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The Black Dahlia
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Composed by:
Conducted by:
James Shearman
Additional Music by:
Cindy O'Connor
Produced by:
Reynold da Silva
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LABEL & RELEASE DATE
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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Regular U.S. release.
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AWARDS
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None.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... if you can be intrigued by intelligent, but not
overbearing rhythmic action pieces with crisp brass solos that perfectly
capture the moodiness and conspiracy of the story.
Avoid it... if no good film noir score is complete for you unless
it has tantalizingly lush romantic interludes.
BUY IT
 | Isham |
The Black Dahlia: (Mark Isham) Director Brian De
Palma's career has often turned the clock back to the environment of
1940's film noir, and in The Black Dahlia, all the elements of
the film associated with that era are exquisite. Filmed in Bulgaria, the
film's visuals are convincing, with costumes, cinematography, sets, and
makeup all sparking with sincerity. Unfortunately for The Black
Dahlia, however, the overachieving screenplay, based on the 1987
fictional novel by James Ellroy, was combined with all-around atrocious
acting performances to confound critics and general audiences alike. The
film's plot only uses the non-fiction circumstances of the grisly murder
of actress Elizabeth Short (the "Dahlia") as a starting point for the
tale of two young, hotshot detectives who find themselves in their own
triangles of manipulation and chasing. Shifting alliances, conflicting
goals, and cozy contact with the wrong ladies leads to two inevitable,
but ultimately confusing scenes of conversational revelations at the
end. Whatever confusion caused by the script isn't compounded by the
film's technical qualities, however, including Mark Isham's score. A
diverse and capable composer, Isham isn't a stranger to the thriller
genre, though the quality of his output in that genre has ranged greatly
over the last ten years (including a few abysmal, synthetic stinkers).
One aspect of Isham's talents lends itself well to the film noir genre
in particular, and that is the character of his own solo trumpet
performances. For The Black Dahlia, Isham would perform his
distinctly lonely trumpet over a sizable and well-balanced orchestral
ensemble. The trumpet was a requirement of De Palma upon his meetings
with Isham, and despite Isham's tendency to lean towards electronic
soundscapes, he relies largely on the 100-member strong English ensemble
for the force behind the score. To achieve the right balance between
lush romance, frightening conspiracy, and moody solace, Isham seems to
have taken inspiration from Jerry Goldsmith's L.A. Confidential
score from 1997, another project involving a James Ellroy
adaptation.
While Isham's score for The Black Dahlia
wouldn't be as overtly brutal in execution as L.A. Confidential
was, the similarities between the two are noticeable. A strong role is
provided to the percussion section, with layers of drums often setting
rhythms for bold brass statements of noir-twisted themes. Deep piano
rumblings and a generally dense and brooding atmosphere yield
occasionally to the kind of sensitive cello and solo woodwind themes
that Goldsmith used to produce in plentitude throughout the 1990's. If
you're looking for a straight imitation score, however, Isham's not
going to give you one. Foremost in the differences between the two
composers' styles here is obviously Isham's own trumpet performances.
While they may be a bit cliche in the genre, they are well performed and
integrate best when accompanied by the full ensemble. One such instance
is at the end of "The Two of Us," during which Isham allows his trumpet
to meander over a heightened, urgent rhythm assisted by resounding bass
elements. He is joined by an English horn in "Men Who Feed on Others"
for arguably the highlight of the score; strong, sustained orchestral
rhythms maintain a bed of satisfyingly propulsive movement during
harmonic fragments of the score's thematic material performed over the
top by the soloists. These action rhythms would expand into fully
explosive variants in "Death at the Olympic," utilizing the percussion
section with the liberal touch of Alan Silvestri while incorporating
frenetic woodwinds and driving brass blasts with much of the same
intensity as Trevor Jones' reality-twisting motifs for Dark City.
The use of the piano as a dominant bass element in parts of this cue, as
well as the inclusion of a harp and other unusual suspects for these
types of cues, give them a distinctly three-dimensional feel. These
engaging action cues, including the opening riot piece, are far more
interesting and effective in their timpani-pounding flurry of activity
than Isham's more tepid approach to the lighter, more seductive side of
the score.
As with any good noir score, the enticing romance
always exists to tantalize us with intrigue in between the cues of
mayhem, and it is in these interludes that Isham's score is less
appealing. The romance cues, incorporating the bulk of the score's
appropriately Golden Age themes of longing, proceed in basically
effective movements, but their more general lack of depth drains the
flair that such themes often exhibit, sometimes to the level of
flamboyance. One good example of this teasingly unfulfilled romantic
execution is in the latter half of "Madeline;" the score itself seems to
have hit the right notes, but it's possible that lack of flair in the
performance of this, and other lush cues, is a problem for The Black
Dahlia. The following "Dwight and Kay" cue is structurally perfect,
but once again suffers from a performance that needed to be more
passionate. Solo piano over a lounge-like electric bass and light violin
accompaniment is understandable in its construct, but in the
aforementioned cue, a solo woodwind passes anonymously until we are
saved by the delicious character of Isham's trumpet. The rise of the
full ensemble in that cue has a touch of Elmer Bernstein to also pull it
from its drab origins. While the score remains orchestral for most of
its running time, Isham does employ a few electronic effects throughout.
One tingling sensation in the score's action cues operates like a harsh
cymbal hit, though it often coincides with a roll of a cymbal anyway.
More intriguing is the incorporation of an eerie effect in "The Two of
Us," "Hollywoodland," and "The Men Who Feed on Others;" the result is
either a distant female voice or a theramin-related electronic variant.
On the whole, The Black Dahlia is a score that had all the
makings to be a superb noir thriller, but ends up hindered by the
flimsy, shallow nature of the lushly romantic half of its performances.
The entire score exists in a harmonious minor key, leaving no cue with
an unlistenable moment. The structure of the rhythmic action pieces is
intelligent in its counterpoint and clever balance between sections of
the ensemble. Unlike many noir scores, the muted trumpets, antiquated
thematic constructs, and other trademark cliches never interrupt the
album's listenability. A strong recording quality also assists the album
transcend the faults of the film and makes The Black Dahlia a
pleasantly surprising recommendation.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check: |
For Mark Isham reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.84
(in 26 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 2.88
(in 9,970 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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Beautifully done Sheridan - October 19, 2006, at 7:20 a.m. |
1 comment (2945 views) |
Total Time: 48:02
1. The Black Dahlia - The Zoot Suit Riots (2:14)
2. At Norton and Coliseum (4:06)
3. The Dahlia (3:10)
4. The Two of Us (3:37)
5. Mr. Fire Versus Mr. Ice (3:17)
6. Madeline (3:06)
7. Dwight and Kay (3:12)
8. Hollywoodland (2:53)
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9. Red Arrow Inn (1:36)
10. Men Who Feed on Others (4:25)
11. Super Cops (2:01)
12. Death at the Olympic (3:33)
13. No Other Way (2:07)
14. Betty Short (2:18)
15. Nothing Stays Buried Forever (6:27)
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The insert includes information about both the score and the film.
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