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Conducted by:
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Pete Anthony
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Orchestrated by:
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Steve Bartek
David Slonaker
Edgardo Simone
Bruce Fowler
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Co-Produced by:
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Ellen Segal
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Release Date:
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September 24th, 2002
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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| | Elfman | |
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Red Dragon: (Danny Elfman) The saga of Hannibal Lecter continues yet
again in its third installment and its third different composer. With the sequel
to Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, released just last year, it
seems that Lector has been at the forefront of everyone's attention recently.
Red Dragon is, for the most part, a remake of Manhunter, and comes
at a time when audiences are on the verge of being fed up with the sight of
Lecter on billboards and buses. Musically speaking, Red Dragon represents
yet another different composer in the series. Hans Zimmer's Hannibal
proved (along with From Hell last year) that a horror film --and more
specifically, a Lector related film-- can have an engaging and interesting
score. The album for Hannibal was a strong seller, partly due to Zimmer and
Klaus Badelt's haunting score and partly due to the quotes by Hopkins throughout
its contents (a move that irritated a few Zimmer die-hards, but seemed to please
the mass populus of movie-goers). Danny Elfman, an (if not the) icon of
the darker side of modern film music, is brought in to score the prequel, Red
Dragon.
The horror scores by Elfman have waffled greatly in his lenghtening career. They
have varied from the grossly dramatic orchestral majesty of his early career (in
the Nightbreed and Darkman era) to the more mature gothic style of
Sleepy Hollow and, occasionally, the minimally orchestral, electronic
sorts. for a project like Red Dragon, you couldn't be entirely sure what
Elfman would produce, especially after the rousing performance he incited for
Spider-Man this last summer. Unfortunately, what Elfman did for Red
Dragon was perhaps the worse approach he could have taken: conservative. At
best, Elfman's music for this prequel serves much like the score for Silence
of the Lambs --sufficient, but uninteresting aside from its picture. Red
Dragon is surprising for its lack of originality. The assumption had been
that if it was subpar, it would be because Elfman used a rock score (as was the
case with Manhunter). But you can't help but wonder why Elfman took such
a narrow approach towards Red Dragon. It's a very basic, orchestral and
minimally electronic score with two or three undermixed choral accompaniments.
Tense high strings (a la Batman Returns), crashes of the brass, and tight
rhythms with the bass strings are the main event for nearly every cue. There is
very little electronic experimentation in the score, and only Elfman's
electronic keyboarding distinguishes this score from a run of the mill B-film
effort. Even the opening music for the presentation of the studio logos lacks
intrigue, suspense, or enthusiasm. In fact, for a horror score, there's nothing
remotely frightening about this Red Dragon music. It's atmospheric in
nature, and that seems odd for a Lecter genre in which a pointed comment by
Hannibal himself can trigger a spiked orchestral response.
Elfman does poke around with a simple theme, introduced in the main titles and
barely evident in cues throughout the score. Hans Zimmer proved with
Hannibal that the Lecter series could be scored with an intense,
artistic, beautiful score and still be effectively frightening. Elfman does
nothing with Red Dragon to distinguish itself, returning instead to the
old school approach of horror film scoring. It has been mentioned that Elfman
may have been reaching into the rich depths of Bernard Herrmann's style, but if
that's the case, then he shows his lack of professional training in that
attempt. It's difficult to describe why Red Dragon fails to grasp the
personality of the series. The orchestra's performance itself is lacking energy
and power, and it's then mixed at a distance where much of the original hints of
horror are missed. Nervousness, fright, and a certain intellectual deviousness
are required for any score involving a Lecter film, and Elfman especially missed
the last point. Unlike Lecter, there is nothing clever or unnerving about the
Red Dragon score, and given Elfman's incredible talent for creative
music, that is why this score's uninteresting attitude is so surprising. The
album contains none of the same devilish quotes or supporting classical tracks
as Hannibal. It is, however, an enhanced CD, with interviews of Elfman,
the director, and Anthony Hopkins included for your enjoyment. It is, as usual,
an auto-loading CD, so make sure you aren't in the middle of any heavy downloads
or other processor-intense activities when you put it into your computer just to
listen to it. Overall, Red Dragon is an astonishingly unimaginative and
uninspired score for it's genre, and a curious miss for Danny Elfman. **
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Logos (0:49)
• 2. The Revelation (2:41)
• 3. Main Titles (2:59)
• 4. The Cell (3:26)
• 5. The Old Mansion (4:45)
• 6. The Address (1:41)
• 7. We're Different (1:25)
• 8. The Note (2:47)
• 9. Enter the Dragon (5:52)
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• 10. Threats (2:23)
• 11. Tiger Balls (1:32)
• 12. Love on a Couch (5:08)
• 13. Devouring the Dragon (3:43)
• 14. The Fire (4:33)
• 15. The Book (0:34)
• 16. He's Back! (6:07)
• 17. End Credits Suite (6:43)
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Insert includes no extra information about the score or film. The product is an "Enhanced" CD containing interviews with
Elfman, director Brett Ratner, and Anthony Hopkins.
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