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Orchestrated by:
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Ralph Ferraro
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Release Date:
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June 6th, 2000
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you enjoy good parody scores, and are inclined towards
Randy Edelman's pleasant, harmonious method of composition.
Avoid it... if you prefer to have your thinking cap on while listening
to it.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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| | Edelman | |
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Shanghai Noon: (Randy Edelman) The appeal of Jackie
Chan films was at its height when the idea for Shanghai Noon splashed
across the big screens. His previous hit films in America, Rumble in the
Bronx, Mr. Nice Guy, and Rush Hour, had varying levels of
lower intelligence, but for the most part, any script that allows Chan to
wiggle through a shopping cart and kick someone in the groin at the same
time is worthy of a reel of film. The concept of Shanghai Noon
presented the same awe-inspiring stunts from the funnyman, but this time in
the setting of the Wild West... not the usual urban environment for Chan.
Pairing up with comedian Owen Wilson, the two battle the law and kidnappers
on the road to saving a princess, and several playful references to famous
westerns (including, of course, High Noon) are included along the
way. The film's success would lead to a sequel for the two leads, and both
entries would be scored by Randy Edelman. Despite his plethora of scores up
to the year 2000, Edelman had not scored a Western, and much of his
Eastern-influenced work revolved around the subtle instrumentation in
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. His career was also sparse in authentic
historical settings --with his trademark synthetic sound causing
difficulties with his music for Gettysburg-- and luckily, all of this
lack of much experience in these genres was compensated by the fact that
Shanghai Noon is, after all, mindless entertainment, and both the
Eastern and historical elements could be handled with a silly, non-serious
touch. There were a few grand vista shots in the film, allowing Edelman to
return to familiar territory with his epic, harmonious themes. He dabbles
his feet in many different genres in Shanghai Noon, and makes use of
every Western-inclined instrument and sound effect, but never does he do so
with a serious enough intent to really diversify his template further than
it was already established.
As to be expected, Edelman's score for Shanghai Noon
is pleasantly enjoyable and, like the film, not very demanding of attention.
With themes of rather simplistic construction and a consistently positive,
major-key attitude, Edelman creates an easily enjoyable environment in which
highlighted motifs could flow in and out depending on locale. With the
consistency of Edelman's style in mind --and film music collectors with four
or five Edelman scores on their shelves will immediately recognize the
syrupy nature of his music-- the score jumps back and forth between an
Eastern motif and a Wild Western one, sometimes as rapidly as Chan can
thwart yet another dumb, would-be attacker through reluctant force. Some of
the stereotypes of the Eastern and Western music that Edelman plays to are
so oversimplified in Shanghai Noon that they work as parody and
nothing more. There is Bernstein and Tiomkin in the Western music, with
several cues pulling heavily from scores that accompany films that are also
made fun of in this film. The Eastern elements are a little less developed
and even more stereotypical (one might imagine that Tan Dun would cringe if
he heard this music), but that makes it funny enough to fit with the
project. Part of the reason the two genres don't entirely match with reality
is because of Edelman's slighly synthetic edge to almost all of his music.
The London orchestra recorded for Shanghai Noon is impressive, and
yet Edelman continues to lay levels of synth over the symphonic elements.
This suffices in making the score sound bigger, per se, but it also taints
the music slightly by forcing its instrumentation down to a more shallow
level. Even so, the sum of the parts is effective in Shanghai Noon
because of the comedy genre, and all Chan flicks should be so fortunate as
to have such a score. On album, Edelman's parody work is a tad less
convincing, but it is still a strong listen for the right mood. It stands a
level higher than the sequel score (for Shanghai Knights), which had
the same themes, but more British pomp to accompany the change in location.
Overall, it's a romp, but it's also one stereotype after another. Approach
it without your thinking cap! ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Forbidden City (1:04)
• 2. Journey of the Imperial Guard (1:25)
• 3. A Fragile Princess (3:11)
• 4. From East to West (1:09)
• 5. A New and Grand Country (1:57)
• 6. Mountains and Streams (2:09)
• 7. Becoming a Cowboy in Carson City (4:01)
• 8. Leaving a Friend (1:45)
• 9. The Anywhere Saloon (2:21)
• 10. Say Hello to the Tribe (2:04)
• 11. Breakout at the Mission (2:55)
• 12. Getting Extremely Personal (1:54)
• 13. Bonding in Jail (2:04)
• 14. Shanghai Noon (1:15)
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• 15. A Classic Gunfight (3:52)
• 16. Dinner for Three at SueSingoui (0:51)
• 17. Protecting a Princess (3:59)
• 18. Escaping Death (2:02)
• 19. Roy's Epiphany (0:48)
• 20. The Cows Help the Jailbirds (2:27)
• 21. Martial Arts (1:56)
• 22. No Secret (1:02)
• 23. The Hanging (1:52)
• 24. Buried Alive? (1:29)
• 25. Rumble on the Train (1:35)
• 26. Home on the Rangoon (2:04)
• 27. Finale (1:00)
• 28. A Fading Wish - piano solo version (2:27)
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Insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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