BAFTA Nominations 2002
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 56th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2002.
In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:
- JOHN KANDER, FRED EBB, and DANNY ELFMAN for Chicago
- PHILIP GLASS for The Hours
- WOJCIECH KILAR for The Pianist
- HOWARD SHORE for Gangs of New York
- JOHN WILLIAMS for Catch Me If You Can
These are the first nominations for Ebb, Elfman, Glass, Kander, and Kilar. It is the third nomination for Shore, and the tenth nomination for Williams. Williams previously won for Jaws and The Towering Inferno in 1975, Star Wars in 1978, The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982, Empire of the Sun in 1988, and Schindler’s List in 1993.
The winners of the 56th BAFTA Awards will be announced on February 23, 2003.
DARKNESS FALLS – Brian Tyler
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Traditionally, horror movies have given enthusiastic young composers an opportunity to “show what they are made of” and demonstrate their orchestral know-how to the world at large. Unconstrained by the demands of subtlety and studio interference, and working in a genre where music is perhaps more important than in any other, these ambitious men and women have regularly begun their careers writing for stalk and slash, knife-wielding stories, honing their craft, and demonstrating their talents. Over the years, the likes of James Horner, Christopher Young and (more recently) Marco Beltrami have embarked on their career ladder by scoring serial killer movies and monster flicks – and now Brian Tyler can be added to this list. It’s been quite a while since we had a balls-to-the-wall horror score on our hands. Darkness Falls is one of them. Read more…
Ron Goodwin, 1925-2003
Composer Ron Goodwin died on January 8, 2003, at his home near Reading, England. He was 77. Earlier that evening he had completed conducting a series of Christmas concerts with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and died in his sleep that night.
Ronald Alfred Goodwin was born in Plymouth, Devon, in February 1925, and raised in London . He studied trumpet and piano, eventually attending the Guildhall School of Music. After beginning his career in the 1940s as a music copyist and arranger for music publishers, he found early success orchestrating for dance bands and providing musical direction for celebrated vocalists such as Petula Clark and Jimmy Young, including the orchestration of Young’s hit “Too Young”.
Goodwin made his feature film debut in 1958 with Whirlpool, but it was in the following decade that he rose to prominence as a film composer. He became best known for his dynamic music for war and adventure films, notably 633 Squadron (1964), Where Eagles Dare (1968), and Battle of Britain (1969). His score for 633 Squadron, with its soaring main theme and martial energy, became a classic of the genre and remains one of his most widely recognized works, especially in the UK. Read more…
THE HOURS – Philip Glass
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In film music circles, Philip Glass is the victim of a certain degree of “reverse-snobbishness” that is rather unusual. As a classical composer, some of his film music work lacks the same depth of emotion as those by his contemporaries – not because he cannot write in this way but because, as he still maintains a high standing in the classical music world, he seems to embrace the “technique over emotion” standpoint favored by the classical glitterati. It is surprising, therefore, to discover that The Hours is by far his most emotional film score to date. Sadly, it sounds broadly like every other score he has written, and is repetitive to a point where you almost want to pull out your hair. Read more…
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN – John Williams
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Steven Spielberg and John Williams have been working together since 1974, when the then-young director hired Williams to score The Sugarland Express. Their subsequent creative collaboration has become near-legendary, spanning almost 20 movies in as many years. Catch Me If You Can, their latest offering, is something of a departure for both of them: a) because Spielberg has made his first “light hearted” movie since the lamentable 1941, and b) because John Williams has given it a jazz score. The film is based on the true life story of Frank Abagnale Jr, who in the 1960s became the youngest person to be placed on the FBI’s most wanted list after committing a series of elaborate confidence tricks. Leonardo Di Caprio stars as the eponymous Abagnale, oozing bravado and charisma, while all the while being shadowed but never quite outwitted by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks, in an unusually low-key and monochrome role). Christopher Walken co-stars as Abagnale’s father, with Martin Sheen and Jennifer “Alias” Garner in extended cameos. Read more…
SPIDER – Howard Shore
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Following the critical and commercial success of his scores for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it has somehow been forgotten that, prior to the world at large hearing his work for Peter Jackson’s epic masterpieces, Howard Shore was known as a “dark” composer. His scores, for directors such as David Fincher and David Cronenberg, were predominantly moody, themeless, atmospheric works which thrived in the grimmer aspects of film music, where evil things lurked in the shadows. Before Lord of the Rings, no one really knew that he was capable of the grand, orchestral-and-choral majesty he ultimately delivered, and since then his musical nightmares have almost been forgotten. But, with Spider, the latest film from David Cronenberg, Shore proves that he has not completely abandoned his roots. Read more…
ANTWONE FISHER – Mychael Danna
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
I’m almost certain I’ve written this sentence before, but Mychael Danna continues to surprise and delight me with each new score he pens. The 45-year-old Canadian composer first challenged my perceptions of him with his brilliant, breathtaking Western epic Ride With The Devil, and has continued to impress me with such wide and varied works as Girl Interrupted, Green Dragon, Monsoon Wedding and Hearts in Atlantis. His 37th feature score, Antwone Fisher re-asserts Danna’s standing as one of the most talented and consistently enjoyable composers working today. Read more…
TWO WEEKS NOTICE – John Powell
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s nice to see the development of John Powell as a film composer is continuing apace. Although his modern action scores, for films such as Face/Off and The Bourne Identity, have never really impressed me, his thematic consistency in scores such as Antz, Chicken Run, Shrek and Evolution appeals to me a great deal. And, despite the high quality of his works with Harry Gregson-Williams, it’s also nice to see him developing a distinct individual persona away from the clutches of the old Media Ventures franchise. As far as I am aware, Powell has never attempted a “traditional” rom-com before but, if Two Weeks Notice is anything to go by, he has a career following in the footsteps of Alan Silvestri ahead of him. Read more…
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS – Howard Shore
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Howard Shore, welcome to the world of film music pressure. It’s a peculiar phenomenon, akin to the “second album” syndrome faced by rock and pop musicians whose debut works are hugely successful; John Williams faced it when embarking on the follow-up scores in the Star Wars saga. Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner, such is their popularity and fan base, face it each time they write a new score. Other composers face it when they write music for a beloved piece of fiction – especially in the fantasy or comic book genres – or have scored a major hit with their last effort in a series. With The Lord of the Rings, Howard Shore has joined this latter group. Read more…
Golden Globe Nominations 2002
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has announced the nominations for the 60th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2002.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- TERENCE BLANCHARD for 25th Hour
- ELMER BERNSTEIN for Far from Heaven
- PETER GABRIEL for Rabbit-Proof Fence
- PHILIP GLASS for The Hours
- ELLIOT GOLDENTHAL for Frida
This is the first nomination for Blanchard, the second nomination for Gabriel, the third nomination for Glass, the third nomination for Goldenthal, and the fifth nomination for Bernstein. Glass previously won for The Truman Show in 1998. Bernstein previously won for To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962 and Hawaii in 1966.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- BRYAN ADAMS, HANS ZIMMER, and GRETCHEN PETERS for “Here I Am” from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
- MADONNA CICCONE and MIRWAIS AHMADZAÏ for “Die Another Day” from Die Another Day
- PAUL HEWSON (BONO), ADAM CLAYTON, DAVID EVANS (THE EDGE), and LARRY MULLEN, JR. for “The Hands That Built America” from Gangs of New York
- MARSHALL MATHERS III (EMINEM), JEFF BASS, and LUIS RESTO for “Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile
- PAUL SIMON for “Father and Daughter” from The Wild Thornberrys Movie
The winners of the 60th Golden Globe Awards will be announced on January 19, 2003.
STAR TREK: NEMESIS – Jerry Goldsmith
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Jerry Goldsmith’s involvement with Star Trek now stretches back almost 25 years. He is as associated with the franchise as the USS Enterprise, “Beam me up, Scotty” and “Make it so”, and with the possible exceptions of James Horner and Alexander Courage, is the only composer to truly get to the heart of the Star Trek universe – even though he himself has said that he does not fully understand the phenomenon, or why his work is so well-loved. Having written so much classic music over the years, it is therefore somewhat disappointing to report that his work on Star Trek: Nemesis is pretty standard, uninspiring stuff. A few snatches of thematic familiarity, some exciting action material, and echoes of Total Recall aside, it’s actually a rather predictable, albeit enjoyable, sci-fi score. Read more…
THE EMPEROR’S CLUB – James Newton Howard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Movies about inspirational teachers, while not exactly ten-a-penny, are certainly genre mainstays, with a cinematic language of their own. Robin Williams played one in Dead Poets Society, Richard Dreyfuss played one in Mr Holland’s Opus, and now Kevin Kline joins their league with his performance in director Michael Hoffman’s The Emperor’s Club as William Hundert, a enthusiastic, well-respected, if a little stuffy professor at a boy’s school in 1972. All is well, and Hundert is happy in his work, until a disruptive force arrives in the shape of young Sedgewick Bell (newcomer Emile Hirsch), who immediately throws the status quo into disarray. As Hundert and Bell lock horns, deep moral and ethical questions raise their heads, leading to a confrontation, the repercussions of which could last a lifetime… Read more…
DIE ANOTHER DAY – David Arnold
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
You know, I’m beginning to think that David Arnold is running out of ideas. When he burst onto the film music scene in 1996/97 with Stargate, Independence Day and so on, he was a breath of fresh air, bringing new life and orchestral acumen to a genre which generally suffers from a lack of emerging talent. When he took over from Eric Serra after the lamentable GoldenEye as the composer of choice for the Bond movies, it was heralded as a step in the right direction, and he has proved himself to be the only composer to “get” the series in the way John Barry did. Die Another Day is Arnold’s third Bond movie score. It is also, by a long way, his weakest. Read more…
ARARAT – Mychael Danna
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In many ways, Ararat is Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s Schindler’s List: an intensely personal film which tackles a little-known cultural tragedy with the same depth and sensitivity Steven Spielberg lent his account of the Holocaust. Egoyan, whose parents were born in Armenia, is best known as an art-house auteur who, occasionally, directs a crossover mainstream hit, such as Exotica or the Oscar-nominated The Sweet Hereafter. It is difficult to know whether this film will follow in their footsteps, especially given its difficult subject matter and unusual structuring, but one thing is for sure: the accompanying music CD is well worth a listen. Read more…
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS – John Williams, William Ross
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s funny how John Williams always manages to get himself attached to supremely successful movie franchises: whether through skill and good judgement, or simply because of his vast reputation, the man still regarded as Hollywood’s premier composer has lucked out in being involved with the Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones and now Harry Potter, the series of movies based on J.K. Rowling’s enormously popular tales of witchcraft and wizardry. The Chamber of Secrets is the second in the series of films, following Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and is, in every conceivable way, both in terms of movie AND music, a more pleasing experience. Read more…
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