 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bulworth's score by Morricone seems an ill-fit for its own film, and barely appears throughout its course.
When it arrived on album, it was divided into two orchestral suites with vocals by Ella Dell'Orso, with prominent indications both on the back sleeve and interior jacket that the music had been recorded over the course of two days in May 1988. (NOT 1998, the year the film was released.)
Nobody seems to have a clear idea what was going on here, so I wondered if what we in fact here on Bulworth was written for Sergio Leone's last (unfilmed) treatment - the siege of Leningrad. It is known to film scholars that Morricone had written the score - including extensive adaptation of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony (the Leningrad Symphony) - prior to Leone's death, but it is unknown whether any of it had been recorded.
Given the similarity of Ella Dell'Orso's vocals on Bulworth to her work on Morricone's score for earlier Leone films - esp. Once Upon a Time in America but also Once Upon a Time in the West - I think it's worth wondering whether what we have in Bulworth is all we're likely to get of Morricone's score for the lost Leone project.
Note Beatty's long association with Morricone - Morricone scored his Reds (note the subject matter) - as presenting an opportunity to know of the Maestro's earlier music for Leone. Maybe he had a private copy, used it as temp track in parts, and it was to be released as a result, which would've pleased Morricone, as it's a fine work.
Now I'll play my own Devil's Advocate here.
1. It's unlikely nobody would've heard about this. On the other hand, it's not inconceivable.
2. Bulworth doesn't bring to mind Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, though I haven't heard that work for a long time. The main theme does bring to mind one of Shostakovich's earlier symphonies though... wish I knew which one.
3. It's possible both recording dates listed on the Bulworth CD were misprints. However, Bulworth does sound a lot closer to the era in which Morricone composed The Untouchables and Once Upon a Time in America than the same cycle that produced Lolita, Legend of 1900, U-Turn and others.
I was about to post this a week ago, but I pulled it realising that it was not a wise thing to post on April Fool's Day and be taken seriosly over.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Apr 8, 2005 - 5:21 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
Hi Franz
A thread linking Morricone and Shostakovich...do I find that of any interest? Heh heh
I was unaware that Morricone had gone so far down the line in writing the score for Leningrad. It may be discernable to a music scholar, but to my untrained (albeit enthusiastic) ears, there's none of the 7th Symphony in Bulworth.
Unfortunately, I can't hear any other Shostakovich in it either, let alone one of the earlier symphonies. A long and beautiful melody like the main Bulworth theme just wasn't Shostakovich's style, least of all in his earlier days. In fact, the only one that I can think of would be the second movement of the 2nd Piano Concerto, which was of course much later (1957).
Given that these two are my favourite composers, I would be rather pleased to get my hands on a copy of Morricone's Leningrad score (British understatement there, did you catch it?) - in fact it would be my musical holy grail, bar none.
Morricone does seem to me to write in cycles, and I'd agree with your placement of Bulworth in his Once Upon A Time In America (1984) to Bugsy (1991) era.
I'd be fascinated if anyone could add anything to this.
Chris
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sondheim did Reds? I wonder how I got possessed of the idea that he'd done Bulworth... :S
As for the release date issue - Bulworth had its American release on May 15th 1998. If the score was recorded in May 1998 and not May 1988, and remembering that critic screenings took place prior to release, it seems an awfully tight fit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh well...
|
|
|
|
|
|
While I certainly would not like to see more films be scored the way that Bulworth was, I don't think that the movie is the scoring disaster that everybody seems to think it is. The music seemed to have been written as these suites and tracked into the film, something that Morricone would be fairly used to.
The film used the Morricone music to touch on the tragedy and humor of the film, but the characters in the film are be generating the rest of the soundscape, hence all of the hip-hop tracks. Because the film was about a character becoming unhinged, it makes sense that the score would become more and more fragmented.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
