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Where the River Runs Black: (James Horner) The 1986
fantasy drama
Where the River Runs Black was a tremendous flop
for MGM, failing to gross even a million dollars during its brief
theatrical run. It was shot with great care by director Christopher Cain
on location in Brazil, using the jungle landscape as an element central
to the fantasy environment of the story. That plot involves the
half-human and half-dolphin people that inhabit the rivers deep in the
jungle, their lore carried by local tribes, and the complications that
arise when a young hybrid boy is separated from that habitat when
gold-diggers exploit the area for riches. When the boy is taken into
custody in the city by a priest, he identifies the killer of his hybrid
mother as a local politician, and in his haste to seek revenge, is
forced to flee back to his habitat for protection amongst his kind. A
fairly predictable and standard plot (outside of the dolphin/human
aspect, which needs to be accepted at face value) was a detriment
compensated for by the lovely scenery. Tailoring the music of
Where
the River Runs Black to the other-worldly visuals was composer James
Horner, whose career had transcended into the mainstream in 1986 with
major awards recognition. Horner had collaborated with the director for
The Stone Boy two years prior, and their careers were well headed
in opposite directions by the time the low budget
Where the River
Runs Black came along. The ensemble that Horner employed for the
assignment will be familiar to collectors with the composer's later work
for
Vibes already in their collections. In fact, nearly
everything about
Where the River Runs Black will remind listeners
of
Vibes, the jungle settings and hint of fantasy very consistent
across the two scores. Built from keyboarded synthesizers up, these
scores both rely upon electronic vocal effects, pan pipes, exotic flute,
select plucked accents, and a variety of dynamic percussion that
balances the organic with the synthetic. It's a limited set of
instruments, but Horner manages to use them effectively enough to
accentuate the setting and provide a basic layer of intrigue, mystery,
and dread without drawing much attention to himself. Creativity outside
of these elements is sadly missing; unlike Jerry Goldsmith's handling of
jungle atmospheres, Horner never seemed to use his synthetics (outside
of metallic mechanisms to resemble the blowing of wind through trees in
subsequent works) to actually imitate the sounds of water droplets or
similar sounds of the forest.
Horner's use of pan pipes in the 1980's often led to
compelling recordings, and the instrument's quiet, contemplative
meandering in
Where the River Runs Black yields the score's
highlights. When there are times of more active rhythmic intensity to
accompany these performances, never does Horner whip them into a frenzy
as he would do in
Vibes. Nor is the memorable lyricism as evident
here, either. The melodies of
Where the River Runs Black are very
subtle, often strained over lengthy periods in their full constructs.
The pipes are joined by electronic choral tones that are synthetic
enough to openly suggest a fantasy atmosphere. Deeply resonating
keyboarding sometimes offers a much-needed bass layer to the music; too
much of
Where the River Runs Black floats about in the treble
region for it to be anything more than an atmospheric work. Cues like
"Underwater Ballet" and "Magic Kitchen" provide a much needed respite
from the contemplation, breathing life with Horner's folksy percussive
and acoustic rhythms that eventually produce an opening to "End Title"
that will be reminiscent for some listeners of the celebratory finale
music in
Willow. Such optimism is rare in
Where the River Runs
Black, however; the majority of the score is so reserved and
minimally rendered that it could be, with the exception of about 10
minutes, a somewhat disheartening experience. The minimal outright
suspense and horror moments, such as "Sierra Pelada," explore tones as
challenging in pulsating low keyboarding as anything in
Vibes,
with some dissonant chime effects carrying over from
Gorky Park.
The biggest difficulty that
Where the River Runs Black presents
in sum is its general lack of direction or maturity of ideas. Horner
basically handles familial and alienation scenes in consistent fashion
from start to end, leaving listeners grasping at the tone of the music
rather than any particular construct. There is no theme that you will
leave this listening experience with. Instead, the score will give you
an impression, likely one of pleasantly understated ambience. Only "The
Orphanage" leaves an echo of beauty in your mind. With so many promising
ingredients, it's surprising that Horner was unable to collect these
ideas into a more cohesive whole. The album release for
Where the
River Runs Black is a rare Varèse Sarabande product that
demands prices completely unjust for the quality of the music. It may be
more interesting, per se, that
The Name of the Rose, but the
identical components form a more memorable whole in
Vibes. If you
like zoning out to your film scores, then this will be a three-star
album.
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| Bias Check: | For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.13 (in 98 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.25
(in 184,725 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
