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Conducted by:
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David Snell
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Orchestrated by:
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Jeff Atmajian
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Release Date:
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February 12th, 2002
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Hart's War: (Rachel Portman) As director Gregory Hoblit explains,
"Hart's War is not a war story... It is fundamentally about captured
American soldiers finding grace, dignity, and honor... It is also a movie one
would not expect Rachel Portman to have scored..." Indeed, when thinking of a
WWII drama about a Nazi prisoner of war camp, the music of Rachel Portman
doesn't seem to fit the genre in any way. Despite the public relations campaign
to paint Hart's War as strictly a character drama, it is still a
traditional war film in its themes of escape, destruction, maniacal killing, and
the weapons of war. Against all odds, the American prisoners subjected to the
conditions of the 1944-1945 Nazi camp devise a plan to escape and demolish a
nearby ammunition factory, and the film portrays the adversity experienced while
trying to set up that assault. Nevertheless, the film concentrates heavily on
the character development within the camp, rather than the escape itself. Given
that the filmmakers wanted to establish the film as a tale of inner strength and
resolve, they chose one of the world's romantic film composers to balance the
setting and action of war. By bringing Rachel Portman onto the project, they
hoped to add the depth of heart that was needed to adequately make Hart's
War a film about character, and not war.
It is not the first time that filmmakers have wished to concentrate their war
films on the characters' dramatic development by using a romantic composer. The
film that immediately comes to mind is Platoon, for which Georges Delerue
was hired and then replaced with the infamous Adagio for Strings. The dramatic
impact of that film was reliant upon the romantic and heroic approach of the
music, both in the case of Delerue's work and the adagio. To an extent, John
Williams did the same approach with Schindler's List, too. In the case of
both Delerue and Williams, however, there was knowledge ahead of time that those
composers could deliver stark, war-like accompaniment if necessary. When it
comes to Rachel Portman, it's not really known yet if she has the capacity to
score the brutality of war. Hart's War, in many regards, continues to
leave that question unanswered. One thing is for certain: it's nearly impossible
for Portman to completely lose the charm of her compositions when she's given a
full orchestral ensemble. There is an intangible optimism that prevails in all
of her orchestral works, perhaps due to her choice of chord progression. In
Hart's War, there is never a despairing moment. Even when brazen action
and killing is taking place on screen, there is a kind sensitivity that
continues in each cue. Her title theme is both heroic and noble, making the same
use of a solo trumpet as she did in The Legend of Bagger Vance. Other
than the typical, quiet trumpet fanfare, there isn't any indication that this is
a wartime score. It could very well have accompanied a domestic drama of some
sort. The curious lack of a snare is compensated by the occasional rumbling of
timpani drums. Heavy in the strings as usual, the bass strings are mixed with
emphasis during moments of action. The thematic intensity of the score is
consistent throughout, making one believe that Portman may have succeeded in her
task.
Aside from debating the merits of the Hart's War score for its genre, it
is still an impressively dramatic piece of music. She interpolates her
omnipresent piano into several cues, reminding the listener of the shades of
Cliff Eidelman's early war scoring efforts. Aside from the film, the score is
consistently powerful in substance and thematically pleasing. The title theme
may bother a few in its resemblence to Williams' JFK theme in their
opening bars. But Portman doesn't disappoint those film music fans who want to
be swept away in a heroicly dramatic theme. While she may still allow hints of
her comedy writing to slip by every once in a while, the overall somber tone of
Hart's War distringuishes this work from all of her others. There were a
few moments in The Cider House Rules that featured a strong brass
accompaniment as that which is recorded for Hart's War, but never with
this intensity. The final two tracks of the album are a dramatic powerhouse, and
could have alone gained this score an award nomination had the film's opening
been timed better. At the same time, even though Portman fans will be
undoubtedly impressed with this album and score, there are lingering concerns
about the lack of brutality in Portman's style (and how that may affect the
score as heard in the film). The album is shorter than many others from the
Decca label, but what is included is by far enough to establish an easy and
consistent listening experience. In sum, Portman didn't go out on a limb for
Hart's War, staying suprisingly close to her prefered styles while adding
just enough intensity to pass the score off as a solid accompaniment for war. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Final Salute (3:25)
• 2. Hart Captured and Interrogated (5:19)
• 3. Scott's Macon, Georgia Story/Train Yard Strafing and Bombing (3:52)
• 4. Visser Testifies (3:07)
• 5. Visser Finds Tunnel (6:45)
• 6. March to Stalag 6A (3:18)
• 7. Archer Shot Dead (1:13)
• 8. Scott Railroaded (3:17)
• 9. "Everything is OK, Tommy" (1:52)
• 10. Blackened Face Testimony (2:36)
• 11. Hart Finds Bedford's Stash (1:03)
• 12. Hart Discovers Tunnel (3:30)
• 13. McNamara Trades His Life (2:47)
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The insert contains a considerable note
from the director of the film regarding Portman's role in the project.
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