Part 2 of my rundown covers the dramatic scores of John Scott - if you missed the documentary-centric Part 1, here it is: https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=106368.
Whereas Scott’s Cousteau works often found him writing something like a concerto for orchestra, here we find Scott not just doing that but also utterly nailing the BIG. MEMORABLE. THEME. Like, over and over. It’s astonishing how many great, long-lined melodies he wrote - AND how distinctive they were. I really started noticing how he’s a fan of holding notes in the middle of a theme’s progression for a measure or longer as a way of building anticipation (all while supporting lines/colors are still moving in the background)…listening to a guy’s works over and over will do that!
And even though Scott wasn’t exactly a chameleon, he could readily tackle almost any genre while still writing in his own voice - period dramas, bloated fantasy movies, martial arts B movies, cop thrillers, outdoor adventure - heck, probably everything except outright comedy.
Required reading: Scott’s lengthy “Random Roles”-style interview with a Spanish soundtrack site
http://www.bsospirit.com/entrevistas/johnscott_e.php
http://www.bsospirit.com/entrevistas/johnscott2_e.php
I recognize there are a number of well-regarded works of his that I haven’t heard yet - North Star (European cut), Shogun Mayeda, Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy, and the recently reissued King of the Wind among them. Something to fix this year, perhaps.
Here goes!
***
44. The Lucona Affair (1993) - https://youtu.be/HvIYaP-XHhY
Not bad (there are a few impressive dramatic swells, and some pleasant background jazz), but for a Scott drama score it’s shockingly unmemorable.
43. Birds and Planes (1965)
42. Rediscovery 1: Australia (1989)
41. Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983) - https://youtu.be/JUO6XYIkoXw
As originally conceived, Scott delivers likable yet nondescript fantasy material. Secondary themes come and go in an episodic fashion (with one distractingly sharing progressions with Joy to the World), the bookend theme for Yor apes the style of Scott’s earlier Final Countdown theme, and the whole back end is dominated by a somewhat comic villain theme.
Hey, at least it’s better than the Oliver Onions replacement music, quite possibly the worst thing I’ve ever heard.
***½ (3)
40. The Deceivers (1988) - https://youtu.be/Lsji7MKTksY
A remarkably grim, nasty suspense work, one that’s impressively orchestrated but often difficult to enjoy - BUT it does have a delightful end credits piece which should appeal to fans of Scott’s romantic outbursts.
39. Papua New Guinea: Into the Time Machine (1989)
38. Amazon: Snowstorm in the Jungle (1984)
37. Amazon: Shadows in the Wilderness (1983)
36. Papua New Guinea: River of Crocodile Men (1989)
35. The Scarlet Tunic (1998) - https://youtu.be/KCIkvFC7-g4
34. Parc Oceanique Cousteau (1989)
***½ (4)
33. Rediscovery 1: Cape Horn (1986)
32. Amazon: River of Gold (1984)
31. Papua New Guinea: Center of Fire (1989)
30. Cousteau Odyssey: Clipperton (1981)
29. Cousteau Odyssey: The Warm Blooded Sea (1978)
28. Cousteau: The First 75 Years (1986)
27. Ruby (1992)
Effective work tied together by a sultry jazz theme…but it also runs that theme into the ground. The climactic dramatic anguish has intriguing similarities with David Arnold’s future output.
Also, like, wow - the early 90s certainly got their fill of JFK movies, right?
26. Blood Royal: William the Conqueror (1990) - https://youtu.be/MY37ZFdfSqA
Worth hearing mainly for the awe-inspiring regal progressional ‘The Conqueror’. The rest of the album isn’t on that level but is still often quite good, though the various traditional pieces may put some listeners to sleep.
25. Red King, White Knight (1989)
Often entertaining - only really suffers in comparison to the more memorable action thriller scores Scott did around this time.
****
24. To the Ends of the Earth (1984)
23. Rediscovery 3: Madagascar (1995)
22. Man on Fire (1987) - https://youtu.be/gymnxi2P8rA - Yes, the OTHER score that worked its way into the finale of Die Hard
21. Witchcraft (1992) - https://youtu.be/o89Yoxa8QDI
20. The Mill on the Floss (1997) - https://youtu.be/MseIRTNzaIQ
19. The Shooting Party (1985) - https://youtu.be/2Q3KBc9VmRg
Ends up making sense that both of Scott’s deliberately ENGLISH-sounding scores are near each other in the rankings. If you like Patrick Doyle dramas or RVW at his most pastoral, you’ll probably like these.
18. Rediscovery 1: Sea of Cortez (1987)
17. Rediscovery 1: Cuba (1986)
16. Rediscovery 3: Lake Baikal (1997)
15. Shergar (1999) - https://youtu.be/Pl5TtcaFJYA
14. Walking Thunder (1995) - https://youtu.be/xLXlGmCb6_0
13. Becoming Colette (1992) - https://youtu.be/yA5h-xHQXKA
12. Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) - https://youtu.be/gJFL1kAYFxI
How many other replacement scores (heck, second replacement scores) have two knockout themes that often work in counterpoint? Praise for this score probably comes from appreciation for its warm statements of both those ideas, though be advised the relatively short album does index heavily on darker, more turbulent stretches.
There’s around 80 minutes of unreleased material, including variations on both main themes and significant alternates - those often a result of, as Scott puts it, the director wanting “Tristan and Isolde” and the studio wanting “Superman in the Jungle”. Thankfully, some of that material has found its way online https://youtu.be/LSXss5OfMm0
****½ (4)
11. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1997) - https://youtu.be/uZVvZyq98QA
This should not be confused with the other 1997 made-for-TV 20K Leagues story - this is the one with the bad guy from First Knight as Captain Nemo, not the one with McDreamy and Michael Caine as (yup) a cyborg Nemo.
I nearly gave this a full 5 stars in 2020, and that was perhaps a tad too generous. It is still noble, often stirring adventure music (in some ways compositionally similar to Horner’s “nautical” Wrath of Khan moments) with a wealth of solid themes - basically Scott scored the ideal version of the film rather than the flat thing we actually got - but it lacks the arresting OOMPH of Scott’s top-tier dramatic classics. Still, this is highly recommended.
10. Shoot to Kill (1988) - https://youtu.be/xd9UOviHG2Y
There are a few awkward electronic inserts (Scott rarely seemed fully comfortable with these), and the various synth takes on the descending killer motif give off a cheap “TV serial killer movie of the week” vibe.
Otherwise this is one of the finest sax-heavy investigator scores of the 80s, with Scott taking a malleable main theme of determination / perseverance and working it through a variety of urban and outdoor adventure settings. Possibly the closest he came to writing an 80s Goldsmith score, what with some of the action stretches and those drum pad swooshes.
Scott did several action thriller scores in the late 80s and early 90s, and before I started this rundown I had it as the best of the bunch - but not anymore!
9. The Final Countdown (1980) - https://youtu.be/_6nJXnmBEUI
Come for the big ol’, fanfare-heavy title theme, stay for what’s just as much a tense sci-fi thriller as it is a lyrical adventure score. Scott’s major themes are all aces (a statement that should honestly shock no one) and the main one gets put through a workout, but just as memorable are the relentless piano and the grimly descending low winds in the suspense sections. The brass starts to build as the score reaches its climactic moments, leading to some mighty action material.
It’s a great score, but not a perfect one. If you thought Jaws bled into the temp for the orca scene in The Warm Blooded Sea, then be prepared for, uh, a lot of dun-dun dun-dun. Some of the electronic effects haven’t aged well (in an 80s / 90s Star Trek TV kind of way), though they’re more used as an additional color rather than standalone. And while the revolving “Into The Time Warp” is appropriately detuned and hypnotic, it might give some listeners a headache.
8. Amazon: Journey to a Thousand Rivers (1983)
7. Rediscovery 1: Channel Islands (1987)
6. King Kong Lives (1986) - https://youtu.be/Y-bzg37l7TI - GRAND. COLOSSAL. EPIC.
5. St. Lawrence (1982)
****½ (5)
4. Lionheart (1990) - https://youtu.be/sVHOG2SgDSc
Feel free to just skip this part and read Broxton's review instead: https://moviemusicuk.us/2021/01/28/lionheart-john-scott/
I had this as a low-end ***½ score, and didn’t even revisit it when I did my initial 2020 collection expansion. OOPS. Time to turn off the snob part of my brain and just have a grand ol’ time with the music from the other so-so movie made around this time with this name (no, not the one about the freakin’ children’s crusade, this is the one where JCVD hits a Scotsman in an underground fight ring).
Between the valiant hero theme (and its stupendous credits arrangement, which I’ve struggled to not just have on replay), the lounge playfulness of the friendship theme, and multiple grandiose fight tracks, there’s a lot to love here. You can tell the producers had 48 Hours / Lethal Weapon on the brain (and maybe in the temp), but Scott pulls off all of the jazz with aplomb - it’s shocking not as dated or annoying as it could be (even in “source music” mode), and many of the core themes are capably realized in both jazz and orchestral contexts.
I wonder if James Peterson had this score in mind when he wrote The Red Canvas - not because they sound exactly the same but because they both over-deliver on orchestral might for their very silly fight movies.
Unfortunately, the Intrada album is out-of-print…and not in an “I’m sure you can find it on Discogs for a reasonable price” way - this sucker is out there commanding $180+ price tags! NO.
After my Great Gatsby reappraisal this seems to be turning into a rundown retrospective trend. Wonder what will be rated much higher next?
3. Antony and Cleopatra (1972) - https://youtu.be/6dBEdaaW9os
Written in only 3 weeks as a replacement composition, Scott unleashed a often-overwhelming romantic score with ancient-sounding accents on a titanic scale. The Cleopatra scores by Alex North and Trevor Jones are also excellent, but by a nose this one is my favorite of the bunch - the ‘Overture’ and ‘Main Titles’ may still be the high water mark of Scott’s dramatic film scoring career.
The second half dwells a bit more in dissonant suspense, which is really all that holds this work back from a full 5 stars.
Scott supposedly re-recorded the entire score during the ends of various other recording sessions in the 80s and early 90s. There was some debate (at least on the FSM board) about how “new” certain elements of the recording were. Regardless, it sounds great.
*****
2. Jules Verne Expedition / Odyssey of the Belem (2003)
After getting through the documentaries I thought this one had an outside shot at unseating the champ. It did not.
1. Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995) - https://youtu.be/mkU2a8vEtDY & https://youtu.be/t-S7XARxzzw
The Homeward Bound scores are real dang good - but allow me to sing the praises of this superior Canadian import. It traverses the spectrum from the epic (with four or five lines of activity going on with the full orchestra reaching King Kong Lives-levels of volume) to the intimate (solo acoustic guitar) without a dull moment.
The early Storm cue is a masterpiece of construction, with the militaristic snare kicking in midway to let us know things are dangerous now (not too far from what James Horner would sometimes do) and activity just building and building from there (burbling bassoons!) until it reaches a disastrous climax.
Is the ending (the first link) overscored? Oh goodness, yes, almost in a hilariously over-the-top way. But isn’t that kind of the point of a youth-centric adventure score, where everything SUPPOSED to feel larger than life? I love it.
The slight electronic element, a whistling synth with shades of Maurice Jarre that’s possibly a nod to a post-Free Willy world where a “kids and animals” movie has to have something contemporary in its soundscape, might be make-or-break for some, but I for one appreciate the almost mystical edge it adds to a few tracks.
Fans of Goldsmith, Horner, and Elmer Bernstein (the latter due to the slight rambling blues influence that sneaks into some pieces) at their most adventurous should seek this with confidence. I gave this ****½ last time out and that was dumb of me - it’s a 5-star classic, one of the finest action/adventure scores of the 90s, and probably in my top 150 scores of all time.
Also, Scott’s comments are worth printing in full - it is truly astonishing he wrote such a superior work given the many difficulties the film went through (art from adversity, amirite?):
This film brought me a great deal of frustration, a great deal of sadness and, in the end, a great deal of satisfaction. I was invited to Vancouver to meet Philip Borsos who was directing the film Yellow Dog in the wilds of British Columbia. We had a very good first meeting and cemented a good working relationship. He explained that the film he was making was a survival film. He also informed me that the Twentieth Century Fox executives were trying to persuade him to make a Disney kind of family fun film. This was the last thing he wanted, so he needed to make sure that I understood what he was trying to achieve. He asked me to come back to Vancouver in two months time -he would have finished his principal filming and would be able to show me footage and discuss further.
The next time I arrived in Vancouver I was installed in my hotel and Philip failed to meet me. Two days later we still had not met and I had received no explanation. However, I was finally informed that Philip had been taken ill with flu and had ended up in hospital. It turned out to be worse than that and I returned to London with the knowledge that Philip had leukemia and was very ill.
A month later he was much better and I visited him again. He had lost his bushy crop of hair and did not seem too bad. He was waiting for a bone marrow transplant. However, the Fox executives had decided that they did not like Philip's film and instructed the editor to re-cut it. They also briefed me as to how they wanted an amusing score; not dark and threatening.
A week before we were due to record the music in Seattle where it would have been very convenient for Philip Borsos to attend, the Fox executives cancelled the recording sessions and informed me that they had to reconsider the structure of the film. I was very upset for Philip and for myself. I returned to London, not expecting to hear from them again.
However, six weeks later they contacted me and presented me with a new version of the film. It was not Philip's version. I had just over three weeks to compose and record the score in London. I did my best to provide the score that Philip Borsos and I had planned and all through the recording I had fights with the executive producer. He was saying things like: 'I know the boy's father has drowned and he has very little chance of surviving, but could you not make it happy and light-hearted'.
When the boy is reduced to eating worms in order to survive, they wanted me to write funny music for the worms! I am not joking. This is a fact! Needless to say, they did not get their funny worm music. As soon as the score had been recorded I sent a copy of the recording to Philip. He phoned me from Vancouver to say he was thrilled and very happy with the music. He died a few days later.
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