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Star Trek: Insurrection: (Jerry Goldsmith) Actor
Jonathan Frakes returned for his second turn in the direction of the
Star Trek film franchise, an entry that toned down the suspense
and gave the series a breath of fresh air. The plotline of
Star Trek:
Insurrection is a lightweight compared to those that came before and
after, lending more credibility to the informal rule that odd-numbered
films in the franchise tend to be flightier affairs. In what essentially
amounts to a bloated 2-hour version of a story best sculpted for an
episode of "The Next Generation,"
Star Trek: Insurrection tells a
feel-good tale of the people of a heavenly planet being forced to
relocate because of a natural resource that an alien race needs on the
planet (insert wry comments about parallels between this and the history
of America... "Star Trek" writers can never resist such inspirations).
When the "Next Generation" crew of the glamorous new Enterprise
(apparently rid of its unsightly Borg alterations in
Star Trek: First
Contact) try to intervene, they discover that the story is far more
complicated. Less complicated this time around, ironically, is Jerry
Goldsmith's score. While the quality of
Star Trek: Insurrection
(as a whole) is universally considered less than that of
Star Trek:
First Contact, Goldsmith's score for the ninth film is arguably
stronger than the highly stylistic and overbearing tones of the previous
film's score. "I think this film is a more romantic film than any of the
others have been," Goldsmith stated at the time. "I think that the
subplots include a very lovely romantic story. So that makes it a little
different for me." He also commented that "there's more action in this"
than in the previous entry, a true statement about a work that has many
close ties to one of the composer's most popular action/science-fiction
triumphs,
Total Recall. The score for
Star Trek:
Insurrection, in sum, is more satisfying in its romantic and action
elements because of the simplicity of both and, on album, it's among the
better in the franchise. It remains leagues ahead of Goldsmith's
disappointing departure from the concept in
Star Trek:
Nemesis.
For the purposes of this review, the track titles and
times referenced will refer to the expanded score as it appears on the
numerous bootlegs that have existed on the market for a long time.
Goldsmith claimed upon writing
Star Trek: Insurrection that the
score only uses three themes, which unfortunately sells him a bit short.
He explicitly avoided writing an overarching theme to cover the entire
film, as well anything major to represent the Son'a villains. On these
points, there is really no argument. But he claims that he constructed
only one theme for the Ba'ku people, which is a curious statement
because of its blatant falsehood. The primary, general idea for the
Ba'ku is heard in leiu of a traditional overture, and a suite-like
format exists at 1:05 into "Ba'ku Village" as well as in the role of
interlude during the "End Credits." It also makes a brief appearance at
the start of "Regeneration" and anchors the finale of the film at 6:00
into "The Healing Process." This pretty and unassuming theme is
reminiscent of the kind of lofty strings and woodwind identity in
Rudy and several other tender Goldsmith character scores. Among
these works, this theme for
Star Trek: Insurrection is somewhat
generic despite its pleasant tones. Far more beautiful is the secondary
theme for the Ba'ku, one which critics (and Goldsmith himself,
apparently) seem to lump in with the previous theme. In reality, this
second clearly delineated idea is more prevalent in the score, and
represents both the magical elements of the Ba'ku's civilization (rather
than simply the innocence, which the first theme addresses) and the
relationship between Captain Picard and the leader of the Ba'ku. This
theme is far lovelier that the more generic Ba'ku one, touched upon
briefly in "Warp Capability" and "The Ba'ku Planet" before occupying
almost the entirety of "New Sight." A downright magical reprise of the
theme on whimsical strings highlights "A Perfect Moment" and one last
performance graces "Into the Caves" at the 1:10 mark. These two themes
together make for a significant amount of extremely relaxing material, a
trait that you wouldn't expect from a
Star Trek score, but it's
still welcomed for its uniqueness in context.
The two other themes that Goldsmith mentions are the
ballsy action theme heard at the score's most rambunctious points and a
heroic motif that is reminiscent of the four-note equivalent on brass
that he had used in his previous scores in the franchise (and which
makes a cameo at 1:20 into "Admiral Dougherty"). The action theme is a
roaring and bold brass construct with trademark Goldsmith rhythms of
pounding piano and timpani; the rhythm is formulated in "Dogfight" and
matures in "Not Functioning," where (at 0:50) the tenacious theme joins
it for several extremely satisfying capitulations. The idea is reprised
in "The Drones Attack" and, more dramatically, in "The Collector" (at
0:35). A faint manipulation of the idea is strung out in "The Same
Race." It has been reported that this ambitious piano rhythm and
accompanying theme were based off of the unused cue written by Goldsmith
for the "Massacre" scene in
Total Recall, which would make sense
given the close stylistic similarities between the works. The heroic
submotif also referred to by Goldsmith is put to extensive use
throughout the score, heard prominently at the end of the short, initial
title sequence (0:40 into the opening cue). It has a passing resemblance
to the start of Randy Newman's main theme for
The Natural, though
this similarity seems completely coincidental. It actually originates in
Star Trek: First Contact, not surprisingly. Two of the slower,
more melodramatic statements of this theme exist at 0:55 into "The
Hidden Ship" and 3:45 into "The Healing Process." It's a versatile
motif, like the one that it replaces in the franchise, and continues in
the mould of Goldsmith's distinct style for the films. Despite what
Goldsmith says about the lack of a theme for the villains, there does
seem to be a minor motif for them. Used throughout the score, its most
prominent and lengthy usage is during the entirety of the "Countdown"
cue, and an argument can be made that it serves a more general purpose
of extending suspense rather than represent the Son'a specifically.
Either way, it's effective, despite being somewhat typical to
Goldsmith's habits and therefore generic in style. To his credit,
Goldsmith maintains strong continuity in
Star Trek: Insurrection
due to his constant use of at least one of these ideas in every
cue.
Wrapping up the themes, several old favorites are also
present in
Star Trek: Insurrection. Alexander Courage's original
television show theme is heard directly at the outset of the score and
in its usual role in Goldsmith's "End Credits" format. Goldsmith's theme
for the Enterprise and the "Next Generation" crew is only heard in that
same standard suite and once during the film itself (as the Enterprise
is first seen at the start of the film). The composer throws a bone to
die-hard fans with two small references to his famous Klingon theme as a
representation of Worf (at 8:10 into "Phaser Blast" and 2:25 into "The
Drones Attack"). Outside of these small nods to the rest of the
franchise, Goldsmith doesn't make much of an overt attempt to attach
this music to the previous scores. He allows his usual stylistic
tendencies to make the connections, and it works. Outside of his
recognizable thematic structures and orchrestrations, the employment of
his array of synthetic sound effects is put to fantastic use. As in
Total Recall, the electronic rhythms and singular sound effects
receive a major role in
Star Trek: Insurrection (perhaps the
greatest of any of the composer's five scores for the franchise). A
handful of specific, individual moments in the score should be
recognized before moving on. The first of these is the strangely unique
rhythm and theme in "Exodus," an awkwardly cute break in the action. The
progression of the "Main Title" sequence, after the conclusion of the
statement of Courage's theme and the heroic subtheme, mirrors the
majestic descending notes of the opening to
Star Trek: First
Contact, an interesting thread of consistency. The climax of "The
Healing Process" offers the score's only short burst of choir in a
remarkably powerful crescendo (at 4:05). A singular, lightly stepping
rhythm in the latter half of "The Children's Story," along with several
other Ba'ku-related material, is a foreshadowing of the innocent side of
Goldsmith's forthcoming (and underrated) score for
The Haunting.
The performance of the "End Credit" suite is still not as strong as the
one for
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which endures as the
best version of that format produced by Goldsmith (regardless of the
improvement in sound quality over the years).
In general,
Star Trek: Insurrection will be
remembered for its enjoyable romantic elements and superior action
material that raises more ruckus than most of Goldsmith's scores since
the
Rambo days. It will be less recalled as a distinct
Star
Trek entry. Strictly in terms of quality of enjoyment, the score
ranks near the same level as
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and
remains a step above
Star Trek: First Contact and two steps above
Star Trek: Nemesis. The composer's scores of 1998 and 1999
(beginning with
Small Soldiers) feature fantastic sound quality,
with the recordings by Bruce Botnick mixed with a perfect blend of
instrumental clarity and ambient reverberation. In
Star Trek:
Insurrection, the resulting wet sound causes cues like "Not
Functioning" and "The Drones Attack" to be stunning aural experiences.
Unfortunately, occasional mistakes in the brass section can't be washed
away by the mix, and they particularly flub a portion of "End Credits"
(which is why, along with the awkward transition to the Ba'ku material
halfway through, is why it's not among the better suites). Fans of the
film noticed immediately that a substantial amount of good music did not
make the cut on the 41-minute GNP Crescendo release of the score to
retail outlets (an album that lacks the enhanced-CD capabilities of
GNP's release of the predecessor). Over the three years following
Star Trek: Insurrection, both of the remaining "Star Trek" series
on television ended and
Star Trek: Nemesis was seemingly taking
forever to reach completion, giving fans of the 24th Century "Star Trek"
franchises more time to reflect on Goldsmith's
Star Trek:
Insurrection score. Whereas the music for
Star Trek: First
Contact hit the fans at breakneck speed, immediately exploding in
popularity, the music for the ninth film took longer to endear itself to
the same audience. However, as the years have shown, a growing respect
has evolved for
Star Trek: Insurrection. The last two feature
Star Trek film score albums from GNP Crescendo, although making a
strong presentation of both works, lacked a few key cues from their
respective films.
Credit must be given to GNP Crescendo, which will
defend its budgetary and Goldsmith's selection choices to the bitter
end, but as with the eighth
Star Trek score, everyone knew that a
complete bootleg of
Star Trek: Insurrection would eventually
surface on the secondary market. It took surprisingly little time to do
so, too. Within just a matter of a year after the film's opening in the
theatres, the single-CD bootleg of the nearly complete score began
making its rounds. It's not uncommon for recording sessions of
Star
Trek scores to be leaked to the collector's market (in some cases,
as with
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, it took a while),
and regardless of your feelings about supporting the record labels for
the constraints that they work under,
Star Trek: Insurrection
really is a score that is better appreciated in a fuller form. Almost
all of the music that you heard in the film (but wish you had on album)
was made available in the same stunning sound quality as the commercial
product. GNP Crescendo (and perhaps even Goldsmith) would have argued
that all the important music was included on the commercial album, but
in this case, a strong rebuttal can be made against them. The bootleg
contains an additional 25 minutes of score, with a handful of both short
filler cues and lengthy action sequences added to the listening
experience. While
Star Trek: Insurrection is by no means a
perfect score (or even Goldsmith's strongest in the series), it is one
that benefits greatly from a complete, chronological listen. The only
way to fully comprehend the development of Goldsmith's secondary themes
and motifs (whether he personally admits to them or not) is to hear the
score this way. Addressing the previously unreleased cues, the opening
credits are supplemented with over four minutes of the "Phaser Blast"
and "Dogfight" cues, the first of which presenting a performance of the
Klingon theme for Worf, and the latter of which providing a strong
action cue of considerable length. The filler cues "Warp Capability" and
"Ba'ku Planet" are not overwhelming, but they do offer lovely renditions
of the secondary romance theme for the Ba'ku.
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1998 GNP Album: | | |
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Only $9.99
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The four and a half minute cue "The Hidden Ship" is a
considerable omission from the commercial album. As Picard and Data
discover a cloaked ship in a Ba'ku lake, Goldsmith composes several
minutes of dancing electronics and woodwinds that come directly from the
pages of
Total Recall's mind alteration scenes; it's a neat
reference for those who enjoy parallels in Goldsmith's work. After the
negligible "Regeneration," the compelling cue for "Admiral Dougherty"
hints at the troubling deception which exists in his presence, and
Goldsmith uses a touch of his Starfleet heroism (and the aforementioned
four-note theme that was previously prevalent in the franchise) in a
darker performance for this two minute cue. The tension continues to
build in "Lock & Load" until a noble blast at the end signals the
Enterprise crew's readiness to win the day. Three one-minute cues make
up some pivotal scenes together in the heart of the film; "Exodus"
introduces the unique string-plucked theme that makes its one and only
performance in the film during this cue. The cues "Data's New Friend"
and "A Perfect Moment" build upon the delicate Ba'ku themes until a
short, but beautiful rendition of the secondary romance theme punctuates
the latter cue (which was another glaring omission from the commercial
album and a favorite moment in the film). After the somewhat
non-descript "Into the Caves," the stunningly broad music for "The
Collector" (as it opens with great visual effects) presents the action
theme in full, elongated glory. The redundant Son'a material of brooding
suspense in "Countdown" ends the new material. The added cues mingle in
order with the previously released music, producing an outstanding
presentation of the score. Despite all the hype you've inevitably heard
about the superiority of the 2-CD bootleg release of
Star Trek: First
Contact, the single CD bootleg for
Star Trek: Insurrection is
a better investment. The crystal clear sound quality is the ultimate
selling point, allowing you to hear the strengths of Goldsmith's score
down to every last, wall-rattling detail. Seek the bootleg with
confidence. More generally, either the bootleg or commercial album will
provide you with a strong and rewarding Goldsmith experience that only
skirts the edge of the
Star Trek universe.
Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download
Music as Written for Film: ****
Music as Heard on GNP Crescendo Album: ***
Music as Heard on Bootlegs: ****
Overall: ****
| Bias Check: | For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.26 (in 113 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.32
(in 133,461 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
* contains "Theme from Star Trek: The TV
Series" and "Theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture"
** different from version used in the film
