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Under-the-Radar Round Up 2021, Part 4C
2021 is over and, as the world of mainstream blockbuster cinema and film music continues to recover from the COVID-19 Coronavirus, I again urge people to look beyond the confines of mainstream Hollywood to find the best film music being written. As such, I now present the third and final part of my final group of reviews looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world – the five titles included here again represent some of the best film music heard this year, and include a historical drama from Malta, a big-screen reboot of a beloved Japanese-Spanish children’s animated series from the 1980s, a sweeping British natural history documentary, a Norwegian Christmas fantasy-comedy, and a documentary from Iran with a score by one of 2021’s breakthrough composers. Read more…
THE WHITE CROW – Ilan Eshkeri
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The White Crow is the third film directed by the great British actor Ralph Fiennes, following on from 2011’s Coriolanus, and 2013’s The Invisible Woman. It’s also the latest in a series of films in which Fiennes has explored his long-standing fascination with the classical heritage of Russia, after titles such as Onegin in 1999, The White Countess in 2005, and A Month in the Country in 2014. The White Crow is a more contemporary story about the Russian ballet, specifically the life of Rudolf Nureyev, who is generally regarded to be the greatest male ballet dancer of his generation. Written by David Hare, and based on the book ‘Nureyev: The Life’ by Julie Kavanagh, it stars Oleg Ivenko in the title role, and chronicles Nureyev’s life growing up and dancing in the Soviet Union for the Kirov Ballet, and the events that led to his defection to the West in 1961. Fiennes himself plays Nureyev’s dance teacher in Moscow, Alexander Pushkin, while Adèle Exarchopoulos and Chulpan Khamatova appear in supporting roles. Read more…
Best Scores of 2017 – United Kingdom, Part II
The third installment in my annual series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world returns to the United Kingdom, with a look at a half dozen or so more outstanding scores from films made in Britain. This set of scores from comprises comedies, dramas, and even a horror movie, and includes one by an Oscar-winner, one by a well-loved multiple Oscar nominee, and one by one of the most impressive newcomers to emerge in 2017. Read more…
SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS – Ilan Eshkeri
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Swallows and Amazons is one of the most beloved of all English children’s adventure stories. Written by Arthur Ransome and published in 1930, it chronicles a summer in the lives of the Walker family, who are holidaying on Lake Windermere. One day, while sailing a boat named Swallow on the lake, the Walker children meet and befriend the Blackett sisters, who have a boat of their own called Amazon, and are staying with their uncle, a crotchety author named Turner. As the summer unfolds the children concoct a series of wonderful imaginary adventures, involving great sea battles, pirates, and more. The whole story is a love letter to an idealized England of a time gone by: the innocent adventures of the children, the wholesomeness of their relationships with each other and the adults, and the beauty of the English countryside, where carefree sun-dappled days melt into vivid sunsets and sparkling twilights. The book has been filmed several times; first as a popular 1963 BBC TV mini-series starring Susan George, and then as a 1974 feature film starring Virginia McKenna, Ronald Fraser, and Suzanna Hamilton. This latest cinematic retelling is directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, and stars Andrew Scott, Rafe Spall, Kelly Macdonald, Jessica Hynes, and Harry Enfield. Read more…
THE YOUNG VICTORIA – Ilan Eshkeri
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A British costume drama directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, The Young Victoria tells the story of the early life of the soon-to-be Queen Victoria, who ruled Britain for 63 years from 1837 until 1901, and enjoyed a great life-long love with her consort, Prince Albert. Emily Blunt plays Victoria as a young romantic, deeply in love with Albert (Rupert Friend), both before and after her accession to the throne. The film, which was co-produced by Martin Scorsese and Sarah Ferguson (formerly the Duchess of York), features a plethora of British senior actors in supporting roles, including Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, Paul Bettany, Mark Strong and Julian Glover, has rich and opulent production design and costumes, and has a strong score by British composer Ilan Eshkeri. Read more…
NINJA ASSASSIN – Ilan Eshkeri
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A martial arts action adventure directed by James McTeigue (the director of V for Vendetta), Ninja Assassin follows the fortunes of a young man named Raizo who, having been trained as a ninja since he was a small boy, grows up to be one of the deadliest assassins in the world. However, when his Master orders the murder of Raizo’s best friend, he turns his back on the clan that raised him; suffering a crisis of conscience, he teams up with a beautiful Interpol agent intend on bringing the ninjas to justice. The film stars Raine, Naomie Harris, Randall Duk Kim and Rick Yune, and has an original score by English composer Ilan Eshkeri, the former protégé of the late great Michael Kamen who has been making a name for himself in recent years off the back of projects such as Hannibal Rising and Stardust. Read more…
STARDUST – Ilan Eshkeri
Original Review by Clark Douglas
With the enormous success of the “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” films, we have seen endless fantasy productions popping up left and right. In the past few weeks, I’ve seen trailer after trailer for upcoming fantasy films that all look roughly the same. “The Golden Compass”. “The Spiderwick Chronicles”. “The Seeker: The Dark is Rising”. “The Dragon Wars”. “Beowulf”. “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep”. It goes on and on. Some of these will undoubtedly be better than others, but they all basically look alike, portentous journeys into tired lands of “mystery” and “wonder”. Ho-hum. Read more…
HANNIBAL RISING – Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi
Original Review by Clark Douglas
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a franchise fall as far as this one. “Silence of the Lambs” is often unfairly labeled a horror film, it is so much more than that. It’s a brilliant character study featuring one of the most fascinating characters ever to grace the movie screen. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter, as played by Anthony Hopkins, was nothing short of pure evil, magnetic and seductive, a layer of intelligent charm covering the terrifying monster underneath. When Hopkins played the role in two sequels, “Hannibal” and “Red Dragon”, the character lost a bit of fascination, but watching Hopkins play the character was so enjoyable that those movies were tolerable, particularly “Red Dragon”. Read more…
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