AMERICAN
will indeed see the light of day from Varese.
One week later, Varese will release another Brian Tyler score,
for William Friedkin's First Blood-y action thriller THE HUNTED,
with Benicio Del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones recreating the archetypes previously
played by Sylvester Stallone and the late Richard Crenna.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Film Music of Dmitri Shostakovich, vol. 1 - Dmitri Shostakovich
- Chandos
Indiana Jones Trilogy - John Williams - Silva
Murder on the Orient Express - Richard Rodney Bennett - DRG
Spider - Howard Shore - Virgin (France)
IN THEATERS TODAY
Darkness Falls - Brian Tyler - Score CD due March 4 from Varese
Sarabande
P.S. Your Cat is Dead - Dean Grinsfelder
The Slaughter Rule - Jay Farrar
COMING SOON
January 28
The Recruit - Klaus Badelt - Varese Sarabande
The Spirit is Willing/The Busy Body - Vic Mizzy - Percepto
Two Weeks Notice - John Powell - Varese Sarabande
February 4
Gods and Generals - John Frizzell, Randy Edelman ? Sony Classical
February 11
Diamonds Are Forever - John Barry - EMI/Capitol
Live and Let Die - George Martin - EMI/Capitol
On Her Majesty's Secret Service - John Barry - EMI/Capitol
February 18
The Guys - Mychael Danna - Sony Classical
February 25
Goldfinger - John Barry - EMI/Capitol
Nicholas Nickleby - Rachel Portman - Varese Sarabande
Thunderball - John Barry - EMI/Captol
You Only Live Twice - John Barry - EMI/Capitol
March 4
Daredevil - Graeme Revell - Varese Sarabande
Darkness Falls - Brian Tyler - Varese Sarabande
The Day the Earth Stood Still - Bernard Herrmann - Varese Sarabande
The Quiet American - Craig Armstrong - Varese Sarabande
March 11
The Hunted - Brian Tyler - Varese Sarabande
Date Unknown
Amerika - Basil Poledouris - Prometheus
The Big Sky - Dimitri Tiomkin - Screen Archives/BYU
Dr. Phibes Rises Again - John Gale - Perseverance
From Beyond - Richard Band - LaLaLand
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Denny Zeitlin - Perseverance
Mighty Joe Young, etc. - Roy Webb, et al - Monstrous Movie Music
Monte Walsh/The Crossfire Trail - Eric Colvin - LaLaLand
Prince Valiant - David Bergeaud - Perseverance
Re-Animator - Richard Band - LaLaLand
They - Elia Cmiral - LaLaLand
This Island Earth, etc. - Herman Stein, et al - Monstrous Movie
Music
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
January 25 - Albert Glasser born (1916)
January 30 - Morton Stevens born (1929)
January 30 - Steve Bartek born (1952)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
JUST MARRIED - Christophe Beck
"Christophe Beck's music also seems geographically challenged, with
Gallic-style accordion ditties and Argentine tango riffs underscoring action
in Italy."
Robert Koehler, Variety
NATIONAL SECURITY - Randy Edelman
"There is a thorough - you might almost say a systematic - lack of imagination
in the script, the direction, the camerawork, the music and the acting."
A.O. Scott, New York Times
YES, THEY DID MAKE A PROBLEM CHILD 3
FROM: Roger Börjesson
SUBJECT: Series
Scores Part 3
What about David Michael Frank's score to Problem Child
3: Junior In Love?
I admit, I deliberately left out Problem Child 3. In general, I'm
inclined not to include TV movie sequels to features (Look What's Happened
to Rosemary's Baby, Revenge of the Nerds 3, etc.), though I did make
an exception for Pscyho IV: The Beginning since it involved enough
pivotal players from the original film (Perkins, Stefano) that I felt it
could be considered a legitimate continuation. Of course, I've never seen
it, so maybe it bites. Psycho III's pretty cool, though.
REACTIONS TO MY "CONFESSION OF PREJUCIDES"
In a recent Film
Score Friday column, I listed my twenty-five favorite film composers,
as well as a handful of contemporary composers whom I feel are arguably
overemployed (such as Angelo Badalamenti and Maurice Jarre). Many of our
readers seemed to feel that their favorites should be my
favorites, and the letters poured in:
FROM: NicDurden@aol.com
SUBJECT: Angelo Badalamenti doesn't deserve his prominence!
Badalementi's score for Mulholland Drive is one of the greatest
scores ever recorded for film. And what about his theme for a little show
called Twin Peaks? His score for Blue Velvet (even though it is filled
with homages to Shostakovich - then again, without Pendericki where would
your beloved Goldsmith be?) is a textbook on lush eroticism.
Name one memorable Newton Howard score - One - (Waterworld?)
Man, just put Eric Serra at number one at that point. Zheesh!
Poor Angelo.
I agree on the merits of Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet. However,
if you truly feel that Mulholland Drive is one of the greatest scores ever
recorded for film, I suggest you might consider listening to more film
scores.
Memorable Howard scores? Iíd vote for Alive, Wyatt Earp, Unbreakable,
Signs.
As for Eric Serra, he does so few English language films -- and it is
the English language cinema we're most concerned with here -- that it seemed
pointless to put him on the over employed list. And he's certainly not
one of my favorites.
FROM: "Randy Derchan" <rderchan@visualdatainc.com>
Pretty fair list I would say, but I agree that you should
add James Newton Howard. Personally, he's at the top of mine and I feel
he's becoming the Goldsmith of the millennium. Your overrated list is also
fair. Try to rethink Friedhoffer, Mancini and Rosenthal. They seem a little
too low at the moment.
FROM: Mel Wahlberg <mwahlber2001@yahoo.com>
Well, your top 25 list may have been a space filing toss-off,
but it prompted me to take two minutes to respond - which I haven't done
in all the years I've been reading FSM magazine and website. Lists like
this are fun for banter and not to be taken too seriously and give us our
version of trash talk perhaps. What scares me the most is how close your
list would be to my own list, especially the top ten - with perhaps some
minor tweaks (move Shire up a bit, Barry down a bit). The only composer
not on your list at all, who I would put somewhere in my top ten, would
be Patrick Doyle - although I can't say who I would remove from your list.
Similarly, Jarre and Edelman (and perhaps Alfred Newman) would be in my
top 25, but would probably be more trouble than it's worth to figure out
who they would supplant.
Mostly though - for whatever it's worth - I am in sync with your
opinions.
FROM: "Madlen & Alan Ellul - Black" <custer1010@bigpond.com>
SUBJECT: Scott????? That List--
Dear Scott
One of my New Year's resolutions was to be kind to you this year.
I thought. "Let's be positive", give the nice young man a chance. Lukas
has obviously got faith in his ability.
But Scott, your choice of composers!!
Surely some of the maestros listed below should have made your top
25 list.
May I ask 'politely' where are:
KORNGOLD (Adventures of Robin Hood, Kings Row etc.)
STEINER (Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, Treasure of the Sierra
Madre, etc.)
TIOMKIN (Old Man and the Sea, Fall of the Roman Empire, etc.)
YOUNG (For Whom the Bell Tolls, Around the World in Eighty Days,
etc.)
and
ALFRED NEWMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Film Score Monthly has some beautiful titles available).
There are so many others I could add from the 'Golden Age'
Donít any of these great gentlemen provide you with listening pleasure??
That's obviously what your personal list does.
Finally could you imagine listening to Lawrence of Arabia, Ryan's
Daughter, Night of the Generals et al without Maurice Jarre's contribution?
Best wishes for the New Year
Of course those great gentlemen provide me with listening pleasure, especially
Alfred Newman. They just donít happen to be my favorites.
As far as Maurice Jarre is concerned, I haven't seen Night of the
Generals. Lawrence of Arabia is a great movie and has what's
probably Jarre's best score, but I think the film would have been even
better with music by Herrmann, Rozsa, Waxman, Friedhofer, Bernstein, Alfred
Newman, or, especially, Alex North.
And I would love to imagine Ryan's Daughter without Jarre's contribution.
It still probably wouldn't be a very good movie, but that Jarre score is
GHASTLY.
FROM: "Dick Dinman" <dd10316@webtv.net>
EXCLUDING ALFRED NEWMAN? Must be a typo.
FROM: "Ron Pulliam"<ron.pulliam@acgov.org>
With no Korngold, Steiner or Newman (Alfred) in your listing,
I have to say I find you a tragic figure -- a triple amputee.
Your columns are generally good reading, though. I'll just have
to be wary of musical judgments you make!
FROM: "Brooks Wachtel"
No Korngold or Tiomkin? A rather eclectic duo of omissions.
Though I like some of his scores a lot, especially The Thing and
The Fall of the Roman Empire, I'm unconvinced as to the ultimate
greatness of Tiomkin.
FROM: Arthur Lintgen <alintgen@comcast.net>
Matters of personal taste aside, placing geniuses such
as Franz Waxman and Alex North with massive credits to their names below
numerous distinctly minor composers that are active now has to betray a
lack of adequate exposure to the music of Waxman and North, on a quantitative
and qualitative basis. Otherwise your selections strain your credibility.
How can you put "matters of personal taste" aside? The whole point of the
list is personal taste.
Despite your passionate arguments, none of you have changed my tastes,
but at least you've inspired me to update the list. Each composer's name
is followed by my two favorites of their scores.
1. Jerry Goldsmith (Star Trek: TMP, Great Train Robbery)
2. Bernard Herrmann (Ghost & Mrs. Muir, 7th Voyage of Sinbad)
3. John Williams (Empire of the Sun, Accidental Tourist)
4. John Barry (Diamonds Are Forever, OHMSS)
5. Elmer Bernstein (To Kill a Mockingbird, Heavy Metal)
6. Basil Poledouris (Flesh + Blood, Conan)
7. Miklos Rosza (Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Power)
8. Jerome Moross (Valley of Gwangi, Big Country)
9. Thomas Newman (Fried Green Tomatoes, Oscar & Lucinda)
10. David Shire (Taking of Pelham 1-2-3, Hindenburg)
11 Bruce Broughton (Young Sherlock Holmes, Monster Squad)
12. Christopher Young (Swordfish, Shipping News)
13. Richard Rodney Bennett (Orient Express, Madding Crowd)
14. Danny Elfman (Edward Scissorhands, Mission: Impossible)
15. Henry Mancini (Molly Maguires, Arabesque)
16. Elliot Goldenthal (Michael Collins, Interview w/ Vampire)
17. Howard Shore (Nobodyís Fool, The Fly)
18. Georges Delerue (Woman Next Door, Black Stallion Returns)
19. Alex North (2001, Spartacus)
20. Franz Waxman (Spirit of St. Louis, Sunrise at Campobello)
21. Hugo Friedhofer (Best Years of Our Lives, Sun Also Rises)
22. James Newton Howard (Alive, Unbreakable)
23. Laurence Rosenthal (Clash of the Titans, Dr. Moreau)
24. Shirley Walker (Mask of Phantasm, Invisible Man)
25. Rachel Portman (War of the Buttons, Only You)
MY STUNNINGLY PREMATURE OSCAR PREDICTIONS
PICTURE - Chicago
ACTOR - Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York
ACTRESS - Nicole Kidman, The Hours
SUPPORTING ACTOR - Chris Cooper, Adaptation
SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
DIRECTOR - Rob Marshall, Chicago
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - Far From Heaven
SCREENPLAY ADAPTATION - Adaptation
CINEMATOGRAPHY - Road to Perdition
ART DIRECTION - Gangs of New York
SOUND - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
ORIGINAL SONG - "I Move On, " Chicago
ORIGINAL SCORE - Far From Heaven
FILM EDITING - Chicago
COSTUME DESIGN - Gangs of New York
MAKEUP - The Hours
VISUAL EFFECTS - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
SOUND EFFECTS EDITING - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
ANIMATED FEATURE - Lilo & Stitch
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