> This is part of a series. The prior installments can be found below:
> Part 1:
> https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=141012
> Part 2:
> https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=141088
> Part 3:
> https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=142208
> Part 4:
> https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=142588
> ------
> Dogma (1999)
> So this may come as a surprise to some (or not) but… I’ve never watched
> any of Kevin Smith’s films. The vast majority of what he has made doesn’t
> particularly interest me and the few I might have been curious about the
> clips I’ve seen didn’t win me over. So yeah, 90’s indie darling Mr. Smith
> is staunchly “whatever…” for this cinema fan. Wait… where was this going?
> Oh yeah, Dogma.
> An über irreverent (“blasphemous” in some circles) comedy/fantasy about
> two disgraced angels trying to find a loophole in Catholic dogma (hey!!
> The title of the movie!!) to get back into heaven while both heaven and
> hell attempt to stop or encourage this, respectively. Starring a veritable
> who’s who of late 90’s talent including Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris
> Rock, Selma Hayek, Alan Rickman, Janeane Garofalo, Linda Fiorentine and
> Alanis Morissette along with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (as their
> characters Jay and Silent Bob), Dogma was released at the end of
> 1999 to moderate critical appraisals, lots of controversy and making a
> nice little profit for the Weinstein’s. Oh yeah, this was a Weinstein
> production which caused the film to be OOP for years due to Harvey and Bob
> being… well, Harvey and Bob.
>
Alright, enough about the movie. What’s the score like?
> Well, what if I told you this was the next and final step towards Shore
> reaching full Lord of the Rings mode? And that it also has some
> not-so-subtle references to some old school composers? Sounds awesome
> right??
>
It is.
> The majority of Dogma is Shore in Gothic grandeur mode (adult mixed
> choir, church organ) with a central theme that mixes Herrmann’s
> Psycho theme (the main titles, not the “killing theme”) by way of
> Richard Band’s Re-Animator with a precursor to the Shelob material
> in Return of the King. It might seem kinda odd to have your score
> based on this particular theme, but it works surprisingly well. The
> rest of the somewhat short score album is filled with all manner of
> goodies including more early sketches for ideas that would become part of
> Rings including the circular three-note Evil of the Ring motif (I
> think that’s the right name… been ages since I’ve read the CR linear notes
> or Doug Adams tome), the opening phrase of the Fellowship theme and even a
> brief motif that would much later seemingly inform Shore’s title music for
> Rings of Power in the closing cue “A Very Relieved Deity”.
> There's also some fun references to the religious epics of Miklos Rozsa
> and even Elmer Bernstein’s beloved Ondes Martenot gets a starring role
> (which I’m sure will delight Rob Taylor).
> There’s also two songs included on the album, “Still” by Alanis
> Morissette and “Mooby the Golden Calf”, the latter a joke song
> performed by British children’s choir and as catchy as it is irritating.
> Be forewarned.
>
Overall Dogma is a delight whether one is a fan of
> Shore’s work as a whole or just looking for more Rings-esque
> material. It’s highly amusing that the score to a raunchy stoner comedy
> about the apocalypse would feature the final bridging score between
> Looking for Richard and The Lord of the Rings. With the
> album now readily available for streaming… do yourself a favor and go
> listen to this gem.
> SCORE:
> 4 1/2 out of 5
It's one of his stronger/smarter films, but yeah, not essential viewing (can't believe the blu-ray I found at a pawn shop for 3 bucks is now worth a shitload of money haha).
> ------
> The Yards (2000)
> An American crime-drama from filmmaker James Gray (We Own the
> Night, The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra) about political
> corruption, in-fighting and corporate crime within the commuter rail yards
> of New York City. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize
> Theron, Faye Dunaway, Ellen Burstyn and James Caan, the film was given a
> limited release back in 2000 and has since seemingly been forgotten by
> most outside of the factoid that this is the first time Wahlberg and
> Phoenix played onscreen brothers (which they would do again for Gray’s
> … Night).
>
As for Shore’s music, this is a surprisingly low-key and
> introspective work given the subject matter of interpersonal conflict and
> familiar melodrama. Three central themes are at play here: a central “Old
> World” inspired piece that could easily fit into a Godfather styled
> flick (“Queensborough Hall”), a tentative romantic idea with an
> undercurrent of tragedy reminiscent of the Aragorn & Arwen music
> (“Erica in Silhouette”) and finally a near direct lift from Gustov
> Holst’s “Saturn, Bringer of Old Age” from The Planets
> (“Blackout”). The reminder of the work is either variations on
> these ideas or more typical Shore dark drama/thriller material, which
> actually makes for a very accessible listening experience. While Shore’s
> adherence to his themes can be a tad repetitive as the album goes on,
> their clear enunciation’s help to make this issue less overt compared to
> some prior efforts.
> While I personally really loved this score, a completely new discovery for
> me, I can see this getting a lower grade if you happen to take more
> umbrage with Gray’s insistence on using the Classical temp-track or if the
> repetitiveness is too much. That said, I highly recommend giving this
> lesser discussed work by Shore a chance as it's Neo-Classical beauty and
> fairly consistent tone & style should be a winner for more than a few
> here. As Clem rightfully pointed out in his review, The Yards feels
> like a slightly lesser precursor to Eastern Promises.
> SCORE:
>
4/5
Haven't heard or seen.
> -----
> The Score (2001)
>
An American heist-thriller from director Frank Oz (Little
> Shop of Horrors (1986), The Dark Crystal, voice of Yoda) about
> a master safe-cracker (Robert De Niro) who is dragged into one final job
> by a younger thief (Edward Norton). Yet another movie that seems to have
> been mostly forgotten in the grand scheme of things, The Score did
> O.K at the box office in the summer of ’01 with critics liking it well
> enough. That said, the main takeaway now seems to be that it features the
> final film role for Marlon Brando in a supporting role.
> The score for… The Score… is unfortunately a major step down from
> the prior two titles covered in this installment though it does allow
> Shore to stretch his contemporary jazz side along with his now standard
> thriller mode. In a way, this is not too far removed from what Christopher
> Young was doing around the same time for films like Entrapment just
> with that heavy morose edge that a Shore thriller has. If only the score
> wasn’t so damn repetitive.
> There’s often the line that “you only need the end credits” or two or
> three select tracks from a score to have everything you need, and honestly
> The Score is one of those instances. Even with this being one of
> those ultra short Varese Sarabande releases from the 90’s-early 2000’s the
> listening experience is far too monotonous to really enjoy. “Main
> Titles”, 'Flashback' and “Bye Bye” are all you need from
> this… and maybe “Suspended”. Despite this glaring issue as a
> standalone experience, Shore does well with the music itself overlying
> brass, bongos, standup bass, electric guitar and lite percussion to his
> typical orchestral ensemble for a jazzy, sexy and dangerous sound. Given
> the repetitive nature and short runtime, this might be Riley’s favorite
> Shore offering, but to everyone else approach with caution… or just check
> out those three or so tracks I specifically mentioned.
> SCORE:
> 2/5
Ha! Well...you were close. I don't love the score, haven't heard it in probably 20 years...but it was damn near the first Shore I ever bought, I remember the score being 50% off at A&B Sound so I picked it up and listened to it quite a few times while studying and doing homework. I remember it being very fine for that purpose :P
Great write up!
