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Well deserved award for a well deserved score to the most talented Mr. Giacchino!

ScoreShell

The Wolfman (Danny Elfman)

I admit I’m not the biggest score of soundtracks for horror films, except some of the classics such as Jerry Goldsmith’s fantastic score to The Omen. I also haven’t yet heard Kilar’s score to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which is widely considered one of the best horror scores of all time, and a big influence for the one I’m currently talking about. However, I am a big fan of Danny Elfman and his work on Tim Burton’s classic Sleepy Hollow. I don’t know whether I will be watching this new werewolf flick anytime soon or not, but I was definitely eager to hear what Danny would come up with a film so suited to his style of scoring. Like others, I was sorely disappointed when suddenly it was announced back in early November that due to the trouble-laden post production phase of the film’s cuts, Elfman’s score had been chosen to be replaced by a new one by electronica-based composer Paul Haslinger. Although I’m not familiar with Paul’s works, the description of this new score did not sound right to me at all. Thankfully, due to an unnatural turn of events, Elfman’s score was reinstated back in the film in January, and a score CD is due to be released on the 23rd this month by Varese Sarabande. It’s already out on iTunes, which is the version I’m talking about right now.

Elfman whips up a wonderfully dark, delicious and threatening score that is as creepy as Benicio Del Toro’s werewolf makeup in the film. The opening Wolf Suite (split into two tracks), consists of low, uneasily propulsive string ostinatos supported by dark piano chords, before the main “wolf” theme erupts – a supremely creepy cello theme that has “horror” written all over it. The music alternates between highs and lows through great performances by the orchestra, never letting go of that aura of horror and creepiness. There are softer, more solemn moments such as in The Funeral and The Healing Montage, as well as a wonderful string-based montage cue in The Traveling Montage. Danny delivers his classic adrenaline-fueled action music in tracks like Gypsy Massacre and Country Carnage. The album’s dramatic material begins its ascent from the First Transformation track, gradually rising to its climax in The Finale. The furious action music then calms down to reprise the sinister main theme one last time in Wolf Wild #2. The album presentation is excellent, delivering a coherent listening experience of 66 minutes in crisp, clear sound quality. I’m eager to get the physical CD once it’s released in stores here in India.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians – The Lightning Thief (Christophe Beck)

The only work of Beck I liked was his lovely emotional score for the TV series Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. His other works tended to be too contemporary and electronic/synth-based for my tastes. That aside, I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me this score to the new Christopher Columbus movie was by the same man who scored the Pink Panther movies. The score caught me totally by surprise here – a grand, sweepingly epic orchestral score that I’d expect someone like Edward Shearmur or Joel McNeely to write. The main theme is fairly simple and sparingly but aptly used. The highlight here is the lush, rich orchestration and sweeping action/adventure music, the kind I’m ever so partial to. Tracks like The Hydra, Fighting Luke and Mount Olympus are my favourites here, highlights in an album that offers around an hour of pure, magnificent, coherent orchestral goodness. Thumbs up to Mr. Beck for this fun-filled ride, and hope to hear this side of him more often.

And the Oscar 2010 nominees are...

Before I get to the list, I'd like to state something I've been feeling for a while. I no longer care for these awards, especially the Oscars, as much as I used to a few years earlier. The nominations and winners have gotten increasingly ridiculous as the years passed, and the film score fan in me got increasingly sick of watching undeserving people walk away with the trophies while the true, worthy gems returned empty-handed. Awards seem to be given more on the basis of hype and "exotic" nature of a score rather than its true quality. But I am following the major awards because of the esteem and popularity they still hold among the masses. We must admit that Oscars are one of the very few events which honour film scores on such a grand scale and help them gain at least some media attention. For that reason, I want my favourite composers to win the award for their hard work, because I am their well wisher and I want them to gain recognition, get better projects and deliver more great music for us. They have already gained the highest respect I can hold for them in my heart with their stunning music, yet I can only be happier watching them gain even more prestigious recognition for their work. The title of "Oscar-winning" means a lot for producers even today and therefore I continue rooting for my favourites at the awards, even if it means risking disappointment in the end.

Now that my semi-rant is over, I'll shed some light on my views about the Oscar nominations for Best Original Score, announced two days ago. As I already mentioned in the corresponding review, I was disappointed with A.R Rahman's much hyped Slumdog Millionaire score winning the Best Original Score award last year. Not because it was a bad score, but because the other four nominees alongside it were simply too good for it to be chosen over them. Yet it happened, and two of my all time favourite composers - James Newton Howard and Thomas Newman, who I had been rooting for since years, were once again robbed of their well deserved award. This year, I'm having more hope because it seems like the winner will likely be my top favourite score of the year, for once. The nominations are -

Avatar (James Horner)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders)
Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)
Up (Michael Giacchino)

I would specifically like to mention, first of all, that this is Hans Zimmer's first Oscar nomination after 10 years, the last being his score to Ridley Scott's Gladiator back in 2000. As we all know, the German maestro won the Oscar in 1994 for his stunning score to the hit Disney Renaissance classic The Lion King. And for Sherlock Holmes, he's come up with a most unique and innovative sound that has won him near-universal praise, even from his fiercest critics. Although I haven't had the time to review it yet, I'll definitely say that I would be most thrilled if Hans takes that well-deserved Golden man home once more.

I don't need to expand on my love for Michael Giacchino's Up anymore that I already did. Given how it's already swept nearly every existing film music award till now, I'm ready to bet a lot that it will be the winner here too, and a well-deserved one. James Horner's Avatar score, of course, was a shoo-in here too. Although fitting the film well (which I haven't seen yet, but heard from various reliable people) and a good listening experience on its own, I was rather disappointed with how Horner recycled material from his own previous scores and showcased all those techniques here (the choirs from Troy, ethnic instrumentation from Apocalypto and of course the (in)famous four-note "danger motif"), especially considering the vast amount of time he had to work on the project.

I was rather surprised that from all of Alexandre Desplat's fantastic output in 2009, Fantastic Mr. Fox was the one to be chosen, especially seeing that it consisted of very little score among a horde of songs and source cues by Georges Delerue (a practice of Wes Anderson). After all the Academy disqualified Randy Newman's score for The Princess And The Frog on these grounds this very year (he's been nominated for two songs from this film though). But I'm not complaining because Fantastic Mr. Fox definitely showed how versatile Desplat can get, and being one of the industry's fastest rising talents I can only support the well-deserved recognition he gets. I haven't heard The Hurt Locker score yet so I can't comment on it. I will try to check it out, though.

The winner will be announced on March 7. Congrats to the nominees (especially Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino and Alexandre Desplat), and best wishes for the award ceremony.

ScoreShell

Pleasant surprise yesterday as it was announced the Golden Globe award for Best Original Score went to... guess what? Michael Giacchino for Up! I was expecting it to go to the tremendously hyped (but decent) score of Avatar by James Horner. And it was a great experience to see my favourite score and composer of 2009 get some well deserved recognition (and Michael's first Golden Globe as well). Here's a video of our man of the moment receiving his well deserved award as his wonderful score plays in the background -



I don't know whether everyone is happy with this decision (I certainly saw quite some statements of disappointment around), but I feel the voters at the Globes chose the correct nominee here. As good as several other scores this year were (A Single Man, Agora, Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, Baaria, etc.), none have touched me like Michael Giacchino's wonderfully bittersweet and yet joyful score to Up did. The development of themes throughout the score is remarkable and, in Pete Docter's own words, it's almost like Michael reached up and pulled down an already existing score which was created just for this movie. The music is the heart and soul of the (excellent) film and a most engaging standalone listen as well. I hope for this gem to repeat the same feat at the Oscars, the nominations of which shall be announced on the second of February.

On another note, FSM reports that Alexandre Desplat has been chosen for scoring the first part of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. A fine choice, I'd say. Desplat's New Moon is one of the best scores from last year and Golden Compass, Lust Caution and Largo Winch are all among my favourites. Although I was expecting James Newton Howard as my first composer of choice after John Williams, I am sure Alexandre will shine in scoring the beautiful emotional scenes in the film. Although the first part isn't seemingly too heavy on the action side, the Seven Potters aerial chase is one sequence I'm truly looking forward to - visually and musically - and I hope Desplat delivers a most bombastic action cue here. There's still hoping that John Williams is back for Part 2, although I wouldn't mind if Desplat stays onboard till the end.

Finally, Danny Elfman's Alice In Wonderland seems to be getting a CD release from Walt Disney Records on March 2. I don't know how many, if any, songs are on there, but I hope we get a decent 50-60 minutes of uninterrupted score on the CD with any songs pushed either to the very beginning or end (unlike Nightmare Before Christmas). Cheerio!

EDIT (5th Feb 2010) - The tracklist of Alice has been out, and it looks like the CD is all score and no songs. Unless any of those have children/Disney ensemble singing of course, but I doubt that. And Elfman's score to The Wolfman also comes out on February 23 from Varese Sarabande. Woot!

That was 2009...

And the year comes to an end with a bang, with two highly anticipated scores being released and impressing me too - James Horner's Avatar and Hans Zimmer's Sherlock Holmes. I'll review these later, but I'd like to give a special mention to the scores I'm really looking forward to in 2010.

The Last Airbender (James Newton Howard) - James has always delivered excellent material for Shyamalan's films, and this might very well be the king of them all. The musical scope for the film is immense, and if the score is anything like what the trailer music was, this might end up being the most brilliant score ever by JNH. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said this is my most anticipated score of next year.

How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell) - A real expert of animated scoring returns for this new DreamWorks animated feature. And I'm only too eager to see what the result will be like.

Alice In Wonderland (Danny Elfman) - Elfman is famous for his terrific scores to Tim Burton's films, and this seems like no exception. I'm expecting something along the lines of Nightmare Before Christmas or Edward Scissorhands here. Sadly, the soundtrack will likely be another MP3-only release by Walt Disney Records, but for now I'll just hope that there is a proper release at all.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (composer yet to be announced) - I've already written how excited I am for the score for this film(s). My top choice is John Williams, followed by James Newton Howard and Danny Elfman.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (David Arnold) - I really like Harry Gregson-Williams' Narnia scores, but I'm very curious to see what Mr. Arnold could do here. Given his track record, we're probably in for a real treat.

The Tree of Life (Alexandre Desplat) - Terrence Malick and Alexandre Desplat? The musical scope is once again immense for this project.

Inception (Hans Zimmer) - Hans' scores for Nolan's Batman films were perhaps a little too atmospheric (at the director's request, nonetheless), but that approach could very well work great here if the trailers are to be believed.

Prince Of Persia (Harry Gregson-Williams) - If Harry does a Sinbad once again for this Bruckheimer feature, I'm sold. (not counting the very annoying MP3-only release possibility, of course)

Toy Story 3 (Randy Newman) - I adore both the previous Toy Story scores, and the trailers only left me too excited for this one. I hope this one at least gets a CD release for the sake of the inevitable pop songs by Randy.

Rapunzel (Alan Menken) - I sorely missed Alan for Disney's much publicized Princess And The Frog (although Randy Newman's effort was pretty nice), and am eagerly waiting his return to Disney.

Honourable mentions -

Shanghai (Klaus Badelt)
Salt (James Newton Howard)
The A-Team (Alan Silvestri)
Morning Glory (Michael Giacchino)
The Debt (Thomas Newman)
Flipped (Mark Shaiman)

ScoreShell

Here’s my impressions on some of the scores I listened to in the past few months, in a “ScoreShell” –

District 9 (Clinton Shorter)


Peter Jackson’s new Hollywood alien-invasion film certainly hit some serious bucks at the BO. I haven’t seen the film yet but I was certainly interested in the soundtrack, so I checked and saw Clinton Shorter was assigned to score. He’s still a relatively unknown composer on the Hollywood front so I was curious to see what the music would be like. For the aforementioned reason I wasn’t sure whether a soundtrack album would be released at all (with the exception of MP3 download versions), and it was certainly great to see Sony Music release a CD-R version with 30 minutes of score material. Although I’m not a sucker for Mideastern sounding music, the combination of gritty electronic instruments and booming male vocals certainly seems to be the right choice for the film. The opening track is particularly good, and the whole album, although short, is a nice listening experience.

9 (Deborah Lurie and Danny Elfman)

I had not heard about this film, and checked out the CD when I read about its release. I heard some of Deborah Lurie’s material from the third Spider-Man film and liked it, and of course Danny Elfman is one of my all-time favourite composers. This thing was a pleasant surprise to me as the CD offers 45 minutes of bombastic action material intertwined with some nice, moving orchestral/choral cues. Despite the synth/electronic overload that could easily creep into a score for such a film, Deborah Lurie does a great job at keeping the liveliness of the music up with keeping synths for an underlying heavy cover and dominating the music with powerful orchestral bursts, complete with catchy motifs and intense percussive effects. While Danny Elfman’s themes aren’t as memorable as I’ve come to expect from him, the score still offers plenty of edge-of-the-seat moments to keep our interest. I particularly liked the suspenseful opening of Winged Beast, building up to a massive action cue, joined by a horde of such material in fellow tracks like Slaying The Beast, The Seamstress and The Purpose. And Release, with its rousing orchestra and choir is a perfect track for a non-fireworks filled finale.

Twilight: New Moon (Alexandre Desplat)

My interest in the popular teen-vampire romance saga is less than zero. Though I read the plot summaries at Wikepedia out of curiosity, I was turned off in less than a minute as I started getting what it’s all about. Of course, I was still excited for Alexandre Desplat’s score for the second installment in the series, New Moon. Carter Burwell’s score to the first film underwhelmed me – although it did have good moments in tracks like Bella’s Lullaby, the gritty electronics-based action music with wailing guitars was practically unlistenable on CD. It would probably work fairly well in the film, but I don’t think there isn’t a way around this kind of material for the film, without adding some dose of actual music. Alexandre Desplat gained my respect in the past with his heartwarmingly lovely scores to films like Lust, Caution, The Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Painted Veil. I also liked his rather differentially-reviewed score to Chris Weitz’ film The Golden Compass. Only last year he came up with a brilliant score for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, for which I still say he deserved the Oscar. Now that he was back with Chris Weitz for New Moon, I was certainly very excited for it.

And I think the score even surpassed my expectations. The main theme is as heartwrenching, longing and filled with pathos as you can imagine, the music playing out with piano and strings, gradually rising to a grand brass-driven segment which gave me goosebumps. Desplat uses his familiar techniques of rhythmic percussion, low bass lines and mild synth to keep up with the feel of the film. The beautiful streak continues in tracks like Edward Leaves and Marry Me, Bella. His familiar action-scoring techniques are seen in tracks like Blood Sample and Wolves V. Vampire, though this time I felt his slower tracks are much better than the action material. The Volturi have their own eerie theme, prominently present in the tracks named after them and To Volterra, another highlight of the album. And of course, the final track Full Moon presenting a grand orchestral rendition of the main theme is a real treat. If critics look at this score for what it is and how it serves its film, rather than the critical views for the film itself, I believe Desplat should be nominated for another Oscar for this beautiful score.

A Christmas Carol (Alan Silvestri)

Alan Silvestri has always delivered excellence for Robert Zemeckis’ films, with the Back To The Future scores being a real favourite of film score fans, Forrest Gump being a critically acclaimed score and The Polar Express regarded as one of the composer’s most beautiful scores. Needless to say, I got his score for Zemeckis’ new Disney 3D film, A Christmas Carol, as soon as it was released. Silvestri is another composer who rarely disappoints me, but I didn’t really warm up to his G.I Joe score in August. Therefore this beautiful score, with its lovely and playful renditions of Christmas carols and some truly beautiful choral material, was a treat to listen to. Like Polar Express, Alan uses his trademark orchestral and choral techniques to great effect to set the holiday mood. Scrooge’s initial greed is represented by low woodwinds, and as the three ghosts arrive the music also picks up energy, moving from some quite eerie-sounding choral tracks to classic Silvestri bombast in tracks like Carriage Chase and The Clock Tower (BTTF, anyone?). The climactic plot events in the massively epic choral track Who Was That Lying Dead? Truly gave me goosebumps, reminding me why Alan is one of my all time favourite composers. The classic “happy ending” Christmas-y finale is as fitting and enjoyable as you could expect. This is another score I will be proudly playing on Christmas. Unfortunately, this gem is another victim of the new MP3 download-only policy of Disney, which continues to earn my contempt. But for now I’ll just enjoy what we have of this thing, for if you’re a fan of Alan Silvestri, you cannot skip this score, regardless of the inferior format.

Baaria – Ennio Morricone

Once again, Ennio Morricone proves why he’s regarded as one of the best film music composers in history. We have his classic strings and wordless vocals in the opening tracks (marred slightly by the dialogue and SFX towards the end), beautiful and melodic orchestral tracks making up most of the album with quite a good dose of energy in places. While I previously found some of Ennio’s scores to be a somewhat difficult listening experience in the past, this one shows how musically effective he can be, while still providing an apt film score. And that, is what, in my opinion makes a superior film score, as evidenced here. The score plays mostly as a singularly coherent experience so I can’t recall the exact nature of every track, but it was a great listening experience and the finale was also nice. If chosen wisely, there’s another deserving Oscar candidate right here.



And of course, there are two highly anticipated scores releasing this month – James Horner’s highly publicized score for James Cameron’s Avatar, and Hans Zimmer’s score for Guy Ritchie’s new Robert Downey Jr. starrer, Sherlock Holmes – being released on December 15 and 22 respectively. I’m eager to listen and review these two as soon as I buy them.

Analysis: Slumdog Millionaire (A.R Rahman)

Yeah, I indeed did not get the time to watch the film previously! I did check it out a couple of days back though, and really enjoyed it. Except for the unusual scenes of slum kids and local gangsters speaking perfect English, this film hardly feels like a product of Hollywood. The Indian spirit runs fresh and strong throughout and kept me hooked on till the end. Special credit should go to the performances of the kids and everyone in the cast, the acting was top notch and felt really natural. This is easily my second favourite movie of last year, following only The Dark Knight.

Now speaking about the score… I was initially somewhat skeptical of the music when I first listened to it on the CD. It isn’t really what I expected from Rahman for this kind of film, primarily consisting of a (quite good) blend of electronics, techno beats and synths with traditional Indian instruments and a few orchestral effects. Either way, after some listens I liked two tracks quite quickly – Mausam & Escape (a fast-paced action cue with some frantic high staccato string work and blend of sitar/electronics) and Latika’s theme (featuring a lovely wordless theme by vocalist Suzanne, supported by sitar and tanpura). I think that judging a score solely by what it is on CD is rather unfair, because the music is often more appreciated after discovering its effect in situ in the film, alongside the visuals.

So while watching the film I was keeping an ear out for the score too. I actually noticed the 16 minutes worth of score material on the soundtrack CD is probably pretty much all that was there, with minor variations and edits in places (confirmed after I listened to the Academy promo). The rest of the music largely consisted of the songs playing in the background (I don't consider those as *score*). O… Saya and Paper Planes were used in the opening sequence and a train montage sequence respectively as background music, and I also heard some of the source music from the original Who Wants To Be A Millionaire show. Most of the other scenes didn’t have any music. Not that I find it bad, as I previously had said, silence can often work as a great score itself in the film in certain situations. But I wonder how did this thing even come close to getting nominated for the Best Original Score award when previously Alan Menken’s lovely score to Enchanted was disqualified on the grounds of not having enough score, and that had about 35 minutes of score at least? Not that it bothers me, but it's certainly interesting how the judges sometimes cross their own rules (or conveniently change them at the eleventh hour) to allow their nominee of choice to win.

Either way, I liked how the score that was there worked in the film, for most of the part. Riots, with its layers of pounding and unsettling electronics provided a good underscore for the corresponding scene, though I’d have preferred something more fast-paced and tense.

I instantly liked the use of the opening guitar melody in Mausam & Escape, played when Jamal sees Latika at the train station. It provided a nice and appropriate enhancement of the emotions onscreen. The “Escape” part consisting of frentic sitar and electronics joined by high staccato strings plays in two parts of the film – when the kids are escaping from Maman’s cronies and when Javed’s men kidnap Latika at the train station. And both times it worked well to set the adrenaline pumping. The sheer energy and sense of terror and drama in this piece is remarkable, and for that reason this is undoubtedly my favourite cue from this album, and I rank it up there as one of the best action cues by Rahman.

Latika’s theme played beautifully especially in the final scene of the film (right before the Jai Ho sequence). It also plays when Salim purposely lets go of Latika’s hand when running from Maman, which beautifully highlights the sense of tragedy in Latika and Jamal, and when he and Jamal are searching for her in Mumbai. Suzanne's wordless vocals are sweet and heartwarming, and the gentle touch with sitar and tanpura is very precise and lovely. Initially I thought the piece felt a little incomplete, and some strings thrown in would’ve made it stronger. But in the movie I noticed the character of Latika isn't really developed a lot, and this theme with its haunting, distant and yet sweet quality fits her perfectly.

Liquid Dance is one cue I didn’t immediately notice in the film. It is a concoction of alaaps by Palakkad Sriram and Madhumita on a techno beat supported by synth strings (think of a slower cousin of Navras). Reminded me a bit of Rahman's theme music from Rangeela. Later on looking back I saw it was used in the scene where Jamal is following Salim to Javed’s house. I felt it was pretty much a filler, didn’t really do anything much for the visuals.

Millionaire is a fast-paced techno vehicle played when Latika is going for Jamal when he’s being asked the final question. Played along quite well alongside the visuals I think, nothing overtly special though. And yeah, I’d like to mention I really liked the use of O Saya and Jai Ho (I initially thought the choreography was poorly done, but later I found out it was initially done for the Aaj Ki Raat song instead, so I think in the light of this it still fits acceptably well) in the film, really fun songs and played out very well at the appropriate time. I’m at least very happy Rahman got the well deserved Best Original Song award. The rest of the songs didn't really stand out much for me (Ringa Ringa has a quite catchy tune/rhythm though).

Regarding the score , I certainly liked it a lot and whatever was there played really well on the screen, but I can’t help but still feel it is somewhat hyped. The soundtrack is VERY good, but it isn't the best in Rahman's career, who has produced even superior scores like Lagaan and Bose: The Forgotten Hero previously. I could’ve done with some better music at some points, and the fact there was too little of it doesn’t help it either (something I don't really care about, but allegedly the AMPAS does). I mean, I cannot think of it up there with the likes of Howard Shore’s Lord Of The Rings scores, or Dario Marianelli’s Atonement. Now granted the songs worked well along the visuals, but then that's why we have separate categories of Score and Song awards.

Don't get me wrong, I really liked this score, and Mausam & Escape and Latika's Theme have quickly found a place among my most played tracks. But should this be preferred over the amazing scores nominated alongside it? This is the highest award of honour a film score can get and should it just be handed over without the appropriate fierce competition? This is why I say that while it's a good score, I'd have liked to see the award go to the far superior scores of Defiance and Wall-E.

But I am happy to say isn’t a disappointment in the league of Gustavo Santaolalla’s Babel. The way I see it, this award is the Academy's acknowledgement of Rahman's immense contribution to the world of film music. I’m happy to see Rahman finally getting the recognition he deserves, for a fine score nonetheless, and hope to see him get bigger and better projects (and releases) as a result.

Music Rating - 4 out of 5