Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you specifically noticed the score in the mini-series and seek a 50-minute compilation of the score's most important moments. Avoid it... if you are only vaguely familiar with Joseph LoDuca's work and are only vaguely interested in serviceable television scores. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The Triangle: (Joseph LoDuca) One entry in the myriad of science fiction mystery flicks produced specifically for the American Sci-Fi Channel, The Triangle aired originally in December 2005 and again in March of 2006. Both the Sci-Fi Channel (and its sister network, the U.S.A. Channel) have made a living by producing these type of big ticket affairs for their core audiences, and while still floundering at times in its television genre, The Triangle seems to have garnered more critical and popular success than many of the other romps on the Sci-Fi Channel. Produced by Bryan Singer and Dean Devlin (who co-wrote the six-hour mini with sci-fi veteran Rockne S. O'Bannon), the project features a solid cast led by Sam Neill and over 800 digitally-rendered special effects shots. The plot tackles a possible truth about the Bermuda Triangle, with a billionaire (Neill) hiring a group of scientists and survivors of the mysterious oceanic region to determine once and for all what is happening to his container ships (among everything else that disappears there). The American military gets involved, as expected, and adds pressure to the already bizarre events the group of heroes experiences. Due to the epic scale of the film, producers Devlin and Singer would need a lengthy orchestral score of significant size, and with the usual time constraints of any television production, they'd need one quickly. Devlin admits to being a huge fan of composer Joseph LoDuca's career works, often utilizing his music as temp pieces in other projects, and LoDuca was thus hired for The Triangle. LoDuca has had an extensive career in the television series genre, making a decent living at it but never seemingly cracking the feature film market with success. Everyday film score collectors will likely recall LoDuca's work for the immensely popular Xena and Hercules television series, for which almost a dozen CD albums were released. LoDuca's music for these shows and others was always serviceable, if not occasionally very strong, though The Triangle would prove to be of a more demanding scale. There is no lack of intelligence in the construct of LoDoca's approach to The Triangle. He wrote three primary themes here, often utilizing triplet structures or other elements of the number three, and while an astute ear can recognize this technique without explicit notice, it probably won't make a difference to the common listener. He also makes the expected move of addressing the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle by incorporating several effects of electronic manipulation on the performances by the orchestral players, sometimes flipping those recordings backwards. Throw in creative sound design in the percussion section and the usual minor/major key development over the course of the story, and the overall impression of LoDuca's music could be impressive. Unfortunately, it's hard to hear where all that creativity went, for the end result is a score that is functional at every level, but hardly worth any significant hype. Mark Snow has written music like this for exactly the same television genre (even X-Files had its own Bermuda Triangle-related fun), and much of LoDuca's contemplative or minimalistic suspense music falls among familiar lines for fans of Snow's work. It remains hard for television projects like this one to feature full, ambitious orchestral performances that don't in some way sound sparse or cheap. The ensemble for The Triangle is sufficient for the genre, but its lack of depth is exposed when listened to the album. Vocal effects always assist these scenarios (even synthetic voices often sound good), though LoDuca's primary theme has difficulty pronouncing itself with the heroic power necessary to be memorable. The opening two cues and final three cues offer some of the most impressive full-ensemble writing, with the underscore in between usually rumbling and meandering without anything strikingly interesting. The major-key transition in "It's Over," with full choral effect and cymbal-crashing brass fanfare, is the highlight of the score. One definite negative is LoDuca's incorporation of a deeply resonating bass in his "cooler" electronically-enhanced cues; both "To the Edge" and "Reality," for instance, present intrusive base rhythms that drown out other elements of the performances. Perhaps this strength in bass is necessary to provide the hip intent on small screens with small speakers, but it's distracting on a large sound system. Overall, LoDuca continues to earn a living producing above average music for tales of fantasy and mystery on the small screen, and The Triangle is continued proof that he is effective in that genre. But on album, the 50+ minutes of score provided, despite all the creativity in LoDuca's intentions, doesn't reach out and grab you in either its epic moments or its suspenseful ones. There remains Xena and Hercules material more highly recommended than The Triangle. ** Track Listings:
Total Time: 52:46
All artwork and sound clips from The Triangle are Copyright © 2006, La-La Land Records. 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 4/15/06, updated 4/16/06. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2006-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
