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Testament/In Country: (James Horner) Two of James
Horner's lesser known scores for 1980's films of American bravery were
Testament and
In Country. While both offer a somber glimpse at
heroism in two of its varying forms, both rare scores will provide some
pleasant surprise for any Horner collector. The 1983 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
special effects, stunning acting, and a reliance on a strong adaptation of
Carol Amen's short story, "The Last Testament." The story resembles many
that prevailed in Ronald Reagan's nuclear-ambitious early-80's, with the
concurrently seen telefilm
The Last Day better remembered for its
treatment of everyday America after a nuclear war. The stark reality of
Lynne Littman's film 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. It is understandable that James Horner's score for
the film is equally depressing. Built for a small ensemble and usually
consisting of solo trumpet or woodwind performances, the score is extremely
respectful while mourning a lifestyle lost. Two standout tracks include the
cue for the bike ride between 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 recollection variation on Horner's
consistently utilized title theme is performed by haunting choir in the late
moments of the score. On the whole, the 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 consistently major key form. The sound
quality for the score is outstanding given its age, and is reproduced well
in the film despite existing in a monaural soundscape.
Any equally emotional tale about a family's inner-strength
is
In Country, the 1989 adaptation of Bobbie Ann Mason's novel by
respected director Norman Jewison to the big screen. Following the
growing-up experiences of a 17-year-old girl,
In Country show 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 film's gravity is created
through the faithful telling of little stories involving the girl and the
way that the story 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, James 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 low 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
high recommendation. While both
In Country and
Testament exist
in satisfactory treatment (and with clear sound quality in both cases) on a
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 scores described above sharing a common, humbling style, the
Romanian bootleg is a strong recommendation for collectors of Horner's
dramatic works.
Testament: ***
In Country: ****
Vivo Music (Bootleg) Album: ****
| Bias Check: | For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.12 (in 89 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.34
(in 158,769 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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