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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if a gorgeous and lushly dramatic cross between Anna and the King, Shadowlands, and George Fenton's later nature documentary music of the 2000's stands to be a safe addition to your collection. Avoid it... if you detest unashamed romanticism and lyrical warmth in their most vibrant orchestral forms. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The London ensemble for Dangerous Beauty is of significant size and features an acoustic guitar as its heart. One of the most impressive aspects of the score is its ability to convey convincing classicism without becoming pretentious. The guitar is key to this success, underlining the warmth that the film exudes in its leading duo and their impossible dreams. Fenton writes two major themes for Dangerous Beauty, one for the culture of Venice and one for Veronica, the prostitute. The first theme bubbles along immediately in "Venice Proud and Pretty" but is largely replaced by the Veronica theme introduced in "The First Kiss" and used liberally throughout the score. Fenton alternates between touching solo guitar performances and flowing string fanfares with bold brass counterpoint, never losing touch with the spirit of lush resonance that accompanies every ensemble performance. The score's only truly menacing, minor-key expressions come in "The Plague/Veronica's Arrest" and the two "Imprisonment" cues that follow, the first of which presents a rumbling crescendo that reminds of the opening of We're No Angels. The pivotal moment of testimony in "I Stand Alone for Venice and This Woman" diminishes itself to solitary and tempered timpani strikes. Fenton also infuses Dangerous Beauty with a comedy rhythm under the Venice theme for the two "Duel" cues and the mid-section of the end titles, imitating the style with which Portman likely would have approached the scenes. But otherwise, Dangerous Beauty is a series of one beautiful thematic cue after another. On album, the score is very much the equal of Anna and the King from the following year, but even more consistent in its movement through each track. The cue "The Verdict/End Titles" is the dramatic equal to "The Execution" from Anna and the King, both lengthy tracks that demand inclusion in any film music collection. The piano's performances in the latter score are perhaps a bit colder than the guitar in Dangerous Beauty. Overall, you'll be hard-pressed to find any significant criticism of the Dangerous Beauty score, with a gorgeous and heartfelt attitude that will overwhelmingly please any fan of the composer. If not for James Horner's wildly attractive The Mask of Zorro, Dangerous Beauty might have been the best score of 1998. *****
The insert includes the following note from director Marshall Herskovitz:
I knew these contradictions would present George Fenton with formidable obstacles in scoring the picture. He needed to create something that was lushly romantic, evocative of a certain period, all the while serving a story with an equilibrium so delicate that one wrong sound could send the film crashing in flames. Yet in spite of that pressure, the weeks we worked together in Los Angeles and London were the most enjoyable I've ever spent with a composer. Steve Rosenblum - the film's editor - and I would sit on the floor in George's overly-Baroque, borrowed apartment, and watch him ply his craft with gentleness, creativity, and a flexibility that was remarkable. Enjoy the romanticism, the intelligence, the sheer lyrical beauty of this man's vision. I certainly have." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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