THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATIONS
Like its first volume, the soundtrack to KILL BILL Vol. 2, released last week by Maverick (48676-2) is an effectively eclectic collection of diverse music from a wide variety of different sources. Three choice bits of dialog from the film are included as separate tracks. Now, normally soundtrack albums containing both dialog and recycled music from other sources are the absolute bane of the soundtrack collector who insists on pure score to edify his or her enjoyment of the film's music. Films using such "Tower Records" scores have usually failed in the music department Friedkin's THE EXORCIST and Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY are notably controversial in this respect, which their arguably ill-fitting music grabbed from the pop and classical music bins of Hollywood record stores in lieu of original music written by, respectively, Lalo Schifrin and Alex North. Quentin Tarantino is an anomaly here, having scored his previous three films with nothing but popular music tracks and they worked beautifully as supportive rhythms or ambiences for his remarkable and unique visualizations. For the KILL BILL saga, Tarantino selected choices of music that reflected the film's collective influences Japanese samurai films, Hong Kong martial arts films, Italian westerns, 60's Europop spy movies, and contemporary pieces that suited those styles. Plus a sprinkling of original rhythms from rap producer The RZA and, for Vol. 2, director/composer Robert Rodriguez. This cornucopia of diverse material worked beautifully. Tarantino's ear for what would both reflect his myriad of influences while also serving as perfect musical support for his visual storytelling has crafted two of the best-compiled film scores in recent decades. Armando Trovajoli's powerful trumpet theme from THE LONG DAYS OF VENGEANCE, for example, brought an amazing dynamic to Vol. 1's anime sequence of the murder of O-Ren Ishii's parents. Vol. 2 is a bit heavier in usage of Italian Western music and a little leaner in its use of 60's pop tunes than Vol. 1, with three tracks borrowed from Ennio Morricone ("Il Tramonto" [The Desert] from THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY, "L'Arena" from THE MERCENARY, and "A Silhouette of Doom" from NAVAJO JOE not included on the CD but used in the film was Morricone's eloquent trumpet theme from A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and the main vocal theme from NAVAJO JOE; other significant omissions of music used in the film but not on the CD is Isaac Hayes' "Three Tough Guys," heard when The Bride fights Pai Mei, and Girard Christophe's "The Sunny Road to Salina, used when The Bride is walking through the desert on her way to meet Budd). Also included is Luis Bacalov's quirky pop/jazz motif from the 1972 Italian gangster movie, SUMMERTIME KILLER, and a variety of dusty Mexican music ("Tu Mira'" by Lole Y Manuel and Chingon's "Malaguena Salerosa") that suggest the film's Latin locals.
Pop songs including classic rockabilly singer Charlie Feathers (whose swaggering chestnut, "That Certain Female," accompanied sheriff Michael Parks' arrival at the Wedding Chapel in Vol. 1) "Can't Hardly Stand It" is included, as is Johnny Cash's "Satisfied Mind" (heard in Budd's trailer while The Bride stalks him outside), Malcolm McLaren's quirky take on The Zombie's "She's Not There," here titled "About Her" (heard as The Bride and BB watch SHOGUN ASSASSIN in Bill's hotel room), and pop group Shivaree's "Goodnight Moon," heard over the closing credits. Also, actress Meiko Kaji (whose song, "The Flower of Carnage" from LADY SNOWBLOOD, was used in Vol. 1) returns with "Urami Bushi," a neat mix of Japanese and Mariachi influences (from the film FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41), which had also been used in Vol. 1's closing credits. (There's a hidden track at 3:50 mins after Kaji's song ends on the Vol. 2 CD, a rather horrendous RZA rap cue called "Black Mamba." If you like rap, it's a fairly good cue; if you don't, you'd probably wish it had been tracked separately so you could program it out.) It's all not quite as fresh as the Vol. 1 soundtrack (missing are some of the tuneful 60's motifs like GREEN HORNET that made Vol. 1 such a trip down memory lane) but it is nicely representative of the film's eloquent musical diversity, with enough high points to make it quite enjoyable.
Marco Beltrami continues his Bel-trami curve toward provocative horror music with his latest score, HELLBOY, released last Marco Beltrami's score for HELLBOY. © Varese Sarabandeweek on Varese Sarabande 302 066 562 2. The music is highly symphonic, opening with a slow upsurge of orchestral chords slightly reminiscent of the opening of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. What we have is a large-scale score for orchestra (performed by Lucasfilm's Skywalker Symphony) with choir and limited use of both synths and theremin. The scope of the composition may be Beltrami's largest to date, after scoring TERMINATOR 3, the SCREAM films, BLADE II, and DRACULA 2000. His main title is a relentless onslaught of marching orchestra, given its assertive cadence through beaten tympani, it's a terrific cue, rippling with energy and aggression, empowered by the brass and the choir, embodying both the grotesquerie and heroism of the Hellboy character. The theremin is put to especially nice use in the eerie cue, "Wake Up Dead," where it provides a sense of introspection and subliminal awareness against the whispered notes of harp and the occasionally doubling of the orchestra, until the main Hellboy theme rises up significantly. There are a number of hushed, low-end cues that build ... "Evil Doers" rises and finally rages powerfully, undulating of heavy orchestration that eventually take on the attributes of the Hellboy theme, blurring the distinction between our hero and his antagonists. "Soul Sucker" is a remarkable mysterioso, compiled from whispering synth chords, echoey percussions, cavernous bass reverberations, and a sinewy violin line that drifts through it all, finally coming upon a strident brass and percussion statement. "Stand By Your Man" doubles orchestra and theremin in a powerful and persuasive cue; the dynamics of the theremin soaring with but above the orchestra is thrilling, achieving a tremendous sonic power which then gives way to the Hellboy main theme for a triumphal climax. A minor love motif is provided for "Liz Sherman," tinged with melancholy, which recurs a couple of times. Action cues like "Alley Fight" and "Mechanical Mausoleum" are well managed and coherently orchestrated. A snappy concluding track, "B.P.R.D.," closes out the CD with a nicely up-tempo synth & piano arrangement of the main theme. A notable musical fusion of Gothic horror and heroism.
FILM MUSIC NEWS
Composer [IMG5L]Henry Mancini (TOUCH OF EVIL, LIFEFORCE) has been honored on a U.S. postage stamp to celebrate his 40-year career of writing music for the movies. The stamp features a painting by artist Victor Stabin showing Mancini conducting as the titles of some of his most popular film and television projects appear to scroll over a screen behind him. The Pink Panther in the lower left corner is a further reminder of one of Mancini's popular works.
Danny Elfman's agent has confirmed to Music from the Movies that the composer has been hired to score THE CORPSE BRIDE, the dark animated fairytale produced by Tim Burton scheduled for release in October 2005. The film is based on an old Russian folk tale telling the story of a man who weds a corpse by mistake. The film is directed by Mike Johnson, who previously worked as an animator on THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH like those, THE CORPSE BRIDE will be created using stop-animation technique. Elfman will also score Tim Burton's next directorial effort, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, starring Johnny Depp. Coming first, however, is the eagerly anticipated SPIDER-MAN 2, premiering on 30th June. www.musicfromthemovies.com
Lee Holdridge (THE BEASTMASTER, THE MISTS OF AVALON) has scored the new [IMG4R]NBC-TV miniseries, 10.5, debuting May 2-3rd, 2004. The four-hour miniseries Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue) as an earthquake expert put to the ultimate test: saving the West Coast from the biggest earthquake ever recorded. For details, see: www.nbc.com/nbc/10.5/
John Ottman (X2) is currently composing the score for David R. Ellis' thriller CELLULAR, based on a story by Larry (IT'S ALIVE) Cohen. Ottman will also write the theme for a small budget film called IMAGINARY HEROES with Sigourney Weaver - Deborah Lurie will adapt the score.
As reported on filmscoremonthly.com, on May 25th, Atlantic will release the soundtrack to HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZBAKAN. Alarmingly, the cover describes it as "Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture," but since John Williams is prominently credited on the cover, one can only hope they merely shoehorned an irrelevant song or two in after all the great new Williams cues.
On June 8th, Aleph Records will release the first ever original soundtrack recording from DIRTY HARRY, Lalo Schifrin's seminal urban cop thriller. The CD represents DIRTY HARRY's premiere release, complete with the original sessions masters remixed for stereo. Schifrin achieved an action score that would come to be defined as the quintessential work in seventies action cinema. Aleph describes it thusly: "Urban jazz-funk formed the basis, with a driving, percussion-based jazz ensemble, and a ghostly chorale for the 'Scorpio' scenes." The CD contains all of the music originally recorded for the film, including four alternate takes added to the CD as bonus tracks. http://www.alephrecords.com/
Composer Nicholas Pike is releasing a CD of his score to the psychological thriller LOVE OBJECT, starring Desmond Harrington (WRONG TURN) as a man obsessed with a realistic sex doll. The CD can be ordered from the composer's website, www.nicholaspike.net which also announces future plans for CDs from pressings of THE LOT, TELLING LIES IN AMERICA, THE JUDGE, DEATH BY PIZZA and Michael Jackson's GHOST.
Musicfromthemovies.com reports that, due to a scheduling conflict, Graeme Revell and William Orbit have left scoring duties on the upcoming CATWOMAN movie starring Halle Berry. The new composer has been confirmed as Klaus Badelt (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN). Badelt has started work on the score; the film is set to open on July 23rd. Additionally Badelt has been hired to score his first animated film, Universal's CURIOUS GEORGE, based on the series of children's books. This film is scheduled to premiere on November 5th, 2005. Badelt is also scoring the romantic WIMBLEDON and will record the score with the London Metropolitan Orchestra in May. This film opens on September 24th. www.musicfromthemovies.com
MFTM also reports that John Debney's filmography is remaining firmly grounded in comedies for the next few months he is scoring THE PACIFIER, kind of a KINDERGARDEN COP variation with Vin Diesel as an undercover agent posing as a child care worker. Debney is also has scoring RAISING HELEN, THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2: ROYAL ENGAGEMENT, SKIPPING THE HOLIDAYS and CHICKEN LITTLE. According to MFTM, however, Debney is not scoring Walter Salles' thriller DARK WATER despite an announcement on the composer's web site as well as the Internet Movie Database. That film is still being scored by Angelo Badalamenti.
On May 4th, the Belgian specialty label Prometheus will release Jerry Goldsmith's complete motion picture score for the [IMG3L]1992 thriller BASIC INSTINCT. This release, which exceeds 74 minutes, will be newly remastered from the original 32-track digital masters and features over 30 minutes of never-before-released score that was not included on the original 1992 CD, including the unreleased highlight Catherine and Roxy at over five minutes. Apparently even the composer himself, usually adverse to such releases, is said to be pleased with the new edition, according to the jerrygoldsmithonline.com web site. For details see, www.buysoundtrax.com/basic_instinct.html
The British label NMC is releasing LOVE FROM A STRANGER, featuring a rerecording of cues from Benjamin Britten's score for the 1937 film of the same name. The CD will also feature cues from Richard Rodney Bennett's score to THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER, Elisabeth Luytens' score to the Amicus horror film THE SKULL, and Roberto Gerhard's music from the Oscar nominated drama THIS SPORTING LIFE.
FILM MUSIC ON DVD
The only substantial extra included on KILL BILL Vol. 1 DVD, released last week by Miramax, is a 22-minute featurette, "The Making of KILL BILL VOL., 1" (Also included are two full performances by the terrific ladies of Asian grunge-surf rock, the 5,6,7,8's, which are also worth the price of admission; but one hopes that a special edition of both volumes when #2 finally comes to DVD in August may include more substantial behind-the-scenes features on both films). Writer-director Tarantino describes briefly the use of music in the film, but unfortunately he doesn't address how he made his choices and what his motivations for using specific cues in specific places were (except for his choice of the Zamfir pan-flute cue and the very coincidental way he discovered the 5,6,7,8's and brought them into the film).
"The whole combination of the right piece of music with the right visual image, I really think is one of the most exciting things you can do in movies," Tarantino says in the DVD featurette. "There is a reason why people remember it in my movies, because when you do it right it's really memorable."
The RZA (aka Robert Diggs), the rap artist and producer of the Wu-Tang Clan albums (of which Tarantino has been a big fan) who provided the original music for both films, is also interviewed and comments on his role in both producing the KILL BILL Vol. 1 soundtrack and providing original music, such as the rhythmic pulse when The Bride first confronts the Crazy 88s when they storm into the House of Blue Leaves.
"Not only did he do a fantastic job of coming up with some neat original pieces of music, for the first time in my movies, but also just being able to sample some of the different cool sound effects that we both grew up listening to in kung fu films," said Tarantino.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
The latest issue (Vol. 9, no. 2) of Film Score Monthly magazine contains a provocative interview with James Horner the magazine's first ever; and, given FSM's earlier history of dis'ing Horner whenever possible, is quite remarkable. Jeff Bond covers plenty of territory and elicits some intriguing remarks from the composer about his recent scores for THE MISSING, RADIO, and THE HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, as well as his scoring process, his sound, and his theories of scoring action films. Paired with this is the belated conclusion of Paul Bouthillier's Horner Buyer's Guide, discussing in detail his scores from 1985-1978, and 2001-2003. Bouthiller's analyses are fair and perceptive, and if you're at all inclined to collect Horner but can't afford them all, this is an excellent tool to find out which ones you should have. www.filmscoremonthly.com
Trivia question: what was the first film music specialty magazine to ever interview Horner?
Soundtrack sources:
Soundtrax is our weekly Movie Soundtrack column.
For questions or comments, contact the author at Soundtrax@cinescape.com.
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