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Month of March, 2000

After a few trial years of an expanded "best original score" category, the Academy of the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to once again condense the "best comedy/musical" and "best dramatic" categories into one. And like these occasional moves made by the Academy, there's no telling how the category will change once again in the next few years. In 1999, however, the nominations curiously bypassed any and all comedy and musical scores, opting instead to return to the days of straight dramatic score dominance. Also unlike the past few years (in which newcomers were abundant in the nominations), the composers recognized with nominations at the 2000 awards have all been invited to the awards in the past (though it's been 20 years for John Corigliano). Three of them, John Williams, Rachel Portman, and Gabriel Yared, already have Oscars in their homes. Thomas Newman has received multiple nominations scattered throughout the 1990s. On the whole, the 2000 awards represent a return to the Academy establishment.

The 1999 Filmtracks Surfers' Awards:

(Based on visitors' votes from 12/15/99 to 1/31/00)

You can view the complete voting results at the January, 2000, Theme of the Month.

The Filmtracks 1999 Awards:

The wide variety of awards below cover every aspect of film scoring and soundtrack CD production in the past year. Some of the categories are created yearly for pure fun, so don't take them too seriously. You'll find everything from an analysis of this year's Oscars to the award for "Best 'Let's Crank It Up and Irritate the Elderly Neighbors' Track" Enjoy!

As Pertaining to the Academy's Picks:

In a rather average year for scores, the Academy will have a chance to choose the best score from a very strong and worthy group of nominees. Unlike the comical displays of years past, the five nominees from 1999 are all respectable. Two of the scores nominated by the Academy are immediate and necessary choices; Angela's Ashes and The Cider House Rules were center-stage this winter and I've chosen these two as cornerstones for the Filmtracks nominees as well. The phenomenon surrounding the film American Beauty caused yet another nomination for Thomas Newman, and unless the movie sweeps the awards, don't look for him to finally get a statue. The other two Academy nominees are interesting cases, because they both involve films for which music plays an integral part of the plot. This is mostly the case with The Talented Mr. Ripley --the songs steal the film and Yared's score is highlighted by only one stellar vocal track. The wildcard in 1999 is The Red Violin. Almost 20 years since Corigliano's last nomination, don't be surprised if he wins the award by default because of the score's undeniably powerful role in the film.

Though very strong on album, I wouldn't include The Red Violin on my list of nominees. Even in drama, there are more varied and ambitious film scores in 1999. The first and foremost is Geroge Fenton's Anna and the King --if given the opportunity to change just one of the Academy's choices, this one would be the sure entry onto the list. Also of note, of course, is Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, but as we all know, Star Wars and Star Trek scores (as good as they might be), simply don't get nominated anymore. Even beyond the hype of the film, Williams very tastefully continues the saga. Left with four easy choices for the Filmtracks nominations, choosing the fifth proved to be a two week task sending me to the edge of madness. The year had many fine scores, but not five great ones. In the end, to pay my respect to Gabriel Yared and the strong year he had, I could not overlook Message in a Bottle, a score from early in the year that is still an endless pleasure.

The runner-ups for that fifth position were plentiful. American Beauty and The Talented Mr. Ripley never were considered, but among those that were one step away were The Red Violin (with that great suite), The Bone Collector (a very powerful and surprising uprising by new composer Craig Armstrong), Bicentennial Man (aside from the repetition, Horner still creates some marvelous cues), For Love of the Game (short but sweet), and finally Galaxy Quest (which should not be underestimated by any means simply because of the subject matter). Absent from the list this year are two men who had very productive years: Danny Elfman and Jerry Goldsmith --both with good material, but not of award-winning caliber.

Determining a winner was the most difficult aspect of all of this. As much as I enjoy John WIlliams' scores, neither was the blockbuster that has propelled him to victory in the past. Message in a Bottle, as mentioned before, was a "recognition nomination." Choosing between Anna and the King and The Cider House Rules almost developed into a nightmare, and for a while, I was considering awarding the prize to both of them. Both eloquent, orchestral endeavors with powerful themes, and both playing crucial roles in their films, their romantic depth is equally stunning in parts. In the end, though, it came down to the scores' "listening experiences" --while Anna and the King is interrupted by an abrupt song at the start and two distracting ballroom cues in the middle, Rachel Portman continues to produce free flowing, non-stop aural beauty. And without a single weak cue, The Cider House Rules edges out George Fenton for the prize.

For best song, look for Phil Collins to take the Oscar for Tarzan, a film in which his contribution was an enormously positive element. Undoubtedly, however, the "Blame Canada" song from South Park will amuse the audience the most, even with revised lyrics for the national TV audience.

Best Score for a 1999 Television Film:

The race for the best television score of 1999 came down to two clear choices. A perennial favorite is Trevor Jones, who has blessed the small screen in the past with mindblowing orchestral efforts. This year, his score for CBS's Cleopatra was no less impressive, with his typical bold themes. The vocal and new age combination for the score was sensual indeed, but was strangely ineffective in the film. An even better match of film and score was Mark McKenzie's Durango. The genuine ethnic charm that McKenzie portrays in that score, with finally a powerful ensemble at his command, remains the talk of the town even a year later. Thanks to McKenzie's continued support from Intrada Records, the film music community has a very enjoyable album for all to have. Cleopatra, on the other hand, was a release by a specialty label associated with Jones, and can be extremely difficult to find.

Best 1999 Compilation:

The ultimate re-release of original film score works from 1999 is the Rhino label's remarkable Miklós Rózsa at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Featuring cues both previously released and unreleased from Madam Bovary, Ivanhoe, Knights of the Round Table, Beau Brummell, Valley of the Kings, Moonfleet, Green Fire, The King's Thief, Tribute to a Bad Man, Diane, Lust for Life, The World, The Flesh and the Devil, and King of Kings, no better compilation of any composer's works has hit the shelves in years. Even fans of modern film scores should investigate this 2-CD set; it offers an excellent glimpse of classic film music.

Worst 1999 Score:

It's not often that a score receives the unbelievable FRISBEE rating at Filmtracks, but two managed to do it this past year. In one of the cases, the composers were the right people for the right job, but produced a horrible result anyway. In the other, the composer was simply the wrong man for the job (for that one --see the next award). Both, interestingly were television scores. For this award, however, the cake goes to Shirley Walker, Kristopher Carter, Lolita Ritmanis, and Michael McCuistio for their Spawn of Satan... Batman Beyond, a destructive and malicious ruckus with no honorable musical intent. Complete noise. The worst score for a feature film in 1999 was The Thomas Crown Affair by Bill Conti, Jamshied Sharifi, and those executive music producers who mangled the music in the film and on the album.

Worst 1999 Scoring Assignment:

Evan H. Chen, for the Babylon 5 television spinoff Crusade. So embarrassing to Babylon 5 fans, Chen's music has been criticized almost as regularly as the grammar mistakes in the show's opening titles. Christopher Franke's music was too engrained in that universe, and its absence was devastating.

Best Love Theme:

Gabriel Yared's Message in a Bottle. It is because of his haunting themes for that score that it appears as one of 1999's five best in the Filmtracks rankings.

Most Overlooked 1999 Score:

For the second year in a row, John Ottman wins this award. Give another chance to Goodbye Lover. It's just as wickedly creative as Incognito.

Most Overlooked CD Release:

The SuperTracks label release of Lee Holdridge's Splash, which has been on "top 5 most wanted scores on CD" lists around the globe for many years.

Best "Let's Crank It Up and Irritate the Elderly Neighbors" Track:

"Blame Canada" from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, or, for that matter, most any of the songs from that score.

Most Effective Single Cue:

"The Execution," from George Fenton's Anna and the King. His take on the music for that particular scene was an interesting and successfully romantic twist.

Best Parody Score:

David Newman's Trek-minded Galaxy Quest not only brings back memories of classic Star Trek music, but also makes a strong name for itself. Also of note this year were some of the individual cues from Jamshied Sharifi's diverse Muppet from Space.

Best Promotional Album:

Continuing from last year, and the treasure sought by most, the promotional release of Mulan was a red hot item for all of 1999.

Most Gossip-Stirring, Controversial Industry Figure:

Lukas Kendall, whose Film Score Friday articles at Film Score Monthly consistenly raise an eyebrow or two.

Best IMAX Score:

Alan Williams wins again! This time, it's for Island of the Sharks, a superb combination of the styles of John Barry and Jerry Goldsmith.

The Best of the Three Goldsmith Scores:

While most Goldsmith fans salute The Mummy as the best of the three summer Goldsmith releases, The 13th Warrior is still the best, followed by The Haunting in second. The Mummy was simply too incoherent by comparison.

Best Children's Score:

Mark Mancina's Tarzan collaborates strongly with Phil Collin's songs/narratives.

Best Score to Listen to While Driving:

David Arnold and Kevin Kiner's Wing Commander. The titles are as rousing as they come.

Most Productive Label:

Milan Records has released a ton of good material this year, from Princess Mononoke to Deep End of the Ocean, from Goodbye Lover to Holy Smoke!. Keep them coming!

Ugliest Cover Art:

Politically incorrect as it may be to say this, Angela's Ashes is the clear cut favorite.

Best Sound Quality for a Soundtrack Release:

Jerry Goldsmith's The Haunting. The crisp sound of those falling strings is truly creepy.

Best Vocal Performance:

The young boy solos perfectly represent the religious conflict in John Debney's End of Days.

Best Rejected Score:

John Barry's The Beyondness of Things, released as a concert work by Barry after portions of it were rejected for The Horse Whisperer.

Most Overrated Score:

Don Davis' The Matrix. With so many opportunities to blow away mainstream audiences with a breakthrough score, he produced a substandard and muddle score for a film that could have been enhanced even more by consistenly stylish music. The Enigma music in the film's previews had that mystical, superior edge.

Best Finale Cue:

David Newman's Bowfinger. And all of a sudden... where did that come from?

Best Use of Percussion:

James Horner, for the stirring "Machine Age" track at the start of Bicentennial Man.

Best Re-Recording of an Original Score:

Nic Raine's recording of John Barry's Raise the Titanic with the City of Prague Philharmonic is simply stunning, and takes this award without a moment of hesitation. It's an album sent from God indeed!

Best Re-Issue:

Two Goldsmith scores top the list: Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Rambo: First Blood Part II.

Best Release of a Score Previously Unavailable on CD:

Frank DeVol's Flight of the Phoenix, packaged with Patton, has been the highlight of the Film Score Monthly Silver Age Classics Series.

The Single Most Memorable Track:

"Duel of the Fates" (track #2 on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace). The first score track to be translated into a music video in a long time, it was the talk of the summer and defined the fourth Star Wars score.

The Best "Composer to Watch Out For":

Craig Armstrong, for The Bone Collector --keep an eye on this composer for more orchestral, choral, and electronic creativity from Armstrong in the future.

Best Online Film Music Event:

None, really. 1999 was a tough year for film music websites. Many have disappeared, changed hands, or simply faded into the distance. 2000, perhaps?

The Best Theme Gone Awry:

Trevor Rabin's Deep Blue Sea. The title theme is magnificent in scope --it's unfortunate the rest of the score is so mediocre.

The Most Unnecessary 1999 Release:

Silva Screen's Stanley Kubrick compilation, Dr. Strangelove: Music from the Films of Stanley Kubrick... why pay tribute to him when you release the album too soon to include music from his last film?

The Saving Grace:

Joe Hisaishi's score for Princess Mononoke, which has enjoyed incredible success since its release in October, and combined two very important cultural film music communities.

Be sure to visit the Filmtracks Awards pages, with Academy and Filmtracks picks from the last ten years.

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