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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Broken Arrow (Hans Zimmer)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you wonder what Hans Zimmer would write if given a
Spaghetti Western, because Broken Arrow is his best merging of
his passion for Ennio Morricone's music and his early Media Ventures
blockbuster sensibilities.
Avoid it... if you love being pounded into submission by the overbearing staccato movements and bass domination of Zimmer's later action scores, a sound that eventually had very little do with the kind of instrumental nuances heard in this surprisingly well-balanced score.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Broken Arrow: (Hans Zimmer/Don Harper) Although
legendary Hong Kong action director John Woo had already created a
substandard Jean-Claude Van Damme entry in America, 1996's Broken
Arrow was his official big budget debut to international audiences.
All the techniques of filming that made him famous in those Hong Kong
years carried over directly to the 20th Century Fox spectacle, which
resembled Speed in many ways because the two projects shared a
common writer. There wasn't much merit in the substance of Broken
Arrow, the plot detailing an Air Force Major who decides to steal
the two nuclear weapons on his stealth fighter and has to elude his
flying partner in order to complete his demand for a ransom from the
American government. For some viewers, the introduction of the first
trailer to Independence Day before the film, complete with an
exploding White House during an election year, was the lasting
highlight. For others, John Travolta's charming charisma in the leading
villain's role was enough to compensate for eye-rolling supporting
performances from the rather bland Christian Slater and football analyst
Howie Long. As mindless as Broken Arrow truly was, its somewhat
cheeky blend of Western and technology elements allowed for composer
Hans Zimmer to have a fair amount of fun with the assignment. Zimmer's
collaboration with Woo would extend to Face/Off and Mission:
Impossible II, during and after which Zimmer would pass Woo over to
protege John Powell. The director, while appreciating the Media Ventures
sound in conjunction with his most commonly associated genre of action
pictures, eventually sought composers outside of this group (including
James Horner) for his less stereotypical action flicks. In 1996, Zimmer
was still in the lead when it came to defining the fledgling Media
Ventures sound, and Broken Arrow was something of a model of
success for the key original members of that collaborating group (led
foremost by Jay Rifkin). It came after Drop Zone, Crimson
Tide, and Beyond Rangoon had all solidified Zimmer's ability
to effectively blend sampled orchestral sounds with his masculine
synthetic tones but before his involvement in (or influence over)
assignments like The Rock began to muddy the waters of this
sound.
While many casual listeners associate Broken Arrow with Zimmer alone, it was indeed a collaborative compositional effort. He handed over the responsibility for several reels late in the picture to conductor Don Harper, who wrote at least three substantial cues leading up to the "Hammerhead" climax (including the train fight sequence). Fortunately, his material leans heavily on Zimmer's themes and instrumentation, so little difference can really be deciphered between the two men's contributions. More ambiguous is Harry Gregson-Williams' role in Broken Arrow, though licensing documentation credits him with some material in the main titles cue more commonly known as "Brothers." Otherwise, Broken Arrow is a score mainly reflective of Zimmer's sole efforts, and the commercial album emphasizes his own material. His long-standing preference for Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Westerns was an influence in his method of tackling the Travolta character in Broken Arrow, with melodic aspects of Once Upon a Time in the West distinctly informing Zimmer's music here. It could be said that Broken Arrow is Zimmer's best venture into the Western genre, though most listeners will likely associate the general sound of the score with the composer's more action-oriented sensibilities. This includes the performances by legendary guitarist Duane Eddy, who famously brought life to Henry Mancini's theme for "Peter Gunn." Eddy's bass guitar is the embodiment of the self-absorbed coolness conveyed by Travolta's character on screen, dominating one of three major themes by Zimmer for Broken Arrow. Heard first in full on the commercial album in the latter half of "Brothers," this theme receives extended treatment in "Broken Arrow" and is an almost omnipresent reminder of Travolta's control over the picture. For a brainless action flick aspiring to be taken seriously, the theme is almost too quirky in spirit, but it is undeniably hip and serves the character well enough to avoid detracting from his menace. The melodic line performed by Eddy is a bit simplistic, but that once again reflects the character and also aides the listening experience. This theme (in the form of its original recording) would humorously become the identity of the character of Dewey in Scream 2, replacing some of Marco Beltrami's material. Beltrami, however, would cleverly reference these performances at the end of Scream 3. The two other main themes employed by Zimmer in Broken Arrow include an overarching idea for the chase and an action motif associated with Slater's pursuing Captain Hale. The primary chase/Hale theme is the most frequently utilized in the score, consisting of a series of four-note figures (reminiscent of Mancina's Speed) introduced immediately in the opening of "Brothers." In the suite-like "Broken Arrow," this theme is blasted briefly before (and explored in light tones after) the main identity for Slater's character. The two intermingle considerably in both this cue and the rest of the score. The theme for the protagonist shares the most structural similarities to Zimmer's standard action progressions, as employed extensively in Crimson Tide and aped in The Rock. This theme makes its first major appearance on the commercial album in the latter half of "Mine." The final major identity in the score is ironically a Randy Edelman theme, which is not really what you'd expect to hear in these circumstances. His cue "Fire in a Brooklyn Theater" from Come See the Paradise is among his most famous compositions, heard frequently to generate excitement in movie trailers in the years since. The slowly churning, rising structures of "Fire in a Brooklyn Theater" are intriguingly similar to ideas that Zimmer would eventually adopt into his normal methodology, and it's no surprise therefore that he adapts it rather easily into several cues (and credits it directly on the cue sheets). Its usage denotes a general sense of urgency in the conspiracy factor of the plot, heard additionally in an unused cue called "The Pentagon" for risk assessment scenes. Along with this unknowing contribution from Edelman, the three themes by Zimmer are almost always being referenced throughout the score for Broken Arrow, and some credit for their continuity has to go to the composer's instrumental palette for the recording. From a lone trumpet and trombone to harmonica, banjo, four pianos, and chimes, there is a true sense that Zimmer successfully updated Morricone's style of Spaghetti Western into the Media Ventures age. Also worthy of mentioning is Zimmer's variance in instrumental tones; whereas his later action scores tended to emphasize the bass elements far too heavily, he achieves the same masculine sound in Broken Arrow (similar to his sense of resounding style in the equally memorable Point of No Return) while still offering an appreciable role in the mix for treble elements, including string samples. Highlighting the enhanced role for treble elements in Broken Arrow are trumpet solos and keyboarding cues like "Nuke," successfully offsetting the general electric guitar foundation. The use of an ethereal choir (in Backdraft mode) is the result of recording a boy's choir in England and subsequent sampling of those performances into stereotypical Zimmer tones. These performances cause a cue like "Greed" to connect the composer's favorite action flavors with hints of his religious thrillers like Hannibal in the subsequent decade. The last minute of that cue also uses sound effects that are an intriguingly accurate precursor to the wispy accents employed by Graeme Revell in the forthcoming The Saint. Zimmer doesn't simply thrash around with his keyboards and guitars like his pupils would, either, and this causes him to lose the battle with sound effects a few times in the film. His drum pads are mixed further back in the soundscape as well, allowing the cool instrumental colors (led by Eddy's guitar) to shine. A generally tonal approach is also a benefit to Broken Arrow; parts of the score are as pleasantly soothing as the highlights of Rain Man despite greater performance depth. Overall, Broken Arrow is a score with a predictable audience. But it remains a very good example of Zimmer's superior action music of the early 1990's, a sound that was largely supplanted by a much heavier tone for The Peacemaker in 1997 and differing from the stagnant variation that was regurgitated in the Pirates of the Caribbean scores and many others. Rather than chopping through his themes in staccato movements, as he would do all too frequently in later years, Broken Arrow represents the composer's more fluid movements. For instance, the performance of Hale's theme in "Hammerhead" moves effortlessly through its melody without pounding each note into submission (lighter percussion accomplishes this task instead). The sense of style and character that you hear in Broken Arrow's themes, regardless of the Morricone influence that really does make this score stand apart, places it alongside such an effort as Beyond Rangoon in terms of convincing melodic emotion. The de-emphasized drum hits and solitary electric guitar performance of Hale's theme, followed by the harmonica, chime, and slapping metallic accents to the main theme's performance at about 3 minutes into the end credits, culminating in a slowing transition complete with the effect of wind blowing, is the kind of engaging character that went missing from much of Zimmer's later action techniques. There is a level of nuance to Zimmer's approach to Broken Arrow, despite whatever diminished intelligence most associate with the film and score in general, that unfortunately dissolved in this man's career with time. Ultimately, this means that Broken Arrow is one of the last representatives of Zimmer's truly original action material in the days before he and his Media Ventures cohorts diluted it to the lowest common denominator. At the time, this score seemed like a throwaway with a few moments of cool guitar performances, but in retrospect, it has aged well when compared to that which has followed. The commercial album, despite some poor, harsh edits caused by Jeff Rona's assembly of the music into Zimmer's preferred suite-like format, does present the highlights. Several 2-CD bootlegs have existed through the years, eventually leading to an 88-minute presentation without sound effects. The additional 30 minutes of music really isn't particularly noteworthy (why these bootleggers don't turn their attention to something like The Lion King instead is a perpetual question), and the eight or so minutes from Harper are nothing more than extensions of previously heard Zimmer music in the film. An official expanded release of the score from La-La Land Records greeted enthusiasts of the composer in 2011, presenting almost all of the material that had previously constituted the subpar bootlegs. There are pluses and minuses to this limited release of 3,000 copies, though the product on a whole has to be recommended equally to the original commercial offering. On the positive side, the expanded album's biggest asset is its absolutely incredible sound quality. Granted, some of the mixes heard here differ from those on the previous album, but you'll hear details in the sound effects and percussion that will bring new life to the recording. The percussion especially shines beautifully on the 2011 album. The use of the Edelman piece is restored completely and noted where applicable. Three arrangements of major cues from the original album are provided as a bonus as well. On other hand, the expanded album does include all of the aforementioned weaker action music in the score, mostly consisting of redundant loops of synthetic activity. The choral mix seems a bit choppier, though it too sounds better when given lengthier passages. Finally, Gregson-Williams' role in this score is still not made clear by this product. Still, Broken Arrow is worthy of renewed exploration. If you never appreciated Zimmer's early action style, then the score won't impress. Otherwise, use it as effectively entertaining therapy for the composer's later group projects that were comparatively handled while on auto-pilot. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
1996 Milan Album:
Total Time: 59:08
2011 La-La Land Album: Total Time: 115:56
* Contains "Fire in a Brooklyn Theater," composed by Randy Edelman for the film Come See the Paradise
NOTES & QUOTES:
The inserts of both albums include extensive information 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 Broken Arrow are Copyright © 1996, 2011, Milan Entertainment, La-La Land Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 10/18/09 and last updated 3/15/11. |
