Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... on the outstanding 2010 Intrada set if you seek by far the most superior presentation of an action score that builds and maintains more character than most in existence, conveying the sorrow of John Rambo with surprising warmth in its melodic highlights. Avoid it... if you expect to hear the same consistently explosive tone of action in First Blood that made the subsequent two scores in the franchise (also by Jerry Goldsmith) so memorable. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
First Blood: (Jerry Goldsmith) It has been such a long road for John Rambo since 1982 that it has become difficult to recall just how different First Blood is from the sequels that inevitably followed its success. The character wasn't the muscle-bound superman of Sylvester Stallone's build in David Morrell's book, and it was never intended for the adaptation to lead to subsequent films in which Rambo develops into nothing more than a killing machine. Audiences wouldn't have had enough sympathy about Rambo to care about the sequels if not for the incredible empathy developed for the character in First Blood. While the lead role was re-written slightly when the likes of Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman reportedly turned it down, yielding an obviously different portrayal by a less refined but arguably more likable Stallone, the most important change in the narrative came at the end. The novel concluded with Rambo's killing by his only remaining friend, Colonel Trautman (played by Richard Crenna), but with so much sympathy for the protagonist and the successful examination of the treatment of Vietnam veterans already addressed in the story, the closing act was twisted into the redemptive form seen on screen. The total submission of Brian Dennehy's bigoted sheriff and the widespread destruction of the small Oregon town that greeted Rambo with such indifference or disdain was revenge enough, and in its final cut, First Blood is a surprisingly intelligent film. It's also a relatively bloodless one as well, with only one absolutely confirmed death clearly witnessed. Compare that to the three sequels, each successively increasing the body count exponentially, and First Blood is clearly in a league apart from its satisfying, though mindless successors. There also exists a significant difference in the mood between Jerry Goldsmith's music for First Blood and the two 1980's sequels also scored by the composer. Whereas Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo 3 are ambitious action scores that build upon only the most explosive moments of First Blood, the first score is a comparatively subdued work. It balances the tragedy of Rambo's loneliness with the precision of his stalking and evasion techniques, only rarely bursting with heroic force. The purpose of Rambo in First Blood, after all, was not to terrorize a small town, but to simply find a long lost friend. The most obvious reflection of the differing tone between the three Goldsmith scores for this franchise is the relative absence of Rambo's memorable action theme in First Blood. Only in brief fragments and an interlude in the strictly orchestral end credits arrangement of "It's a Long Road" is this idea developed. Instead, at the forefront you hear the heartbreaking theme representing Rambo's search for companionship and redemption, a surprisingly warm idea that understandably becomes marginalized in the later scores. Performed initially as a duet between acoustic guitar and trumpet, the theme conveys both the pastoral essence of small town America while also recognizing, with the latter instrument, the military service of John Rambo. Goldsmith manages both a heartwarming and bittersweet tone with this theme, restricting it to the minor key until a gorgeous setting on screen and the hopes of meeting an old friend in "Home Coming" allows the idea its only foray into the major. In this cue, "My Town," and "It's a Long Road," the composer conveys the theme with decidedly light instrumentation, ranging from extremely high strings in the former to a flute in the latter to add a sensitive representation high in the treble region for the theme. In terms of its construct, this theme remains one of Goldsmith's most effective, its actual melody and lovely counterpoint line intermingling and exchanged between trumpet and strings effortlessly (and highlighted by their stunning pairing at 2:30 into "It's a Long Road (Instrumental)"). The other motifs in First Blood include the franchise's faintly noble representation of the military on overlapping trumpets ("My Town" and the finale of the film) and an elusive series of five notes in the bass that accompanies Rambo's militaristic professionalism. Goldsmith performs this idea most frequently on synthetic keyboard, giving it a slightly cold personality appropriate to Rambo's detached determination when in stalking mode. Effectively a "sneaking motif," scenes such as "The Tunnel" and "No Power" use these cyclical, rambling notes extensively, typically combining several variations on the progression to form a continuous string of bass meandering. With precision, the idea increases in pace to match Rambo's speed of movement on screen. This motif carries over significantly into Rambo: First Blood Part II, where it serves the same purpose. The action material in First Blood is relatively anonymous compared to what would follow, highlighted by pounding percussion and rambling xylophone in "First Blood," full ensemble versions of the sneaking motif in "Hanging On" and others, and the outstanding opening forty seconds of "The Truck" that culminates into an excellent brass statement of the main theme. The most memorable action cue comes in "The Razor," when Rambo escapes his initial confinement over a bed of powerful percussion and is treated to another briefly muscular, heroic brass rendition of the primary theme as he commandeers a motorcycle. Ultimately, the action music in First Blood, while more than decent when compared to the composer's similar writing of the era, is not as engaging or lengthy in performance as in the sequels. As such, First Blood is a score to appreciate for its evocative and sorrowful performances of the "It's a Long Road" theme. Excluding the song and pop interpretations of this theme, there exists about six minutes of extremely enticing performances of its melancholic beauty in sum, and it serves as good counterpoint to the heightened activity level and straight forward bombast of the sequels. Sadly, the "It's a Long Road" recording made by Goldsmith for the end titles sequence was replaced by the Dan Hill vocal version, which is a basically acceptable very light pop rendition of the same material. The theme remains a pivotal part of the opening few minutes of First Blood, however, producing a highlight that matches the confluence of aural and visual beauty in the opening scene of Hoosiers. The album treatments of First Blood through the years were unfortunately not initially kind to Goldsmith's composition. Intrada Records produced a 1988 CD that added the relatively unimportant "No Power" track to the LP's presentation, bringing the running time to just about 40 minutes. Answering that eventually out-of-print product was Varèse Sarabande, which pressed the identical contents with different cover art in 2000. On both of these CDs, however, there are issues with the sequencing choices of Goldsmith himself (sometimes leading to rough edits) and inconsistencies in sound quality caused by the same poor source for the two products. Not only are the cues out of chronological order, but there is distortion in the keyboarding in "The Razor," a gain spike at exactly 2 minutes into "It's a Long Road," and several poorly executed edits within cues in the action material. To the delight of many film score collectors, however, Intrada revisited the music in 2010 and finally found superior multi-track masters from which to press the entire score, along with a few bonus cues and the previous presentation for good measure. Hearing the entirety of the 45 minutes from First Blood in film order is a experience made all the more magnificent by incredibly crisp and well balanced sound quality. This score has never sounded remotely as good as it does on the 2010 Intrada set, a 2-CD product of unlimited pressing that should immediately replace the previous products for any and all Goldsmith enthusiasts. While the label may be teased about using the word "Bullseye!" to enthusiastically endorse film score albums too frequently, this one truly is just that. **** Track Listings (1988 Intrada/2000 Varèse Albums):
Total Time: 40:17
Track Listings (2010 Intrada Album):
Total Time: 87:19
All artwork and sound clips from First Blood are Copyright © 1988, 2000, 2010, Intrada Records, Varèse Sarabande, 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 7/19/09, updated 12/29/10. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2009-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
1988 Intrada
