, one of
the first to apply the standard investigatory formula of police
thrillers to the perspective of a Russian locale. The setup was
familiar,
opening with three mutilated bodies and
William Hurt's dedicated detective tasked with tracking down the killer.
His methodical research yields depth in not only his character, but also
in his relationship with a woman tied to the case and the ranks of power
within Russian society and government that eventually prove to be
involved in the crime. A strong cast and noteworthy production values,
not to mention the intrigue presented by the location in the early
1980's, could not save
from public indifference as a
reward for years of struggles with studios to get the film produced in
the first place, and the movie disappeared despite a decent showing with
critics. One of the more interesting members of the crew at the time was
composer James Horner, who had suddenly burst onto the major Hollywood
scoring scene the previous year and experienced a remarkable amount of
productive success in 1983. While
may not be the
flashiest of his scores from that year, it is solidly indicative of the
composer's style at the time, exhibiting both fledgling orchestral and
highly dated but predictable synthetic aspects of Horner's blossoming
style that would inform his action and chasing scores later in the
decade. When looking back at the origins of Horner's trademark sounds of
the decade, many of the synthetic and pop applications to non-comedy
situations can be traced to
. Horner's
ensemble is more eclectic in
than in those successors,
however, better utilizing standard orchestral and solo balalaika, oud,
and cimbalom accents, among a few other stereotypical European tones, on
top of his synthesizers and Blaster Beam to service the foreign
location. The combination of instrumental tones in the work has remained
one of the most bizarre multi-cultural blends to ever come from the
composer. Throw into the equation the vital, recurring source usage of a
couple of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky pieces placed against his stabling
suspense, and you have a truly unique result.
What's always been surprising about
Gorky Park,
however, is the composer's use of largely Western pop sounds such as
stereotypical drum pad patterns for a Russian culture that wasn't as up
to speed on current American music as the rest of Europe. Hearing the
quasi-Caribbean steel drum effect so typical to Horner's career in the
1980's, for instance, simply sounds out of place in the context of
Gorky Park, especially by the time the technique has been heavily
weighted with dissonant orchestral layers on top. That said, the score
still serves its basic purpose and may be an interesting experience at
the very least for a veteran Horner listener. If you have little
tolerance for Horner's pop-influenced, rhythmic action material, then
watch out.
Gorky Park isn't as insufferable as the unbelievably
heinous
48 Hrs. in these regards, but it does test the listener's
patience with its tired and dated handling of the subject matter. Horner
struggles at times to force that drum and synthesizer sound into a tone
that conveys its contemporary coolness in an especially cold and
alienating way. Unfortunately, this twist causes these portions of the
score, which occupy upwards of about half of the score, to be even less
entertaining than in the later works. There is, however, the other half
to the score for
Gorky Park, and this portion thankfully saves
the work from mediocrity and, for some, gives it a stamp of
recommendation. A plucked harp motif, ascending and descending like
Jerry Goldsmith's
Islands in the Stream, introduces a pretty
string theme for the love interest in the film. Cleverly borrowing
phrasing from one of the Tchaikovsky pieces and introduced with solemn
beauty in "Irina's Theme," this idea, similar to
Krull at times,
eventually matures in "Airport Farewell" and "Releasing the Sables," the
former an extended treatment of the theme that is among Horner's most
compelling statements of the era. It is in these portions that the
composer utilizes his trademark solo horn for the concept of lament, a
technique convincing in its solace and copied by Mark McKenzie, John
Debney, and others in the decade to come. In a score that tends to avoid
tonally-accessible harmony in its vast majority (Horner applies major
and minor chords simultaneously for the thriller element), "Airport
Farewell" is a highly redemptive piece that will warrant attention from
any Horner collector. A repetitive string theme for the lead detective,
teased extensively in the early investigative scenes, remains anonymous,
even as it gains muscularity and focus in the end credits.
Unfortunately, the remainder of the
Gorky Park
score is not as appreciable despite Horner's substantial attempts to
intelligently deconstruct the narrative. The generic droning of
electronic atmosphere in "Faceless Bodies" is as anonymous as parts of
The Name of the Rose and
Jade. The "Main Title," as with
late scenes of related importance, utilizes Tchaikovsky references
liberally because of the choice to incorporate it as a source presence
in the picture. In this cue, these statements are placed under the
strikingly dissonant pounding of chimes and other nasty sounds that
effectively establish the score's unsettling tone for the murder
element. But who would want to listen to it? And, of course, there's the
pop-infused action rhythms with Blaster Beam coolness in the bass, all
of which eventually contain so many previews of the later
Commando that there isn't much satisfaction to be heard in these
portions. The "End Titles" cue unfortunately returns to this material
after further attractive exploration of the love theme. Overall, despite
its technical smarts in places,
Gorky Park gives a learned Horner
collector little new. Perhaps the references to Goldsmith's structures
and rhythms at times are a bit more pronounced here. But outside of the
pretty and evocative love theme, don't expect
Gorky Park to
overwhelm you with warmth or enticing suspense material. An early but
readily available album from Varèse Sarabande was eventually
supplanted in 2011 by a Kritzerland re-issue that provides the same
contents in two different arrangements on one limited, quickly sold-out
CD. Nearly monaural sound quality (by design) was always something of an
issue with this score on album until a comprehensive 2014 expanded
release by Intrada Records. This limited product finally replaced the
original album arrangement with a more accurate representation of what
was included in the film, including the straight Tchaikovsky pulls from
"Swan Lake" that intentionally conflict with the abrasive original
score. Several variations of the love theme are evidence of Horner's
toil as he sought the right sound for the idea, and the Intrada album
provides all of that recorded material. In 2023, La-La Land Records
provided an even longer presentation that includes an even more faithful
film version of the recording, with and without the classical layering.
It also offered the two distinct mixes of the album arrangement along
with a fuller selection of source material recorded by Horner. Despite
all the work to improve the stereo ambience on the 2014 and 2023 albums,
no amount of audio engineering can eliminate some of the troublesome
nature of Horner's conflicting approach to the instrumentation, leaving
all of these albums largely for study only by a devoted Horner
collector.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15
(in 108 reviews)
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