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| McKenzie |
Blizzard: (Mark McKenzie) Produced in Canada and
never released theatrically in the United States, 2003's
Blizzard
is a heart-warming Christmas tale that was perhaps better destined for
the home video market. Adding fuel to the argument that former
Roots and
Star Trek star LeVar Burton is a fine actor but
terrible director,
Blizzard was uniformally blasted by critics
for nearly every conceivable reason. One reviewer went so far as to
theorize that Burton must have forgotten to wear his visor when making
this picture. Awkward casting, poor renderings of a talking reindeer,
and endless cliches in the fairytale genre doomed
Blizzard to
ridicule and banishment from theatres almost immediately. The filmmakers
obviously had the best of intentions for the story; a girl dreaming of
being a skating champion befriends the newest of Santa's reindeer and
the two lonely souls help each other achieve acceptance and success.
Simplistic and sappy,
Blizzard is as predictable as it is
drenched in corn syrup, and that description also applies to composer
Mark McKenzie's score. McKenzie's career has followed the path of many
busy orchestrators who have skirted their own composing careers; his
name is attached to countless scores in your collections, and despite a
dozen or two significant composing assignments over the past two
decades, his luck hasn't led him to a mainstream breakthrough. Of the
orchestrators who find themselves in this position, McKenzie is among
the more curious and potentially frustrating for the knowledgeable score
fan, for his compositional work has often been quite good.
Blizzard joined the unlikely 1995 score for the equally bashed
Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde as a favorite of producers of the Academy
Awards productions; between the two scores, McKenzie's music has
periodically accompanied tribute and obituary sequences dating back to
1997. It's a sign, at the very least, that his music is getting noticed,
even if he hasn't gotten the break everyone feels he both deserves and
is ready for.
McKenzie accepted the assignment of
Blizzard
while orchestrating
Star Trek: Nemesis for his mentor Jerry
Goldsmith (whose words of encouragement for the younger composer have
served as an obvious inspiration). The resulting score would go largely
unnoticed outside of the Oscar use, with the film's failure, a delayed
DVD release, and legal woes on album all stacked against it. In and of
itself, however, McKenzie's music is as good as it is predictable.
Collectors with several Intrada Records albums of his scores will hear
similarities to the harmonic structures of his previous efforts, with
thematic sensibilities and instrumental usage reminding you, ironically
enough, of
Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde. Both scores share chord
progressions in their themes, a lighthearted and occasionally comical
spirit, and trademark McKenzie employment of (mainly) percussion and
brass. Several thematic ideas are expanded upon in
Blizzard,
offering harmonious and pleasurable performances from beginning to end.
The Slovak Philharmonic, with the help of the Lucnica Chorus, is
directed to a very Christmas-like spirit, mostly through light
percussion in sleigh bell mode. The sound established in the opening
suite performance sets the table for a major key journey through
inspirational cues, with few variants for individual scenes that stray
slightly from the film's consistent feel-good nature. Among the variants
are a slightly more militaristic string rhythm for the head elf and a
rousing action piece in "Rescue" that hints strongly of McKenzie's own
influence (and vice versa) upon Goldsmith's brassy ventures. The
downside of
Blizzard's score is the same as that of the film; if
the film is nonsensical, simpering fruitcake for you, then there's a
chance that McKenzie's companion piece will be the musical
representation of the irritating caricatures in the story. But given
that it's unlikely that the major source of interest in the score will
come from the movie's viewers, Intrada Records is more appropriately
banking on the film score buffs familiar with (and partial towards)
McKenzie's typically strong writing. Limited to 1,000 copies on
Intrada's album (replacing a shorter McKenzie promo),
Blizzard
will be a great member of your Christmas score collection if you hustle
to acquire a copy. There's always a tinge of sadness attached to hearing
a well-written and aptly-recorded score like
Blizzard because it
reminds you of yet another talented composer waiting in the wings while
trashy synthetic music is becoming so prevalent in Hollywood's
mainstream today.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Mark McKenzie reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.9
(in 10 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.39
(in 4,295 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
Both inserts include similar notes from Burton and McKenzie about the score and film.
