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The River: (John Williams) There was a flurry of
films in the early 1980's that dealt with dramatic representations of
the hardship of the American farmer, and largely because
The
River arrived last in this series in 1984, audiences weren't
particularly sympathetic to it. The quality of the film, despite poor
critical response, is quite decent, setting aside the awkwardness of
Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson as the leading couple fighting to save their
farm from both a regularly flooding river and a hydroelectric developer
played brilliantly by Scott Glenn. Director Mark Rydell once again turns
his attention on the mundane but important aspects of rural America in
The River, tackling the subject of farming from both the
perspectives of money and natural disaster. Gibson, while not known
widely at the time, has always remained the weak link in an otherwise
precise depiction of contemporary Alabama lifestyles. Helping counter
his miscasting is John Williams, who was once again inspired by Rydell
to convey a convincing sense of Americana that few modern composers
could accomplish. Williams' work for Rydell had included
The
Reivers and
The Cowboys, and while
The River obviously
exists in a different generation and addressed more realistic, everyday
subject matter for many audiences, the composer does not miss the chance
to emphasize the farmland along with the people. The success of
The
River as a score is due to Williams' ability to capture the pastoral
elements of the landscape and a simple lifestyle in both the massive
scope of expansive melodrama that listeners have come to expect from him
and, more importantly, in the more confined atmosphere of personal,
heartfelt struggles. Throughout the picture, Williams' score offsets the
film's ominous storm clouds with an upbeat spirit of perseverance and
respect for the land. It is as organic in texture as the composer has
perhaps ever been.
The music does occasionally reach for the sense of
majesty that was common in the composer's scores of the early 1980's,
but for listeners weary of Williams' space operas and adventure sound of
this period,
The River has always been an anomaly worthy of
repeat appreciation. The Academy agreed, nominating this score along
with Williams' other work of the year,
Indiana Jones and the Temple
of Doom. In many ways,
The River has more of a unique impact
on its film than its better known companion from that year. One of the
small wonders regarding
The River is the fact that Williams
created four distinct themes for the picture and managed to develop each
one with remarkable precision throughout his relatively short score.
Listeners often get sidetracked by Williams memorable instrumentation
for the recording, including notable contributions by trumpet, flute,
contemporary percussion, and, most importantly, acoustic guitar. But the
underlying themes in
The River allow the remarkable solo
performances to appeal to the heart of the listener better than the
ensemble could have done with otherwise mechanical structures. The album
cue "The River" conveniently conveys all four of these ideas in direct
succession. The first theme is one of jubilation and hope, opening the
first twenty seconds of that opening cue and occupying greater time in
the first minute of "From Farm to Factory." This idea is very
reminiscent in spirit and performance of the perky adventure theme from
Jaws. Most prominent in the score is the next theme heard in "The
River," Williams' primary representation of wholesome living and
determination to make it work in tough circumstances. It is this
undeniably charming theme, usually performed with piano and guitar
underneath the ensemble, that extends to "The Pony Ride" (where it
receives some noteworthy embellishment in the form of a complimentary
country-inspired motif), "Back From Town," and "A Family Meeting."
Third in the cue "The River" (at 2:15) is the score's
love theme, tenderly representing the primary couple's moments of
bonding in the story. Solo trumpet in low ranges gives this theme a
comfortable throwback personality, expanded considerably by Williams in
"Love Theme From the River" and reprised with trepidation in "From Farm
to Factory," briefly in "A Family Meeting," and in fragments in "Young
Friends Farewell." Most elusive in the score is the theme for the land,
usually performed by solo flute and appearing first at 3:30 into "The
River." Soaring to great heights in "The Ancestral Home" (a cue most
representative of the composer's harmonically dramatic writing of the
decade), this theme is frequently heard thereafter, including "Rain
Clouds Gather," "Back From Town," and "A Family Meeting." Together,
these elements create an extremely effective work, "A Family Meeting"
rotates through all of the themes so effortlessly that Williams achieves
remarkable cohesion. While the drum kit-style of percussion and electric
keyboarding in a minority of
The River will date the score too
badly for some listeners, the three notable acoustic soloists will save
the score for others. The extended guitar work in "Growing Up" and "The
Pony Ride" is extremely easy on the ears, seemingly informing James
Horner's style of incorporating the instrument into a whimsical but warm
environment for
The Spitfire Grill a decade later. There is at
least five minutes of Williams' many different dramatic styles each to
be heard in the various parts of
The River, giving any collector
of his music guaranteed highlights. Only the harrowing scene of "The
Tractor" receives minimalistic, truly troubled material of suspenseful
dissonance to break up the album's presentation. The score was released
by Varèse Sarabande in 1991 and not only fell out of print but
became extremely difficult to find, demanding surprisingly unrealistic
prices on occasion.
The River certainly isn't worth $100, but at
normal retail prices would be well worth the expenditure. It remains a
lovely and highly effective soft spot in Williams' career.
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The insert includes a short note about the score and film.
