FILM SCORE FRIDAY 5/30/03

Just another reminder of our latest CDs from Film Score Monthly: our Golden Age release is a two-disc set pairing two swashbuckler scores by Miklos Rozsa -- KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE (the original film recording, not the re-recording released many years ago by Varese) and THE KING'S THIEF.

Our Silver Age release pairs two science-fiction scores from the 1970s -- DEMON SEED, by Jerry Fielding, is a soundtrack I have literally waited twenty six years for, while SOYLENT GREEN (scored by Fred Myrow) is a film I haven't seen yet, so please don't tell me the twist ending (I think it has something to do with the people who make Soylent Green).

Turns out that it would not have been such a wise bet after all, since the composer that Eastwood ended up hiring for the movie turned out to be -- Clint Eastwood. Variety's review of the film, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival and is set for release in the U.S. in October, described the score as "dominated by a swellingly dramatic main theme."

And there is no truth to the rumors that the famously taciturn director Eastwood engaged in weepy screaming matches on the scoring stage with composer Eastwood, threatening to replace him with Danny Elfman.

Chouans! - Georges Delerue - Disques CineMusiques
Knights of the Round Table/The King's Thief - Miklos Rozsa - Film Score Monthly
Soylent Green/Demon Seed - Fred Myrow/Jerry Fielding - Film Score Monthly

Finding Nemo - Thomas Newman - Score CD on Disney
The Italian Job - John Powell - Score CD due June 24th from Varese Sarabande
Together - Zhao Lin - Soundtrack CD on Milan featuring 2 score cues
Wrong Turn - Elia Cmiral - Score CD due June 3rd from Varese Sarabande

June 3
Bruce Almighty - John Debney, various - Varese Sarabande
Wrong Turn - Elia Cmiral - Varese Sarabande
June 10
The Third Man - Anton Karas - Silva
June 17
The Hulk - Danny Elfman - Universal
28 Days Later - John Murphy - Beggars XI
Whale Rider - Lisa Gerrard - WB
June 24
Baby Doll - Kenyon Hopkins - DRG
The Buccaneer - Elmer Bernstein - DRG
Harlow - Neal Hefti - DRG
The Italian Job - John Powell - Varese Sarabande
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - Marco Beltrami - Varese Sarabande
Date Unknown
Amerika - Basil Poledouris - Prometheus
The Big Sky - Dimitri Tiomkin - Screen Archives/BYU
The Dreamer of Oz - Lee Holdridge - Percepto
From Beyond - Richard Band - La-La Land
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Denny Zeitlin - Perseverance
Mighty Joe Young, etc. - Roy Webb, et al - Monstrous Movie Music
A Summer Place - Max Steiner - Screen Archives/BYU
This Island Earth, etc. - Herman Stein, et al - Monstrous Movie Music
The White Buffalo - John Barry - Prometheus CD Club

June 1 - Werner Janssen born (1900)
June 1 - Nelson Riddle born (1921)
June 2 - Marvin Hamlisch born (1944)

Shockingly, Elvis Mitchell in the New York Times managed to review the expanded, re-released version of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly without once mentioning Ennio Morricone or his score.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY - John Debney

"Production designer Linda Descenna's depiction of God's office as a giant all-white warehouse is far more inspired than John Debney's sleep-inducing music."

Robert Koehler, Variety

RESPIRO - John Surman

"[Director Emanuele] Crialese suggests links between landscape, climate and behavior that is expressed with a flowing, light-handed grace, which in turned is echoed by John Surman's lush, mesmerizing score."

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

FROM: "Jeremy Moniz"

SUBJECT: Small World
 
In reaction to the new poll [on Michael Small scores], I would also like to see Brighton Beach Memoirs reissued on CD. I could understand the disqualification of this title from James Phillips' list because the album contained period songs or that it was forgotten entirely. Either way it deserves recognition of some sort as Small is greatly under-represented as far as albums and CDs go.

FROM: "Simon St. Laurent"

I thought I would respond to Paul Ford's honest question, "what's the big obsession with Jerry Goldsmith"?: From my perspective, I wouldn't call it an obsession, but it certainly is an appreciation and interest in one of the greatest composers to have worked in film. And I'm not necessarily talking of the phenomena of listening to "soundtrack albums" -- although this presents the music as pure music, which at times displays excellent "music" -- but more from the angle of what this wonderful art is all about -- scoring motion pictures. This is something that constantly gets forgotten by many. This has been said many times by writers greater than I, but the simple fact is Goldsmith possesses an all too rare Keen dramatic sense.

That is, he more often than not becomes immersed in the film and understands what his contribution is. Remember that the composer is one of the last people to get his/her hands on the film. Their ultimate contribution is more than the icing on the cake -- it is a major ingredient greatly influencing the final effects of any given picture. Goldsmith is almost inarguably one of the best. As much as I like Johnny Williams, I have always felt that he "knows" that his score will be presented down the road as a concert piece. Because of this, I find his music palette, and the risks he takes, to be much more limited. This is part of the reason why a lot of Goldsmith's stuff doesn't translate too well to the typical pops orchestra -- many of the scores come off as a lame adaptation for the pop idiom. My favourite composer of the Golden Age is Franz Waxman -- I call him the "Goldsmith" of his time. And what's really interesting, to me, is apparently, Waxman is Goldsmith's favourite early scorer.

All I can further add is that I am producing a couple of tv pilots (small stuff) and I would love to have Goldsmith score them -- I just don't have that kind of money! As a producer, I would love to work with someone of Goldsmith's caliber.

Okay -- I lie -- Gerald Fried.

FROM: "Kirk Henderson"

Obsession? I don't know about obsession, but I can tell you what I like and don't like about Goldsmith. I have more Goldsmith scores in my collection than any other composer, but he only marginally remains one of my favorites. I have a lot of his soundtracks because I like his work and they are almost always available, but there are many Goldsmith scores I don't own, never will. Like others who got into film music in the early 60s, Goldsmith was one who kept me coming back when rock, jazz and other musical forms lured me away. Our Man Flint, In Like Flint, The Sand Pebbles, Papillion, In Harm's Way, Bandolero, The Wind and the Lion, Hour of the Gun, QB VII, The Blue Max, Planet of the Apes, Masada, The Omen, A Patch of Blue, Patton, Macarthur, Stagecoach, The Boys from Brazil, Alien, Chinatown, and the prologue from The Agony and the Ecstasy (scores from the 60s and 70s) continue to remain my favorites, but his later work just seems like "more of the same," with few inventions or new directions. Of his work from the 80s until now, only a small number have caught my attention: Basic Instinct, Poltergeist, Under Fire, Legend, and The Mummy. Goldsmith continues to have a distinctive sound, but that's not enough anymore.

On the other hand, as a result of releases by Varese Sarabande, Film Score Monthly, and others, I have discovered older Goldsmith scores that I never heard before or was not familiar with that far outshine his recent output - almost all from the 60s and 70s: The Final Conflict, The Illustrated Man, 100 Rifles, Studs Lonigan, The Stripper, Supergirl, Magic, Tora Tora Tora, and The Other. The problem with many recent Goldsmith scores as listening music, is repeatability. Even a score like The Final Conflict, which I adored the first time I heard it, seems to become obvious on repeated listenings with its main choral theme beaten to death. Likewise Supergirl or even more recently, The Ghost and the Darkness, Congo, or Hollow Man.

The surprises in the later works dry up quickly, and yet even after 30 years, I continue to be surprised by the range and orchestral color in The Blue Max, my favorite Goldsmith score. Studs Lonigan was a real surprise, one of Goldsmith's earliest scores, recently put out by Varese. It has four times the vitality of L.A. Confidential, a relatively recent Goldsmith period picture. Goldsmith, as others have mentioned, just takes on too much. He needs to be more selective. Dennis the Menace? Small Soldiers? Along Came a Spider? The burbs? The Haunting? If none of these were on Goldsmith's resume, he'd be just as revered. He's kept up with the game over the years, but selectivity is something he never learned.

FROM: "Louis Banlaki"

SUBJECT: the book!!
 
After perusing your website I just discovered the book on Alex North I asked about is coming out in September. I want to thank whoever it was who found out that info. When last I looked they told me it was out of print which I thought was strange. To read a bio on one of the best and underappreciated composers in film $48.50 is but a small price to pay.

As for Harry Gregson-Williams and the comment he made about Jerry Goldsmith. Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion and after having heard some of his music I don't think Mr. Goldsmith doesn't much care about his opinion. And for the letter someone wrote asking what's the obsession with Jerry Goldsmith I could well ask what is the big deal about John Williams? They're both great composers and its obviously a matter of individual taste as to who one may consider the best (for me, its Goldsmith). So everyone write and argue and theorize all you want and I'll sit back and read them and laugh.

I'm still thinking that he probably wrote a fine score to TIMELINE though we may never know. True, he won't be around forever and I'm not impressed with the upcoming generation of composers. I find Danny Elfman overrated, Joel McNeely I had high hopes for but it may not be too late, as for the rest of the new, well--

There are still far too many unreleased Goldsmith gems to be put out so I will continue to try and collect those while I read all the amusing letters. I'm not saying all his scores are great but not all of them are bad, that's for sure. I wish FSM well and that they continue to thrive so that I may hopefully renew my subscription. I'm sure I missed a lot already.

FROM: "Ron Pulliam"

I'd simply answer it this way:

For those who have the obsession, no explanation is necessary.

For those who don't share it, no explanation is possible.

It is what it is. Accept it or move on.

And reader "Bud Harney" has thoughtfully cited the Film Score Monthly interview (volume 2, number 7) in which Hans Zimmer may or may not have said that he can't tell the difference between his Crimson Tide score and Goldsmith's Total Recall (depending on your interpretation of his remarks):

HANS: You need to know what to hit and what not to hit because you have a thousand cuts going. Jerry Goldsmith has done his share. Total Recall, for instance. Loads of percussion, loads of things going on, loads of synths. Is it a bad score? I don't think so. I think it's a great score.

LUKAS AND JEFF: So do we.

HANS: And he's basically using the same devices I'm using.

LUKAS: But he doesn't.

HANS: He is using an orchestra synth and drums.

LUKAS: In Total Recall in particular, it's so intricate, and even when you have things that are primarily color-based, it was very structured, so that even when there are things exploding there are internal things working.

HANS: And you don't think I do that?

LUKAS: Not all the time.

HANS: Oh yeah. I do.

LUKAS: We're not accustomed to hearing it then.

FROM: "Christian Lauliac"

SUBJECT: Joel McNeely is NOT tone deaf!
 
I wish to reply to "Dinman" regarding his very unfair comments on Mr. McNeely's rerecordings of "Rebecca" and "The day the earth stood still". Although I have yet to pay close listen to "Rebecca" I am sure he did a much better job than Adriano's poor performance on the Naxos label ten years ago. I have listened to "The day the earth stood still" and "Sunset Boulevard" and being a fan of the original performances I must say that Joel McNeely's versions would certainly gain accolades from both composers were they still with us. The Herrmann score is a very difficult score to recreate, because of its unorthodox orchestration and McNeely and his london musicians blew my socks off! I think it is very unfair to dismiss rerecordings over the original performances. It's very comforting for film music fans to be able to choose over several performances, just as it is the case for classical music: you will find a dozen GREAT versions for any Copland or Brahms work. Furthermore, there isn't one single actor who delivered THE definitive rendition of Shakespeare -- pleasure lies in variety. "Vertigo" and "The Twilight Zone" are landmark rerecordings, both int he performance and engineering. I'm sure Joel McNeely puts a lot of care and love for the repertoire in his performance. Now, if Mr. Townson and Joel could bring us rerecordings of "Summer and Smoke" (Bernstein), "Quo Vadis" (Rozsa) or "Mysterious Island", it would indeed be great!

FROM: "Greg Bryant"

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
May 25 - Star Wars released (1977)

Your note above brought back an unpleasant memory, about how the Star Wars soundtrack almost got me seriously hurt. I had been one of those people who had seen Star Wars within the first three days. When the soundtrack was released, I rushed to the store to purchase my copy of the album. I rushed home, very impatient to listen to it for the first time. But traffic was heavy, it had been raining, and the road was slick. My impatience to hear the music really clouded my driving. Suddenly without warning, traffic came to a stop. I slammed on my brakes, but my car just slid toward the car stopped ahead of me. Fear filled me as I thought, this is the end. My car fishtailed as I fought to maintain control. Luckily, as if the force (or some power even higher than that) was watching over me, my car stopped a few feet from the car ahead of me. No one was hurt, and neither car was damaged.

This goes to show how dangerous a soundtrack can be, and also taught me a lesson to not be so impatient.

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