U-571 – Richard Marvin
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
There’s a joke going round the Internet at the moment about how Richard Marvin’s score for U-571 should really be called “Air Force Two”. It’s true that there are many similarities between this, Marvin’s first major work, and the flag-waving Jerry Goldsmith score of 1997, but to cast these aspersions and mean them would be doing a great disservice to the composer. It’s blatantly obvious that director Jonathan Mostow suffered from an almost terminal case of temp-track love while in post-production for this film, but it surely still took a great deal of effort on Marvin’s part to write music that captures the same power, patriotism and intensity as Goldsmith’s earlier effort. Read more…
EST-OUEST/EAST-WEST – Patrick Doyle
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A truly international collaboration, East West – or, to give it its correct French language title Est Ouest – is the third film in which Patrick Doyle has written music for director Régis Wargnier, following Indochine and Une Femme Française. Set in the heart of Europe during the years immediately following the cessation of World War II, the film stars Sandrine Bonnaire as Marie, a French woman who, at the behest of her husband Sascha (Sergei Bodrov), follows him back to his homeland – Russia – in the hope that they will find a new and better life for themselves there now that the war has ended. Their dreams are quickly shattered, however, when it becomes apparent that all is not well, and that one powerful and corrupt regime has simply been replaced by another one. Realising their mistake, Maria and Sascha try to return to Paris, but find themselves blocked at every turn by the new Soviet power. Things change, however, after Maria meets and falls in love with a handsome swimmer named Alexei (Grigori Manoukov), who may be able to offer then a way out. Read more…
DETERRENCE – Larry Groupé
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Despite being better known as a regular collaborator on John Ottman’s scores (he conducted and/or orchestrated Apt Pupil, The Cable Guy, Incognito, Snow White: A Tale Of Terror and The Usual Suspects), Larry Groupé is also a composer in his own right, and of considerable talent. Through his website, Larry is making several of his recent scores available for on-line purchase by collectors, one of the few composers who actively promote their own work in this way. Deterrence, a political thriller starring Timothy Hutton and directed by Rod Lurie, is one of these new scores, and is certainly one which deserves to be heard by a wider audience. Read more…
THE NINTH GATE – Wojciech Kilar
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It has been over five years since Roman Polanski’s last movie, the dark and disturbing political thriller Death and the Maiden. Polanski, the creative force behind such classics as Rosemary’s Baby, Tess and Frantic, makes fewer and fewer movies these days but, despite their scarcity, the importance of his films can never be ignored or overlooked. I admit that I know very little about his latest effort, The Ninth Gate (or, to give its proper title, La Neuvième Porte), other than that it stars Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, Frank Langella and Emmanuelle Seigner, is to do with demons and devils and the occult, and has a superb, brooding score by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar. Read more…
MISSION TO MARS – Ennio Morricone
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Mission To Mars has been one of the most critically despised movies of the year – a plotless, senseless would-be space epic that, according to the majority of the reviewers, took a great idea about the first, faltering steps of interplanetary travel and ruined it with bad acting, a terrible screenplay, and hopeless direction by the former wunderkind Brian De Palma. In fact, the only elements of the film to receive generally positive notice have been the special effects and Ennio Morricone’s elegiac score. And while I find myself disagreeing with the movie’s bad press, I couldn’t agree more with the appraisal of Ennio’s efforts. As film music, Mission To Mars is a blockbuster in every respect. Read more…
AGNES BROWNE – Paddy Moloney
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The second film directed by Anjelica Huston (following the acclaimed 1996 TV movie Bastard Out Of Carolina), Agnes Browne is a comedy-drama based on the novel “The Mammy” by Brendan O’Carroll about a working class mother of many from Dublin (Huston) who, upon becoming a widow, finds her life becoming increasingly difficult. Faced with the possibility of poverty, she makes a wrong move by turning to a ruthless local money-lender (Ray Winstone) for help. With the bailiffs closing in on Agnes and her family, a single dreams keeps her on an even keel: the possibility of attending an upcoming Tom Jones concert. Then, when a French baker (Arno Chevrier) arrives on the scene, Agnes’ life finally seems to take an upward turn. Read more…
BAFTA Nominations 1999
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 53rd British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 1999.
In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:
- RY COODER and NICK GOLD for Buena Vista Social Club
- THOMAS NEWMAN for American Beauty
- MICHAEL NYMAN for The End of the Affair
- GABRIEL YARED for The Talented Mr. Ripley
These are the first nominations for Cooder, Gold, Newman. It is the second nomination for Nyman, and the second nomination for Yared. Yared previously won for The English Patient in 1996.
The winners of the 53rd BAFTA Awards will be announced on April 9, 2000.
THE 10TH KINGDOM – Anne Dudley
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
At the risk of repeating myself, it seems like the Hallmark Hall of Fame series of TV movies has struck gold again. With eight popular scores (including the critically acclaimed Animal Farm, Merlin, Durango and the Emmy-winning Alice In Wonderland) already under their belt and several more projects in the pipeline, it could be that the collaboration between Hallmark and Varèse Sarabande becomes one of the most fruitful partnerships to grace the film music world for many years. Without a doubt, the standard of this kind of TV scoring has increased tremendously over the last couple of years, with composers as eminent as Trevor Jones, Richard Hartley and Stephen Warbeck lending their not inconsiderable talents to the series. The latest to join the list is fellow Oscar-winner Anne Dudley, writing music for the latest entry into the series, The 10th Kingdom. Read more…
THE WHOLE NINE YARDS – Randy Edelman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Just what the world has been waiting for – a new Randy Edelman score. After spending 1999 as a virtual bystander, the synthmeister has burst back onto the film scoring scene with an incredible five scores in just over than twelve weeks, the first of which is this one: the gangster comedy The Whole Nine Yards. A smash hit in America, the film stars Bruce Willis as good-natured hitman Jimmy the Tulip who, in an attempt to get away from the gaze of the authorities, moves into a new house in suburban Montreal. However, dentist Matthew Perry does not take kindly to his new neighbour, and hi-jinks ensue – especially when the men in dark glasses start appearing at his front door! The film is directed by Jonathan Lynn, who previously made My Cousin Vinny and The Distinguished Gentleman, and co-stars Rosanna Arquette, Natasha Henstridge, Kevin Pollak and Oscar-nominee Michael Clarke Duncan. Read more…
HANGING UP – David Hirschfelder
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Following the world-wide praise (and Oscar nominations) he received for his original scores for Shine and Elizabeth, it was surely only a matter of time before Australian composer David Hirschfelder got the call from Hollywood. In the end, the call came from Diane Keaton, wanting him to write the score for her new movie Hanging Up, a modern comedy about three sisters (Keaton, Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow) who have to deal with an incorrigible, obnoxious father (Walter Matthau), and who seemingly spend 99% of their lives on the phone with each other. As I write this, Hanging Up has been receiving atrocious reviews from the American press, and causing me to wonder whether attaching himself to this film will ultimately prove to be a good move or a bad move for Hirschfelder. Read more…
GREY OWL – George Fenton
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Grey Owl, the latest work by director Richard Attenborough, is one of those rare films which suffers the indignity of not being able to find a distributor. Considering the talent both in front of and behind the camera, the American market was surprisingly reluctant to screen the film in theatres, and ultimately it went straight-to-video there (it played in Canada, and will receive a limited opening in the UK later this year). Attenborough, whose previous directorial masterpieces have included Gandhi, Cry Freedom and In Love and War, has by all accounts made a film which is visually beautiful but dramatically and emotionally lacking. Read more…
Academy Award Nominations 1999
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 72nd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 1999. After four years of being a split category between Drama scores and Comedy/Musical scores, the category re-combined back into one overall Best Score category.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- JOHN CORIGLIANO for The Red Violin
- THOMAS NEWMAN for American Beauty
- RACHEL PORTMAN for The Cider House Rules
- JOHN WILLIAMS for Angela’s Ashes
- GABRIEL YARED for The Talented Mr Ripley
This is the 2nd Oscar nomination for Corigliano, the 4th nomination for Newman, the 2nd nomination for Portman, the 33rd nomination for Williams, and the 2nd nomination for Yared. Portman previously won for Emma in 1996. Williams previously won for Fiddler on the Roof in 1971, Jaws in 1975, Star Wars in 1977, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in 1982, and Schindler’s List in 1993. Yared previously won for The English Patient in 1996.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- PHIL COLLINS for “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan
- AIMEE MANN for “Save Me” from Magnolia
- RANDY NEWMAN for “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2
- TREY PARKER and MARC SHAIMAN for “Blame Canada” from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
- DIANE WARREN for “Music of My Heart” from Music of the Heart
The winners of the 72nd Academy Awards will be announced on March 26, 2000.
SALLY HEMINGS: AN AMERICAN SCANDAL – Joel McNeely
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s pretty common knowledge that I’m not Joel McNeely’s greatest fan. In my opinion, these wild claims of him being “the new John Williams” merely on the strength of him writing Star Wars music for the Shadows of the Empire tie-in are vast overstatements. He’s obviously talented, and a very good conductor, but his scores for Virus and Soldier were both far too derivative, and The Avengers was just plain boring. There are plenty of similarly undervalued composers out there who are equally, if not more talented than he, and who deserve the opportunity to let their music shine in a broader setting. Having said that, it gives me a great deal of personal delight to report that his music for Sally Hemings: An American Scandal is quite lovely, and easily one of the most attractive and enjoyable scores of his career to date. Read more…
THE BEACH – Angelo Badalamenti
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Throughout his career, Angelo Badalamenti has been dogged by the notion that he can only write “dark” music. In the past, I myself have been too quick to dismiss him as merely “that bloke who works for David Lynch”, but recently my perceptions have changed. Since being overwhelmed by his truly gorgeous score for The Straight Story (ironically also a Lynch movie), I have begun to delve into his career more closely, and uncovered some real treasures, finding Cousins and The Comfort of Strangers to be two of his most beautiful orchestral works. It is my sincere hope that his music for The Beach inspires more people to do the same. Read more…
SCREAM 3 – Marco Beltrami
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s one of Hollywood’s greatest ironies that Scream 3, the final instalment of Wes Craven’s self-aware horror trilogy, has slowly become that which the first instalment spent so much time lampooning. With overly elaborate death scenes, characters who do stupid things at the wrong time, and a killer who just won’t lay down and die, the word of mouth on Scream 3 prior to it’s European release has not been good. The surviving cast members – dim-witted deputy David Arquette, spunky reporter Courtney Cox and troubled teenager Neve Campbell – have this time been joined by genre stalwart Lance Henriksen and fresh faces Parker Posey, Emily Mortimer, Matt Keeslar and Jenny McCarthy in a film which – are you ready for this? – takes place on the set of a film recounting the events of the second film’s film-within-a-film, which was itself based on the events of the FIRST film. Oh, my head hurts. Read more…
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