I've been waiting for an assignment that could propel Banos to the forefront of composers, this looks like it could be it.
I seriously doubt it. Evil Dead, In the Heart of the Sea and Don't Breathe were much bigger films than Quixote, and today nobody cares about Gilliam except some critics and his fanbase.
I've been waiting for an assignment that could propel Banos to the forefront of composers, this looks like it could be it.
I seriously doubt it. Evil Dead, In the Heart of the Sea and Don't Breathe were much bigger films than Quixote, and today nobody cares about Gilliam except some critics and his fanbase.
EVIL DEAD and DON'T BREATHE guarantees Roque has a job here in America in horror films but that is a trap. Ask Pino Donnagio. Breakthrough films are not necessarily big or successful films. Desplat broke through with THE GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRINGS and BIRTH, both money losers. The idea is Gilliam might have the type of subject matter and, more importantly, give him the creative freedom to spread his wings. THAT can be more crucial than imitating a Horner temp score which undoubtedly was used on that Ron Howard film.
The score seems to be pretty good. It is orchestral, with acoustic guitar. The movie, however is all over the place. There are some good bits, but a lot of very awkward moments as well (some characters are just embarrassing caricatures), and it is overlong.
The movie is heavily scored, the music is quite upfront and in some moments kind of "heavy-handed" - I was surprised of this given Gilliam's infamous comments on John Williams "tell[ing] you exactly what you should be feeling every second of every minute of the film".
I saw this a few weeks ago and my memory is very fuzzy, which is probably telling something about the lasting power of the movie itself.
Much close to his Spanish cinemasound we all like more than his more recent "Hollywood" one. The chopping action style is very clear from THE LAST CIRCUS, EVIL DEAD, etc. and there's tons of elegant woodwind writing, low male chorus, eccentric orchestration... The "Waltz at the Castle" cue is, for me, the highlight. Gorgeous and soaring! The string wash at the end of "A Slap Dance and Kiss" is also very satisfying, of clearly pulling a note or two from Rodrigo. In fact, that melody, also heard in "Angelica's Love", flirts dangerously close to his own ALATRISITE as well... Overall though, definitely a step back in the right direction for Banos, well done.
