Paul Thomas Anderson’s visuals, the score is eminently listenable on its own, and one could mistakenly believe he’s hearing a lost collabo- ration between Herrmann and Kryzystof Penderecki. The shame of it all is that this mu- sic is superior to the Academy’s choice this year, Dario Marianelli’s lovely and darkly romantic score for ATONEMENT.


There Will Be Blood


There’s an impressive list of film scores that weren’t nominated for the Academy Award for Achievement in Music (Original Score), includ- ing Bernard Herrmann’s PSYCHO and Ennio Morricone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (among others by both composers). Now we can add Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s original music for THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Nonesuch 369020-2, $18.98, 11 tracks, 32m 55s), which fell victim to the Academy’s bizarre and highly subjective ban on “scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other pre-existing music.” More than half of the film, you see, was tracked with “pre-existing” work, including selec- tions from Arvo Pärt and Brahms, as well as Greenwood’s BBC composition “Popcorn Superhet Receiver” (2006). Yet the presence of consider- able non-original music didn’t stop the Acad- emy from giving the Award just last year to Gustavo Santaolalla for BABEL—and the notion that other music somehow “diluted” Greenwood’s dark atmospherics seems downright arrogant. Written for a string/piano ensemble and a string quartet as well as full orchestra, these cues fulfill Herrmann’s vision of great lyrical simplic- ity while also underscoring Greenwood’s classi- cal training—a rarity among rock stars. The music transcends conventional film scoring— lacking, for example, in emphatic hits—and de- livers moments of sublime agoraphobia that befit the film’s barren landscapes, as well as moments of near-horrific claustrophobia and confusion. Moving, macabre and a perfect complement to


Mark Isham is another classically trained mu- sician steeped in rock-and-roll (with stints in, among others, The Sons of Champlin and Van Morrison’s band), but with decided leanings to- ward jazz and electronics (as reflected in his first solo CD, 1983’s VAPOR DRAWINGS). His score for Kathryn Bigelow’s POINT BREAK (1991) was a watershed moment in his film career, which now spans 25 years and 100 films from NEVER CRY WOLF (1983) and A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (1992) to CRASH (2004) and THE MIST (2007). Bigelow hired Isham to create electronic soundscapes for RIDERS ON THE STORM (the film’s original title), which he supplemented with a rock band and brass choir. But in post-pro- duction, Bigelow decided that the film’s scope and noisy surfing sequences demanded a more epic sound; Isham, who’d only worked with a chamber ensemble, quickly learned how to com- mand a full orchestra. His final score transitions effectively from the electric to a string- and per- cussion-driven opus, hitting notable high points on “Car/Foot Chase” (used recently in HOT FUZZ) and the memorable “Sky Dive.” La La Land’s 2000-copy limited edition marks the score’s long-awaited premiere (La La Land LLLCD 1065, $19.98, 22 tracks, 65m 16s). The 1991 “soundtrack” CD was a song compilation that featured Ratt, Public Image Limited, and an early song from Sheryl Crow (whose first al- bum had not even been released) but nothing of Isham’s music.


Additional information on the discs and artists is available from screenarchives.com, paramount/ vantage.com/blood, and isham.com.


You can contact the Audio Watchdog online at OnEyeDog@aol.com or by visiting douglasewinter.com. Review materials should be sent c/o Vale House, 2495 Oakton Hills Drive, Oakton VA 22124.


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