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Apt Pupil
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Composed, Co-Orchestrated, and Produced by:
Co-Orchestrated and Conducted by:
Larry Groupé
Co-Orchestrated by:
Frank Macchia
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LABEL & RELEASE DATE
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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Regular U.S. release, but out of print as of 2001.
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AWARDS
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None.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... if you're eager for one of John Ottman's most
intellectual efforts to combine brute, orchestral force and clever,
troubling undercurrents.
Avoid it... if you seek music as elegantly grandiose as the score's
famously dramatic title theme (as also heard on the composer's Cruel
Intentions compilation).
BUY IT
 | | Ottman |
Apt Pupil: (John Ottman) One of the more obscure
collaborations between director Bryan Singer and composer/editor John
Ottman, Apt Pupil was adapted from the same collection of Stephen
King novellas as Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption.
Its disturbing, contemporary tale involves a teenage boy who discovers
that an elderly man who lives near him (named Dussander) is actually a
Nazi SS officer in hiding. In return for keeping the old man's secret,
the boy oddly forces him to recount the glory of the Third Reich. The
two manipulate each other in a cat and mouse game of psychological
enticement, with the film often fading back to scenes of 1941 horrors
and exploring disturbing images involving torture and death. Ottman's
specific involvement with the picture was first and foremost that of an
editor, for it is this duty that Singer had employed of Ottman first.
The project had proven difficult for Ottman given time constraints and a
decision to take the editing process digital halfway through the
endeavor. By the time Ottman reached the time to compose the score, his
energy had been drained, and it was by the mere luck of a midnight
thematic inspiration that the title theme for Apt Pupil was born.
The score's role in the film would be even more complex than in any of
Ottman's other sophisticated assignments. Not only did the dark and
romantic elements dear to Ottman's heart play their parts, but the score
would also have to elegantly raise the terror of the Holocaust in such a
way as to seem almost attractive to casual ears. A militaristic edge was
necessary for Dussander's glorious recollections, and an elevated
magnitude of grandeur was called upon to explain the boy's (and the
audience's) fascination with the man's life. Thus, Ottman's usual, often
understated themes of clever complexity would have to be integrated into
a scheme that could explode with power of historical depth when called
upon. The intellectual horror in Apt Pupil was completely
different from the stock, Urban Legends: Final Cut variety. To
this end, Ottman's achievement for Apt Pupil is an admirable
success.
As is typically the case in all of his scores, Ottman's
unique orchestral voice speaks with clarity no matter the genre he is
writing for. The rich, harmonious touch with which he handles his
creative instrumentation was unparalleled in Hollywood during the late
1990's, and this same style is clearly evident in this score. Several
elements of music that were commonly accepted in Germany (or
specifically by Nazi culture) at the time are embraced by Ottman for the
environment of this work. The title theme is established in a waltz
rhythm that dances both lightly and ominously throughout the score.
During moments of heightened intensity, the waltz is replaced by a
full-fledged militaristic march, complete with explosive snare
performances. Ottman also utilizes the solo viola (or violin) as part of
his waltz's theme. This solo string offers the tempting, hypnotic
elegance to the Nazi lifestyle that Dussander portrays. A fuller string
ensemble ranges from simple, harmonic statements to wild ramblings of
dissonance. A deep choral mix further builds the male-dominated Nazi
structure of power, and Ottman even inserts the effect of a tolling bell
for a few significant accents. Perhaps the least effective creative
touch in Apt Pupil is the forceful chant of "Extradite"
(performed by Ottman and members of his crew) during the finale cue,
with the underpowered vocals begging for more substance (or perhaps a
touch of creative mixing in layers of wet sound to increase its depth).
The highlight of the score, predictably, is the title theme, for which
Ottman wastes no time pulling out all of the dramatic stops. With a
churning, rhythmic progression similar to Howard Shore's The Fly,
the massive Germanic theme pounds with ominous choral and brass thunder
in "Main Titles." It is this theme that many listeners would claim was
lifted in 2003 for use (and a poorly applied one at that) in Marco
Beltrami's Terminator 3. One of the weaknesses of Apt
Pupil, however, is that the same level of brute force is never
realized within the rest of the score. For Ottman collectors, the
out-of-print Apt Pupil album (which suffers from some track title
errors) remains a striking addition to the collection, but most casual
fans will be satisfied by the inclusion of the title theme on the
composer's Cruel Intentions compilation two years later.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For John Ottman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.17
(in 35 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.05
(in 20,670 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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Available on eMusic
Film Scores on imeem - September 7, 2009, at 8:58 p.m. |
1 comment (1725 views) |
Scoring session Expand >>
Yumbo - September 25, 2003, at 6:15 a.m. |
2 comments (4177 views)
Newest: September 25, 2003, at 6:49 p.m. by
Nate U |
Total Time: 45:30
• 1. Phoenix Pictures Presents (0:18)
• 2. Main Titles (3:25)
• 3. "I'm Busy" (1:03)
• 4. The Chamber (1:38)
• 5. The Stories*** (2:48)
• 6. The Speech (2:06)
• 7. "I want to hear about it" (1:54)
• 8. Playing with Fire (2:04)
• 9. Cat Bake* (1:37)
• 10. It Never Goes Away (2:14)
• 11. The Tables Turn (2:45)
• 12. Rite of Passage (1:51)
• 13. Curiosity (1:29)
• 14. An Ailing Heart (2:52)
• 15. Cleaning Up (1:04)
• 16. Recognition (2:54)
• 17. A Question of Power (2:13)
• 18. Fowl Play (1:09)
• 19. Extradition (4:38)
• 20. An Apt Pupil (0:50)
• 21. End Titles (2:36)
• 22. Das ist Berlin** (1:38)
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* "Cat Dance" portion composed by Larry Groupé
** written by Leo Leux, Matthias Hen, Hans Hannes and Bruno Balz, and performed by Liane and the Boheme Bar Trio
*** missing track on packaging (originally track 8)
The insert includes a note from the director about the score.
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