FILM MUSIC REVIEW

THE BEST AND WORST FILM MUSIC OF 2000  

Selected by Roger Hall

Movie Music in 2000 - Good or Bad?

Movie critic, Leonard Maltin, reportedly has said that movies in the year 2000 were the  among worst ever.  Well, I wouldn't go that far.  While it certainly wasn't a banner year for great movies, there were a few standouts, like CROUCHING TIGER and DINOSAUR.  And they also had very good scores. Unfortunately, most soundtracks don't sell as well as those dreadful songtracks which continue to flood the market.  

I really don't like the excessive use of previously recorded song material rather than an original film score.  I think it's gotten way out of hand.  The same goes for the ear-splitting sound in most blockbuster movies.  Don't the sound engineers know that not everyone in the theater is a teenaged video game geek?  More and more older movie lovers have complained about the annoying loud sound in movie theaters today, especially during the trailers which are usually much louder than the movie itself.  

I'll get off my soapbox now.

Do you have your own choices of Best and Worst Scores or Composers?

Send your list to:  Film Music Review 

The Sammy Awards (1988-2000) - film scores and songs, song compilations, Lifetime Achievement for past composers.

Now, here's my choices for...

The Top Film Composer of 2000

For the past two years the choice for Top Film Composer has been John Williams.  But now I've made a different choice.

This composer produced two scores which received much acclaim and both have one word titles:  DINOSAUR and UNBREAKABLE.  His name is James Newton Howard.  

He has been scoring films for the past fifteen years or so.  Among his early scores are:  HEAD OFFICE (1986), PRETTY WOMAN (1990), and GRAND CANYON (1991).  During the 1990s he has composed scores which were in many ways effectively suited to each film.  One of his better scores in the mid-1990s was for the  underrated RESTORATION, chosen for a 1995 Sammy Award  as Best Film Score.

Based on his successful career, including last year's Henry Mancini Lifetime Achievement Award from ASCAP, he will surely have many more years of film scoring work.  And this year he hits the half century mark - his 50th birthday is June 9.

So a tip of the baton to you, Maestro Howard!

You're a composer who continues to fascinate the soundtrack lovers among us.

Note:  There's a cover story by John Krogh in the December 2000 issue of Keyboard magazine about James Newton Howard, titled "Master of MIDI Orchestration."  It includes an illustration from "The Egg Travels" in his score for DINOSAUR.       

Soundtracks and Songtracks of Special Merit

This year, I've begun a new tradition of selecting a few scores and songtracks (including musicals) which stand out for their music and album production and thus deserve the designation of Special Merit.  They are not necessarily the most popular or biggest sellers.

Here are the three Special Merit releases I've chosen for 2000, arranged in alphabetical order:

Musical:  ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (Songs by Irving Berlin, 1950) - Rhino/Turner

Songtrack:  BING CROSBY - Academy Award Winners & Nominees, 1934-1960 - MCA/Decca

Soundtrack:   MEDAL OF HONOR UNDERGROUND (Score by Michael Giacchino) - Dreamworks Interactive

All are worthy of your purchase if you're looking for top notch quality and value.

Also check out the soundtracks named as Editor's Choice - Best of the Month at FMR

Best and Worst New Soundtrack Releases

All of these choices were reviewed at FMR so you can read the review of each one.  I'll only add a few remarks about each one.

Here are my choices for the Best Soundtracks of 2000, listed alphabetically:

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Score by Tan Dun/ Cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma) - Sony Classical.  A towering musical achievement for a breakthrough martial arts movie made with much restraint and style.

DINOSAUR (Score by James Newton Howard) - Walt Disney Records. Marvelous music, especially the action cues like "The Egg Travels," for this well made feature.

GLADIATOR (Score by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard) - Decca.  Perhaps Zimmer's best score, rich with thematic ideas,  and featuring the incredibly earthy and evocative voice of Lisa Gerrard.

ON THE BEACH (Score by Christopher Gordon) - Varese Sarabande.  One of the most gripping, poignant scores in recent years.  Too bad it was so poorly used in the cable TV movie.  It would be an impressive piece for the concert hall.  A great score.

THE PATRIOT (Score by John Williams) - Centropolis/Hollywood Records. Once again we have a top notch score by the most popular film composer in the world.  The film was unfairly overlooked.  A high quality film with stunning photography, great acting (yes, even by Mel Gibson), and a story that has something to say.  And the score is on the same high level.

Well, now for those I consider to be  at  the bottom of the pile...in other words...

Worst of 2000 (actually there are many others, like Zimmer's awful MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 - which I couldn't listen to more than once and didn't review).

I'll only list two I reviewed, which I consider the worst of the lot:

Worst Songtrack:  HAMLET (various songs) - Rykodisc.  Not one good song in the bunch.  In fact, all of them sound wretched to my ears.  The CD design stinks too.  Really bad release.

Worst Soundtrack:  X-MEN (Michael Kamen) - Decca.  A big disappointment for a film that needed an epic score and didn't get one.  

Best Vintage Soundtrack Releases

What makes them vintage?  Well it's purely arbitrary but I think that anything 20 years or older should qualify.

So here are my five choices for Best Vintage Soundtracks reviewed in 2000:

ALL ABOUT EVE & LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (Scores by Alfred Newman) - Film Score Monthly.  Two great scores by one of the Golden Age greats, skillfully remastered by Rick Victor and with excellent notes by Doug Adams.

THE DUELLISTS & THE RIDDLE OF THE SANDS (Scores by Howard Blake) - Airstrip One Company.  Two lovely scores by Blake from less well known films.  Beautifully recorded.

THE EGYPTIAN  (Score by Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Newman) - Marco Polo.  Rich and rewarding re-recording by score restorer John Morgan and conductor William T. Stromberg.  A milestone recording.

OBJECTIVE BURMA (Score by Franz Waxman) - Marco Polo.  Another excellent recording from the team of Morgan and Stromberg in their superlative Golden Age soundtrack series.

SUPERMAN - THE MOVIE (Score by John Williams) - Warner Archives/Rhino.  One of the best restorations in recent years, containing everything a collector would want from this superb score.  An impressive 2 disc set put together by Michael Matessino.  

Best Compilation Releases

Here is a category often overlooked by diehard soundtrack collectors.  There are usually more than enough worthwhile collections released each year.  In fact, I think that many compilations are more listenable than the full scores which sometimes have only one or two memorable themes.  

Here then are my choices for Best Compilation CDs of 2000:

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN - Music from the original 1950s television series (Varese Sarabande) - this one is especially for those who have seen the old series starring a somewhat flabby George Reeves as Superman.  Unlike the John Williams soundtrack, the sound on this compilation is badly dated.  But the music is not.  Really fun stuff!

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (and other jungle pictures) (Monstrous Movie Music) - like their other two releases, this is another 1950s romp with the classic CFTBL and the less than classic ALLIGATOR PEOPLE, plus some music from Tarzan movies.   Expert score restoration by Kathleen Mayne. Superb booklet notes by David Schecter. 

ELMER BERNSTEIN - Music for the Films of Charles & Ray Eames (Amber) - this is the first of hopefully many releases on a new label, with utterly charming scores by Elmer Bernstein for a series of clever film shorts.  Very stylish CD album production.

INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS - Stories of the Kindertransport (Chapter III) - featuring a lovely score by Lee Holdridge and many touching German children's songs from a beautifully made documentary produced by Deborah Oppenheimer.

ROY WEBB: CAT PEOPLE - Classic Music for the Val Lewton Films (Marco Polo) - if you're a vintage horror film fan, especially those produced by Val Lewton, then you'll treasure this compilation from John Morgan and William T. Stromberg of Roy Webb's music from CAT PEOPLE, BEDLAM, THE SEVENTH VICTIM, THE BODY SNATCHER, and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE.  Wonderful film noirish scores by Roy Webb - the man who made RKO films sound so memorable.   

Best Record Labels and Outstanding Album Producers

The final category is to pay tribute to those labels and producers which released the best CDs.

Here are my choices for Best Record Labels and Producers for 2000:

New Soundtracks  - Varese Sarabande - for releasing such neglected gems as Christopher Gordon's ON THE BEACH, which may not be top sellers but are too good to ignore.

Vintage Soundtracks  - Marco Polo - they continue to produce the best re-recordings such as THE EGYPTIAN and ROY WEBB: CAT PEOPLE. Classy packaging with detailed notes.

Compilation -  Monstrous Movie Music (CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) - small label which specializes in doing it right with old monster scores.  Well worth supporting.

New Label - Amber Records - Elmer Bernstein's enterprising label with promises to bring out more outstanding recordings from his extensive collection of memorable film scores.

Limited Edition CDs - Prometheus  - for releasing fine scores by Jerry Goldsmith (THE CHALLENGE and POLICE STORY), John Barry (HAMMETT), and Basil Poledouris (AMANDA).

Outstanding Producers of the Year - Michael Matessino (SUPERMAN), Nick Redman & Rick Victor (ALL ABOUT EVE & LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN), Ford A. Thaxton (Various releases), and Robert Townson (ON THE BEACH).

Best DVD Releases

This category is broken down into two sections...

Best Single DVD Release:  NORTH BY NORTHWEST (score by Bernard Herrmann) - superb sound and picture quality for this 1959 classic Hitchcock film.  

Best DVD Set Release:  FANTASIA/ FANTASIA 2000/ FANTASIA Legacy (3 DVD Box Set) - incredible amount of extra material in this set.  The two films from 1940 and 2000 are worth the price alone, but the extra disc makes this set truly outstanding.     

Now what are your picks for Best and Worst of 2000?  

Send them in to:  Film Music Review

FILM MUSIC REVIEW.  All Rights Reserved, 2001.

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