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
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Sliver (1993)
Not to be confused with the mid-70’s Cronenberg flick Shivers or the James Gunn Sci-Fi/Horror gross-out comedy Slither, this is an erotic thriller from the early 90’s based on a novel of the same name by Ira Levin from 1991… and I’ve never heard of this. Reading the Wikipedia entry it seems the most interesting aspects have nothing to do with the film itself but its production, namely the following: Sharon Stone is the lead which is kinda funny considering she literally just finished Basic Instinct (1992), director Philip Noyce (Dead Calm, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Giver, Rabbit-Proof Fence) apparently had a hell of a time with the MPAA which included making enough cuts that the final twist had to be reshot… and that Howard Shore did the music. Oh, to sum up about the movie proper it apparently didn’t do well at the American box office but was a hit internationally and made major bank on rentals (I’m sure some of the slightly older members of the board will regale me with fond (fondling?) memories of picking this up at Blockbuster or the like…).
As for Shore’s music, this is actually more melodrama than outright horror or thriller though there’s plenty of dark, brooding orchestral passages throughout. Stylistically I’d say Sliver is more in-line with Silence of the Lambs and Dead Ringers than The Fly or his more challenging work. The majority of the album plays almost like an edgy romance with an occasional outburst of thriller shocks until the final third detours into some very contemporary (for the early 90’s) sounds. There’s a couple of recurring themes I noticed, namely a primary identity heard at the beginning which is often carried by noir-influenced saxophone (this also sometimes sounds like Chinatown’s cousin in parts) and a descending four-note motif pulled straight out of Lambs. The sudden switch to more Rock and electronica textures at the end is I think another theme altogether, but I’m not positive… also a problem of only listening to a fan upload on YouTube of what I’m assuming is the OOP LLL album minus the bonus content. Or a bootleg. Again, not sure.
Considering that the film flopped so hard and that the only release of Shore’s music was a limited La La Land CD, I’m assuming a lot of y’all haven’t heard Sliver. For those that haven’t… it’s perfectly fine. If you want a more “normal” sounding Shore effort, this one mostly fits the bill until the aforementioned final third with the noir elements handled well. That said, this can get a bit repetitive in the middle section like some of Shore’s work does despite being under 40 minutes (again, not entirely sure on this since I’m basing this review on a fan upload). So yeah, that’s Sliver. It’s fine.
SCORE:
2 1/2 out of 5
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M. Butterfly (1993)
Another Cronenberg and Shore collab, though this one drastically different than their prior efforts. While the psycho-sexual musings are still very much present, this is a period drama and not a horror or thriller tale (or whatever the heck Naked Lunch is….).
Based on the 1988 stage play of the same name by David Henry Hwang (who also wrote the film script), M. Butterfly is very loosely based on a real story about a French diplomat (played by Jeremy Irons) who becomes romantically entangled with a Chinese opera singer (played by John Lone) in 1960’s China… which, as the casting might already give away, the latter is actually a man. This is one of those Cronenberg’s that I had been meaning to see for years but only recently (as in, the other day from writing this) actually watched. It’s an interesting story told in a solid fashion with Irons and Lone giving nuanced performances, though the script unfortunately too often falls into VERY obvious foreshadowing or nearly beating the audience over the head with the underlying messages. Also much of the film is shot on soundstage and it’s very obvious, especially when actual locations appear. All that said, I’d still recommend giving the film a shot at some point especially if one is a Cronenberg fan as this is clearly a stepping stone effort for his more “real” films in the coming decades.
Oh yeah, the film ended up being a commercial failure and earning mixed reactions from critics who sensed the director’s unsure footing in tackling something outside of his comfort zone. Also Butterfly sharing some key similarities to the critical darling The Crying Game (1992) (another film I need to get to at some point) probably didn’t help matters… a point Cronenberg himself has mentioned.
On the musical front is Shore giving over fully to his tonal, melodramatic side with a morosely lovely score… that unfortunately gets undermined by source music included in a handful of tracks. The overall style of Butterfly is like taking Dead Ringers and the less operatic portions of The Fly but making it romantic with tasteful Chinese instrumentation mixed in. The end result is probably Shore’s most “normal” score for a Cronenberg collab up to this point while still carrying the underlying tensions inherent in both the story as well as their established sound. Thematically Shore plays around with three ideas with the primary theme (“M. Butterfly”) being the most obvious and oft quoted though a three-note motif that seems to relate to Lone’s character (“The Great Wall”) and a more mysterious pair of rising two-notes for the political thriller subplot (ending of ”Even the Softest Skin”) also exist and give more dimension to the work.
In an unfortunate decision for the soundtrack album, four tracks of source music are included which mostly relate to the Peking opera scene which appears a few times in the film… though the only performances that truly matters is the initial “Entrance of Butterfly/Drunken Beauty” and “Un Bei Di” which adapt the Puccini opera of the same name as the film.. Unless one enjoys high pitched off kilter strings and whiny vocals, then skip “Sha Jia Bang” while “Cultural Revolution” is a jaunty Communist tune that follows a very Bernard Herrmann-esque or early Shore suspense passage in “Bonfire of the Vanities” which works within the film but comes off as kinda hilarious on album.
Overall M. Butterfly is another solid musical collaboration between Shore & Cronenberg and probably one of the better ones for “I’ve only heard LotR” peeps to try out. The largely tonal and orchestral based nature of the work helps while within context Shore’s music helps to amplify the tortured, complex nature of the story perfectly. As mentioned earlier, the only real drawback to the album presentation is the inclusion of two of the source pieces (the non-Puccini ones) which are simply annoying out of film context.
SCORE:
3 1/2 out of 5
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Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
And now back to a film I’m sure all (or at least most) of the Scoreboard has actually seen.
Directed by Chris Columbus (Adventures in Babysitting, Home Alone, the first two Harry Potter films) with a script by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, Doubtfire is the charming tale of a divorced voice actor (Robin Williams) who uses his special effects make-up artist friend to turn him into an old Scottish lady so he can be with his kids and try to sabotage his ex-wife (Sally Field) from hooking up with 007 between assignments (Pierce Brosnan). Antics, family drama and questionable life choices ensue. It’s all screwball fun though like so many of these flicks if you stop to mull over the plot too long it’s kinda unsettling. But hey, that’s a common thing with Columbus films/scripts! Anyway, the film was a colossal commercial hit despite mixed critical appraisals, helped launch the career of one precocious Mara Wilson (if you don’t recognize the name, look her up. She’s Matilda) and has become one of the more enduring family oriented outings starring Williams from arguably his heyday as a Hollywood star.
Continuing his work in a variety of genres was Howard Shore who delivers a score completely different from his other four ’93 outings… and one that sounds very James Horner-y. In fact, when I caught Doubtfire on TV back in collage I thought it was a James Horner score I had never heard. I’m guessing Columbus & Co. must have temped the film with Horner’s work and then Shore followed along, though later there’s some distinct Horner influence in his writing for other projects (the Hobbit music in Rings, anyone?). Anyway, the music for Doubtfire is lite and charming anchored by a malleable primary theme (“Mrs. Doubtfire”) and largely forgoing any of the heavier or darker material Shore is more readily known for. The end result is a fun, breezy score that’s only real issue is how clearly it’s playing off of the temp track… but the temp is early 90’s Horner, so why complain too much?
SCORE:
3 1/2 out of 5
(Message edited on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 6:27 p.m. and Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 6:29 p.m.)
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