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Medal of Honor: (Michael Giacchino) One of the most
fascinating aspects of using a traditional orchestral score in a video
game is that the music's style and viability both precede and survive
long after the technology of the game is obsolete. This was especially
the case in the 1990's, when gaming technology on computers was evolving
so quickly that the games were forced to evolve themselves or be a
footnote in the history of home computing. When the first "Medal of
Honor" game debuted in 1999, its producers realized just that, and the
concept matured over the course of several sequel and spin-off games
also related to World War II. Dreamworks and Steven Spielberg were
responsible for expanding upon the idea of using full-blooded orchestral
music in video games after the successful recording for the
Star
Wars spin-off game "Shadows of the Empire" earlier in the decade.
This growth resulted in games inspired by
Jurassic Park: The Lost
World and
Saving Private Ryan that both featured orchestral
music by young composer Michael Giacchino, long before his transfer to
major motion picture scoring in the mid-2000's would yield mainstream
popularity and awards recognition. Partially to thank for the symphonic
sound in video games is John Williams, who may never have recorded a
single such score, but whose works influenced both McNeely and Giacchino
in the medium's first major orchestral recordings. At the time,
Spielberg referred to Giacchino as a "young John Williams" and, while
his expansive career on television and the big screen later revealed a
far wider range of stylistic talent, Giacchino's direct emulation of the
maestro in these early efforts greatly supported that claim. Performed
by the 64 members of The Northwest Sinfonia, the music for "Medal of
Honor" gained widespread acclaim and immediate respect for Giacchino,
despite some criticism regarding the blatant pulls of inspiration from
Williams.
While as a game, "Medal of Honor" was created in the
mold of
Saving Private Ryan, it's music couldn't be more
different. The sole similarity between the 1998 Williams score and this
subsequent game score is the atmosphere of solemn patriotism in the
solitary performances of their title themes on brass. For the game, this
theme's primary, most respectful performance comes in the opening "Medal
of Honor" cue, which builds upon the style of James Horner's
Apollo
13 for two minutes before an increase of bravado introduces the
Williams-like, full-ensemble characteristics. In the noble brass
counterpoint later in this performance and in a few places thereafter,
the horns take on the style of John Scott, too. While this theme is
technically the overarching idea of the score, its extended uses are
quite limited, with the orchestral material on the game's album
concluded by a jubilant variation of the theme in "The Jet Aircraft
Facility." More specifically, the theme represents the primary
character, OSS agent Lt. Jimmy Patterson, as he journeys through each
mission in the game. Given the suspenseful nature of many of these cues,
however, as well as the pacing of their action, the title theme is most
often reduced to fragments. Far more cohesive, interestingly, is the
theme for the Nazis, which is where Giacchino really takes a cue, so to
speak, from Williams. Introduced in "Locating Enemy Positions" and
exploding in full, marching movement in "Attack on Fort Schmerzen," this
theme is an extremely obvious rearrangement of the scherzo and
associated German themes from
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
The similarities between the mass of Nazi-related music in "Medal of
Honor" and that of
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade can either
be considered a major asset or a startling distraction. In either case,
Giacchino provides cues like "The Radar Train" and "Rjuken Sabotage"
with outstandingly rambunctious renditions of this theme with an energy
and complexity usually reserved for Williams' own works.
With these two themes mingling throughout, "Medal of
Honor" presents every mission with three to four minute cues that are
all structured like a mini-symphony. Each one has a distinct format of
development of an individual motif from start to finish, whether it's
the overwhelmingly engaging rhythms of "Taking Out The Railgun" or the
more subtle, turbulent low range movements of "The U-Boat." Each cue is
highly listenable, therefore, and attentive listeners will note a few
sub-themes, such as a specific "stalking motif," that traverse multiple
cues. The similarities to Williams' styles of the late 1980's and early
1990's doesn't stop with the outward Nazi material; many ambitious cues
reference Williams' techniques in composition and orchestration from
scores such as
Hook,
Far and Away, and
Jurassic
Park. The instrumentation of "Medal of Honor" is standard (in terms
of an orchestral ensemble), however, with the absence of synthetic or
exotic elements lending to a reliably robust product with a strong
central personality. The low strings are especially utilized by
Giacchino with outstanding results, often producing churning rhythms of
satisfaction. The only cue that does not synchronize with the style of
the whole is the jazzy, Cole Porter-inspired "The Road to Berlin."
Dreamworks Interactive initially only released the 72-minute album
through Amazon.com, causing more hype than probably necessary (remember
that Amazon.com was still a relatively fresh idea at the time), and the
subsequent entries in the series by Giacchino and others often exhibited
limited availability as well. The product's only weaknesses come at its
end. After a source radio broadcast version of "The Road to Berlin," the
album features two hidden tracks. The first is an obnoxious collection
of sound effects from German positions, while the conducting of the
American national anthem by Giacchino's own mother is thrown on, with
studio joking included, only for fun (the musicians intentionally
butcher parts of the tune). On the whole, this first "Medal of Honor"
score successfully set the tone for several sequels and is among the
best imitations of John Williams' style ever achieved.
****
| Bias Check: | For Michael Giacchino reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.6 (in 11 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.38
(in 6,206 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes a plethora of information about the game and the
composer, as well as a cue-by-cue analysis.
