Scharf Remembered, METROPOLIS Restored, and New Scores Abound

By: Randall D. Larson
Date: Thursday, March 13, 2003

IN memoriam

Walter Scharf, who composed, arranged or conducted the music for about 250 movies and television programs, including episodes of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E, died Monday, February 24, 2003, at his home in Brentwood, California, of heart failure, at the age of 92.

Scharf came to Hollywood from his hometown of New York City in 1934 as a musical arranger for singer Rudy Vallee's orchestra. Throughout the 1930s he wrote incidental music for more than a dozen films, although he did not receive screen credit for most of them.

In 1942, Scharf received his first Oscar nomination for a 1942 melodrama called MERCY ISLAND. He would go on to earn another nine music nominations including efforts on such fantasy films as HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (1953), WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1972), and BEN (1973). The latter did earn him a Golden Globe award, likely due to its Top-40 theme song, sung by Michael Jackson, which Scharf wrote with lyrics by Don Black.

Scharf was musical supervisor and conductor for Barbra Streisand's FUNNY GIRL (his memories of working with Streisand were summed up vaguely in a 1970 LA Times interview as: "It was easier than I expected. We had our little problems, but they never became too trying."

Scharf scored a number of documentaries for National Geographic and Jacques Cousteau and won an Emmy in 1971 for National Geographic's THE TRAGEDY OF THE RED SALMON. He was not enamored by working on television, and often withdrew to classical compositions as an antidote. "I feel like I'm being squeezed through a revolving door," Scharf said after completing nearly 2-hours of music for the 8-part 1979 miniseries BLIND AMBITION, about the political career of White House counselor John Dean during the Nixon administration. "My job is to keep you glued to the screen," Scharf said. "I'm constantly providing little hooks to keep people interested."

This Week's RecommendationS

Cliff Martinez' [IMG4R]ambient soundscape for the recent remake of SOLARIS was issued last year by Superb Records (TRM-74070-2). The music is pleasantly minimalist, although not developed much beyond its inherent ambient nature. The music percolates over a bed of burbling, percussive synth with an air of sustained strings and electronics; often capturing a hint of gamelan and steel drum, which has been sampled into the mix. Director Steven Soderbergh allowed several sequences to be extended with just music providing the narrative information; the music takes on a haunting inactivity as it creates a claustrophobic yet provocative sound design. The result is an effective textural musical environment that creates its own moods and shifts as it sways and solidifies and dissolves in its own constant rhythms.

Superb Records

has also released a soundtrack CD to ONE HOUR PHOTO (TRM-74059-2), the Robin Williams psychological thriller released recently on DVD, with music by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek (who were also responsible, along with director Tom Tykwer, for the music from RUN LOLA RUN and THE PRINCESS + THE WARRIOR). The music here is less techno/voice than those to Tykwer's scores, but, like SOLARIS, creates a haunting ambience that creates a quite wonderful musical sound design. This score is more melodic than SOLARIS, using piano, strings and synth to create a moving portrait of loneliness, expressing the Williams' character's isolation and loneliness, and need to belong, as well as Williams did in his notable performance. In its more psychological moments (as in the brooding electronic tonalities of "Hamster") it seems to drill to the core of Williams' developing psychosis; at its lighter, more tender moments (Sy's Theme) it creates a profound sympathy for the man. As such the composers have crafted a splendid musical portrait almost a tone poem or even an adagio for malignant isolation and its effect upon an otherwise kindly personality. Kudos.

In keeping with the tonality of the former two, Superb has also issues Harry Gregson-Williams brooding score for PHONE BOOTH (TRM-74069-2), which is cut from much of the same cloth. All three scores are, in fact, ambient and atmospheric and quite haunting.

Italy's Dagored [IMG5R]has unearthed another wonderful 1960s Italian lounge music score and released it in a fine slipcases edition. Armando Sciascia's score for METAMPSYCO (RED 134-2) is rich with the best styles of Italian pop/spy/thriller music of the period. Antonio Boccaci's 1963 horror thriller (aka TOMB OF TORTURE) was a routine story about a young woman who, believing she is the reincarnation of a murdered countess, suffers from nightmares in which she reenacts the murder. In an effort to confront and dispel her inner demons, she visits the scene of the crime with typically disastrous results. The score constantly runs against type, with a bouncy and tuneful music, often with inventive instrumental choices (such as the percussion effects used in "Cataplessia"), that creates an unusual contrast to the tension inherent in the film's visuals. But the score creates a lightness and a warmth that helps bring the story and character interactions, such as they are, to life and helps create the anxiety built in the film's spookier moments. On disc it's a very pleasant and stylish score for those who enjoy '60s European spy/thriller/lounge scores.

On the [IMG6L]complete other end of the musical spectrum is Jonathan Bepler's scores for Martin Barney's CREMASTER film series. CREMASTER 2 and 3 (the latter a 2-disc release) are available on CD through Bepler's web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~jbep/JB%20CR%203.html. The films are a series of five (so far) non-narrative art films dealing with various aspects of American culture, and their music is among the most intensely bizarre I have ever heard. Bepler creates a miasmic sound design using natural sounds, orchestral or synth tonalities, which on the surface level may seem completely inaccessible on disc. But, noting the character of the films they support, Bepler's choices are probably quite appropriate. Non-narrative films (the most eloquent being, in my opinion, Godfrey Reggio's KOYAANISQATSI trilogy; although others may likely cite Andy Warhol) are designed to create a far different effect in their viewers, and so take on a far different sensibility than dramatic or even traditional documentary films. By using image and sound alone, they may suggest sensations to their audience but leave much to the perception of the individual viewer. Bepler's music well accommodates this introspective viewership, although on disc it may be less enthralling on its own. If you want to experience an intensity of musical strangeness and take an aural trip, slap on a pair of headphones, turn out the lights, and let this music transport you to another dimension.

FILM MUSIC NEWS

Shirley Walker's [IMG7R]new score for WILLARD (opening March 14^th) has already made history. In addition to a 90-piece orchestra, Walker's score includes of all things a 6-piece accordion section (the first-ever, according to the L.A. Orchestra that performed the music). The six accordions were seated across the center of the orchestra behind the string section and in front of the woodwind section. For more details and session photos with the accordionists, see: http://www.accordionusa.com/.

Varese Sarabande's soundtrack releases for the last week include Graeme Revell's orchestral score for DAREDEVIL, Brian Tyler's spooky music for DARKNESS FALLS, and a lavish new recording of Bernard Herrmann's classic THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, coinciding with the film's DVD release last week. [IMG8L]Tyler's score for THE HUNTED emerges this week. Hans Zimmer's score for TEARS OF THE SUN and Tyler's music for CHILDREN OF DUNE will be released on March 18^th. James Newton Howard's score for Stephen King's DREAMCATCHER will be released on April 1st no fooling. Alan Silvestri's score for the Ray Liotta thriller IDENTITY comes out April 15^th (save your tax $). Then, on April 22^nd, the label will celebrate its 25^th Anniversary with a huge 4-CD set compiling of the best of Varese Sarabande's 900+ soundtrack releases. The set will feature a total of five hours of music.

Germany's Bear [IMG9R]Family Records has issued two more lavishly packaged volumes in their series on German film composers. Deutsche Filmkomponisten Vol. 6 collects 40 tracks from 15 films composed by Peter Sandloff, ranging from 1956 through 1962. The films include thrillers such as DIE UNSICHTBAREN KRALLEN DES DR. MABUSE (1962, US:  THE INVISIBLE DR. MABUSE) and VIELE KAMEN VORBEI (1955, US: MANY PASSED BY). The music ranges from tuneful lyricism, dramatic orchestral works, marches, and much in between. Bear has also released Volume 9, with 30 tracks from 30 films composed by Hans-Martin Majewski. The films are mostly noirish dramas, war films, and romances, scored with a variety of styles from strident German chorale songs, lyrical waltzes, dramatic symphonic works, and rich romantic music. In addition to fine recordings of these old scores, the CD includes huge booklets (Sandloff at 70 pages; Majewski at 90) featuring numerous vintage color poster and still reproductions from each of the films those alone are a treasure trove of '50s and '60s vintage German movie memorabilia.

As reported by Music from the Movies, David Julyan (INSOMNIA) has been replaced as the composer on Renny Harlin's film MINDHUNTERS, just days before the score was to be recorded. Julyan had worked on MINDHUNTERS for some considerable time. It is not yet known who will replace Julyan on the film.

FILM MUSIC ON DVD

Kino has

released on DVD a spectacular restored edition of Fritz Lang's classic, timeless science fiction masterpiece, METROPOLIS (1927). With almost a third of the original German release footage lost, hopes of ever seeing this film as it was originally intended have been pretty dismal. Painstakingly restored in Germany with the help of numerous archives and following instructions on the original sheet music scores to determine placement of missing sequences the film is now about as close as it will ever get. Even with numerous original scenes missing Kino has included interstitial titles and stills (where available) to indicate what we're missing visually the film takes on a new life with the scenes that have been restored. The visual quality of the ancient film has also been enhanced spectacularly. The result is a spectacular new vision of an extraordinary film that is as close to its creator's original intent as we're likely to ever get.

Most notable is the restoration of the original 1927 score that accompanied the film in many of its showings. Originally performed by a live orchestra, here the score is newly recorded and presented in 5.1 Surround Sound. Seeing the film with its original symphonic film score is simply breathtaking, as the picture takes on an entirely new dimension, and literally seethes with a livid vibrancy.

A number of extras have been included describing the genesis of the film and the nature of the restoration. Enno Patalas' included documentary, "The Metropolis Case," describes much of the history behind the film and its restoration. In a segment entitled "Sound Pictures" the film's musical background is examined: "The METROPOLIS music was composed, unusual for the time, during the filming. Huppertz had already written the NIBELUNGEN music. The METROPOLIS music is dominated by leitmotifs, to which characters, groups of characters, and even particular content have been assigned."

Patalas emphasizes the score's many thematic segments ("The Motif of the Epigram," which accompanies the finale where Feder joins Joh and Grot; the Tower of Babel; Worker's Theme; the Moloch Theme; the Love Theme, Maria's Theme (first heard when Maria brings the children into the Garden); Freder's Theme (morphs from Maria's Theme when he reacts to her in the Garden); the Fredersen Theme (introduces the Master of Metropolis in his rooftop office); the Rotwang Theme; the Mechanical Woman Theme (emphasized when the Robot stands up in the lab & during the Robot-Maria exchange sequence); and the Uprising Theme (heard when the false Maria leads the workers to attack the machines). In addition to these motifs, Huppertz quotes from Le Marseillaise when the false Maria summons the workers to the workers' city square, and from the Dies Irae when the Death statue comes to life & scythes through the air (a scene intercut with Maria's erotic dance at Yoshiwara; which is accompanied by a lively Foxtrot; Huppertz also composed a waltz for the introductory scene at the Eternal Gardens).

The complexity of the score is amazing for its day, and both hearing it and noting the examples shown in the Patalas documentary really do justice to a stunning achievement in early-era film music.

Soundtrax is our weekly Movie Soundtrack column.

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