A romantic comedy set partially in Chicago, partially in the great Wyoming mountains, this 1981 Michael Apted film (written by Lawrence Kasdan, produced by Spielberg) promises to be a good romp. However, a chubby John Belushi and a beautiful Carlin Glynn isn't exactly the most believeable couple and it somehow fails to reach the dizzy heights. By the way, I had no idea Glynn was the mother of Mary Stuart Masterson...I found myself noticing their similarity while watching the film. Strange.
But it's mostly enjoyable, we're treated to different locales and setpieces and the chemistry between the two is quite good.
There are a lot of nice things in Small's score: the jaunty, funky music for the city scenes (slightly reminiscent of Williams' HEARTBEEPS) and some sweeping melodies for the wild outdoors and their romantic relationship. Was there ever a soundtrack?
I don't think there was a soundtrack, but I'd love to hear the music now. Haven't seen the movie since I was 10, and all I remember was that it was really boring.
I don't think there was a soundtrack, but I'd love to hear the music now. Haven't seen the movie since I was 10, and all I remember was that it was really boring.
I guess I can understand that it was kinda boring if you were 10.
Actually, the end credits lists a soundtrack album on MCA, but I couldn't find any on the net.
I don't think there was a soundtrack, but I'd love to hear the music now. Haven't seen the movie since I was 10, and all I remember was that it was really boring.
I guess I can understand that it was kinda boring if you were 10.
Actually, the end credits lists a soundtrack album on MCA, but I couldn't find any on the net.
It may be that they intended to release the soundtrack but didn't. SoundtrackCollector doesn't have any info either.
I'm pretty sure that album never actually materialized. I don't remember the music at all, but I have a vague memory of liking it at the time. The movie has a lot of things going for it, but ultimately no clue as to how to resolve the central plot point. The movie came out a few months before Belushi's death, and I saw it very soon after he died, which certainly colored my perceptions of it.
MCA listed a Soundtrack release on the end credits of RAGGEDY MAN as well, back in 1981. We all know that didn't happen till many many years later.
All good things come in time.
Never really saw Continental Divide all the way through, but I do remember skimming through it once on VHS. A lot of the score was quite nice and pleasant. Small was really a great composer and I really like so much of his work.
I had heard that Belushi really wanted to show the world his depth as an actor in this movie.
I remember this being a sweet little film with a very pleasant score. To bad it was never released. But as others have said, one never knows whats in "score" for the future. ;-)
I saw CONTINENTAL DIVIDE recently. Given the market for soundtracks to romantic comedies, I suspect we're no closer to a release of Michael Small's score now than we were 3 years ago.
Watched the movie for probably the first time in adulthood yesterday and really enjoyed it. Michael Small provides some nice underscore in some key scenes but normally stays out of the way and lets the Belushi-Brown chemistry take center stage--and the actors had a pretty good rapport, all things considered.
The opening credits has a nice cue that has the "Late 1970s City Sound" I've mentioned though this being Michael Small, I can't help but here elements of his Paranoia Thriller sound creeping in! The same goes for the electric guitar work that plays during some of the Chicago scenes, something that calls to mind Small's brainwashing cue from The Parallax View.
Helen Reddy's vocal in the end credits song are pretty poor, though the tune itself is deceptively catchy.
I'm guessing that Thor only watched this film due to its Spielberg-Kasdan connection.
The film does manage to strike a nice balance, with none of its dramatic or comedic elements overwhelming the other. The ending, however, doesn't ring true. I doubt the characters' long-distance marriage would work.
Speaking of Lawrence Kasdan, Continental Divide features a romance scene nearly identical to one in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Both films were written by Kasdan and both were released in 1981. It would appear as if Kasdan had that particular kissing motif on the brain that year!
And on an unrelated note, the Belushi character, Ernie Souchak is a Chicago columnist who wears a crappy-looking hat just as TV's Carl Kolchak wrote out of Chicago and wore a crappy-looking hat.
Listening to Small's score for Continental Divide has me more open to his post-paranoia thrillers work, which I foolishly dismissed for years. However, now I feel he did a fine job with the rom-com-style material and will have to seek out more of his 1980s work. I like the jaunty, lighter fare of the genre and Small's style in that context.
I'm guessing that Thor only watched this film due to its Spielberg-Kasdan connection.
That is correct. It was a series of posts I did a few years ago, where I brushed up on all the Spielberg-produced films I hadn't seen before (especially from the 80s, where he somehow seemed more involved than he is these days).
