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Jurassic Park: (John Williams) With Michael
Crichton's fabulously outlandish adventure story, the spectacular
digital and live action effects of Industrial Light and Magic, and an
odd assortment of entertaining character-actors, Steven Spielberg led
the charge of
Jurassic Park to immense box office returns that
would spawn continued journeys back to the land of the dinosaurs in
sequels to come. The qualified success of
Jurassic Park, in all
its domination of the summer of 1993, somehow managed to leave composer
John Williams behind. Despite a score of Herculean scale for
Jurassic
Park, Williams would overshadow his effort for Isla Nublar by
composing
Schindler's List later in the same year, a score that
not only swept every major award for 1993, but is considered by many
film score veterans to be among the most effective single film scores of
the modern age. So outstanding was the reception to these two monumental
scores that Williams would conduct them in concerts throughout 1994 and
take a break from scoring assignments while doing so. Compared to the
great action themes that Williams has etched into the minds of
mainstream movie-goers through the years,
Jurassic Park has
become surprisingly anonymous, with its bold identity rarely heard in
public performances since the franchise reached its sputtering
conclusion at the cinemas many years later. This does not mean, however,
that
Jurassic Park is no less a score; it was, and will always
be, one of John Williams' most impressive masterpieces, despite the
tepid criticism of the score that you will likely see from even the most
veteran film score reviewers. With
Jurassic Park, Williams was
given an opportunity to merge nearly every one of his dominant
composition styles of the early 1990's (a fantastic era for the
composer, by all accounts) into one score. And in the process of rolling
all of these styles in to
Jurassic Park, he managed to create a
score with a magically cohesive core that is extremely potent in the
film itself.
Among the styles that fans of Williams enjoy in
Jurassic Park are, first and foremost, the bold themes, with the
primary identity of the island split into two separate ones (more on
that later). The multitude of themes that receive full performances in
Jurassic Park will remind collectors of
Far and Away,
while the broad spectrum of emotions covered in those themes, especially
in their sensitivity, will recall the sadness of
Hook. Varied
electronic rhythms, sometimes brutal in execution, thump their way from
the suspense of
JFK. Relentless orchestral rhythms, often led by
intense chopping of the string section hail the glory of action cues all
the way back to
Raiders of the Lost Ark. Charming piano and light
percussion solos, and their integration into an ever-increasing
orchestral depth, relate back to
E.T. and more recently raise the
brightness of
Home Alone. Williams only sparingly uses choral
ensembles, though the employment of such a group in
Jurassic Park
is the icing on the cake, infusing the score with a delicious flavor
that any fantasy film should be so lucky to have. Perhaps the most
amazing aspect of Williams' ability to combine all of these elements
into one score is the wide range of genres the music was required to
travel across in the film. From fantasy to adventure, the horror to the
child-like,
Jurassic Park covers miles of territory musically,
making Williams' achievement all the more impressive in the film and
interesting on album. Loyalty to the development of his themes is
critical in
Jurassic Park, for Williams' collaboration with
Spielberg would lead to projects with fabulous, but fractured themes
(
A.I.) or no dominant thematic presence whatsoever (
Minority
Report,
War of the Worlds). There are few blocks of 30
seconds in
Jurassic Park when Williams is not developing (or
combining) his multitude of themes, providing the film with easy
identification and causing a fluid listening experience on album.
In a somewhat irregular (but in this case understandable)
move, Williams graces
Jurassic Park with two primary themes.
Their purposes are obviously different: a bold and layered brass romp,
aided by crashing cymbals and rolling timpani, introduce the audience to
the island near the outset of the film, and continues to define the
adventure associated with the park. Conversely, Williams wrote what is
technically "the theme" for the film in the form of a romantic string
and choral piece that remains as noble a fantasy theme as any Williams
has ever created. It's interesting to note that Williams would return
more heavily to the bolder brass theme in
The Lost World, thus
attaching its identity with the concept of the dinosaurs' return and
placing the string and choir theme from
Jurassic Park as the
identity of the particular island in the first story. Viewers of the
film are introduced to the "panic theme" relatively early in the film;
in the latter half of "Incident at Isla Nublar," after a nasty little
accident with a raptor, Williams presents the rolling woodwind panic
theme, often performed in the depths of the section. It rises through
the clarinets and is eventually aided by strings in both that cue and at
the outset of "High-Wire Stunts," where it builds to a phenomenal,
full-ensemble crescendo of horror. As a churning resident of the lower
ranges of the ensemble, this panic theme is not only extremely effective
in achieving an ominous emotional response, but also remains harmonious
enough to enjoy apart from the visuals. The music for the dreaded
raptors would fit any predator, taking the rhythmic movement of the
ensemble even lower. A highly mechanical four-note theme performed by
harsh brass tones is a perfect identity for the equally mechanical
killers, and it is malleable enough to be used as a foreshadowing devise
(as partially heard, for instance, in the opening titles). While the
raptor's theme is an extremely effective device, it's a tougher pill to
swallow in album, and one of Williams' rare oversights in the score is
the lack of this theme's foreshadowing in "Hatching Baby Raptor."
Several subthemes prevail throughout the score, often
contributing impressive, individual tracks that stand out on the album.
Often enjoyed by collectors are the lush string layers in "My Friend,
The Brachiosaurus," a cue that treats the non-threatening dinosaurs with
the wondrous and imaginative innocence from a child's perspective
(significant parallels can be drawn between this cue and similar ones
from
Hook). Another cue slight on the volume is "Remembering
Petticoat Lane," a music box piece for the lamentation of the park's
creator as all goes to hell. While this cue is a significant departure
from the overarching style of
Jurassic Park, mirroring the more
ethereal emotions of
Always, Williams uses the same general
instrumentation to represent a calming influence on the story's two
children in "A Tree for My Bed" (this time returning to the film's
primary string theme for structure). For the film's bumbling
conspirator, Dennis, we hear a return (with no surprise) to the
electronic bass rhythms of
JFK, including the rambling piano
motifs and tinkling percussion identical to the previous score. Several
other partial structures exist throughout
Jurassic Park, with a
noteworthy amount of them featuring some sort of four-note construct;
it's not known if this is intentional by Williams, but it's definitely a
trend in the score's themes to be considered. As expected, the "panic"
and raptor themes do eventually draw closer to one another, with the
churning bass of the raptor theme adopting the panic theme's structure
by the final cues of the film. Even the brass that perform the raptor
theme merge finally with the panic theme at 2:20 in "T-Rex Rescue,"
appropriately erasing their distinctions. The arrangements of the two
primary themes remain rooted in mostly concert suite-based form, and
therefore don't mingle in any great volume during the rest of the score.
Their variations on album are even more generous than those in the film,
with multiple mixes of both themes available separately, and two cues
combining them for use in the film.
The presentation of those two primary themes on album
can be confusing to those not familiar with the film. Their two combined
performances are both heard in the film: "Journey to the Island" is
exactly that, and features easily the most robust performances of both
themes. The "Welcome to Jurassic Park" cue is actually the end titles,
employing Williams' trademark use of piano to introduce the theme in the
credits before providing the string-based fantasy theme with its only
significant brass treatment. Unfortunately, the following performance of
that fantasy theme by the strings is lacking the necessary choral
presence in the end credits, an unfortunate event more than likely meant
to make the cue accessible for concert performances. The album cuts of
"Theme from Jurassic Park" and "End Credits" are edits and mixes heard
in other cues (from the journey and end titles cues, respectively). The
album has been significantly rearranged from film order, though to its
credit it does include a sampling of every major idea from the score
despite missing significant material. Before leaving
Jurassic
Park, however, there are individual aspects of the score that help
give it the personality it has maintained through the years, apart from
the major topics discussed above. First, the opening titles are treated
to an electronically-distorted thump of a Japanese drum, an unmistakable
way to start the score. Also used in that cue is sakauhachi flute, a
staple of James Horner's career that also flutters and blasts with an
eerie, wet (echoing) sound during Dennis' attempted escape. The use of
electronics and low male choir in the short opening titles and "Incident
at Isla Nublar" are rare in their combined employment by Williams in his
career. The native drum rhythm of "Jurassic Park Gate," aided by harp
(of all things), sets a perfect mood for entry into the park. The last
30 monumental seconds of "Finale" stand among Williams' most satisfying
closing statements. Finally, of course, Williams slips in a faint brass
inclusion of the raptor's theme at the end of the titles (and concert
suite) to leave the door open for the inevitable sequel.
Overall,
Jurassic Park remains a crossover score
that connects the high-flying fantasy of Williams' early 1980's efforts
with the more complex rhythms, instrumentation, and density of his
1990's scores. Despite whatever cynicism you may read from other film
score critics regarding
Jurassic Park, some of whom may have been
soured by the less effective use of the same themes in the two sequels,
this score is as enjoyable as
Hook and
Far and Away, and
is even more technically ingenious. Kudos need to go to the recording
team for
Jurassic Park; rarely is a score with so many
instrumental layers mixed with such attention to detail. The mixture of
wet and dry elements is well handled, especially in a multifaceted cue
like "Dennis Steals the Embryo." The choral mix in
Jurassic Park
is also outstanding; on occasion, Williams uses it as a subtle
background element in such a way that you don't really notice its
presence. Such is the case in "Journey to the Island," a cue in which
you don't outwardly notice their contribution until they majestically
alternate to a counterpoint line at 6:45 (the same applies to the second
track mix on the album). In the years following
Jurassic Park,
Williams began moving away from the unashamed enthusiasm of full-blown
fantasy scores, with an absence of new material in 1994 leading to four
underachieving or decidedly darker scores before returning with
Spielberg to score
The Lost World in 1997. Unlike many of
Williams' impressive works for sequels, and despite many outstanding
qualities of his music for
The Lost World, he wouldn't quite
capture the same abundance of energy (either in writing or in
performance) that we hear in
Jurassic Park. The third film in the
franchise was scored by Don Davis, making use of Williams' themes but
presenting only average material surrounding those ideas. Whether
overshadowed by
Schindler's List or not,
Jurassic Park is
one of Williams' very best action scores, and no collection of the
maestro's works would be complete without it.
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