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Testament/In Country: (James Horner) Two of James
Horner's lesser known scores for 1980's films about American bravery are
Testament and
In Country. While the films offer a somber
glimpse at heroism in two completely disparate forms, both largely
unheralded scores will provide some pleasant surprises for a learned
Horner collector. The 1983 apocalypse film
Testament was
originally produced as a television project for PBS's "American
Playhouse," but the quality of the film was considered so high that
Paramount decided to purchase the rights for a full theatrical release.
Its production qualities are still those of a made-for-TV film, with
minimal, improvised special effects, strong acting performances
(rewarded with an Oscar nomination for lead actress Jane Alexander), and
a reliance on a strong adaptation of Carol Amen's short story, "The Last
Testament." The plot resembles many that prevailed in Ronald Reagan's
nuclear-ambitious period of the early-80's, with the concurrently seen
telefilm "The Last Day" better remembered for its more famous cast and
melodramatic treatment of everyday America after a nuclear war. The
stark reality of Lynne Littman's
Testament is a disturbing
experience to say the least, with the primary suburban family in its
story slowly dying off as radiation spreads and the skies grow dark. The
coping of average people in such an aftermath of global annihilation is
no light topic, and some audiences likely found
Testament too
overly disturbing to tolerate. It is understandable that Horner's score
for the film is equally depressing, carefully augmenting a handful of
scenes while much of the story was left unscored. Although the composer
had already hit the mainstream with his immense science fiction music by
this time, his work here is built for an ensemble of only ten players
and usually consisting of duets or solo trumpet or woodwind
performances, resulting in an extremely respectful stance while mourning
a lifestyle lost.
The standout tracks in
Testament include the cue
for the bike ride shared by father and son before the war, with Horner
providing one of his more enjoyable family theme variations for horn,
synthesizer, harp, piano, and strings (an interesting precursor to his
children's work a decade later). A title theme for horn exists
separately, a variation on this consistently utilized idea recollected
by haunting choir in the late moments of the score. Less engaging is a
theme for another specific boy in the family, eerily dying in its
progressions as appropriate. On the whole, striking solo performances
define
Testament; the respect that Horner shows with the melodic
simplicity of his work is shown in the fact that he mirrors the hopeless
optimism of the primary character (the family mother) with slowly
deteriorating statements of the title theme in a persistently major key
form. It's interesting to notice how many mannerisms in this early
Horner score would manifest themselves in much greater depth later in
his career. The sound quality for the score is outstanding given its
age, and it is reproduced well in the film despite existing in a
monaural soundscape. It has existed on several bootlegs, the most well
known of which a 1996 product from Romania that also features
In
Country (and thus this dual-score review), though in 2011, Film
Score Monthly released the score in slightly longer form to account for
source recordings. Also featured on that aforementioned 1996 Romanian
bootleg is Horner's score for
In Country, an equally emotional
tale (but far less depressing) about a family's discovery of
inner-strength. The 1989 adaptation of Bobbie Ann Mason's novel by
respected director Norman Jewison to the big screen follows the
growing-up experiences of a 17-year-old girl and her investigation into
the person who was her father, a man who married her mother at the age
of 19 and was promptly killed in Vietnam four weeks later. With a mother
who admits that she barely even remembers her father, the girl relies on
rehabilitating her detached couch-potato uncle (played by Bruce Willis)
who is also a veteran of the same war.
The gravity of
In Country is created through the
faithful telling of a series of little stories involving the girl and
the way that the overarching narrative builds up to its monumentally
gripping climax as the family visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Washington, D.C. While the subject matters are different, Horner adapts
some of the same solemn attitude from
Testament (and his
concurrent work for
Glory) into
In Country. The majority
of underscore is constructed with the piano solos that inhabit scores
like
Field of Dreams and
Class Action, with notable solo
brass performances also playing on a careful level of sensitivity. But
like the film, the emotional punch is saved for the final scene, and
Horner reacts in just the appropriate way. His title theme for the film
is barely audible after its full string performance in the opening
titles, but he unleashes it in grand style in the finale with a blast of
the shakuhachi flute (a la
The Mask of Zorro) and follows a noble
brass tribute to the fallen with a lush, striking performance of the
title theme, first with strings as powerful as they were in
The Land
Before Time and then in a heartbreaking duet with the shakuhachi.
Despite the average components of the score's main underscore, the
quality of this final cue raises the value of the
In Country
score to one of solid recommendation. While both
In Country and
Testament exist in satisfactory treatment (and with clear sound
quality in both cases) on that 1996 Romanian "Vivo" label release
(essentially an officially pressed bootleg, complete with barcode), the
same content from
In Country is also available on a 1999 Natty
Gann Records bootleg with a 9-minute suite from
Testament and
Horner's
Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. With both the two humbling
scores sharing a common introspective style, the Romanian bootleg is a
strong recommendation for collectors of Horner's dramatic works. Aside
from that, completists will find FSM's product for
Testament to
be an intriguing glimpse at the composer's mannerisms in early
developmental stages, despite the topic's overwhelmingly depressing
demeanor.
Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download
Testament: ***
In Country: ****
1996 Vivo Music Bootleg (Both): ****
2011 FSM Album (Testament): ***
| Bias Check: | For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
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and the average viewer rating is 3.27
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The insert of the 1996 Vivo Music bootleg is not in English, but contains
a note about the film Testament. The 2011 Film Score Monthly album's insert
includes information about both that film and its score.