The prior entries in this series can be found below:
Part 1: https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=133826
Part 2: https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=133940
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The Pelican Brief (1993)
Based on the 1992 novel of the same name, The Pelican Brief is a legal thriller that follows a law student, Darby, (Julia Roberts) and a reporter (Denzel Washington) who get embroiled in political skullduggery when Darby’s legal brief detailing her theory on why two supreme court justices were killed turns out to be far more accurate than she thought. The final film directed by Alan Pakula, who had a long history with political thrillers (Klute, All the President’s Men, The Parallax View), and co-starring a who’s-who of actors from John Lithgow to Sam Shepard, the film was a box office hit despite middling reviews from critics. It’s also a film I’ve never seen.
As for Horner’s score, we’re once again back to a largely synthetic soundscape punctuated by acoustic instruments (namely woodwinds and wooden blocks) that largely stews in the lower registers for much of the album. It’s only in the final third when Horner brings in the full orchestral ensemble for what I’m sure was suppose to be the big cathartic release similar to Field of Dreams that unfortunately misses the mark. Unlike that prior score which still weaved in clear thematic statements in the synth portions before the orchestral finale,Pelican Brief is largely atmospherics or vague theme statements that are so deconstructed one doesn’t even realize they are themes. That said the batch of cues from “Darby’s Theme” to “Airport Goodbye” present some solid early 90’s Horner thriller-drama writing including precursors to the both Clear and Present Danger and Braveheart. Speaking of self-references, the action cues are most definitely inspired by Aliens while the slow build and transition from synths to orchestra in “Darby’s Emotions” takes the similar shift from Field of Dreams but amps up the melodrama.
Overall Pelican Brief is a perfectly serviceable synth thriller score that is given a major boost by its concluding handful of cues with the 11 minute “Airport Goodbye” by far the best piece, though ironically by no means a good representation of the work as a whole. Horner had/would do better work within the genre though longtime fans would do well to at least check out “Darby’s Theme” and “Airport Goodbye” if nothing else. As for the work as a whole, probably best to experience it within film context.
Score:
2 1/2 out of 5
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Jack the Bear (1993)
Labeled as a “drama-comedy” on Wikipedia, the plot synopsis reads more like a drama-thriller, but whatever. Yet another movie I haven’t seen and merely know of its existence because of Horner doing the music (and starring Danny DeVito), Jack the Bear is apparently the story of a late night horror TV show host ( DeVito) trying to raise his two sons after the sudden death of his wife in the 1970’s. OK, now with that plot imagine what Horner would probably write… OK, now imagine the absolute most crappy, cheap sounding synths performing that music.
That, in a nutshell, is Jack the Bear.
Admittedly this is the year that Horner was attached to a whopping 11 films in the calendar year, but even then Jack the Bear feels like a melting pot of ideas that haven't fully gelled yet. If the ultra cheap synths and samples weren’t bad enough, the thematic material here feels very half baked and mostly consists of fragments of ideas that would be fleshed out in later works such as Jumanji, Deep Impact and The Spitfire Grill when not using the Danger Motif. Overall the whole affair feels like a composer quickly trying to get a product out on a time crunch.
On the plus side is the occasional use of acoustic instruments such as piano, flute or harmonica which thankfully breaks up the horrid synth usage, though even then only for a brief time (see "Flashback" as a key example).
To go ahead and sum up, skip Jack the Bear unless one has a preexisting fondness for the music. Everything that is toyed with here would be presented in far better forms in later works... and actually performed better to boot. Hopefully this will be the last under 2/5 effort on this journey, though according to Clem the nest entry is far worse….
Score:
1 1/2 out of 5
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Jade (1995)
Ah, Jade… the one Horner score that for years had my curiosity piqued thanks to Clem’s eviserating review of it. Still haven’t seen the film, though I want to since it’s a William Friedkin joint, but *did* get around to listening to a YouTube upload of what is apparently the Unmentionable album presentation and… it’s fine?
This is most definitely Horner in dark thriller/horror territory with abundant shakuhachi flute, rambling piano, an army of synths (including sampled female vocals) and some acoustic instruments mixed in here and there (piano, erhu, strings, percussion). As Clem pointed out in his review easily the two most striking features of the score is the interpolation of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring into a handful of cues and hauntingly gorgeous song “The Mystics Dream” by Loreena McKennitt. As for the Horner original material, it largely resides in the same airy synth soundscape as The Name of the Rose mixed with the “Revenge” cues from Legends of the Fall & Braveheart. Understandably not for everyones sensibilities, but I personally found it to be a darkly enticing soundscape anchored by a growling two-note motif that rises out of the haze before retreating whence it came.
Despite its reputation as one of Horner’s worst efforts, I’d still recommend giving Jade a try especially for those with a more open palette. For all others, at least check out “The Mystics Dream” if nothing else.
Score:
2 1/2 out of 5
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I recently shared a review for Barbie with some of my friends and included the closing line "... but maybe, that's Kenough." It was too good not to include.
