North Sea Hijack (Ffolkes): (Michael J. Lewis) By
1980, actor Roger Moore was firmly rooted in the roll of James Bond, and
with good humor he agreed to star in a British knock-off production that
in many ways mocks the 007 franchise. To say that
North Sea
Hijack, otherwise known as
Ffolkes in America (and
Assault
Force on some video releases), is a straight comedic parody is
selling it far short, however, for its plot is serious enough to gain
widespread guilty pleasure status. Aside from Moore in the role of Rufus
Excalibur Ffolkes (a retired special-forces officer obsessed with cats
but repulsed by women), Tony Perkins and James Mason round out a decent
cast. Ffolkes' elite British forces are tasked by the Prime Minister to
rescue hostages from two expensive oil platforms (held there by Perkins'
organized group of terrorist thugs), and if they can do it by launching
spears through the villains, all the better. With wit and charm
befitting Moore's portrayal of Bond,
Ffolkes is not only campy
fun, but is also known for its homosexual undertones and inside
political humor. British composer Michael J. Lewis was hired to provide
a score that emulated some of John Barry's style for the Bond franchise
without actually quoting it or even straying too close to it in style.
Lewis was a veteran of scoring British television series, with a career
since 1970 that was sprinkled with a few well known feature films. In
his first ten years of composition for the screen, he won Ivor Novello
and Emmy Awards, and after a successful Broadway venture, his career
would eventually move to Los Angeles and include music production duties
ranging into the 1990's. Large-scale action wasn't too common in Lewis'
career, though he approaches
Ffolkes with just enough orchestral
and synthetic power to be convincing. The demeanor of his music for the
thriller is perhaps the biggest difference between this and the Bond
scores. Lewis achieves an interesting blend between larger orchestral
structures and trite rhythmic movement that, along with occasionally
sparse instrumentation, causes the score to take on parody
characteristics. Only its honest attempt to keep a straight face holds
it in the serious action genre.
The "cheese" factor in the thematic statements of
Ffolkes is countered by Lewis with a sincerity in the suspense
and straight action music. The title theme for Ffolkes tries hard to
define the character as heroic, but humble. In the process, the lofty
and fluffy title theme for brass in unison is a distinct reminder of
John Scott's patriotic whimsy for
The Final Countdown, robust at
times while remaining somewhat overblown in tone. Orchestrally, the
string section is completely superfluous; the echoing layers of the
brass are definitely at the heart of the score. Synthetic elements range
from a conservative electric bass for a slightly hip edge (a tactic
being explored by the Bond franchise as well) to hokey synthetic sound
effects that zip with all the brash and obnoxious creativity that 1979
technology could muster. Despite these inherent curiosities (or flaws,
if you want to go that far),
Ffolkes is an extremely likable
score that, with its jubilant performances, merits enjoyment if you're
in the mood for action music that doesn't try to overstate itself. In
reality, the synthetic noises are really quite simple and unobtrusive,
not even as irritating as a wildly tapping metronome effect in some of
the action cues. Lewis' title theme is heard in full in "Main Title" and
"Finale," with only a few token references throughout; its unashamedly
heroic brass is unfortunately absent from the thematic statements in
between. Lewis gives greater attention to a few suspense motifs,
including one for the terrorists that rises in structure to follow the
tensions on screen. These suspense-driven moments rival the better of
the Bond scores. Singular motifs of pomp grace
Ffolkes with some
of its most satisfying moments, including a "Fast Ahead" cue that stands
as a highlight of the entire score. On the whole, you can't hold the
faults of
Ffolkes against it because the score doesn't try to be
anything more. There are no intolerable cues, and the recording quality
is absolutely superb. The brass do make a couple of noticeably wretched
mistakes, the worst of which occurring at (1:08) in the final track. The
score is only available, like most of Lewis' music, in promotional form,
pressed and distributed to the soundtrack specialty market in early
1998. Like the film, the score is a guilty pleasure to revisit from time
to time.
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