The prettier orchestral and guitar versions of the main theme for A Fish Called Wanda continue in "Wanda Meets Archie" and are joined briefly by piano in "Otto Jealousy." Extended treatment of the theme in "Wanda Visits Archie at Home," "Wanda Meets Archie at Flat (1)," and "Wanda Meets Archie at Flat (2)" includes some exploration of secondary phrases built upon the primary melody. Together, these cues occupy about ten minutes in the score, highlighted in between by a somber cello solo variation on the theme (expertly taking its main descending phrase and shifting it to ultra-melodramatic rising progressions) in "Archie's Sadness," forty seconds of string lament far too beautiful for this film but at least making an impact on screen while practically alone in the mix. Several secondary themes and instrumental motifs exist throughout A Fish Called Wanda. Du Prez's intermingling of their melodies and exchanging of instrumentation is far more intriguing than one would expect to hear in this context, exponentially increasing its impact. A forceful identity for the crime gang's exploits is heard almost immediately, bursting forth at 0:30 into "Main Title" and occupying almost all of "Robbery." Its ballsy brass phrases over electric guitars and aggressive drum pads add a touch of high style to their activities. In both of those aforementioned cues, Du Prez inserts a magical motif specifically for the diamonds, using metallic percussion and high strings to whimsically convey their value. He later admitted that this passage in "Robbery" was modeled after John Williams' (the composer, not guitarist) fantasy mode of the era. The diamond and crime themes briefly merge in the latter half of "Robbery," and at about 1:25 into that cue, Du Prez's suspense motif is introduced. This nervous, harp-plucked rhythm in the minor-key with ominous string layers and occasional wailing guitars in "animal cry" mode is developed fully in "George Arrested" and is reprised in the more emotionally suspenseful "Assasination (3)." The prior two attempts by Ken to shoot the lone witness to the crime (which only succeed in killing her dogs) are treated to the main crime theme, as are the two chase sequences that close out the film. Interestingly, "Chase (1)" overlaps the crime theme with the instrumentation of the love theme, while the suspense motif is layered over the same crime theme in "Chase (2)," continued complexity where none really needed to exist.

Kline's famous character, Otto, receives the most contemporary identity, its funk heard with electric bass and electric guitar pizzazz in "First Encounter With Otto" before dissolving in "Empty Safe," answering the love theme in "Otto Jealousy" and using its instrumentation to appropriately inform the suspense theme in "Archie's Robbery." Palin's stuttering Ken receives, not surprisingly, a melancholy theme for all of his unintentional executions of animals, this lovely oboe identity heard in "Ken's Sadness." Directly connected to this idea is Du Prez's source piece, "Choir Boy's" (yes, the grammar mistakes are in the cue titles), a brief performance by exactly what the title suggests for the funeral scenes involving the dead dogs. The Latin lyrics do indeed refer to dead dogs. The "Main Title" has something of a unique melody for London itself, a pompous march with snare introduction and tolling chimes in heroic fanfare form that foreshadows the score's sex theme at about 0:25 into the cue. Its distinctly British tone adds later to the austere sincerity of Cleese's character. By the "End Title's," however, the score disintegrates unfortunately into a straight contemporary jazz performance of the love theme, a bright, saxophone-led expression of coolness that isn't surprising given the period (it was added late in the post-production process) but a bit disappointing when considering the intelligent secondary ideas conveyed by Du Prez throughout the rest of the score. The rambling tribute to the love theme is joined by orchestra for its midsection and ends on the solo guitar in satisfying fashion, but it never shakes its dated personality. Special mention is saved in this review for Du Prez's intentionally Wagnerian sex theme, heard in only one scene but making such a tremendous impact on screen that it remains the unquestioned highlight of the score. Extending out of the fully orchestral pomp of the British motif at the outset of the score, this remarkably fluid symphonic idea is built upon operatic glory of the highest order, leaving behind all of the contemporary elements for an outstanding moment of orchestral bravado. It accompanies Otto's famous faux-Italian seduction of Wanda and his outrageous antics before and during sex. How Du Prez wrote this music as source for the film, however, is the key to its success. In "Sword Ballet," slightly distant sound mixing introduces the idea to suggest Otto's fencing practicing while listening to this dramatic music, and Du Prez reaches his crescendo just as Kline stabs a dummy at 0:40 into the cue, an important foreshadowing of the orgasm scene soon to come.

In "Humping," the sound quality returns to full, and the Wagner-like opus is developed gloriously over the next two minutes in specific coordination with Kline's performance (and the disparate boring lifestyle of Cleese shown at the same time). As Otto rips off Wanda's boots and blows into them like horns (or an elephant's trunk), Du Prez does the same with his brass, unleashing a hilarious counterpoint sequence at 0:50 in response. Bold ensemble notes accompany each time Otto bangs a boot off himself before flinging it aside. The composer matches the key of his music to Otto's wild singing of the 1958 song "Volare" in Italian, using Kline's voice as victorious counterpoint at 1:46 into the cue. The album releases do not include these vocals, which is something of a shame given how well the score augments them on screen. Intrepid amateur music editors might be best served extracting Kline's vocals and adding them to the remastered album's orchestral backing. After Otto's ridiculously hyperactive humping motions and legendary, cross-eyed orgasm abruptly begins (Curtis had to bury her face into the pillows to keep from laughing while filming), Du Prez at 1:54 repeats the stabbing motif from the preceding cue in blissful harmony. Indeed, "Humping" is one of the most effective and funny orchestral film score cues ever written for film, and it alone merits a search for the rare albums for the A Fish Called Wanda score. The identical Milan and Soundscreen commercial CD releases in Britain and France only (but long available for about $10 on the used market) are equal in contents but all feature track listings that omit two cues actually on the product. In 2017, Music Box Records worked with Du Prez to assemble a complete and impressively re-mixed album of 1,000 copies. The stereo remastering is noticeably better, and the 13 minutes of alternate takes feature much of the Otto-related funk that was dropped or replaced in the final cut. The four demo cues include the love theme adapted into a song, one of the renditions a highly comedic performance by Cleese with lyrics about cooking fish. The instrumental "Love Theme" demo is perhaps the best addition to the whole presentation. An earlier version of "Front Titles" also makes more obvious use of the Wagnerian sex theme. That said, a fair amount of the additional material on the 2017 album is redundant, and the Otto-related outtakes may be inconsequential. Overall, while both albums are solid souvenirs from the film, the Music Box Records product is a far superior presentation, and if you love the movie as many do, don't hesitate to seek it out if only for its famously grandiose "Humping" cue. Definitely don't call it stupid.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download