Buy it... if you are entranced by Danny Elfman's early scores of intense tragedy and orchestral beauty.

Avoid it... if you object to Irish undertones in inappropriate contexts or expect the music to brood with as much melodramatic weight as Elfman's closely related score for Sommersby.

Elfman

Black Beauty: (Danny Elfman) No more faithful adaptation of Anna Sewell's 1877 novel Black Beauty had been made when director and screenwriter Caroline Thompson brought the children's story to the screen in the summer of 1994. That story is narrated by Black Beauty himself, anthropomorphically using the voice of Alan Cumming to tell of the horse's various owners. The film put itself in a difficult position of not really catering to either kids or adults, bordering on being too boring for each audience. Sappy from start to finish, the horse's tale goes through romance, owner cruelty, and relocation in 19th Century England. For Danny Elfman, Black Beauty would be the last of the composer's early ventures in blatant sentimentality and orchestral classicism. It was one final opportunity to jerk the tears before striking out in more experimental genres of film music. As he said in his 1996 memoirs, the score is "happy and sad to the extreme. Finally a chance to really turn on the sentimental vale up to maximum..." That statement is interesting in its seeming disregard of Edward Scissorhands and Sommersby as both superior expressions of tragedy, but you have to take Elfman at his word that Black Beauty was intended to be the most emotionally charged score from that period of his career. For fans, it would be a bittersweet goodbye to the dark and heavy melodrama of Elfman's developing career, only touched upon in The Family Man in 2000 and rarely beyond that. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Elfman's choice to steer towards electronic or minimalist works thereafter, while still intelligent in places, is that by 1994 the composer had achieved the kind of experience to produce truly gripping orchestral works... scores that often could tell the stories by themselves.

Undoubtedly, Black Beauty shares the most characteristics with the stunningly rich score for Sommersby from the previous year. The similarities between the two scores include the progressions of the title themes, the spirited explosions of rhythm for the countryside, and the incorporation of Irish specialty instruments with the traditional orchestral ensemble. The use of Celtic instruments like the fiddle and penny whistles may not entirely make sense, but there's no doubt that they provide another dimension to an already dramatic soundscape. The piano (or celeste) has always been an important element in Elfman's creation of delicate rhythms, and it continues that role (as well as the infusion of classical style) here. In Black Beauty, the instrument is used with outstanding creativity, especially in the scherzo movement that underlines the title theme in "Frolic." The latter half of the same cue offers the piano in a rolling rhythm that runs contrary to the mixed chamber strings performing the score's secondary theme on top. Elfman alternates the use of these two themes almost constantly in Black Beauty. He introduces them in succession in "Opening Titles," arguably the most enjoyable rendition of either theme on the album. The delayed performances of the low strings for the bass accentuation of early statements of the primary theme are exquisite, slowly maturing from a violin solo to a heavy bass string statement of natural and slightly ethnic power. This delicate combination of style and seasoning results in a score that is conscious of its period, but not overwhelmed by its classical roots.

	Learn about supporting Filmtracks

Elfman's loyalty to his two interchangeable themes is an invaluable asset in Black Beauty, providing a very consistent harmonious listening experience outside of the horrifying "Wild Ride" cue. By the final two cues, the themes closely resemble those of Sommersby in their slightly brooding, but elegantly progressing mannerisms. On the other hand, because of the children's aspect of the mythical story, Elfman doesn't allow the score to become drowned by its own intensity, as Sommersby tends to do. He does insert quirky, percussive imagination from Sommersby into Black Beauty for some romps during the active riding scenes as well. The upbeat brass and woodwind performances accompanying the children's adventure scenes represent the closest Elfman would ever come to sharing styles with James Horner in his early years, who would score equivalent scenes with similar bounciness. Elfman's unique instrumentation, however, especially in the tingling, light percussion, assures that this score is distinguishable from all others in its genre. Overall, the most remarkable aspect of Black Beauty is Elfman's lyrical approach to the film. The score is poetic and graceful, meandering without fear or hesitation through its two main themes, leaving a lasting and pleasant impression on the listener. The album, a very much out of print product in extremely high demand with Elfman collectors, is arguably strongest at the start and digresses in integrity as it nears its end. Even if you cannot find the full score album, a spectacular suite of themes and tracks from Black Beauty can be heard on Elfman's second "Music for a Darkened Theatre" compilation from late 1996. ****   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Danny Elfman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.18 (in 61 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.17 (in 115,373 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.