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Composed, Conducted, and Co-Produced by:
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Edward Shearmur
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Additional Music by:
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Howard Goodall
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Orchestrated by:
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Robert Elhai
Jeff Toyne
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Performed by:
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The London Metropolitan Orchestra
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Co-Produced by:
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Steve McLaughlin
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Release Date:
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April 14th, 2003
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Availability:
Released internationally by Universal, initially in Europe.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you want to hear a darn good James Bond score spoof.
Avoid it... if snazzy, jazzy action scores with blaring brass and
groovy guitars make you wince, or if you simply detest the original Bond
scores.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Johnny English: (Edward Shearmur/Howard Goodall) The
Brits consider spy thriller films to be among their dearest specialties.
They are, after all, the brains and talent behind the James Bond series and,
logically, they're the ones in the best position to poke fun at their
beloved espionage genre. Such is the case with Johnny English, a
direct Bond spoof with the title character portrayed by talented physical
comedian Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean). Along with a supporting cast of
John Malkovich and Natalie Imbruglia, Atkinson heads a movie in which his
newly commissioned license to stupefy is extended to the boundaries of
misfortune and satire in every direction. Whether or not you can tolerate
the film probably depends on how high Rowan Atkinson is on your top-10 list
of "people who should suffer an untimely death." Personally, he's pretty
high on my list, if only because I find his bizarre facial contortions to
border on the perverse and disturbing. The film opened in Great Britain in
April of 2003 and is scheduled for a July 2003 release in America. It
joyously takes advantage of strained relations between the French and their
American and British counterparts in recent politics, with Malkovich's over
the top performance revolving around a French maniac who steals the crown
jewels (literally) of England. Young composer Edward Shearmur was hired to
provide a parody score for the project. While not directly involved in
large-scale espionage scores in his rising career, he has scored a handful
of films that are knocking on the door of mainstream success. The music for
Johnny English is a perfect kind of assignment for a composer,
because it allows him/her to incorporate the best of genre that is being
made fun of, while also taking some comedic liberties with that same
material. The Bond series seems to be the largest target of parody in
Johnny English, and fans of Bond scores will note immediately that
Shearmur (along with associate Howard Goodall) incorporated pieces from
nearly the entire range of recent (past 25 years) Bond music in this
work.
The film itself was designed to have a title song sequence
with Robbie Williams performing another parody of a Bond song. This time
with a distinct British flavour (complete with a theramin knock-off!), the
new song is a hilariously written piece that, in its lyrics, establishes
Atkinson as the new Bond, with all the sexual and predatory prowess of the
real thing. Its generally upbeat and silly attitude sets the course for the
entire album, which alternates between lengthy orchestral cues and campy
songs. Shearmur's score then takes flight, with the same structure as a Bond
score, and the same large-scale orchestral and choral ensemble to back it
up. Slowly, over the course of his score, he takes a page from no less than
five Bond composers: Monty Norman, John Barry, Marvin Hamlisch, Bill Conti,
and David Arnold. His title theme has the rambunctious spirit and jazzy
orchestral bombast of John Barry's old themes and the rip-off of the Vic
Flick guitar solos by Monty Norman. The theme is engaging, and, ironically,
ends up as a more serious Bond interpretation than even Shearmur was likely
trying to accomplish. In fact, the theme is so lively and well constructed
in its use of counterpoint and instrumentation that it surpasses the quality
of many of the recent, real Bond scores. Shearmur offers a
Hamlisch-like piano interlude (a la The Spy Who Loved Me) for the
sensitive scenes between agent English and his female, double-agent
counterpart. He then extends a rendition of Bill Conti's use of the
flugelhorn in For Your Eyes Only for scenes of dejection in the
latter half of Johnny English. The phenomenal action sequences,
highlighted by the cue "Truck Chase," provide the power of an active brass
section with a jazzy rhythm and electronic bass that sounds eerily similar
to chase sequences in Barry's A View to a Kill. Finally, the villain
is scored with a combination of choir and electronics (along with the
orchestral accompaniment) that has been a staple of the more recent David
Arnold scores for the Bond franchise.
In sum, the only mainstay of the Bond scores that is absent
from Johnny English is the epic love theme performed by strings
(From Russia With Love, The Living Daylights). But the rest of
the package is superb, and Shearmur obviously had much enthusiasm for the
project. The playful, and yet overpoweringly serious score (in parts) will
be a guilty pleasure for any fan of the Bond scores, no matter your
generation. The album was released internationally to coincide with the
British opening in April 2003, but is receiving an identical American
release to join the American release of the film. American buyers should
probably opt to wait for the American release by Universal and save the cost
of shipping in the import from Europe. The album features several
non-Shearmur cues in addition to the hilarious opening title song ("A Man
for All Seasons"). Fitting brilliantly with the espionage genre is the cue
"Kismet" by the all-string quartet Bond, taken from their popular album
"Born." The Bond girls (yet another stab at comedy) also appear in the film
and perform the (somewhat stereotypical) salsa version of Shearmur's main
theme for Johnny English. The only detractions from the album are the
inclusion of two songs by Moloko and ABBA, although the latter song fits
well with the campy British spirit that is sprinkled throughout the score,
title song, and film. The international release of the album is actually a
bit deceptive in its marketing. On the outside of the product, it lists the
total time as "62:38" when, in reality, the total time is "60:38" and a
whole ten minutes of that time is silence... The last track is a seemingly
15-minute cue with ten minutes of silence in the middle to trick the
listener into believing that the score is over. The hidden two-minute cue at
the far end of that track is a surprisingly mellow performance of the solo
horn and piano performing a theme from the score. Huh? If you're going to
try to trick people, at least hit them with a orchestral bang after ten
minutes of silence! Still, the 40+ minutes of Shearmur's score are an
outstanding effort, and Johnny English comes as close to receiving a
full five star rating as any spoof score can get. A slightly flawed album
keeps it from happening, but don't let that stop you from enjoying the romp
of an excellent parody score. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Man for All Seasons - performed by Robbie Williams (3:59)
• 2. Theme from Johnny English (2:25)
• 3. Russian Affairs (1:27)
• 4. A Man of Sophistication (1:36)
• 5. Kismet - performed by Bond (5:14)
• 6. Truck Chase (4:53)
• 7. The Only Ones - performed by Moloko (4:12)
• 8. Parachute Drop (2:47)
• 9. Pascal's Evil Plan (2:34)
• 10. Theme from Johnny English (Salsa Version) - performed by Bond (3:21)
• 11. Off the Case (2:00)
• 12. Cafe Conversation (2:12)
• 13. Into Pascal's Lair (1:43)
• 14. Does your Mother Know - performed by ABBA (3:15)
• 15. For England (2:22)
• 16. Riviera Hideaway (1:18)
• 17. Agent No.1 (15:13)
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The insert includes extensive credits, but no extra information about the score or film.
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