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Review of Heidi (Lee Holdridge)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you are passionate about Lee Holdridge's pleasantly harmonic style for light dramas and also have an affinity for Mark McKenzie's similar music in the genre.

Avoid it... if you prefer Holdridge's more diverse, orchestrally robust adventure and drama work, most of which eclipses this Disney television music in terms of stature.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Heidi: (Lee Holdridge) The Johanna Spyri story of "Heidi" has been adapted to screen countless times over many decades, with no version as famous as the 1932 Shirley Temple classic. The Disney Channel telling of the tale in 1993 was a two-night event, dragging on for a lengthy 190+ minutes and starring Jason Robards and Jane Seymour. The story of the girl who has to choose between living with her grandfather in the Alps or with her disabled friend in the city is largely preserved, though this adaptation was criticized for allowing the decision process to drag on too long. A VHS release cut these scenes down by almost thirty minutes, though an eventual, basic DVD release in 2005 restored the movie as it was seen on television. The series was nominated in 1994 for a Golden Globe for "Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV," and still seems to be regarded as one of the better adaptations of the story available. During that era, composer Lee Holdridge was providing the kind of scores that Mark McKenzie and John Debney would provide wholesome Disney pictures of relative obscurity, and it's no surprise that Holdridge's score for "Heidi" sounds very much like something either of those other two composers would write for the occasion. Holdridge's score conveys the innocence of the story so well that it was mixed very prominently in the film itself, to such an extent that it even drew some criticism. That said, the standard dramatic and romantic scores by Holdridge during this time were always a safe bet, especially on album. In many ways, his career has been emulated by McKenzie; both composers seem to have a natural knack for capturing the flighty, child-like exuberance or light, whimsical wonder of a safe environment. Holdridge, ironically, didn't actually write many standard children's film scores at the time, and "Heidi" was largey an afterthought for even collectors of his music. A fraction of the score was released only as the sixth entry in Holdridge's personal promotional CD series.

Holdridge's approach for "Heidi" is somewhat elusive in its descriptors. Not really falling into any of the genres that fans will be used to hearing from him, the score plays like a pleasant enigma that takes motifs from his other efforts of the era and simply softens them. The composer is well known for providing robust themes for his assignments, and "Heidi" does feature one dominant idea to represent the girl and the location in the mountains. That title theme resembles the heart of a Disney setting very well, and unlike a few other scores done for films from the same studio, Holdridge keeps just enough of a dramatic edge in it to elevate this score above the usual fluffy and cutesy mediocrity often heard in such situations. On the other hand, the sappy flightiness of the title theme may not interest listeners much beyond the "Overture," simply because Holdridge has explored similar dramatic themes with more resounding results elsewhere. In other words, why listen to the theme from "Heidi" when you can hear a vastly superior (and ethnically more interesting) variant in Old Gringo? As for the rest of the score, there are really no submotifs worth mentioning. The majority of material is saturated with Holdridge's usual harmonic string and woodwind emphasis (highlighted in conversational cues by the lengthy "Grandmother's Farewell"), and the listening experience plays without much interruption for the entire duration of the album. The few suspense and action cues (with two notable entries using a synthetic choir that also makes a cameo over the last moments of the "Finale") are adequate, though the brass of "Hanging on the Edge" does interrupt an otherwise smooth conclusion to the album. The "Christmas Montage" offers a traditional carol in its mix. On the whole, Holdridge's work for "Heidi" is so well natured that it tends to become a tad bland and repetitive after a while. The last track by itself would be an excellent and sufficient sample from "Heidi" for those of you accustomed to Holdridge's more adventurous scores.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 46:48

• 1. Overture (2:23) • 2. Up in the Mountain (1:30) • 3. John Leaves (2:12) • 4. Starlit Night (1:57) • 5. Heidi and Peter (2:23) • 6. Breakfast (1:54) • 7. Lady of the Mountain (2:41) • 8. Peter Running to Heidi (2:12) • 9. Running to the Church (2:41) • 10. Church Steeple (1:14) • 11. Kittens on the Pillow (0:43)

• 12. The Arrival of Herr (1:08) • 13. Opening - Part Two (1:46) • 14. Christmas Montage (2:36) • 15. Strange Night (3:50) • 16. Back to the Mountain (2:07) • 17. Grandmother's Farewell (2:38) • 18. Healthy Mountain Air (1:04) • 19. Strange Procession (1:31) • 20. Hanging on the Edge (3:55) • 21. Finally Home - Finale (4:15)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Heidi are Copyright © 1999, Prometheus Records (Promo) and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/13/99 and last updated 6/15/08.