Audio Watchdog
By Douglas E. Winter
Music Mann
Whether hits or misses critically and com-mercially, the films of Michael Mann always offer thoughtful and listenable music. From Tangerine Dream’s pulsing electronica for THIEF (1981) and THE KEEP (1983) and the integral song cues of MANHUNTER (1986) and ALI (2001) to the surg- ing orchestrations of THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992) and the moody soundscapes of HEAT (1995) and THE INSIDER (1999), Mann’s soundtracks reveal a director for whom music is a passion, and whose tastes evolve and transform with his vision for each new film. Although this summer’s COLLATERAL was
short on plot, it’s long on sonic talent, with cues drawn from an eclectic band of musicians—and several of Mann’s earlier films—glued together by instrumentals from Tom Rothrock (producer/en- gineer for Badly Drawn Boy, Beck, Foo Fighters), Brazilian composer Antonio Pinto, and James Newton Howard (Universal/Hip-O B0003529-02, $13.98, 16 tracks, 51m 53s). Its songs reflect the clash of cultures that is Mann’s cinematic Los An- geles, juxtaposing electric folk (including a col- laboration between Groove Armada and Richie Havens) with Latin rock (headlined by the melan- choly “Destino de Abril” by The Green Car Mo- tel), and slamming Miles Davis into Bach into Paul Oakenfold. Pinto’s mournful cues total only 4m but power the film’s finale, while Howard’s percussive instrumentals—with Michael Brook-inspired guitar patterns, a blistering
72
rock-till-you-drop assault, and a seeming outtake from the musical STOMP—play like logical exten- sions of the music from HEAT. For more information, hire a cabbie for the night and visit
hip-o.com.
I, Soundtrack Two other summer big-budgeters, Guillermo
del Toro’s HELLBOY (Varése Sarabande VSD- 6562, $17.98, 44m 58s) and Alex Proyas’ I, RO- BOT (Varése Sarabande VSD-6659, $17.98, 15 tracks, 44m 4s), found Marco Beltrami redeem- ing his credentials as a bright young talent after several uninspired scores, including last year’s TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES. Trained by the late Jerry Goldsmith, Italian-born Beltrami scored his first feature, THE BICY- CLIST, in 1994, then quickly earned acclaim for his Bernard Herrmann-flavored music for the SCREAM franchise. Although only 36 years of age, he’s scored nearly 50 features in ten years, most of them genre films, including earlier col- laborations with del Toro on MIMIC (1997) and BLADE 2 (2002). The theremin-flavored music for HELLBOY is
an eclectic wonder; its key central themes are enveloped by Germanic bombast, lush string asides, and even electric bass grooves. I, ROBOT is more conventional, but in some ways, a more satisfying score—although written at a feverish pace: Beltrami replaced Trevor Jones only weeks before the wrap.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
