by Paul Tonks
score -- n. / Pron. “skôr”
1. The notation of a musical work.
2. The written form of a composition for orchestral or vocal parts.
3. The music written for a film, play, or other viewed entertainment.
4. The resounding cheer of ‘high-fiving’ Producers getting music that’s close enough to the Temp Track, without being sued.
I’ve recently been exploring several film careers in depth for a series of talks. One was a wade through the more than 60 movie career of Robert De Niro. It occurred to me more than ever, that some actors most memorable roles really might have been rather less memorable without the music supporting them. It’s a presumptuous thought. So I thought to put that to the test.
To begin with I have to say that Scorsese is pretty much the only director to have consistently worked wonders with
song soundtracks. So that needs acknowledging in the musical credit for MEAN STREETS, RAGING BULL, GOODFELLAS and CASINO. Same too for Tarantino’s JACKIE BROWN. Yes – I readily applaud the use and choices of songs in these movies, despite my general tone of despair against the practice you’ll find in earlier editions of this Column.
To talk about De Niro movie soundtracks, I have to begin with Ennio Morricone. Each of his 4 scores across the actor’s career have been memorable in their own right. Taken chronologically they also represent the most prominent the Italian composer has been in Western cinema: 1900 (1976), ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984), THE MISSION (1986) and THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987). I mean, what other of his Hollywood pictures or European pictures with major American distribution left as much of a musical mark than these in the 70s and 80s? EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC? THE ISLAND? RED SONJA?
Quality attracts quality.
And then there are what are for me, De Niro’s two most lingeringly impactful performances. As Travis Bickle, Scorsese’s ultimate depiction of loneliness comes to life painfully and soulfully thanks to the saxophone of Bernard Herrmann’s final score – TAXI DRIVER. Or there’s the flipside to Bickle’s introspection with Max Cady’s in-your-face dynamism in CAPE FEAR. Herrmann’s score for the 1962 original is brought to shrieking, pounding life in the hands of Elmer Bernstein. Cady’s Theme is the ultimate Danger warning siren.
 |
Both Herrmann’s scores have been emulated on film and TV since. Whereas Stanley Myer’s lovely “Cavatina” for the emotionally scarred Michael Vronsky of THE DEER HUNTER, has been purloined wholly for numerous adverts, art installations and the like. The same goes for the famous “Godfather Theme”, which after THE GODFATHER PART II’s Academy Award brought Nino Rota’s music a whole new level of prominence from which to pay homage elsewhere.
Covered so far are the titles that feature in just about every De Niro Top Ten. Now we get into the interesting one-off popular pieces and some interesting cross-sections of composers’ variety.
 |
Take HEAT, for example, from 1995. Michael Mann is known for not being able to settle on any one musical voice for his movies. And his combination of Elliot Goldenthal with Moby – both relative newcomers at the time – was a masterstroke. Or there’s MIDNIGHT RUN, which helped Danny Elfman demonstrate a voice quite unlike anything that preceded or followed. There’s also the standout Hollywood debut of Elia Cmiral for RONIN, with that achingly tragic theme for De Niro’s undercover cop.
I’d also like to spotlight the delicious wit of Michael Kamen’s BRAZIL, which gives De Niro’s hero plumber Harry Tuttle a Korngoldian theme,
quite unlike anything else in the score. Then, full marks to Trevor Jones for ANGEL HEART, which 17 years on is one of very few ‘80s scores dominated by synths not to have rapidly aged the movie.
Tasty flavour of the year Howard Shore has provided three wildly different scores to the actor’s CV. COP LAND sits broodingly and almost imperceptibly beneath the bulk of the star power and Stallone’s gut. ANALYZE THIS bubbles whimsically beneath Billy Crystal’s scatter-fire delivery. And the smoky jazz of THE SCORE works wonders in diverting attention from just how old De Niro and Brando look next to Edward Norton.
Then there’s Hans Zimmer who wisely went quiet and / or ambiguous in De Niro’s scenes in BACKDRAFT, but went ballistic all through THE FAN. Expect all manner of leftfield parody in the upcoming SHARK TALE.
And the rest? Well, having nominated great scores in about a 3rd of his output, it gets a little pickier. For example, where John Williams is concerned, I’d be stuck for favouring either SLEEPERS or STANLEY & IRIS. Hey – it’s John Williams, so of course they’re interesting
accompaniments. Just not balls-out strikingly exciting ones. And I’d have to say the same for GUILTY BY SUSPICION and NIGHT & THE CITY – both by James Newton Howard. And for AWAKENINGS and MEET THE PARENTS – both by Randy Newman. In the case of Patrick Doyle, his GREAT EXPECTATIONS – for all its showy use of contemporary classic stars, was way overshadowed by the powerful music for FRANKENSTEIN.
Which is about as high a note to end on as any. I mean – Maurice Jarre, Elmer Bernstein and Georges Delerue are all Gods of the craft. But respectively, THE LAST TYCOON, MAD DOG & GLORY and TRUE CONFESSIONS hardly qualify as their most blisteringly brightest moments.
Does any of this prove that De Niro owes a measure of his star status to the music men and women behind him? Or does it work the other way and suggest that his stellar screen presence has frequently inspired composers to some of their most popular works?
Feel free to think it over during the next bathroom break.
Next time – STEVE GUTTENBERG!
SHOOT-BACK HERE! |
ARCHIVES
