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Release Date:
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October 25th, 1989
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release. Completely out of print by 1996 and valued at $60 or above.
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Awards:
Nominated for an Academy Award, 1988
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... only if you have already established a liking for John
Williams' highly repetitive, subdued character scores with simplistic
development.
Avoid it... if you have become accustomed to the inherent magic
involved with the complexities of Williams' more superior character
scores.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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The Accidental Tourist: (John Williams) A film about
both depression and laughter, The Accidental Tourist reunited
director Lawrence Kasdan with actors William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.
Having established themselves in Body Heat several years earlier,
they turned their attention to this adaptation of Anne Tyler's novel. Hurt's
character writes travel books for people afraid of traveling, and upon his
son's death, he falls into a hopeless depression that causes his wife,
Turner, to leave him. Through his dog, the only connection he has to the
outside world is the quirky Geena Davis, who he meets at a kennel. Davis
begins the task of bringing the author back to life, and she manages to
slowly accomplish this through humor and determination. The Accidental
Tourist certainly dwells in the lengthy scenes of Hurt's character's
loneliness, and much of John Williams' score for the film mirrors that
introverted reflection. But the integration of the humor into the story, as
well as Kasdan's ability to make the characters likeable even through their
troubles, launched The Accidental Tourist to critical success. Coming
at the end of a slow period in Williams' career in the mid-1980's (he had
become heavily involved with the Boston Pops at the beginning of the decade
and that took time away from his composing duties), The Accidental
Tourist would achieve yet another Academy Award nomination for Williams.
His character scores, while obviously not the most memorable in his career,
were still considered top products at the time. Debate between Williams
collectors continues, however, about the merits of these character scores.
The Accidental Tourist shares many traits with Stanley & Iris,
Stepmom, and Williams' half a dozen other subdued efforts, and to
adequately rate them against each other, there's an intangible factor of
magic that comes into play. Somewhere in the middle of that list, The
Accidental Tourist resides.
The structure of this score follows very similar lines as
Stanley & Iris, although The Accidental Tourist as a film
differs from Stanley & Iris in one important way: whereas Stanley
& Iris never seems to mature from beginning to end, The Accidental
Tourist builds up to a revelation in both the film and score. The masses
of the underscores both suffer from a considerable amount of repetition,
though. Williams' theme for The Accidental Tourist is an exact,
note-for-note prediction of the title theme for Stanley & Iris and a
subtheme for Home Alone, making it instantly recognizable for a
Williams collector, but disappointing at the same time. From start to
finish, Williams regurgitates this theme endlessly, from the overdrawn
sequences of loneliness during the first half to the one strong ensemble
performance in "A New Beginning." Unlike Stanley & Iris, the
performances of The Accidental Tourist have a fuller orchestral
sound, even in the moments of contemplation. Still, in cues such as "Macon
Alone" and "The Healing Process," Williams fails to assert his themes with a
rhythm or other twist of memorability beyond the very simple elegance of the
piano solos. In a handful of cues, the flat nature of the music --much like
Hurt's character-- peeks out of its shell. First, in "Trip to London" and
then in the concert piece from the score, "A Second Chance," Williams
finally bows to some of the playful humor that Davis' character brings into
the equation. As mentioned before, "A New Beginning" offers the overplayed
theme in the appropriate, but long awaited orchestral crescendo, quickly
identifying itself as the highlight of the score. A longer album than
Stanley & Iris compounds the problem of listenability, for a person
could lose patience for the score long before that finale. The printing run
of The Accidental Tourist by Warner was not very long, and the album
has fallen badly out of print and become a high collectible for Williams
fans. As with his other character scores that are now out of print, be
absolutely sure that you will find relaxation or other satisfaction in
The Accidental Tourist, for it won't seem worth the extra cash for
many of you. **
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Main Title (2:31)
• 2. Maron Alone (4:41)
• 3. Trip to London (1:52)
• 4. The Healing Process (5:09)
• 5. Fixing the Plumbing (3:13)
• 6. On a Rainy Afternoon (3:10)
• 7. A Second Chance (3:10)
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• 8. Wedding Scene (2:49)
• 9. Back with Sara (4:03)
• 10. Bedroom Conversation (4:36)
• 11. Rose and Julian (2:08)
• 12. A New Beginning (3:26)
• 13. End Credits (A Second Chance - Reprise) (3:10)
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Insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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