: (John Scott) Ten years after our
favorite Kong was machine-gunned off the top of the World Trade Center
in the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis production of
, a sequel
was released under the notion that the beast survived the fall and had
been hidden by the government during the following decade. The 1986
production of
was another De Laurentiis venture,
opening with the final scene of the 1976 film and featuring much of the
same crew. Director John Guillermin would return for
, only to see the cheesy film end a long career that had
included better memories like
. The script is
really what sunk this sequel, with its laughable premise and ridiculous
fallacies of logic, rendering the film completely pointless. Kong and a
lady ape escape long enough to fornicate and yield a baby Kong just as
the military finally does get the best of belligerent daddy, setting up
another possible sequel. The actors seemed to realize that they were
involved in a hopelessly boring production, given their completely
uninspired performances of television-worthy dialogue. The film does
have the notable attraction of a brief partial nudity shot of actress
Linda Hamilton, as fans everywhere eventually re-discovered. One member
of the original crew who would not return was composer John Barry,
despite the director's continued insistence that the score feature
tragic romance music rather than straight bombast for some of its action
scenes. Guillermin turned to veteran composer John Scott, whose career
varied greatly between television, documentaries, and feature films from
the early 1960's through the 2000's. Even though he continued composing
well into the digital era, he'll probably be forever known for scoring
countless Jacques Cousteau documentaries in the 1980's, the mass of
which somewhat degrades the more unique highlights in his feature work.
His large-scale action scores, especially those in the 1980's, can't be
dismissed, however, and
was one such triumph that
far eclipsed the film in quality. In fact, Scott's work for
is so magnificent in scope that it adds another laughable
aspect to a film that was already trying all too hard to take itself
seriously. In many regards, it's a more sincere, grandiose, and
enjoyable alternative to Barry's music for the prior film.
Scott's music for
King Kong Lives is larger than
life in every regard, forcing the Graunke Symphony Orchestra to its
limits of bombastic capabilities. Expect to hear none of Barry's
material return, however, a minor disappointment. With phenomenally
engaging and powerful themes for both Kong and the hunters charging
after him, Scott cranks up the volume with performances of action
arguably more raw, primal, and ruggedly appropriate than the that
written by Barry or James Newton Howard for the other modern Kong films.
An flowing interlude to the main Kong melody serves as a love theme for
Lady Kong, the Kong baby, as well as the dumb human relationship in the
film, and this remarkably romantic material is effectively heartbreaking
counterpoint to the immense size of the sound that Scott provides for
the rest of the score. Hints of Golden Age sensibilities exist in the
highly lyrical romanticism of the themes, with Scott's title identity
sharing similarities to John Debney's reworking of the Disney "Phantom
Manor/Haunted House" music and foreshadowing, intriguingly, Gabriel
Yared's rejected music for
Troy in 2004. The careful alternating
between minor and major modes for the primary theme is key to its
malleability for a wide range of emotional situations, including the
obvious shift to the major when baby Kong is born. The propulsive theme
for the human hunters and military, highlighted by "Lady Kong Gets
Gassed" and perhaps informed to a minor degree by Jerry Goldsmith's
First Blood, is fun but not quite as memorable. The balance
between sections in the orchestra is extraordinary, with flourishing
woodwinds accompanying intelligent layers of brass and strings in every
major cue. A particular moment of outstanding spread in the players
comes in "King Kong Lives/Main Titles," when Scott expresses the
romantic interlude on high strings with no bass, until a moment of
sinking feeling at 1:09 during which the soundscape is completed very
satisfactorily for the remainder of the theme. The German performers
knock themselves out in
King Kong Lives, often generating more
harmonically pleasing noise than even the most active John Williams or
David Arnold science-fiction efforts. The tone of the snare-ripping,
brass blaring score strongly resembles what Bill Conti would attempt to
achieve for
Masters of the Universe the following year, but
Conti's recording is less vibrant and engaging. There is undeniable
energy throughout
King Kong Lives without the Conti tendency to
overtly skirt the realm of cheese.
Overall,
King Kong Lives is the kind of score
that ages well because it was already an out-of-place throwback in the
1980's, its Golden Age sensibilities just as attractive decades later.
There are minor weaknesses in the score, including the "cutesy"
tendencies with woodwinds that Scott often employed at lighter moments.
The center of the score, cues which deal with the flirtatious
interactions, do fall back on familiar Scott nature music territory and
are not necessarily inferior but they are a bit more anonymous and
possibly tedious for his collectors. Aside from these minor quibbles,
King Kong Lives competes favorably amongst extremely heavy
competition in 1986 as one of the best of the year. Scott's arrangement
of the score for a roughly 47-minute album has always been a very
entertaining experience, and its resounding sound quality has never been
an issue. At the time of the film's release, this presentation was only
made available in America on LP and cassette, though a Japanese CD of
the same contents was released as well. Grunts and roars from Kong
preceded two cues on this CD, however, displeasing some but serving as
great sound effects for others to use on hung-over roommates. A popular
1997 "Ape Records" CD bootleg, unrecognized officially at the time by
the composer, provided the
King Kong Lives score in all its
magnificent sound quality, along with the sound effects and a few suites
from other notable Scott scores. The suites from
Greystoke and
Shoot to Kill are known and expected highlights from the
composer's career. More interesting, however, are the two minutes from
Phantom of the Sun, intoxicating in its merging of classical and
exotic elements, and the title theme from
The Final Countdown,
which is as lyrically heroic as you can get. These cues are also in
crisp sound quality, and given the long frustrating unavailability of
Phantom of the Sun on album, its inclusion here is most welcome.
Bootlegs rarely achieve top ratings because they typically exhibit at
least some minor flaws, but this pressed "Ape Records" album, complete
with attractive insert, is nothing short of outstanding and was well
worth the $40 for those who purchased it from soundtrack specialty
outlets upon its release. In 2012, Intrada finally took Scott's
presentation and released it officially. The sound quality on this
product isn't noticeably different from that of the 1997 bootleg, and
it's obviously lacking the bonus tracks, but it eliminates the sound
effects. The 2012 product also finally relieves the availability issues
of
King Kong Lives on the market, and for that, Intrada deserves
a nod, though a soft spot will always exist for the prior CD releases,
grunting noises and all.
@Amazon.com: CD or
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- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on the 1987 and 2012 Albums: ****
- Music as Heard on the 1997 Bootleg: *****
- Overall: ****
