Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you are prepared for one of Jerry Goldsmith's most unique genre-defying efforts, a technical masterpiece that is more intelligent than most to have ever come from Hollywood. Avoid it... if you prefer your listening experiences to be more consistently streamlined, in which case Capricorn One is a better packaging of the sinister half of The Boys from Brazil (and obviously absent the striking waltzes). Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The Boys from Brazil: (Jerry Goldsmith) An incredibly compelling and tense drama taking advantage of public fears about surviving Nazi operatives in South America, Frank Schaffner's The Boys from Brazil postulated that a maniacal Nazi scientist was able to produce genetically perfect clones of Adolf Hitler from host mothers in the jungles of Brazil and then seed them around the world so that someday one of the boys could fulfill Hitler's unrealized visions. A famed Jewish Nazi-hunter, played by Sir Laurence Olivier in a role that brought him Oscar recognition, seeks to track down and expose the scientist, who himself battles other surviving Nazi agents, including his own security force. The bloody, final confrontation between the two men is decided by, ironically, a young Hitler clone in the United States. Perhaps the most shocking aspect of The Boys from Brazil came with the casting of Gregory Peck (with much make-up) in the role of the Nazi, though equally surprising was the unconventional approach taken to the music for the film by Schaffner and composer Jerry Goldsmith, who would also receive an Oscar nomination for his efforts on The Boys from Brazil. Despite some praise for these various off-kilter aspects of the production, relatively poor grosses awaited the film at its debut in 1978 and it has since slipped into obscurity. The score by Goldsmith was somewhat controversial in its choice of musical genre to guide the pursuit throughout the film. Schaffner was quite versed in the musical language, and he immediately insisted to a reluctant Goldsmith that The Boys from Brazil be scored with a battle between the styles of music that appropriately reflected the cultural divide in the story. More specifically, the director requested that the meter of waltzes be employed throughout the picture, and subsequently the Jewish presence is handled with an imitation of Johann Strauss' Viennese waltz constructs while the Nazi presence replies with a variation inspired by the anti-Semetic Richard Wagner, whose music was often associated with Hitler's Germany. The obvious differences in weight and melodrama inherent in the styles of Struass and Wagner is precisely the balancing act that Schaffner requested of Goldsmith, and the composer enthusiastically emulated those sounds in battle, once declaring that the score owes more to the classic composers than his own sensibilities. The score for The Boys from Brazil remains distinctive due to that underlying strategy, thus retaining fewer of Goldsmith's usual mannerisms than some of his fans may prefer. At the same time, perhaps too much is read into the overt Viennese waltz that serves as the primary theme for The Boys from Brazil, for the application of the Wagner-inspired Nazi material is saturated with Goldsmith's techniques of suspense in this era. The seven-note Nazi theme doesn't really receive a robust performance for the full ensemble until "The Hospital" and the massive "Jungle Holocaust," instead simmering like a constant source of menace in the remainder of the score. In fact, Goldsmith's deployment of the theme is very similar to the sinister NASA motif in Capricorn One; both are rhythmically based and both only require two or three notes performed in the bass region to signal the audience as to the tone of a scene. Also similar to that concurrent effort by the composer is an emphasis on low brass and percussion. The prevailing tone of The Boys from Brazil is one of menacing depth, percolating in the lowest regions for all of the film's conversational material. The outward action sequences are also standard to the composer's output at the time, leaving the performances of the waltz as distinctive within the work. The overly romantic and optimistic flow of these Strauss-like cues is indeed a culture clash with the rest of the score. The use of this style causes The Boys from Brazil to stand out in Goldsmith's career the same way the infusion of jazz would signal attention to The Russia House over a decade later. Some of the waltz material, like the limited amount of Latin guitar and rhythm music, would be eliminated from the final version of the film, though. There are no performance issues with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, and sound quality is about on par with Capricorn One as well. The score's original 39-minute LP release was reflected in two identical CD albums (one limited entry from Masters Film Music in 1989 and the other from the LP's company, A&M Records in 2000). This arrangement was somewhat odd for Goldsmith, carefully editing the score into just three cues on top of the Elaine Page pop song for the film. In 2008, Intrada Records provided both this presentation (re-edited from re-mastered source tapes) and the complete score of 56 minutes as was written for the film. Much of this material, as well as some of the source recordings included on that album, were dropped from the final edit of the picture. The Intrada album was limited in pressing, but at 5,000 copies was a bit easier to find after its initial debut. On the whole, The Boys from Brazil is a technically masterful score that may not hold up as well on album for some Goldsmith collectors, but its effectiveness remains unquestioned. **** Track Listings (1989 and 2000 Albums):
Total Time: 38:46
Track Listings (2008 Intrada Album):
Total Time: 111:19
All artwork and sound clips from The Boys from Brazil are Copyright © 1989, 2000, 2008, Masters Film Music, A&M Records (Japan), Intrada Records. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/16/09, updated 7/16/09. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2009-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
1989 Masters Film Music
