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| Goldenthal |
Interview with the Vampire: (Elliot Goldenthal) Director
Neil Jordan's sinister, romantic entry into the horrific world of vampires came
at a time when blood sucking films were experiencing their comeback in the
mainstream of American cinema. Just two years prior, the epic and widely
publicized
Bram Stoker's Dracula had captivated audiences with its grim
melodrama and stellar cast, and Jordan's film would steer the genre towards the
realm of contemporary pop appeal. Aside from the already loyal following of Anne
Rice enthusiasts, Jordan's casting of several hunky, heartthrob actors in
Interview with a Vampire led to a sort of cult status with young women in
the audiences, and the film thus performed very well. Also hired was veteran
classical composer George Fenton for
Interview with the Vampire, a
competent choice with whom to solicit a darkly romantic effort extended from the
massively brooding foundation established by Wojciech Kilar in
Bram Stoker's
Dracula. After Fenton was well into his recording sessions, the producers
admonished the composer by claiming that his music was too understated and slowly
paced for the picture. Thus, Elliot Goldenthal, who had impressed with his work
for
Alien 3, was hired onto the project and given just three weeks to
complete a score that, for many, exceeded the quality of Fenton's material. While
Goldenthal's effort culminated in an Academy Award nomination, responses to the
score were as varied as could be expected given the composer's avant garde
tendencies. In the film, the score functions well enough to accentuate the
religious and brutal edge of the story, but on album, an even greater range of
disagreement would erupt. In the Digital Age, critics would disagree more about
the merits of
Interview with the Vampire than almost any other score.
These disparate opinions exist because Goldenthal's music is an
eclectic and hurried collection of thematic ideas and awkward sounds, exhibiting
his true talents and yet losing some of the romantic touch that vampire films
often yearn for. He certainly did not achieve the overbearing power of Kilar's
work for
Bram Stoker's Dracula; if Goldenthal's score has power, then it's
the kind that explodes from bizarre exchanges between traditionally classical and
postmodern techniques. In its opening, and at several moments throughout the
score,
Interview with the Vampire begins to develop the sadness, the
loathing, and the suffering that the story deserves. Yet, Goldenthal goes too far
in exploring the element of madness, neglecting the romantic lyricism at the
heart of the tale. His score is a mess of twisted classical sounds and his usual
macabre attitude. Extremely effective in choir or strings one moment, the score
suddenly produces ghastly disharmony and orchestral chaos the next. The same fate
would be suffered by
Batman Forever the following year, with both scores
showing acute signs of stylistic schizophrenia. Cues of jubilant waltz steps and
a nearly carnival-like atmosphere, such as "Lestat's Tarantella," are so
completely incongruent with the genre of the film that they are painful to hear
in the context of surrounding music. Several explosive interludes for wild solo
string layers are also difficult to handle. Goldenthal also makes sure to include
his trademark French horn whining and quivering at maximum volumes, a sound that
is simply intolerable in any situation. Even the low woodwinds are asked to waver
their pitch in this score, joining the brass in creating the nearly insufferable
effect. It's easy to understand that a composer would want to create a trademark
sound with an orchestral element, but Goldenthal had to realize at some point
that his mutilated brass trills and intentional tonal vibrations were a reason
why he had difficultly achieving mainstream acceptance despite excellent
assignments.
The two "Born to Darkness" cues, along with the "Libera Me"
and "Escape to Paris," offer a hint of the truly dramatic romance that Goldenthal
only slightly explores for
Interview with the Vampire, and it is likely
this work that gained the composer his awards recognition. The rising progression
of the main theme is a tired one in his career, extending from a similar idea in
Demolition Man and extending to
Batman & Robin. Overall, the score
is either a love it or hate it affair, with little wiggle room in the middle.
It's easy to appreciate some of the material that Goldenthal contributed to the
project (on short notice), but it's also predictably easy to be frustrated and
irritated with the more agitated cues. The greatest irony of this work is the
fact that the mass majority of Goldenthal's music resides in an environment of
restraint, either dainty or sullen in its slight constructs in the middle
portions. As such, the producers' criticism of Fenton's original work for being
too understated exposes a larger problem with this project. The album, featuring
a badly misplaced song by Guns N' Roses at the end, is thus not recommended for
casual listeners unfamiliar with Goldenthal styles. No doubt, the inclusion of
the unrelated Guns N' Roses song, which is a questionable accompaniment for the
Goldenthal score, was meant to further attract the younger audience. Such viewers
of the film, however, were also treated to an album that does not contain many of
the source pieces performed on piano in the film, a major detriment. Another
curious aspect of the product is the recording quality; the music was recorded
and mixed in analog sound, which was becoming somewhat rare for this kind of
project in 1994, and the sound quality indeed suffers from a slightly dull
ambience because of it. Overall, do not readily believe the positive hype you
hear about the
Interview with the Vampire score, but also do not entirely
believe those who denigrate the score with their every breath. It is inherently
flawed music, but there are ten minutes of solid material to be appreciated, and
Goldenthal collectors will especially be satisfied.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Elliot Goldenthal reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.13
(in 16 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.2
(in 17,800 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
