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FILMTRACKS.COM
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Review of Blizzard (Mark McKenzie)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you can't resist seasonal choral and orchestral beauty
and are rooting for the career of Mark McKenzie like most other
dedicated film score collectors.
Avoid it... if the hopelessly saccharine nature of children's music for the holidays is simply too much major key for you to handle.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
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. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
2003 Promo:
Total Time: 45:08
2006 Intrada Album: Total Time: 54:20
NOTES & QUOTES:
Both inserts include similar notes from Burton and McKenzie about the score and film.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Blizzard are Copyright © 2003, 2006, Promotional, Intrada Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/30/06 (and not updated significantly since). |
