Archive
PAY IT FORWARD – Thomas Newman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
There’s a worrying trend developing in the career of Thomas Newman – peculiarity. Now, I’m all for innovation in film scoring. When a composer does something unexpected to enhance the mood or feel of a film, it is a refreshing and invigorating experience. When Thomas Newman did it on American Beauty, I was pleased. Newman has always been one of Hollywood’s most unconventional mainstream composers, equally at ease with lush symphonic writing (a la The Shawshank Redemption or Meet Joe Black) and experimental sound design (as in Flesh & Blood or Red Corner). Of late, though, Newman seems to have been stuck in this percussive rut, with seemingly no way out. In effect, he has written the same score for his last three movies: American Beauty, Erin Brockovich, and now Pay It Forward. Read more…
Remembering Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990
Composer, conductor, pianist and educator Leonard Bernstein died at his Manhattan, New York, home ten years ago today, on October 14, 1990, at the age of 72, from complications of progressive lung failure.
One of the towering figures of twentieth-century American music, Bernstein achieved international fame in the concert hall and on Broadway, but his relationship with cinema was surprisingly brief. He wrote only one original score specifically for a motion picture, yet that score—Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront—became one of the landmarks of American film music.
Bernstein was born Louis Bernstein in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1918, the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. He studied at Harvard University and the Curtis Institute of Music and achieved national prominence in 1943 when he famously substituted at short notice for Bruno Walter with the New York Philharmonic. He subsequently became one of America’s most celebrated conductors, eventually serving as music director of the Philharmonic while simultaneously pursuing careers as a composer, pianist, broadcaster and teacher.
Cinema first encountered Bernstein’s music through On the Town. The 1944 Broadway musical, written with Betty Comden and Adolph Green and developed from Bernstein’s ballet Fancy Free, was purchased by MGM and filmed in 1949 with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. However, studio chief Louis B. Mayer replaced almost all of Bernstein’s original score, an early indication of the difficulties the fiercely independent composer would have with Hollywood filmmaking. Read more…
THE CONTENDER – Larry Groupé
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Established orchestrators often find it difficult to disassociate themselves and carve out a solo composing career for themselves, out of the shadow of the (usually) more famous composer they have assisted for many years. Over the years, Jerry Goldsmith, Alexander Courage and the late Arthur Morton have been perfect examples. In recent years, artists such as Nicholas Dodd, Tim Simonec, Thomas Pasatieri and Ken Kugler have remained firmly behind their employers, while others such as Mark McKenzie, Hummie Mann and most noticeably Don Davis have emerged as composing talents in their own right. Larry Groupé looks likely to join this latter group very shortly; finally appearing from out of composer/director John Ottman’s backroom and taking center stage on a project worthy of his talents. Read more…
TOM’S MIDNIGHT GARDEN – Debbie Wiseman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
I first heard Debbie Wiseman’s score to Tom’s Midnight Garden way back in the fall of 1998, at a special concert she gave at London’s Royal Festival Hall. It has taken well over two years for the film to be released, and for her lavish, sumptuous music to finally become available for all to enjoy. Scores of the quality of Tom’s Midnight Garden are rare indeed, and are worth waiting for. The film is based on the classic children’s novel by Philippa Pearce, and stars Anthony Way (the child star of the popular series The Choir) as Tom, one of many young boys who were sent away into the English countryside to escape the horrors of war raining down on the cities where they lived. Tom is sent to stay with his prissy Aunt and Uncle (Greta Scacchi and James Wilby) in a rambling old house away from London, and at first Tom is unhappy at being separated from his parents and his friends. But soon Tom discovers that unusual things happen in the old house: when the antique grandfather clock in the hall strikes thirteen instead of twelve, a magical gateway appears in the house’s walled garden, which takes him back in time – and into the company of a beautiful young girl named Hatty. Read more…
MEET THE PARENTS – Randy Newman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Daft comedies have never been my favorite genre, but I have to admit Meet the Parents made me laugh – a lot. It is surely one of the most nerve-wracking days of any young man’s life when he goes home to meet his fiancé’s folks. First impressions count for a lot, and if the woman you are with is the one you intend to marry, having a healthy relationship with her family is of paramount importance. All these things are weighing heavily on nurse Greg Focker (Ben Stiller)’s mind when he accompanies his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo) home to meet her retired mother Dina and father Jack (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner). Unfortunately, Greg’s weekend plans for presenting himself as the “model son” go seriously awry in the face of her father’s overbearing presence. You see, Jack is not a florist, as Greg first believed: he is, in fact, a former CIA agent – who takes his daughter’s marital welfare very seriously! Read more…
Shop at the Movie Music UK Store
Member of the
