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Review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (Tyler Bates)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you specifically heard material in the film that
you consider worthy of the concept.
Avoid it... if you demand an organized sense of dramatic or intellectual development from Tyler Bates that can, on any level, compete with Bernard Herrmann's music for the 1951 classic.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Day the Earth Stood Still: (Tyler Bates) Fans
of vintage science fiction hold the 1951 Robert Wise classic The Day
the Earth Stood Still in high regard, and for good reason. It was
among the first stories from the genre that actually carried a
significant message about humanity, a message that was altered to
account for cultural changes when it came time for the obligatory remake
in 2008. Scott Derrickson obviously considers himself among those who
appreciate the Wise original, for there are plenty of tributes to the
1951 film in the remake. But the message of the 2008 version has
pinpointed humanity's downfall as a product of global warming and not
the proliferation of weapons. Likewise, the opportunity to employ the
best of digital visual effects was not abandoned, reducing the newer
telling of The Day the Earth Stood Still to the lower level of
common blockbusters of the 1990's and 2000's. Any chance to show a clash
between frightened, helpless humans and alien creatures (or in this
case, one alien and his giant robot) is a recipe for scenes of
terrifying destruction that guarantee the young male representation at
the box office. Most loyal viewers of the 1951 original agree that what
20th Century Fox did with the remake of The Day the Earth Stood
Still amounts to an enormously missed opportunity, and the film has
been appropriately thrashed as a result. The same criticism applies to
Tyler Bates' score for the picture. The original was graced with a
Bernard Herrmann score that captured the dramatic scope of the event
while still providing an alien texture to its sound; the score was one
of the most prominent in history to utilize the theremin. Bates faced
not only the inevitable comparisons to the music of Herrmann, but any
attempts to merge the style or content of that score into this new work
would likely raise continued discussion of the composer's blatant
plagiarism of Elliot Goldenthal's music for Titus in his own,
surprisingly popular 300. The irony of Bates' music for The
Day the Earth Stood Still is the fact that he has made the concept's
sound so anonymous that not only does it stand no prayer of competing
with Herrmann's classic, but it is also a lousy standalone effort.
Whatever relief may come from its relative originality is countered by a
faceless personality that would make G.O.R.T. proud.
Even if Bates (and the filmmakers) made a conscious decision not to adopt any of the sound of Herrmann's score, this soundtrack is deficient in an independent capacity. For a film and concept as breathtakingly significant as that of The Day the Earth Stood Still to not inspire a single theme is incredible. There are recurring motifs in the work, but no series of progressions that are performed with enough distinction to give the score any identity whatsoever. It is a score that could very well have been comprised of stock, library material, with very little of it developing from point 'A' to point 'B' (if at all, really) over the course of the picture. The ingredients are all there for a successful battle between the organic sounds of humanity crying for mercy and the synthetic elements seeking to cleanse the planet. A sizeable orchestra and choir are joined by solo voice, several electronic accents, and even a theremin. The amount of noise generated by Bates in the action sequences is sufficient, though not polished, leaving the best parts as only slight shadows of David Arnold's disaster music for flicks like Independence Day and Godzilla. Nothing so spirited as Arnold's theme for the military in the latter film is generated by Bates here. Instead, his rhythms are basic, his instrumental usage is predictable, and the mix of all of his elements is so poor that nearly all of the potentially interesting solo performances are lost. The theremin is completely drowned out and the only element to survive is a snarling electric guitar in several cues. Shrieking dissonance is the expected result of scenes of destruction and mildly pleasant tones of meandering contemplation occupy the scenes of limited thoughtfulness. There are occasional moments when the cliches almost promise to produce a redeeming moment of memorability in the score, such as in the choral figures of "Orb Rising." But, ultimately, The Day the Earth Stood Still is the kind of score that can play for 50 minutes on album and leave absolutely no impression whatsoever on the listener. The parts that aren't outright obnoxious are totally bland, defining Bates' work for this remake as basically functional, but a wasted opportunity to convey even a minimal intellectual comment with his ensemble. This music won't make Herrmann roll over in his grave, but it would, if possible, elicit a snappy response of derision from the maestro. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 52:43
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers, but no extra information about the
score or film.
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