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| CD Reviews: Cinderella Man and Kingdom of Heaven |
| Posted By: Ian D. Thomas on July 31, 2005 - 10:00 PM |
CD Reviews: Cinderella Man and Kingdom of Heaven
Cinderella Man ****
THOMAS NEWMAN
Decca B0004561-02
25 tracks - 47:01
Hopefully, Oscars voters will not hold Cinderella Man at fault for
opening in the wake of last year's triumph of the overrated Million Dollar Baby. Both are
boxing movies, but whereas M$B
manipulated its characters and relied on maudlin moral grandstanding,
Ron Howard's latest movie is an uplifting, emotional triumph of simple
movie-making know-how. Howard already won an Oscar for directing
Russell Crowe in a period piece in A
Beautiful Mind. The two again team up, this time on a Depression
era boxing movie about the rise, fall and rise again of real-life boxer
Jim Braddock. Modest box-office and an early summer opening may not
bode well for the winter Oscar season, but it will not be for a lack of
superlatives.
Curiously, Howard hired Thomas Newman to write the score for Cinderella Man, bypassing his usual
collaborator, James Horner. Newman, who reached an artistic high point
with Angels in America, was
critically lauded for his 2002 work on the Depression-era Road to Perdition, a score to which
Cinderella Man bears much
resemblance. But Newman's Cinderella
Man is much more hopeful and optimistic than Perdition, as is needed for this
story. The first track introduces the main theme, a lovely, vintage
Newman piano melody. He uses the theme sparingly (his usual approach),
so when it does return, as in "Hooverville Funeral," it is that much
more powerful and haunting. The scene where I found the theme most
effective is where Jim is off to a fight and says his good-byes to his
wife and children; the piano melody enters at a quiet moment to magical
effect. The theme has its most impact, of course, at the end of the
final bout, in an emotionally orchestrated build recalling the release
towards the end of the Shawshank
Redemption.
Except for the boxing scenes, the bulk of the movie focuses on the life
in the Depression in New Jersey, and the music is appropriately somber.
Gone are some of Newman's more idiosyncratic excesses, including his
pitter patter improvisations and the more exotic instruments that made
his score to American Beauty
so popular, although there are some contemporary touches to "Pugilism"
and the upbeat "Turtle" cues. There are also period songs scattered
throughout the CD, including a nice whistling rendition of "Londonderry
Air" by co-star Paul Giamatti.
Newman did not hide his disappointment in not winning an Oscar for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate
Events last year; it was his seventh nomination without a win.
While it's early in the season yet, Cinderella
Man is a mature and artistically rich score that may prove to be
Newman's first Oscar winner. -- CW
Kingdom of Heaven ***
HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS
Sony Classical SK94419
19 tracks - 61:57
Director Ridley Scott admits that he wanted the score to his new film, Kingdom of Heaven, to "mix it up,"
by which he meant the combining of classical elements with other
influences. In his first collaboration with the venerable filmmaker,
composer Harry Gregson-Williams attempts what might seem a simple
enough direction, but that ultimately proved quite difficult.
The issue is how to incorporate modern action scoring with the sounds
of Medieval France, as well as the Middle East. Simply adding the
various layers on top of each other just doesn't work: the result is a
schizophrenic quality that is hard to comprehend. Unfortunately, much
of this new release is an unpalatable stew of the various styles. In
the end it's a little like a diluted Lord
of the Rings meets a watered-down The Last Temptation of Christ.
"Crusaders" starts with a Medieval chorus singing a cappella, after a
while, a modern orchestra joins in with contrasting syncopated rhythms.
These two styles simply clash for an unpleasant result. "A New World"
introduces Middle Eastern influences, but the end product is still
firmly rooted in the West.
As the album progresses, the Middle Eastern palette broadens and
attempts to blend with the more European base. "To Jerusalem" lets the
Turkish musicians who were brought in for the recording have a chance
to shine. Beautifully recorded hand drums boom and pop as the string
section doubles the main melody, while a couple of soloists have a turn
in the spotlight.
"An Understanding" features traditional Middle Eastern drums with a
female vocal, which is striking for its astonishing weakness. Where did
they find this woman, at a local hospital? It sounds like she just got
off of a ventilator.
The tracks that work best are those that highlight each major musical
style on its own. For instance, "Better Man" has very little
overlapping, instead smoothly shifting through genres. Medieval vocals
lead to the pulsating rhythms of a modern action cue followed by the
alternating of Medieval and Middle Eastern melodies. This track proves
that it is possible to combine the styles and still have it work on a
musical level.
While most of the musical ideas on this CD might make for interesting
background listening, the real highlight has to be the recording
itself. The engineers at Abbey Road are no slouches when it comes to
orchestral recording and this album is more proof of that. It's
sumptuously recorded with a smooth, creamy, yet detailed and dynamic
sound -- all albums should sound this good.
Harry Gregson-Williams is a solid composer, capable of writing
interesting music for orchestra and chorus, but on Kingdom of Heaven, I wonder if he
might have ventured out a little farther than he should
have. -- Ian D. Thomas
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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Today in Film Score History:
January 17 |
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| Charles Bernstein begins recording his score for Love at First Bite (1979) |
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| Harry Robinson died (1996) |
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| John Williams begins recording his score to Return of the Jedi (1983) |
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| Rolf Wilhelm died (2013) |
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| Ryuichi Sakamoto born (1952) |
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