Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... the Romanian bootleg release if you enjoy James Horner's more somber, humbling dramatic works for solo instruments over basic orchestral accompaniment. Avoid it... if only the quality of the finale from In Country is worth the trouble of finding this rare collection of early Horner music. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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.
In Country: **** Vivo Music (Bootleg) Album: **** Track Listings:
Total Time: 55:56
All artwork and sound clips from Testament/In Country are Copyright © 1996, Vivo Music (bootleg). The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/2/96, updated 3/25/05. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1996-2005, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
