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FILM MUSIC REVIEW - The Web
Magazine
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Soundtracks Reviews (September
- December 2002)
All reviews are arranged alphabetically and written by Steven Kennedy and Roger Hall (FMR Editor).
Some of them are given the designation of "CD of Special Merit" for their outstanding contibution to film music production. Also, there is usually one soundtrack that is singled out as "Editor's Choice - Best of the Month."
If you have any comments or questions, write to:
Please keep FMR up and running by ordering a copy of A Guide to Film Music or order something from Amazon.com (see Bookshelf Search below)
Scroll down this page to read all the CD reviews.
For the choices of best film composer, soundtracks, compilations, and record labels of the year, go to
To find other web sites about film composers, magazines, soundtracks and record labels, go to:
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A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores (2nd revised edition, PineTree Press, 2002)
This expanded and updated guide was written by film music historian Roger Hall.
It has a wealth of information:
*A timeline of film music highlights from 1926 to 2001
*A chapter on suggestions for listening to film music
*A complete list of Academy Award film music from 1934 to 2000
*A complete list of the Sammy Movie Music Awards from 1988 to 2001
*Top100 Scores of the 20th Century
*Comments on Film Music (exclusive interviews with Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson; quotes from Bernard Herrmann, David Raksin, Dimitri Tiomkin, and others)
*An extensive bibliography and discography.
Throughout the guide are many illustrations of composer autographs, including Johnny Green, Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner , Dimitri Tiomkin, and others. There are also songwriter autographs as well, such as Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, Ira Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, and Jay Livingston.
The title page of the guide has a rare score page from the end credits of E.T., boldly signed by John Williams.
This film music guide is a limited edition and will be numbered and signed by the author.
If you order by 1 February 2003 you'll also receive a Free CDR titled: "Listener's Guide to Film Music."
Commendations:
* A Guide to Film Music was mentioned in the March/April 2002 issue of Film Score Monthly.
*In a letter to the author of the film music guide, the distinguished film composer Elmer Bernstein has written the following: "I do feel your book is done in a most interesting way. It affords a quick overview of what has not become a very, very broad field. Congratulations!"
To order your copy of A Guide to Film Music now, while supply lasts, go to:
Music Titles from PineTree Press
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Review Rundown::
The reviews are arranged alphabetically and written by Steven Kennedy and Roger Hall.
The titles are chosen to cover a broad range of new commercial, promotional and vintage soundtracks. No bootleg CDs are reviewed. The comments and ratings are based on the whole CD package: recorded music, booklet notes and art design.
Ratings:
***** (Superlative - Highest Recommendation)
****1/2 (Outstanding - Highly Recommended)
**** (Exceptional - Especially Worthwhile)
***1/2 (Very Good - Better Than Average)
*** (Good - Okay)
**1/2 (Fair - Nothing Special)
** (Mediocre - Barely Passable)
* (Poor - Save Your Money)
Each month soundtracks are selected for Best of the Month and/or Recording of Special Merit. These soundtracks are chosen on the date of the review, and not necessarily at the end of the month, and are those felt worthy of exceptional merit.
Some selected soundtracks have these headings above them:
![[Image]](pict319.jpg){kind=small} Editor's Choice - Best of the Month |
![[Image]](pict327.jpg){kind=small} CD Release of Special
Merit |
For previous soundtrack reviews in 2002, see
CD Reviews (Soundtracks, January - June)
| CD Reviews: September-December 2002 |
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (Dreamworks) - John Williams - [Editor's Choice, Best of the Month for December ]
DIE ANOTHER DAY (Warner Bros.) - David Arnold - [December review by Steven Kennedy]
FAR FROM HEAVEN (Varese Sarabande) - Elmer Bernstein - [Editor's Choice for November]
THE FOUR FEATHERS (Sony Classical) - James Horner - [September review by Steven Kennedy]
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (Warner Music) - John Williams - [Special Merit - November review by Roger Hall]
THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Reprise/WMG) - Howard Shore - [December review by Steven Kennedy]
THE PIANIST (Sony Classical) - Wojciech Kilar & F. Chopin - [November review by Roger Hall]
RED DRAGON (Decca) - Danny Elfman - [October review by Roger Hall]
SIGNS (Hollywood Records) - James Newton Howard - [Editor's Choice for September]
STAR TREK NEMESIS (Varese Sarabande) - Jerry Goldsmith - [December review by Steven Kennedy]
| Editor's Choice - Best of the Month, November
|
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002)
16 Tracks (Total Time: 62:33 - 11 score tracks - 44:28/ 5 song tracks - 18:05)
Music composed and conducted by John Williams. Featuring Dan Higgins (saxaphone) and Alan Estes (vibraphone). Album produced by John Williams. Music recorded and mixed by Shawn Murphy at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage, Culver City, CA. Album mastered by Patricia Sullivan Fourstar at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, CA. Key art design by BLT & Associates/David Sameth.
Songs included: Frank Sinatra, "Come Fly With Me;" Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, and Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Girl from Ipanema"; Judy Garland, "Embraceable You"; Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song"; and Dusty Springfield, "The Look of Love."
Dreamworks 0044-50410-2
For his 20th collaboration with Steven Spielberg, John Williams has gone down a completely different road than we are used to from him. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is evidently set in the 1960s and for this CD Williams has included five "period" numbers from Judy Garland and Nat King Cole, to Dusty Springfield and the classic Getz/Gilberto/Jobim Verve album.
The opening title track is fascinating to hear. It is basically a stylized jazz number of "cool" 1960s jazz. Its roots, like additional appearances of the style, recall the classic Stan Getz albums made with Eddie Sauter. The saxophone solo and orchestral track, "Recollections," could have found a place on the classic "Focus" album. These moments are clearly more a return to his roots than really anything terribly new musically. Williams can be heard playing along with Getz in the recently re-released "Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds" and that disc is an apt companion for this one.
But as the score moments progress from this Leonard Bernstein/Getz/Sauder sound to the more typical interior Williams scoring ideas, it feels like we are back on more familiar ground. The melodic lines and arches are all staples of Williams’ repertoire lately and feel like expansions from some of his other period dramas like SLEEPERS or STEPMOM. In fact, the more scores that appear, the more it seems like the latter score was a turned corner for Williams’ overall compositional style that moved away from the inherently recognizable thematic pieces a more integrated musical fabric where ideas flow in and out almost unnoticeably.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN expands upon some of the driving starkness heard earlier this year in MINORITY REPORT (his best score of the year) and last year in the amazing A.I.. Tracks like "The Airport Scene" tend to mix together the approach in MINORITY REPORT with SLEEPERS and A.I. quite a bit. My personal favorite moment, which is really classic Williams, comes in the track "Learning the Ropes." At almost nine minutes, it becomes a concert miniature that at times reminded me of some of Williams’ music from the 1970s for films like THE PAPER CHASE, filtered through the sound of STEPMOM and even a bit of HARRY POTTER. There are also times when the main thematic ideas come close to the soaring depths of the themes from SCHINDLER’S LIST as well.
Williams’ fans will not be disappointed by this score that in some ways pulls together a lot of his current orchestral ideas and hearkens back to his early days in Hollywood. Perhaps it is right that the music has the hints at nostalgia, others will no doubt feel as if it is a cribbed effort of things past. Like MINORITY REPORT, this score makes use of a different set of orchestrators than Williams has used in the past. Whether this is having some creative influence or collaborative decision-making is difficult to say.
The songs chosen for the album do not in anyway detract from the overall score and in fact complement the music better than any other effort I can recall. This is probably one of the best produced albums in terms of musical structure and organization yet. The songs are distributed evenly throughout the disc so will need to be programmed out if one is not listening to everything. The inclusion of Nat King Cole’s rendition of "The Christmas Song" will also perhaps limit the time of year when you will listen to the disc in its entirety.
There is mixed disappointment that Williams did not explore more of these jazz ideas. I cannot say that the return of his more typical style was underappreciated, but it was not as distinguishable from some of his other outings. Even the obligatory solo piano theme makes its appearance. Nonetheless, even this theme is beautiful to hear in its Williams-esque accompaniment. The nature of the album’s variety though has managed to make it a current favorite of my own.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 14 December
Rating: ****
==============================================================================
Editor's additional comments -
Here is yet another high quality Williams score. As Steve Kennedy has indicated in his review, Williams has returned to his roots of the 1950s and early '60s with this jazz-tinged soundtrack. After all, Williams was the pianist featured in the jazz combo on the classic Henry Mancini soundtrack for TV's PETER GUNN series. He knows the jazz scene quite well. One of the more unusual tracks is "Recollections (The Father's Theme)," which sounds improvisational but according to Steven Spielberg's comments, Williams wrote out every note of it. Spielberg writes the following about that track: "It is a bravura composition and further illustrates that as John's music matures he continues to get younger and more daring each day." I completely agree with that statement. Williams is hearkening back to the world of the 1960s and yet also placing the music firmly in today's world with his usual orchestral flair. Praise also to saxophone soloist, Dan Higgins, who adds just the right touch of seasoning to the progressive jazz stew. All the vintage songs are appropriately chosen as well. They're all tasteful standards.
There isn't any film composer around today who can compose in so many different music styles and do each one so convincingly. That's why I have named yet another of his film scores as Best of the Month. I personally think that MINORITY REPORT is a more daring score but that's for an entirely different sort of movie - another Spielberg one though. Williams just keeps rising to the occasion of Spielberg's movie magic.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is yet another great Williams soundtrack.
--Roger Hall, 16 December
Rating: ****1/2
DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)
15 Tracks (Total Time: 55:02; 13 score tracks - 47:19)
Music composed by David Arnold and conducted by Nicholas Dodd. Score produced by David Arnold. Score recorded and mixed at Air Studios, by Geoff Foster. Art Direction/Design: Flem_one. "Die Another Day" performed by Madonna. Written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzar; music by Michael Colombier. "James Bond Theme: Bond vs. Oakenfield" written by Monty Norman, remix by Paul Oakenfield. Produced by David Arnold. Remix engineered and programmed by Ian Green.
Enhanced CD includes: Madonna video; The Making of the Video; Bond bonus extras; Women of Bond Gallery; Bond Movie Poster Gallery; Oakenfield music video; etc.
Warner Brothers 48348-2
Rating: **1/2
DIE ANOTHER DAY appears to be poised to be the biggest moneymaking Bond film in the series…due perhaps more to the ever inflated ticket prices that hit theaters this past month than due to actual audience attendance. The film itself is much of the same with a somewhat schizophrenic plot covered up by the obligatory chase sequences. Halle Berry practically steals the film away from everyone around her. Personally, I kept asking myself how anyone could believe that adults talked like this! But on to the CD…
Multinational music and movie making hits its peak with Warner Brothers release for DIE ANOTHER DAY. There are more enhancements to entice you to enjoy this CD than music. The only good thing is that at least you can jump ahead to Arnold’s score without subjecting yourself to the opening dreck. Madonna’s title song moves to the top of the list as the single worst song for a Bond film. It is indescribably bad on so many levels from its incohesiveness to the simply pathetic attempt at lyric writing. The main ideas are almost incomprehensible to the extent that they thankfully do not reappear in the score material. Paul Oakenfield’s pathetic attempt at modernizing the famous Bond theme is a pale imitation of Moby’s excellent updated interpretation used in TOMORROW NEVER DIES. I am at wit’s end as to why this electronic manipulation of existing material continues to permeate film music. It is juvenile at best.
Arnold’s score simply continues the tradition of Bond-sounding music with one notable exception, the introduction of a choir. This is an interesting development in the score as a whole and makes the track, "Whiteout" one of the highlights of the disc. Arnold’s more personal moments for the past two films came in developing independent themes for the love interests or in updating the sound of the chase sequences. The music for "Jinx Jordan" and expecially the music in "Jinx and James" could have been penned by John Barry himself. That is not meant as damning praise at all, but it simply confirms that Arnold was indeed the right composer for these films in keeping the tradition going. There is less action-oriented music here that relies on drum machine, or synthetic percussion. In the film itself, the score gets buried quite a bit in the action sequences anyway, most noticeably in the "Hovercraft Chase." Arnold also gets to have a little source fun in the mambo, "Welcome to Cuba." In some respects the score portion of the CD hearkens back to the early score releases of the 60s. There are fewer Arnold stamps in this score though than in the past, suggesting that he, like Barry, has found what works and is basically sticking to it. However, I continue to enjoy the way Arnold varies the appearance of Monty Norman’s tune throughout his Bond scores.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 14 December
| Editor's Choice - Best of the Month, November
|
FAR FROM HEAVEN (2002)
22 Tracks (Total Time: 46:22)
Music composed and conducted by Elmer Bernstein. Produced by Elmer Bernstein. Executive Producer: Robert Townson. Orchestration: Emilie A. Bernstein. Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony. Cynthia Millar, piano soloist. Recording Engineer: Dan Wallin. Mastered by Erick Labson.
Varese Sarabande 302 066 421 2
Rating: *****
What a pleasure to hear such a glorious score by one of the grand film music masters!
Now in his 80th year, Elmer Bernstein has been a highly regarded composer ever since the 1950s. Now he has returned to his roots with this ravishing soundtrack to the film which stars Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Dennis Haysbert. The film was directed by Todd Haynes.
As just about every film critic has mentioned by now, FAR FROM HEAVEN is an homage to 1950s director Douglas Sirk, who was responsible for such so-called "women's weepies" as: MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954), WRITTEN ON THE WIND (1956), and ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS (1955). Actually they were all well made films even though sometimes overly sentimental.
What isn't mentioned by the critics is that Elmer Bernstein's score for FAR FROM HEAVEN is a sort of homage to himself. During the 1950s and early '60s he scored some of the same sort of melodramas, like FROM THE TERRACE and VIEW FROM POMPEY'S HEAD (both scores are available from Film Score Monthly). His latest score is a return to that type of music but in an updated fashion.
FAR FROM HEAVEN features solo piano (sensitively played by Cynthia Millar) woodwinds and string ensemble as the most promient instruments. The solo piano is used in the same deceptively simple manner as his classic score for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
On the opening track of FAR FROM HEAVEN ("Autum in Connecticut," 3:08), a solo piano begins playing very softly as if announcing the simple lifestyle in a wealthy 1950s suburban community. Then various solo woodwinds enter and the gorgeous main theme enters in full splendor, like the glowing brilliance of the autumn fall leaf colors, with a solo trumpet adding a touch of spice to the recipe. This theme will be used at various other places the film. The next track, "Mother Love" (0:42), continues with the soft piano playing. Then the next track features a lovely combination of lush strings and piano for "Evening Rest" (1:54). I don't want to start gushing but I'm just so pleased to hear such highly emotional music that is at the same never overly sentimental. For me, every track has something of value to the story. Unfortunately, I found the film itself to be a bit weak in its portrayal of this controversial situation in 1950s Connecticut. The acting by Moore and Quaid I found unconvincing. Haysbert comes across far better in his acting role. Even with these shortcomings, I find that this score stands alone as well as it helps support the film. Todd Haynes is to be commended for handling the story with such restraint.
Let me give a few more illustrations. On the cue known as "Hit" (track 9, 2:44), the suspense is built up gradually but with increasing intensity before the distraught husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) slaps his wife Cathy (Julianne Moore), but then is sorry for his actions. This is supported in the music as the husband changes from anger to apology. Another example is in "Turning Point" (track 11, 4:49). Here there is an optimistic Coplandesque tone to the music. A solo oboe plays a statement of the main theme which is then reinforced by the strings, before it suddenly turns darker at the end of the cue. That cue is followed by "Cathy and Raymond Dance" (2:03), a jazzy version of the main theme as the wife and her gardener dance in a club and show their affection for one another. The only track not by Bernstein is one titled, "Miami" (track 15, 0:56). That cue has a Latin style arrangement of the main theme by Patrick Russ.
The well illustrated CD booklet has more than the usual brief comments from the director. This time both the director and composer get a chance to offer their views about the film. Bernstein is very tuned into this story and writes about it this way: "What I found in FAR FROM HEAVEN was a film which contained some of the character and sensibilities of the fifties...It is refreshing to see a film about family matters told in a straightforward and loving way rather than the more brittle and heartless way such matters are dealt with in today's films." Bernstein's great sensitivity is echoed by Haynes, who writes: "I believe he knew precisely the role that music would need to play in a film like this; a film , as I remember him describing it, that is ultimately about the status of women at the bottom rung of all the human interests dueling within the story." "I knew Elmer," Haynes adds, "was not just a master composer, but a man of poignant, radical insight - not to mention of vigorous intelligence." I would completely agree with this observation.
Here is a score that not only heightens the drama of the story but also exceeds just about everything else, including the stunning look of the film. As the director himself says it: "The music speaks for itself."
This score should "speak for itself" and bring Bernstein many nominations come award season next year.
I give this wonderful FAR FROM HEAVEN score my highest recommendation.
One of the best soundtrack recordings this year. Also one of Elmer Bernstein's all-time best scores.
Varese Sarabande is to be congratulated for giving us another treasured composer soundtrack.
--Roger Hall, 26 November
For more information about his film music, go to:
THE FOUR FEATHERS (2002)
13 Tracks (Total Time: 79:18)
Score composed and conducted by James Horner.
Vocals by Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Album produced by Simon Rhodes, James Horner, Tony Hilligan. Music recorded and mixed by Simon Rhodes. Music supervisor: Julyce Monbleaux. Supervising Music Editor: Jim Hendrikson.
Sony Classical SK 89744
Rating: ****
THE FOUR FEATHERS is the latest film by Shekhar Kapur, the director of 1998’s ELIZABETH. That film was quite engrossing and had an amazing visual style. It will be interesting to see how he fares with a mainstream film accompanied by a less-adult rating. This is the third remake of this story based on the 1902 classic A.E.W. Mason novel. The 1939 Korda film featured a score by the great Miklos Rozsa. Kapur has employed the talents of James Horner who here has a chance to revisit this genre as homage in the way his score for THE MASK OF ZORRO attempted to achieve. While the previews suggest this will be a rollicking action adventure, Horner’s score hints at a more intimate, character driven film that aims far higher than one would expect.
After spending much time really marveling at the amazing IRIS, it is interesting to hear some of that technique spill over into this score. Here the musical ideas are quite interesting and Horner has plenty of room to develop them and remind his fans and detractors of the great promise many had for him back in the 80s. This is not a straight action score though as one would expect from the storyline. The music has a more subdued quality and a power that is somewhat unexpected.
"The Makings of a Fine Soldier" opens the disc with an Arabian "vocalise" that is layered over an orchestral sound that we have come to identify with war settings in the aftermath of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. At seven minutes, "The Dance" is a beautiful piece of music that mixes some great thematic material with the martial ideas of the score. This is a Horner hybrid of reflective music heard in GLORY with his intimate score for IRIS. Some may feel that there is even some self-quotation at times, but the music makes sense on its own terms and is intricately woven into Horner’s musical fabric. The same holds true for the following cue, "Harry’s Resignation."
In the thankfully brief "Snier!" we have a kind of 19th-century piece that mixes in a little of the Arabian vocalizing heard earlier. The style of music Horner chooses here is in a quite stark contrast to the faux-African and faux-Arabic sounds we often here in period pictures and is a far cry from the romanticized interpretations in scores like Goldsmith’s THE MUMMY. "To Abou Clea" is another of these interesting pieces that combine a kind of contemporary orchestral sound with ethnic ideas and even a little synthetic effect.
The layering of diverse musical ideas makes "The Mahdi" a fascinating, if not at times jarring, listen. This is an exceptional mix of ethnic drumming ideas, contemporary orchestral underscore, and ethnic instrumentation and vocals. It is something Zimmer fans will have become used to in scores like BLACK HAWK DAWN. In some ways, Horner has created a similar musical picture in 19th century terms here. The gradual build-up and musical release are very well done and Horner’s more familiar style almost becomes hidden in the midst of all that is going on. Even the one true action cue, "Escape," surprises by being more than just a lot of rhythmic noise. It grows into a truly emotional piece of music and provides yet another fascinating musical build-up that concludes with a true statement of the main thematic idea of the film. The beautiful "Ethne’s Feather" returns to more traditional thematic-driven music that Horner unfolds with great subtlety and restraint. The solo piano entry comes close to recalling TITANIC’s main love theme, but digresses just in time.
Sony has really gone the extra mile here by providing what must be one of the longest commercial CDs available. The sound is exquisite in the reflective moments though almost too low. Films released this time of year have a tendency to be flawed our films with low studio expectations. The kind of films that turned out to be not what was anticipated.
THE FOUR FEATHERS could be one of those surprise sleepers if it catches on and even with the slate of films coming up this year, Horner’s score is definitely worthy of consideration as one of 2002’s finer achievements.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 16 September
| CD Release of
Special Merit |
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (2002)
20 Tracks (Total Time: 70:19)
Score composed by John Williams. Music adapted and conducted by William Ross. Album produced by John Williams. Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. Supervising Music Editor: Peter Myles. Music Recorded and Mixed by Simon Rhodes.
Warner Music Group 83574-2
Rating: ****1/2
Here we go with Year 2 of Pottermania! But that's not at all a bad omen - if you get the pun. Like last year's excellent score for HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, John Williams has put together another great score. Even though he is now 70, he continues to turn out high quality scores. Only this time, due to time conflicts on another score he was scheduled to finish for Steven Spielberg, Williams asked for assistance from composer-conductor, William Ross. But what did Ross actually "adapt"? It clearly states on the CD flyer: "All music composed by John Williams." So perhaps Ross did some of the orchestrating of the Williams themes. Ross also conducted the score and I must say that he has done a superb job. The London Symphony Orchestra sounds better than ever, if that's possible with such an excellent ensemble of musicians. But what about the score itself?
What we get with THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS are some of the same and some new themes. Of course, those who enjoyed the major themes from the first HARRY POTTER - and I'm one of them - may not mind the recycled themes. There are, after all, also some wonderful new themes in THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS.
The best new theme is the lofty and wondrous "Fawkes the Phoenix" (track 2, 3:45). The way it floats along is a wonder to hear. This theme has already attracted considerable attention. Undoubtedly it will turn up on future concerts of Williams film music. Another good cue is the title one, "The Chamber of Secrets" (track 3, 3:49), with the marvelous mix of horns, tinkling percussion, and other magical orchestral combinations.
Other cues are more purely functional with what I call the Williams "wheel turning music." You know what that is, don't you? It's the rapid music movement, especially in the strings, bustling hurriedly along as if running after something or being chased, for example in "The Flying Car" (track 5, 4:08). It's very effective in the film but as a listening experience I find it somewhat tiresome. Another one is "Cornish Pixies" (track 15, 2:13). Fortunately, the wheel turning music doesn't appear too often on this soundtrack. Actually there's more variety than in the first HARRY POTTER and as in the film, the music is a bit darker and with deeper emotional content. One example is "Doby the House Elf" (track 9, 3:27), which has a charming but more musically complex theme. Another one is the very ominous cue for "Meeting Tom Riddle" (track 13, 3:37), which builds to a powerful climax.
The sound for this release is excellent, bright and upfront.
There are the some drawbacks to promoting Pottermania on the CD. For example, there are five different covers for the CD. Also advertised on the CD is a special film poster which I suppose you can frame if you want. Who cares about this stuff? To collect all five covers, you must be either an extreme Potter collector or else a soundtrack geek of the highest order. If you fit neither of these categories, then I'd suggest just buying any one of the covers and then enjoying the music - that's the most important part of your purchase anyway. Besides the movie poster, the CD flyer has the obligatory pat-on-the-back comments by the director - in this case, it's Chris Columbus. Yet in the case, to give high praise to John Williams is certainly justified. He surely deserves it.
Even if you've read elsewhere that the score has not much to offer in new material, there's no need to hide from this CHAMBER OF SECRETS.
In it you'll hear more of the always magical music of John Williams.
That makes it a winner for HARRY POTTER 2.
But it also makes it another winner for us soundtrack collectors. It's in the long line of great Williams fantasy scores.
An outstanding release.
--Roger Hall, 27 November
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (2002)
19 Tracks (Total Time: 72:48)
Music composed, orchestrated, conducted, and produced by Howard Shore. Choral Texts by J.R.R. Tolkein, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh. Performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices, the London Oratory School Scola, and additional soloists Isabel Bayrakdarian, Sheila Chandra, Ben Del Maestro, Elisabeth Fraser, Emiliana Torrini. "Aniron" and "May it Be" music by Enya and Nicky Ryan. Lyrics by Roma Ryan. Recorded by John Kurlander. Mixed by Peter Cobbin. Recorded at CTS Colosseum, Watford; Air Lyndhurst; Abbey Road Studios; Henry Wood Hall, London. Mixed and mastered at Abbey Road Studios, London.
Art direction and design by Steven R. Gilmore.
Reprise/WMG Soundtracks 48379-2
Rating: ****1/2
December marks the release of the eagerly anticipated second film in Peter Jackson’s epic THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. It promises to continue the level of love and excellence exhibited in THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. As such, Howard Shore’s score continues along its previous path.
With over four hours of music to choose from, Shore has put together a disc that is filled with set pieces. The music is inherently darker here to match the oftentimes bleak nature of the story. Glimmers of hope shine through, but the music’s sinister nature takes over frequently along with just a hint of mystery. This is aptly heard in "The Passage of the Marshes." With the overly thematic score album for FOTR, Shore wisely chooses to focus less on those themes, though they do make their appearance and provide some cohesion to the two albums taken together. While I could not imagine listening straight through twelve hours of score music, the two discs we currently have to accompany this film, are excellent listening companions.
Incorporated into THE TWO TOWERS are several text-based pieces that are intricately woven into the fabric of the music in the way Enya’s song was in FOTR. Among the most melancholic, heart-wrenching song’s is the album’s concluding, "Gollum’s Song" sung by Emiliana Torrini. It manages in it’s brevity to instantly encapsule the life and character of this often hidden "menace" to the hobbits. The placement at the end of the disc though leaves you with a heavy sigh of pity for this unfortunate creature and a sense that hopefully all will be resolved soon…well, in a year anyway.
"Helm’s Deep" is a personal favorite track. It pulls together several brief motifs in an action cue and exhibits the variety of Shore’s compositional skill very well. Though it is truly difficult to single out any one track. The moments for reflection are few, coming as they do in the song material. Otherwise we are in for a long steady orchestral journey that will infuse our rereading of Tolkein’s classic for years to come.
Unlike Williams’ music for the STAR WARS films, where each film has a combination of previous thematic ideas within a film-specific sound, Shore’s scores so far for the trilogy are really of one consistent conception. They form one long and continuous musical line in a way that makes it unique and manages to continue to place these efforts at the top of the list. Easily one of the best scores of the year.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 14 December
Editor's Remarks -
I'd agree with Steve about the second installment of LOTR. I didn't think that the first soundtrack measured up to all the hype about it. But THE TWO TOWERS is a superior effort. I also believe the film is better than the first one, with a deeper development of the characters and the music works extremely well as accompaniment. It surely deserves to be considered one of the best scores of the year. Howard Shore's achievement so far is truely monumental.
THE PIANIST (2002)
11 Tracks (Total Time = 58:30)
Score composed by Wojeciech Kilar and Frederic Chopin (classical piano music).
Janusz Olejniczak, piano. Hanna Walczedska, clarinet. The Warsaw Philharmonic National Orchestra of Poland, conducted by Tadeusz Strugala. Pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman is featured on track 11.
Sony Classical ASK 87739.
[Note: This review is based on the promo CD and so is abbreviated.]
Rating: ***1/2
With a film title like THE PIANIST, it seems perfectly natural to feature the wonderful piano music of classical composer, Frederic Chopin. But it has even more meaning in this film directed by Roman Polanski. The film is about the much admired real-life composer-pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who survived the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland. This film was the winner of the top prize (Palme d'Or) for Best Picture at this year's Cannes International Film Festival.
It's therefore appropriate that THE PIANIST soundtrack include a Polish pianist. Jenusz Olejniczak performs Chopin's highly romantic piano music with a great deal of energy and emotion. This soundtrack is really almost all Chopin's music. There are a few favorites of mine included: the highly dramatic Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38 (track 4, 7:38); and the lovely melancholy Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4. Also included is the Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, which played a key role in Szpilman's story. The final scene of the film shows Szpilman when he plays Chopin's Grande Polonaise brillante. Op. 22 (tracks 8-9).
An extra added bonus features Szpilman himself playing the Chopin Mazurka, Op. 17, No. 4 (track 11, 3:41), in a remastered recording from one made in 1948 in Warsaw. It is quite a touching performance, sensitive and serene.
Unfortunately, Polish film composer Wojciech Kilar, gets only one brief cue - "Moving to the Ghetto" (track 10, 1:52). Kilar had previously scored several Polanski films, including THE NINTH GATE and the superb DEATH AND THE MAIDEN. But since this film is about a Polish pianist, it seems more appropriate to include Chopin's piano music.
Even if you don't get to see this award-winning film, this soundtrack should appeal to those who love the music of Chopin, who is still honored for his Polish heritage.
The film's director, Roman Polanski, sums it up very well: "Fryderyk Chopin's was an essential part of Wladyslaw Szpilman's repertoire. For us Poles, Chopin symbolizes revolution. His music is our music - it's like mother's milk. It is what gave Szpilman strength and courage. I am proud to reunite them for this soundtrack."
Thus Chopin is used more than just as source music. His piano music plays a major role in this inspiring film.
This Sony Classical soundtrack is due for release on November 19, 2002.
--Roger Hall, 6 November
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RED DRAGON (2002)
17 Tracks (Total Time = 57:17)
Score composed by Danny Elfman.
Produced by Danny Elfman and Ellen Segal. Executive album producers: Brett Ratner and Mark Helfrich. Orchestrations by Steve Bartek, Edgardo Simone, Bruce Fowler, David Slonaker. Score conducted by Pete Anthony. Choir conducted by Marc Mann. Score recorded & mixed by Dennis Sands. Music editor: Ellen Segal.
Decca 289 473 248-2
Rating: **1/2
First, let me say that I've not been a fan of the Hannibal films. Don't we have enough horrors in the "real world"? Why do moviegoers want to watch such graphic violence? Doesn't it bother them anymore? Speaking for myself, I'm turned off to such senseless dark films. What saves the Hannibal films is the strangely compelling acting of Anthony Hopkins, although I'd rather watch him in something more uplifting, like his own film AUGUST, for which he also composed a charming score.
For RED DRAGON, Danny Elfman has composed a less than memorable score. I think it's slightly better than Zimmer's score to HANNIBAL, which I really disliked. On the enchanced part of the RED DRAGON CD, Elfman refers to Bernard Herrmann and Igor Stravinsky. Then to hear the RED DRAGON score it's hard to understand where his admiration is applied. Those two composers were masters of their trade. Elfman is not. I do admire his earlier scores to BATMAN, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, and a few others. But like his PLANET OF THE APES score, this one just doesn't do much for me. It just features lots of aimless moving about, with occasional crescendos and diminuendos and yet no suspense is created. Let me give a few examples.
For a long time it has been the custom to state something meaningful in the Main Title music. Well, Elfman manages to skip that custom. But he doesn't substitute it with anything approaching a theme worth remembering. Instead in his Main Titles (track 3, 2:59), we get something something like the theme from the newer version of the TV series, THE OUTER LIMITS, with too much rumbling around including the overused cliche of hitting those loud bass chords - you know those big BOOM sounds. Is the Main Titles track worth hearing again? Not for me. The next track, "The Cell" (track 4, 3:26), is a bit softer and the strings just move slowly along with not much happening.
Much of this score like musical filler to a fast food junk film. I'm sure that's not what Elfman intended it to sound like! But that's how I evaluate it as a reviewer. It's mostly too loud, as in "Enter the Dragon" (track 9, 5:52), and without much suspense created. Even a track like "Love on a Couch" (track 12, 5:08) isn't very memorable. Sure it opens with a mellower sound on solo flute, but once again where's the love theme, or is there even meant to be one?
The foldout CD booklet is poorly designed, printed in dark reds and browns and making the long list of participants and thank you folks hard to read, that's if you care to do so. There are also a number of film stills instead of any comments from the composer or director. I suppose their brief comments on the enhanced CD are meant to satisfy us. But what do we learn about the score? Not much. We learn that both Elfman and Ratner are big fans of Herrmann, especially his scores to the Hitchcock films. Does that mean they should try to imitate Herrmann, like Elfamn tries to do? Even so, he doesn't really succeed in that either.
I know there are Elfman fans who will probably say this is a wonderful score. I'm not one of them.
The score is well recorded and the enhanced CD has some cute extras, like the cell bars opening and closing when you move to a different section - that's if you go for such novelties. The movie trailer is horrible. Like so many of them, it tries to be like a music video to catch the attention of the vast army of easily led young moviegoers.
In the final analysis it's the score that matters here. And it didn't matter much to me.
A disappointment.
--Roger Hall, 30 October
| Editor's Choice - Best of the Month,
September |
SIGNS (2002)
13 Tracks (Total Time = 45:36)
Score composed by James Newton Howard.
Produced by James Newton Howard and Thomas Drescher. Electronic score produced and recorded by James T. Hill. Score recorded and mixed by Shawn Murphy.
Orchestrations by Jeff Atmajian, Brad Dechter, Pete Anthony.
Hollywood Studio Symphony, conducted by Pete Anthony.
Hollywood Records 2061-62368-2.
Rating: ****1/2
James Newton Howard has proven himself to be one of the most distinctive voices in the film music community today.
This is the third film he has scored for M. Night Shyamalan. The previous two were: THE SIXTH SENSE and UNBREAKABLE. While both of these scores were of high quality, this latest one is the best of the three.
SIGNS is an extremely well made thriller starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix as brothers sharing a farmhouse. What is found in their cornfield and how they handle the situation is the crux of this film's story. For a welcome change, this film is more about character development than whizbang special effects.
The soundtrack CD begins with the Main Titles (1:45), actually used in the film where they belong. The use of a repeated rhythmic pattern in the strings sets the stage for what will be happening later in the film. With its energetic propulsion, this opening track reminded me of the Main Title in Herrmann's classic NORTH BY NOTHWEST score from 1959. A similar repeated but much softer pattern is used for the next track, "First Crop Circles" (3:15), which makes the most of a solo piano (Michael Lang) playing the simple and unsettling main theme. This theme returns again in other tracks. One example is "In The Cornfield" (5:42), which uses the solo piano and just a few instruments to heighten the tension of the scene. Another one is "In The Basement" (5:23), which begins with a soothing string theme then brings back that insistent main theme once again in piano and that leads to a sudden orchestral outburst.
Most often overlooked on CD soundtracks are the musicians in the orchestra. That's not the case on this soundtrack. They are all listed in the CD foldout. Too bad the printing had to be so small that you can barely read their names. The overall artwork for the foldout is good though too much space is devoted to photos of the two male actors.
Howard's score is not meant to be an easy listen and creates real tension to accompany the frightening happenings in the film, such as "Asthma Attack" (3:42), and especially the last two tracks: "The Hand of Fate" (5:32/ 3:48), which are the climactic scenes and where the main theme reappears in one last statement of triumph over adversity.
Even though the soundtrack is well under an hour in playing time, what's there on the disc is not wasted.
This is one of James Newton Howard's best scores so far and also one of the best of the year.
Like John Williams in A.I. and MINORITY REPORT, Howard demonstrates what a film composer can do when at the top of his game.
I highly recommend this soundtrack.
--Roger Hall, 17 September
STAR TREK NEMESIS (2002)
14 Tracks (Total Time = 48:31)
Music composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith, performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony. Album produced by Jerry Goldsmith. Score recorded and mixed at Paramount Pictures, Scoring Stage M, by Bruce Botnick.
Varese Sarabande 302 066 412 2
Rating: ****
The tenth Star Trek film continues the tradition of the even numbered films being better than their odd-numbered counterparts. Stuart Baird’s direction ends up focusing on many contained spaces and mostly character drama. As a result, Jerry Goldsmith’s score must also work to heighten those dramatic moments in ways that move further away from generic action music.
It is a mark of Goldsmith’s genius that he relies far less on the STAR TREK themes than on creating new ones that seem to take their genesis from that main thematic idea. These new ideas are at times extensions or expansions that move through scenes in interesting ways. The score itself manages to mold together the musical sounds from films like TOTAL RECALL and THE EDGE as well as some of the computer generated sounds found in previous STAR TREK scores. Having seen the film, I have to admit that the score works unbelievably well and the only real frustrating experience I had was in hearing the hack job on the end credits roll of various themes intercut poorly on top of one another. Perhaps there is more than just some irony in the last track of the CD being called, "A New Ending." That track is truly remarkable in its incorporation of Irving Berlin’s "Blue Skies" along side the STAR TREK main titles from the old and new series before making a cursory run over the newer ideas.
There is a balletic feel to much of this score. It is a dance of a deeper sort that mimics the maneuvering on screen in ways that can only become apparent while observing the film. But each track reveals some new aspect of the total score. The most interesting track is "The Mirror" which has a central section that jumps straight off the pages of Stravinsky’s "Rite of Spring." These kind of subtle references, intentional or otherwise, hint at an integration of music into this film that comes through marvelously on screen. Goldsmith’s score manages to make the film far better than it could ever be and manages to be one of the better scores of the year.
The notes provided by Robert Townson state that the orchestra was practically ecstatic with the music and as you listen to the CD presentation one can see why. NEMESIS ends up becoming one of the best scores in the series. Never have I spent more time grabbing the case again to see which track I was listening to in order to remember which were really good. I gave up and just held the case as the music washed over me. While not an avid STAR TREK fan, having listened to the score prior to checking out the movie definitely made the latter experience far more interesting at a completely deeper level. Having had a pile of new CDs to review along with my own bought for "fun," STAR TREK NEMESIS has found its way back into the disc player more often than anything else has over the last month! I suspect that for many the same will be true.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 14 December
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