Buy it... if you want a surprisingly entertaining and upbeat action
score seemingly inspired by the genre's thematic tradition of Jerry
Goldsmith.
Avoid it... if the cost of acquiring this rare, out of print album
is not worth a pleasant, but hardly earth-shattering surprise.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Folk
Toy Soldiers: (Robert Folk) Among the tragedies in
modern film scoring has been the career of composer Robert Folk, whose
work has qualified him for assignments far better than those he has
received. Composing and conducting dozens of film scores since the early
1980's, Folk's career began to be noticed by film score collectors in
the early 1990's, when several of his better known scores began
appearing on the Intrada Records label. In the public eye, his
longest-standing affiliation in film scoring has been with Police
Academy and its numerous sequels and spin-offs. His output continues
past 2000 with more B-rate comedy and action films, including Kung
Pow: Enter the Fist and its sequel, with some his other works
confined by the small screens of television or video projects. A
promotional compilation of his usually overachieving orchestral scores
has been a hot item for ten years. Meanwhile, Folk also continues his
writing for concert works, conducting several of the most famous
ensembles in the world. In his sparse, somewhat frustrating film score
assignments, there is little argument that 1991's Toy Soldiers is
among his best. The same, unfortunately, can't be said of the film
itself. Badly beaten by critics at the time of its release, Toy
Soldiers is the tale of a Virginia prep school taken over by
Colombian terrorists. The rest is predictable. The terrorists want their
leader released from American custody, so they plant explosives around
the school and threaten to blow up the sons of famous and wealthy
citizens. But, as to be expected, those sons are deviant brats, and they
are eventually more effective at foiling the terrorists than the hoards
of American military outside the school. Debuting director Daniel Petrie
Jr. gives us nothing that we don't expect to see, and in the end, only
Robert Folk's militaristic score stands out as a refreshing element.
Even with that said, though, some critics commented that Folk's
large-scale orchestral score did more to expose the film's ridiculous
nature than provide a convincing musical backdrop for the
suspense.
This high-brow sound is exactly how Folk and Petrie Jr.
conceived the score: from a "large, rich, classically motivated
orchestral approach." If Folk's Toy Soldiers does suffer a
weakness, it is the hopelessly upbeat nature of much of his writing
(stemming likely from the endless assignments on silly comedies that he
receives), and this perpetually positive aura extends through even the
action and suspense cues in this score. In the film, the score is almost
too over-the-top, seemingly taking symbolic and thematic cues from Jerry
Goldsmith's The 'Burbs and elevating them to space opera heights.
Indeed, Folk's music here (outside of the perfectly preppy title theme)
could accompany a science fiction picture of epic proportions, and at
times the music overwhelms the quality of the film. But apart from the
flawed picture, the Dublin Symphony Orchestra's performances remain a
fantastic listening experience. The aforementioned title theme is
slightly trite in its handling of the school, but its trumpet solos
genuinely mirror the appropriate environment and move at a pace brisk
enough to keep us listening. As the terrorists take the school, Folk
introduces a series of additional motifs that extend directly from some
of Jerry Goldsmith's best action material, often with layered brass and
relentless percussion that is largely indistinguishable from the late
Goldsmith's extroverted action styles. Folk even employs synthetic
elements in "Narrow Escape" that mirror Goldsmith's use, though the rest
of the instrumentation in Toy Soldiers is held strictly to
symphonic traditions. The incorporation and adaptation of both the
equally-militaristic themes (in major and minor), especially in the
subtle uses of the prep school's title theme for the boys'
counter-insurgency, is commendable. The recording quality is very strong
(probably better than average for 1991), though one significant flaw
exists; the overmixing of the snare drum during action sequences is flat
and distracting. On album, Toy Soldiers was released commercially
by Intrada Records, but the product fell out of print and has remained
difficult to find for over ten years. A 13-minute suite from Toy
Soldiers appears on the composer's equally-sought promotional
album. ****
• 1. Regis School (1:51)
• 2. Escape from Barranquilla (3:43)
• 3. Closing In (2:28)
• 4. All's Well (2:00)
• 5. Billy Escapes (1:46)
• 6. Joey's Death (3:43)
• 7. Regis Captured (3:51)
• 8. Reflections (2:19)
• 9. Demands (3:14)
• 10. Removing the Chips (3:59)
• 11. The Cellar (1:34)
• 12. Jack Gets It (1:38)
• 13. Uneasy Quiet (2:11)
• 14. Back to Regis (2:29)
• 15. Border Killing (4:03)
• 16. Narrow Escape (2:58)
• 17. Snap Out of It (4:06)
• 18. Mouthwash Incident (1:51)
• 19. Interrogation (1:45)
• 20. Regis Surrounded (1:32)
• 21. The Plan (2:11)
• 22. The Wrath of Joey's Father (1:14)
• 23. The End of Cali (4:08)
• 24. Toy Soldiers (4:57)
Notes and Quotes:
The insert includes notes by the composer and producer about both the score and film.
