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| CD Review: Stripes |
| Posted By: Jeff Bond on October 18, 2005 - 10:00 PM |
CD Review: Stripes
by Jeff Bond
Stripes **** 1/2
ELMER BERNSTEIN
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 663 2
20 tracks - 39:13
Comedy scoring is a thankless job, and 70-odd years after the term
"Mickey mousing" was probably coined, it's still easy to see composers
desperately trying to write "funny" music that inevitably undercuts
comic rhythms, especially the verbal kind (see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy if
you doubt this premise). Writing a comedy score and retaining one's
dignity probably seemed an impossible mission until Hank Mancini came
along, but even Mancini's peerless approach didn't necessarily help the
comedy as much as it soared above it on its own gorgeous style.
It took Elmer Bernstein, with a little nudge from John Landis, to find
an alternate approach by embracing the basic comedy plot in deadly
earnest. To say that it worked like gangbusters would be an
understatement: Bernstein's comedy scores, particularly Animal House, Airplane! and Stripes, are both thrilling,
incredibly enjoyable musical experiences and innately hilarious -- and
they all make the movies they accompany exponentially funnier.
Stunningly, none of these three landmarks has been available until now,
and the release of Stripes by
Varèse Sarabande is one of those Holy Grail moments that come
all too seldom for collectors.
Bernstein's military band march, first heard by audiences in the
movie's trailers, is one of the composer's great achievements, an
anthem for joyous anarchy that's simply unforgettable. Amazingly, the
rest of the score is just as good. Bernstein's bluesy, honky tonk piano
tune for the career depression of its two protagonists (Bill Murray and
Harold Ramis) brilliantly skewers the triviality of their problems,
while his lightweight love theme for two smart-mouthed female M.P.s the
pair romance is effortlessly beguiling and fun. "Haircuts" starts an
infectious buildup to the famous march and both this music and the
march repeat enough so that any fan of the tunes should get their fill.
Bernstein's trademark syncopated rhythmic brilliance is on hand in many
of the later cues, including action and suspense treatments; the whole
mood recalls not only the breezy Animal
House but also the spirited "all-American renegades against the
system" vibe of Bernstein's classic The
Great Escape. Anyone who can listen to this without breaking out
in a big, dopey grin should probably retire from the human race.
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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Today in Film Score History:
April 19 |
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| Alan Price born (1942) |
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| Alfred Newman begins recording his score for David and Bathsheba (1951) |
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| Dag Wiren died (1986) |
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| David Fanshawe born (1942) |
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| Dudley Moore born (1935) |
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| Harry Sukman begins recording his score for A Thunder of Drums (1961) |
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| Henry Mancini begins recording his score for The Great Race (1965) |
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| Joe Greene born (1915) |
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| John Addison begins recording his score for Swashbuckler (1976) |
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| John Williams begins recording his score for Fitzwilly (1967) |
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| Jonathan Tunick born (1938) |
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| Lord Berners died (1950) |
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| Michael Small begins recording his score to Klute (1971) |
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| Paul Baillargeon records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “When It Rains…” (1999) |
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| Ragnar Bjerkreim born (1958) |
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| Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "We'll Always Have Paris" (1988) |
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| Sol Kaplan born (1919) |
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| Thomas Wander born (1973) |
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| William Axt born (1888) |
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