, young composer John
Ottman was often considered one of the best rising talents in Hollywood
in the late 1990's. Unfortunately, he also happened to be one of the
unluckiest during that same period of time. In those early years of
scoring major feature films, before his blockbuster superhero scores of
the 2000's gave him name recognition, he exhibited a refreshing style
that defied comparison to any established composer. Each of his scores
of the era shines with creativity, especially when considered under
their circumstances of their often hasty and turbulent production.
Ottman suffered from the deaf ears of studio executives in too many a
case, leaving strong compositions for films such as
without the films they were
meant to bless. The quality of these works makes it clear that the fault
for these rejected scores can certainly be placed on the shoulders of
the films' producers. For each score of the 1990's, with the possible
exception of the substandard
at the end of the
decade, Ottman adopted a style which very well reflects the attitudes
and emotions of the films' characters, and for his intelligent work to
be dismissed from a picture was just as frustrating for Ottman's growing
nucleus of fans as it must have been for the composer himself. As a
partial remedy, Ottman worked for a while to get his rejected score for
released on a commercial album. The saucy and
controversial film, while featuring a story that gained cult status with
pop culture audiences and elevated actress Sarah Michelle Gellar's
career to another level of sensuality, was plagued by poor choices in
the supervision of its songs and score.
When it was discovered that
Cruel Intentions was
not scoring as well with test audiences as the producers had hoped,
studio executives decided to rearrange the songs and replace Ottman's
laborious work with a more conventional effort by Edward Shearmur. Even
with these last minute changes, the film continued to suffer from poor
choices in musical accompaniment, and the chance for an engaging score,
as well as potentially best-selling album of score and songs, went out
the window. Ultimately, neither of the scores by Ottman or Shearmur
received official, standalone releases. In 2000, however, the
Varèse Sarabande label worked with Ottman to not only release
twenty-five minutes of rejected material from
Cruel Intentions,
but also a selection of the composer's other early works. The music from
Cruel Intentions, however, is by far the most intriguing on this
compilation, revealing an even greater creativity than many might have
anticipated. To respond to the need for a more contemporary score for
younger audiences, Ottman assembled a small group of musicians and
produced a strikingly powerful result. A variety of synthesizers is
complimented by three string players (affectionately referred to as "The
Pussy Trio") and a female vocalist (Lisa Donahue), and even though many
scores with so few performers end up in the "minimalist" category of
thinking, Ottman, with stylish pop rhythms and masterful mixing of his
own performances, created a seductive and passionate score. The female
voice that haunts the character of Sebastian would have added another
layer of emotional development (and torment) to that character had the
score been used. The use of the string trio is especially relevant to
the story. The first two cues, "Pussy" and "Metropolis," as well as
parts of "Sibling Encounters," are lovely and alluring while exuding a
sense of forbidden sexuality. The latter track even utilizes the
synchronized sound effect of a human sigh.
Creative percussive sampling, as crisp as it always is
in Ottman's music, aids these cues in creating a sense of style out of
so little volume. A heavy mix of the bass, emphasizing a keyboarded
accompaniment to the husky cello, helps sustain a slightly oppressive
atmosphere. In all, Ottman's music for
Cruel Intentions has just
the right balance between the sharp edge of deceit and the romantic
maturation of the genuine love that prevails at the end of the film. The
majority of the remaining music on the album is material that was
already available on other commercial albums. The exceptions were the
television remake of "Fantasy Island" and
The Cable Guy, which
were released together by Ottman in promotional form in 1999. Both of
those scores show the light side of Ottman's pen while also maintaining
his standard of solid orchestral performance. Both additionally feature
the very best music from the respective scores, making them solid
inclusions here. One of great assets of the suite section of this album
is the collection of music from
Incognito, a score that is
regarded by many to be Ottman's most superior work to date. Because of a
few defects found in the original master tapes of
Incognito, the
score was run through a filter, and this caused its sound to become
somewhat tinny and treble dominated for its full album release. When
Ottman discovered the master tapes for the score (in their original form
prior to editing), it was decided that three of its tracks would be
included on this compilation to represent how the composer had wanted
them to sound. Interestingly, the effect of the filter on the original
album release, causing a significantly wet sound that accentuated the
percussive effects in the recording, was arguably a positive attribute
of the score's presentation. But the majority of Ottman fans might agree
with the composer and prefer the more intimate, deep sound on this
product.
The tracks from
Incognito on this album were an
extra bonus because the original album had become very difficult to find
in stores over the previous few years, and three of its best five tracks
are included here. The compilation is rounded out by samples from
numerous other scores. Ottman's rejected score to
Halloween H2O
was released by Varèse Sarabande in 1998 under the name "Portrait
of Terror." His opening titles, complete with a robust orchestral
interpretation of John Carpenter's main piano theme, is the highlight of
that score. Also an impressive effort is
Apt Pupil, which is
represented on this compilation by its own highlight: the haunting and
militaristic title theme dominated by poetic choral and string
performances. To appreciate
Snow White: A Tale of Terror fully,
one should listen to the original Citadel album (a difficult prospect
given its rarity, though); it is difficult to get into the mood that the
score requires in just the few minutes heard here. Finally, Ottman's
only weak score as of 2000,
Lake Placid (which was plagued by
production problems along with the film), was likely inserted on this
product because Varèse already held the rights to it. Notable
scores missing from this album are Ottman's first large scale and dark
score,
The Usual Suspects, and his quirky and perverted
Goodbye Lover from 1999. Still, this compilation is nothing less
than a delight. It is difficult not to become attached to Ottman's
scores, and while his fans applauded his continuing involvement in the
directing and editing of films, many of them secretly hoped that he
would focus his career on film scoring. To a large degree, he has done
that, though not with the success that many had hoped would result. He's
clearly established his talents for producing complex and genre-bending
scores that impress apart from their films, and this compilation album
with
Cruel Intentions is more than enough evidence to prove it.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For John Ottman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.17
(in 35 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.03
(in 19,618 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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