Howard Shore to Score David Cronenberg’s ‘Crimes of the Future’
Composer Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings, The Silence of the Lambs, The Aviator, Hugo, The Hobbit) is set to reteam with David Cronenberg on the upcoming sci-fi thriller Crimes of the Future. The film is written and directed by Cronenberg and will star Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman, Welket Bungué, Don McKellar and Lihi Kornowski. The movie is set in the not-so-distant future where humankind is learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings and follows a performance artist who has embraced “Accelerated Evolution Syndrome”, sprouting new and unexpected organs in his body and has turned the removal of these organs into a spectacle for his loyal followers. Robert Lantos (Being Julia, The Song of Names) is producing the Serendipity Point Films and Argonauts production. Shore has previously collaborated with Cronenberg on numerous films over the last four decades, including Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. Crimes of the Future is set to start production this summer and will be distributed in the U.S. by Neon. A release in 2022 is expected.
First comments about Howard Shore's new score are out.
For David Cronenberg's return to filmmaking with Crimes of the Future:
“The film lures you in and tugs you along, abetted by Howard Shore's fantastic score, which at times suggests the slow movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony as rewritten by Boris Karloff”.
"Howard Shore's thoughtful blend of strings with Moroder-like synth helps pulse it there."
I am much of a Shore fan, and his work surpasses decent to a level most other modern (and late) film composers would fail to compete with. I've loved what I've heard in the few clips I've seen.
A provocative, chamber-sized dystopian tale. I very much like Shore's slithery, seductive music score and will be interested to read what Shore experts have to say about it in relation to his other work. This is my placeholder so far for best score of '22.
As I said, this is a chamber film - do not expect Blade Runner-sized spectacle. It has an appealing atmosphere - rusty buildings and derelict ships amidst beautiful Greek scenery all in natural colors. It's a future of no pain, new body organs and new sex. Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux are fine in the leads; especially memorable in supporting roles are two pairs of eccentrics: Kristen Stewart and Don McKellar as twitchy, mannered "National Organ Registry" members and Tanaya Beatty and Nadia Litz as two lesbian "Lifeform" technicians who have another use for their tools as well. (Get yer mind out the gutter. It's not what you think.) Also good, and adding a noir touch, is Welket Bungue as a detective who meets clandestinely with Mortensen to exchange information. A film worth revisiting both for its expert style and for unraveling all of its plot points!
The misses and I caught this film yesterday and in true Cronenberg fan fashion it really paid to sit with this one in my mind and on my psyche. I loved it quite a lot. I can't wait to hear Shore's score seperate from the film. For those Cronenberg fans that love eXistenZ, I think this is the best spiritual successor which comes to mind.
If Videodrome was about the fear of how TV waves could affect our conscious and subconscious...
And eXistenZ is about the seductive capacity to get lost in a video game and be unable to separate it from reality...
Then Crimes of the Future is about how David Cronenberg is very concerned about what we are eating and the ravages we have left in our existence.
Greece really does make for a stellar backdrop for this post-human dystopia that Cronenberg crafted. I maybe wanted more from the world building but a lot of it feels just out of frame where it is one of those movies that reveals more to you the more you watch it. Which is a typical experience I feel as a big fan of all of his movies.
1. Crimes of the Future (2:10) 2. A Novel Organ (1:29) 3. Caprice (2:08) 4. Sark Lust (0:30) 5. Body Is Reality (2:58) 6. Brecken (2:47) 7. Klinek (3:17) 8. Primordial Rapture (2:47) 9. Router & Berst (1:22) 10. Inner Beauty Pageant (1:18) 11. Deviant Digestive System (1:33) 12. Surgery Is the New Sex (0:54) 13. Odile (1:17) 14. The Old Sex (1:11) 15. First Autopsy (6:23) 16. Time to Try (3:18) 17. The Future (2:57)
Not available for me until midnight but it shall be a perfect album to put on as I wind down for bed in that hour. Pieces of the score from memory have played in my head as I contemplated this unique movie through the week.
Really looking forward to this. I've yet to see the movie but am going to try to remedy that this weekend. I'm trying not to go in with too high of expectations. I don't think this will match some of Cronenberg's earlier works. Still, any time we get another collaboration between Cronenberg and Shore is a cause for celebration. I imagine there may not be too many more.
Really looking forward to this. I've yet to see the movie but am going to try to remedy that this weekend. I'm trying not to go in with too high of expectations. I don't think this will match some of Cronenberg's earlier works. Still, any time we get another collaboration between Cronenberg and Shore is a cause for celebration. I imagine there may not be too many more.
My advice is always to temper all expectations, always. And especially for films. But I still think after a couple of decades of chasing darker prestige Dramas, Cronenberg still has "got it." I've seen people online say it didn't go far enough, or wasn't gruesome enough, or the body horror seemed too light compared to their expectations; but then I pause. To me it seems to say more about the person than the work. We are all so much older than we once were when we first discovered the Horror and Science Fiction films of someone like David Cronenberg. And our reality has revealed itself to be such a darker and more tragically violent place than we ever assumed. And there is a warmth in this film's story about this dystopic future Cronenberg has envisioned. Yet he still remains clinical, distant, cold. But there is a warmth there. And I find a lot of warmth in a lot of his pictures: Crash is a love story about a married couple exploring sexuality, Dead Ringers is a touching portrait about twin brothers and their commitment to one another even in strife, and A History of Violence is about turning the cheek to embrace your family and live a full life.
I hope you enjoy the film when you get a chance to see it.
What a great score! Another belter from Mr Shore! Really interesting listen with light electronics mixing with dark strings and thumping rythms. Never dull with that cold edge that he does so well when scoring for Cronenberg’s films. This might be my new favourite of his. Might even try watching the film!! Any other fans of this one?
A very seductive, crepuscular, maybe Herrmann meets "Basic Instinct" score that makes for a highly captivating 39 minute listen. I've been playing the "album" repeatedly over the past week.
As for the film itself, am I only the one who thinks the film is missing its 3rd act?
The score is fantastic. A wonderful listen and a great return for Cronenberg and Shore. I've repeatedly listened to this score, even playing it twice in one sitting, something I rarely do. As for the film, it is like many of Cronenberg's other films, that demand repeat viewings to grasp all of the thematic elements and nuances. The ending did feel abrupt, yet perfect at the same time. I didn't feel wanting for more.
As for the score, one of Howard Shore's very best. I only hope we are blessed with more collaborations between the two.
