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Orchestrated by:
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Arthur Morton
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Guitar Solos by:
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Pat Metheny
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Labels and Dates:
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Pioneer (Japanese)
(August 25th, 1992)
Warner Brothers (European)
(October 23rd, 2000)
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Availability:
No U.S. release. The Japanese import album sold on the American market for as much as $100 in the 1990's, but is now difficult to find. The 2000 German import sells in America for $20 to $25 and is readily available at online stores.
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Awards:
Nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe, 1983.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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| | Goldsmith | |
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Under Fire: (Jerry Goldsmith) The year 1983 was an
excellent one for film scores, with a slate of Academy Award nominees that
was well beyond most other years in quality. One of the nominated scores
that year was Under Fire, which marked an achievement in instrumental
integration that would lead to several successful years of orchestral and
synthetic elements together in Jerry Goldsmith's works. The film Under
Fire also received critical praise, with the hot, contemporary plot
detailing the real-life struggles of American journalists attempting to
report on the 1979 governmental revolution in Nicaragua. Most of the film
deals with the human element as seen in the most horrific of war zones,
ranging from Chad, in Africa, to the turmoil in Central America. Director
Roger Spottiswoode had been enchanted by Goldsmith's score to Patton,
specifically because the score captured the human emotions of war while also
playing out on the larger, grand stage of the conflict. When Goldsmith
accepted Under Fire, he was beginning his movement towards the heavy
use of synthesized instruments (and mostly keyboarding) as an equal
companion to the traditional orchestral ensemble. Historically, Under
Fire would arguably be his first major, widely recognized success in
these endeavors, leading to other masterful combinations of electronic and
orchestral sounds for Legend and Hoosiers (among others) in
the following years, with the latter also nominated for an Academy Award. It
was suggested that Goldsmith utilize a handful of solo instruments to
provide the appropriate local accent for the Central American setting, and
while the ultimate choices for the score weren't specific to that particular
region, they were appropriately Latin in a larger sense. A solo guitar would
accompany cues both large and small, and pan flutes from the Andes region
would supplement the less intense, more intimately personal moments. The
resulting combination of players would turn out to be magnificent.
Goldsmith manages to capture the essence of Central America
very well, building upon popular rhythms and motifs with his solo
instruments while maintaining the orchestral and synthetic elements that
make the music accessible to non-Latin ears. To this end, he is even more
successful than in either Extreme Prejudice or Medicine Man.
His use of synthesized samples to produce rhythms keeps the score moving at
the necessary pace of the drama, and the solo instruments --rather than
restraining their use to thematic performances-- are utilized to produce the
rhythms themselves in parts. Despite Spottiswoode's claim that the pan
flutes are the heart of the score, that distinction really falls upon the
guitar. Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny was a rising performer at the time, and
he fell ill during the days scheduled for recording. And yet, after
recording his performances several days later, the guitar is a perfect fit
with the attitude and emotional touch of the score, mixed brilliantly with
the other elements of the package. Contrary to assertions that Under
Fire is a score of rolling orchestral action, it is better classified as
a tightly woven, less ambitious drama, filled with several lengthy and
memorable cues of taut underscore. The love theme performed in the seventh
cue on the albums is nothing less than stunning, but in a very slow, melodic
performance from strings and the soloists. Metheny's own subdued
performances vary just enough in their repeated variations of the love theme
to keep the score fresh. These remarkably personal moments of introversion
are countered by the expected explosions of revolution, tackled by Goldsmith
with gusto and nearly dance-paced enthusiasm in at least two victorious
cues. Some true Caribbean spirit is exhibited in "Rafael's Theme," with
localized percussion and drums providing spirited performances worthy of
modern resort entertainment. Despite being a war film as well, there are few
bursts of horrific war themes or blaring brass. Even when the score does
address these moments, there is a certain romanticism in these thematic cues
that brilliantly expresses the enthusiasm rooted in the excitement of
revolt.
One of the more ambitious action cues, "Bajo Fuego" didn't
even make the final cut in the film, and if you watch the movie, you may
note that despite its high quality, Goldsmith's score is better suited for
appreciation on album. The recording quality was noted at the time to be
among the best of Goldsmith's career. The mix of the guitar, orchestra,
flutes, and synthesizers, which had been recorded separately, blended very
well for most of the score. The only moments when the mixes were less than
perfect were during the opening and closing cues of percussive and
brass-blowing bombast from the orchestra, which overwhelms the sensitivity
of the remaining elements. The sound quality of the flutes, strings,
synthesizers, and guitar (with "A New Love" serving as the best, most
beautiful example), however, is one of lush intimacy. The performance sounds
as though it is occurring right in front of you, although in large concert
hall, producing a close and intense, but reverberating sound. The orchestra
in full, on the other hand, plays "in your face" and comparatively slams you
without the same soft, concert touch, and this causes the only
dissatisfaction with the score on album. Nevertheless, the LP album was
reviewed at the time as having stunning audio quality, and was featured in
publications as such. On CD, the album has never experienced a full,
commercial release in America. For eight years, from 1992 to 2000, a CD of
the score was only available from Japan, where it was printed by the Pioneer
branch of the Warner Brothers label. It featured 45 minutes of score, had
liner notes mostly in Japanese, and sold on the American market for as much
as $100 a piece. In the year 2000, however, the Warner division in Germany
digitally remastered the album and released it (with the same contents) in
Europe. This album is a much more manageable $20 to $25 for Americans as an
import, and you no longer see the score selling for outrageous prices. For
Goldsmith and/or general film score collectors, Under Fire is, like
Hoosiers, an absolute necessity. It represents a remarkable
achievement in instrumental integration and offers several stunning themes
and performances that can make your hair stand on end. *****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Bajo Fuego (5:36)
• 2. Sniper (3:27)
• 3. House of Hammocks (3:14)
• 4. Betrayal (4:19)
• 5. 19 De Julio (3:29)
• 6. Rafael (2:37)
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• 7. A New Love (3:46)
• 8. Sandino (3:39)
• 9. Alex's Theme (3:41)
• 10. Fall of Managua (2:29)
• 11. Rafael's Theme (4:11)
• 12. Nicaragua (4:14)
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Inserts for both albums include extra information about the score and film, sometimes in various foreign languages. A note from the director is included in English.
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