Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #791
Written 12/2/96, Revised 9/10/08
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Buy it... if you seek an uncomplicated, undemanding, and harmonically
pleasing urban action score that stand among the best of Randy Edelman's works
when heard on album.
Avoid it... if the soft edges of Edelman's usual style don't fit your
listening requirements when looking for a hard-edged and sophisticated action
score.
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| Edelman |
Daylight: (Randy Edelman) This 1996 urban disaster film is a
suspenseful Sylvester Stallone adventure which, despite following a stereotypical
plotline, was received with better than expected applause from audiences. A traffic
accident in the Holland Tunnel causes a huge explosion that caves in both ends of
the structure, leaving Stallone a handful of survivors desperate to avoid
suffocation or drowning. Unfortunately for Daylight, the most impressive
special effects accompany the explosion at the start, leaving the far less
compelling character drama to ensue. Director Rob Cohen and his production team
went on to create the better known film Dragonheart later in the same year,
with both productions utilizing scores from Randy Edelman, a resident expert in the
blending of synthetics and orchestra. It has been argued that the middle of the
1990's was the height of quality output from Edelman, following his immensely
popular Gettysburg score with these two strong efforts in 1996. While
Dragonheart remains the better known of the pair by far, Daylight
stands on its own as a worthy action score. The film was entertaining in its
claustrophobic treatment of a new disaster challenge, and Edelman responded by
composing an equally energized and sophisticated urban score. While many casual
film music listeners associate his style mostly with fluffy comedy ventures, the
composer has a distinguished career in nearly every conceivable genre of film.
Daylight would present him with his first serious disaster flick, though he
was already well versed in related urban action and adventure genres. Fans of the
composer's work in this area are accustomed to the combination of synthesized
keyboarding and a moderate orchestra, and usually mixed into his sound is an array
of percussive beats and modern rhythms. For Daylight, Edelman actually
decided to tone back that style to an extent, keeping the synthetic and orchestral
elements, but largely dropping the percussive accompaniment. His approach to
Daylight is surprising conservative, taking no chances in instrumentation or
electronic sampling, instead allowing the sound effects track on screen to speak
for itself.
The result of this plan of action was a neat and tidy score that
is easily listenable apart from the film. A small part of Edelman's percussive
tendencies for the genre are evident in the main title theme for
Daylight,
which acts more like a rambling keyboarded motif than anything else, with an intent
on establishing pace rather than mood. It's an enjoyable, simple progression that
rises and falls in the same key for several statements, serving as an excellent
accompaniment for overhead night shots of heavy traffic in a large city. The
mechanized, unending nature of this theme not only represents the flow of traffic
well, but also is presented in such a fashion (including a solo piano performance
in the middle) that it foreshadows danger through its urgent tempo. Edelman
performs the piano himself for these sequences, and while the underlying structures
are not complex or spectacular by any means, they are very effective. A secondary
theme for Stallone's character is more dramatically inclined, adding a
silver-screen approach to the character's dramatic story that was perhaps
unnecessary. Nevertheless, this thematic development assists the score as the
character perseveres through obstacles, and a monumental performance of that theme
by the synthesizers and orchestra highlights the finale of the score and film. The
action material in between isn't as tediously noisy as you might expect. The music,
as presented on the album for
Daylight, is especially fine-tuned to the
moments of contemplation in the story (during which an escape plan is being
mapped). It's not Edelman's most interesting or engaging action music, though it is
a pleasant experience apart from the film. A few individual cues stand out,
including the harmonically cool and calm "A Short Swim Under Water" cue. Edelman
wraps up the score memorably, with the final burst of Stallone's character theme
followed by a restatement of the original urban rhythm, which had been used only
sparingly in the middle portions of the score. The two songs at the end vary in
quality; the first is an actual vocal adaptation of Edelman's themes, and fits
easily with the score. The second is a heavier rock song that has nothing to do
with the rest of the album and suffers from this fact. Overall, Edelman's music is
uncomplicated and undemanding, but it is harmonically pleasing and well presented
on album.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For Randy Edelman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.05
(in 20 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.16
(in 29,260 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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