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Release Date:
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January 14th, 1997
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release, but out of print.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you're prepared to hear a zany side of Jerry Goldsmith's small
scale comedy writing rarely employed with such zeal by the composer during the
1990's.
Avoid it... if you expect any continuity whatsoever with John Du Prez's
superior and more explosively wild score for A Fish Called Wanda.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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| | Goldsmith | |
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Fierce Creatures: (Jerry Goldsmith) When it was
announced that a pseudo-sequel to the modern legend A Fish Called
Wanda would be made by the exact same starring and supporting cast, the
peasants of the world rejoiced. John Cleese's writing talents are among the
best in the world, and both critical and fan response to the first film were
overwhelming. With A Fish Called Wanda gaining more cult status with
each passing year, Cleese created Fierce Creatures, a film that
presents the original actors in nearly identical roles with equally bizarre
character flaws. Unfortunately, Cleese's story wasn't as sharp as that of
the original, and the sequel slipped into relative obscurity while the
original continues to impress. The composer of the original film's score,
John Du Prez, had been associated with Cleese since the Monty Python days,
and had a knack for scoring dumb, if not cultish comedy films. Du Prez had
provided a perfect musical fit for the first film, with snazzy urban rhythms
yielding occasionally to cello solos for short scenes of drama and remorse.
As with A Fish Called Wanda, Cleese and the other producers preferred
to keep the playing time of music in the film to a minimum, allowing the
cunning dialogue to rightfully hog the stage to itself. The same would apply
to Fierce Creatures, and Du Prez was originally hired to reprise the
thematic feel of the first film. With visions of grandeur and a bit of money
to spare, Du Prez was replaced with composing legend Jerry Goldsmith, who
was more than eager to take a slice from the A Fish Called Wanda pie.
Even so, Goldsmith's music would have to be minimal in ensemble size and
would only be featured in about twenty minutes of the film. Despite that
short running time for the film edit, Goldsmith would record half an hour of
music, all of which appearing on album. Some material was arranged and
recorded by Goldsmith specifically to round out the album.
The result of Goldsmith's quick effort is a quirky comedy
piece that stands alone in the composer's great career, mirroring the
frantic, jazzy styles of early Danny Elfman closer than in any of his other
scores. There is really nothing to compare Fierce Creatures to in
Goldsmith's accomplishments (except, perhaps, the tango driven 6 Degrees
of Separation and the smaller portions of the outrageous comedy stylings
of his little-known I.Q.), for his comedy music usually utilizes an
orchestral ensemble of some size. For Fierce Creatures, Goldsmith makes use
of mostly a quartet of strings (for Cleese' pompous nature), a jazz band, and
especially a piano, with little orchestral accompaniment (a few woodwinds,
perhaps) or electronic enhancement. His score tackles the zoo and its human
and animal life with a baby elephant walk approach that sends the piano
rumbling along a clumsy, but lovable motif for much of the score. The light,
spirited rhythms of the percussion are often paralleled by simple themes for
the one-dimensional characters. Two or three small themes, along with the
rolling piano motif, provide a more than adequate ambience for the
ridiculous happenings on screen, and you have to credit Goldsmith with
maintaining a jazzy atmosphere without allowing the score to degenerate into
complete silliness. Also of interest are a few similar scoring choices to
those that Du Prez used in the first film, from the electric guitar rock for
action scenes to the somber string quartet for the ones of misery. There is
little known about Goldsmith's choices for Fierce Creatures, so those
consistencies between the films may either have been the producers' requests
or mere coincidence. Goldsmith's recording of the end credits contains a
theme and motif summary that is worthy of any compilation for the composer,
starting with the elephant walk motif slowly and finishing with it at full
pace with a single, bursting note of punctuation at the end. It's certainly
more deceivingly complex than Du Prez's original score, though Goldsmith
fans should be aware that Fierce Creatures is about as far from the
composer's established styles as he could get. ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Willa's Theme (2:10)
• 2. First Day (1:17)
• 3. Chores (2:17)
• 4. To the Zoo (2:07)
• 5. The Funeral (2:33)
• 6. Trained Seals (1:55)
• 7. Under Control (2:30)
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• 8. Contact (1:27)
• 9. A Good Idea (2:13)
• 10. The Grave (2:04)
• 11. A Long Story (2:25)
• 12. You're Fired (2:07)
• 13. End Credits (3:34)
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Packaging contains very little information about the score; credits are limited.
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