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"Over the years, I have come to realize that the Oscars are an enormous folly, especially regarding choices for the soundtrack categories." This is the sentence with which I began last year's Academy Awards Theme of the Month, and it is no less valid this year. After just a few years of dual category voting (separating the dramatic and musicals/comedy scores), which had been a welcome move by those of us who were tired of seeing Disney scores walk away with the trophy every year, this will be the last time we see such a division for the next few years. Due to the powers that be, the score nominations in the 2000 Oscars will be crunched again into a single category, allowing only five scores to be recognized instead of ten. This year, however, the Academy managed its usual curious behaviors in the ten that were nominated, with a particularly strong showing for war films. Randy Newman and Hans Zimmer accomplished that which blessed Danny Elfman last year --two nominations a piece. It will likely be a while before we see any two composers accomplish that in the same year again...

The 1998 Filmtracks Surfers' Awards:

(Based on visitors' votes from 12/25/98 to 1/31/99)

You can view the complete voting results at the January, 1999, Theme of the Month.

The Filmtracks 1998 Awards:

The wide variety of awards cover every aspect of film scoring and soundtrack CD production in the past year. Some of the categories were created this year 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 this, the last year of dual score categories for a while, I believe the Academy did an excellent job with the comedy and musical nominations. At the same time, the dramatic score category was sadly skewed towards those releases near the end of the year (which is a typical practice for the Academy). But in 1998, most of the best dramatic scores came in the first half of the year, and this explains the total split between the AMPAS and Filmtracks picks in this field. Although I found Randy Newman's Pleasantville to be a delightful and deserving score (setting aside, of course, its short CD release), I moved it to the musical and comedy category; it simply cannot compare to the other dramatic scores of the year. In the rest of the dramatic category, I automatically deleted Nicola Piovani's Life is Beautiful for the same reason I didn't take Luis Bacalov's Il Postino seriously in 1995. This score was simply riding on the heels of the film's nominations in other major categories. And, like Il Postino, Life is Beautiful is a charming score with great personality; it too would belong more in the comedy category. David Hirschfelder's Elizabeth, although possessing all the basics of an epic classical score, left me cold because of an insincerity I could disassociate from it. Of the original nominations, this left the two magnificent war films, Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line. I didn't care for either of them; as a listening experience, The Thin Red Line was more interesting. But because of the closing hymn in Saving Private Ryan, and the media & fan hooplah that it has generated this year (not to mention that fact that the film is a sure winner), I considered retaining it among my nominations. However, the sheer creativity and elegant orchestrations of John Ottman's Incognito cannot be overlooked, and you only see young talent like that once in a rare while.


In the place of Life is Beautiful, The Thin Red Line, and Elizabeth, I'd suggest taking a look back to spring and early summer releases of 1998. George Fenton's thematically enticing Dangerous Beauty has unfortunately been forgotten by many, not only in the Academy, but also in the score community. Not forgotten by the fans, however, is Great Expectations. Even regardless of Patrick Doyle's tragic medical difficulties, this score is great because of its diversity within itself; It ranged from styles of classical opera to alternative electronics, and has a great track for anyone's musical taste. The only score by Basil Poledouris in the last 16 months was the heavily dramatic Les Misérables. A departure from that which many Poledouris fans would consider his "norm," its string dominated power (matching the best of the Broadway production) leaves a lasting impression. After a 1997 that was a dream come true for James Horner, his two 1998 summer blockbuster scores were most likely overshadowed by the lingering hype of Titanic (from which the title song just won a grammy even as late as February!). Although some believe that Deep Impact was a superior score, I cannot for a moment disregard the flamenco magic of The Mask of Zorro. Not often does a score give me goosebumps in the theater, but The Mask of Zorro, with its great combination of Horner's traditional style and the flamenco themes and instrumentation, accomplished just that. It's a step beyond even Titanic, and is my choice (as well as the Filmtracks visitors') for the best of 1998.



For Best Original Comedy/Musical Score, I had an extremely difficult time choosing a winner in this category. It's not often that the comedy/musical category is stronger than the dramatic one, but this year, the comedies and musicals are far superior. I replaced A Bug's Life, which didn't have any great or distinguishing characteristics, with Pleasantville. If either of the animated bug films from 1998 was to be nominated, I'd go with Antz, which had a much more unique personality. Of the others, two perennial powehouses, Jerry Goldsmith and Hans Zimmer, are up against Marc Shaiman and newcomer Stephen Warbeck. Shaiman's score for Patch Adams exceeds the beauty of The American President, for which he was nominated a few years ago. Warbeck's Shakespeare in Love is a very good score, and it really begins to cook near the end, however it's not on the level of the animated film scores. So for me, the choice came down to Goldsmith's Mulan of Zimmer's The Prince of Egypt. as much as I'd love to see Goldsmith win his first Oscar in over twenty years, I had to give the nod to Zimmer. I ultimately did this for one reason. The best suite of music in Mulan builds off of the songs (not written by Goldsmith) and Zimmer composed more uniquely good material for The Prince of Egypt. The latter film also features better songs, and when combined with Zimmer's full choir, orchestra, and electronics, makes for a formidable opponent.


Honorable mentions of 1998 go to Thomas Newman's The Horse Whisperer, Jerry Goldsmith's Small Soldiers and Star Trek: Insurrection, and Mark Mancina's Return to Paradise. With the return of the Skywalkers, I'm sure we all know what will be nominated for Best Score next year...

Best Score for a 1998 Television Film:

One of the best television scoring achievements in many years was produced by Trevor Jones. His score for the NBC two-night drama Merlin took the soundtrack community by storm, and along with The Mighty and Dark City, provided Jones with some much-needed publicity in 1998. Merlin continued a long line of fine television scores for for Jones. As a runner-up for best television score in 1998, I want to recognize Christopher Gordon's effort for Moby Dick, the Patrick Stewart/Gregory Peck version shot by Hallmark films for the USA channel early in the year. Gordon excellently captured the essence of the old sea-faring swashbucklers with this mighty score. Both scores were thankfully released by Varèse Sarabande.

Best Score for a 1998 Television Series:

Babylon 5: Season 5, Christopher Franke. Two of the best and final episodic scores, "Sleeping in the Light" and "Objects at Rest" were released by Sonic Images early in 1999... It's very enjoyable music considering it was created in such a short time with limited resources. The episodic scores are better than those for the Babylon 5 films. When Franke left the show before the final film, the quality of music declined considerably.

Best 1998 Compilation:

Silva Screen's Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II captures the award, making it the second year a Space and Beyond release has received this honor. Last year, the original Space and Beyond was voted the best CD compilation releases of 1997. The sequel release has more great selections by the City of Prague Philharmonic, including a lengthy suite from Dune. Even though not all of the tracks are performed as well as the originals, the performances are still very enjoyable, and offer some of the few available recordings of certain themes.

Worst 1998 Score:

Elliot Goldenthal's Sphere. As with last year's winner, this is inexcusably poor music. It doesn't even include the typical "final track saving grace" that Goldenthal sometimes gives us. Who knows how the film might have benefited from a fuller score. The runner-up is Harry Gregson-Williams' The Replacement Killers; however, this film was enjoyable nonetheless.

Best Love Theme:

George Fenton's Dangerous Beauty. Fenton also composed popular 1998 love themes for Ever After, The Object of my Affection, and You Got Mail.

Most Overlooked Score:

John Ottman's Incognito. The instrumental creativity is amazing.

Most Nostalgic Score:

Randy Newman's Pleasantville. That last track will magically put you right back into a more innocent, black and white time... or make you seek a weapon (depending on your mood at the time).

Best Cultural Score:

Rachel Portman's Beloved. Even though I didn't care for it, this score was an important move in Portman's career, and a remarkable effort.

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

"The Colony" from Antz, by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell. Complete with whistling ants and undeniably chipper spunk all to its own, it will guarantee a call to the cops by your neighbors when projected at maximum volume. It's still a step below last year's winner, "Aknot Wot!" from The Fifth Element, which was complete with female orgasm sounds and animal noises.

Most Effective Single Cue:

"Kissing in the Rain," from Patrick Doyle's Great Expectations. The combination of classical style, electronic bass, and female vocals are stunning.

Label with the Best Art/Design on Packaging:

Super Tracks Music Group. Their double CD release of Krull was beautifully packaged, with a colorful and easy-to-read design. It has plenty pictures from the film and of Horner as well. Their 1999 release of The Sword and the Sorcerer was also very attractive.

Best Composer Promo Compilation:

David Shire Film Music. It has the best collection of Shire cues anyone could ever want... and perhaps the best compilation promo ever produced for a composer.

Most Gossip-Stirring, Controversial Industry Figure:

For the second year in a row: CD Producer and Soundtrack Cinema host Ford A. Thaxton. Makes life more interesting.

Best IMAX Score:

Alan Williams' Amazon. Released early in the year, it's disappearing from the market fast..

Best Children's Score:

Jerry Goldsmith's Mulan. Although I like Prince of Egypt more, Mulan isn't as dark and includes the more typical children's songs.

Best Score to Listen to While Driving:

Trevor Rabin's Armageddon . The launch sequence will surely help you put that foot down on the gas.

Best Sound Quality for a Soundtrack Release:

Jerry Goldsmith's Small Soldiers had abnormally crisp sound quality, most of which carried over to Star Trek: Insurrection, and is apparently due to the use of a new recording studio for Goldsmith.

Worst Sound Quality for a Soundtrack Release:

Joel McNeely's Wild America had severe problems with its sound, which was supposedly the result of some internal squabbling over who should mix the release. McNeely wasn't happy with it, either.

Best Vocal Performance:

Miriam Stockley, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Tori Amos, Great Expectations. They work wonders with their completely different styles.

Best Rejected Score:

John Ottman's Halloween H2O, released under the title, "Portrait of Terror." It orchestrated Carpenter's original theme very well.

Best Re-Recording of an Original Score:

John Debney's recording of John Williams' Superman . Although criticized by some, it was a massive effort and deserves high praise.

Best Re-Issue:

The Living Daylights. Also voted by the viewers of Filmtracks, this CD is perhaps the best treatment of a Bond score to date. I tip my hat to Rykodisc for making this release possible. It includes a considerably increased amount of previously unavailable material, as well as the original songs.

Best Single Track:

"The Plaza of Excecution" (track #1 on The Mask of Zorro). The sequence with Zorro's silhouette against the sun combined with Horner's main theme was a cinematic highlight of the year, and very enjoyable on CD, too.

Most Erotic/Perverted Track Titles:

None for this year --I'm still laughing about Don Davis' promo score last year for Bound. Take a look and marvel at the various levels of subliminal messages in the titles.

Best Insert Notes:

Jeff Bond and Lukas Kendall deserve the honors and recognition for their work compiling information about the releases featured in their Silver Age Classics series.

The Best "Composer to Watch Out For":

Alan DerMarderosian, whose remarkable music for the 1998 erotic thriller Monsoon combines the best styles of Mark Snow and John Barry. He has a site with some samples.

Best New Film Music Review Website:

Score! Soundtrack Reviews. Andy Lindahl's site is very neatly designed and has well-written reviews on a plethora of current soundtrack releases. Show some support for this great new review site by giving it a visit.

The Best Unconventional Soundtrack Release:

John Beal's Coming Soon! The John Beal Trailer Project, featuring original music from dozens of theatrical and television trailers.

The Best Theme Gone Awry:

Joel McNeely's The Avengers. The score starts off well, with a very stylish theme. But then what happens to it? It gets muddled in the abominable film... and becomes no more.

The Most Unnecessary 1998 Release:

James Horner's Back to Titanic. After all the hooplah, screaming & yelling, and fizzled attempts of a concert run, does anyone care anymore?

The Saving Grace:

John Williams' score for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace already has the world stirring. Will it break the Titanic record for album sales? Probably not... but wouldn't it be nice?

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

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