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•	Commercial Album

Along with the countless films and musicals for Les Misérables in the past have come many different sounds. The scores by Arthur Honegger in 1934, Alex North in 1952, Frances Lai and Michel Legrand for the aforementioned 1995 adaptation, and Schonberg for the stage have each seemed to elevate the overbearing drama of the story to increasing degrees, with none as shamelessly melodramatic as the play itself. If Poledouris' score is to be compared to any of them, at least in overarching style and tone, it would be Schonberg's musical. Many parts of Poledouris' effort are so saturated with deeply resonating harmony that the tragedy he invokes would translate well to the more transparent structures of on-stage songs. But, to his credit, Poledouris doesn't stop there. His music for the 1998 film takes Javert and Valjean on a journey so dark and weighty in the minor key that even regular Broadway audiences would probably be stricken with grief by his accentuated tones of despair. He accomplishes this magnificently brooding style by using several techniques. First and most importantly, he takes seemingly every instrument in the orchestra and restricts them to their lowest registers. The bass strings reach their lowest ranges, the piano performs it's lowest octave, and low-range brass provide a layer of broad accompaniment similar in style to John Barry. Secondly, Poledouris gives prominent roles to the instruments naturally in the lowest registers. This emphasis applies mostly to bass strings and bassoons, both of which perform enticingly menacing rhythms throughout the score. These two parts of the ensemble have rarely sounded better, with the bass bassoons mixed evenly in volume with the overbearing power of the bass strings (and occasional light tapping on the timpani to accentuate the meandering rhythms further). Lastly, Poledouris' themes and rhythmic motifs for Les Misérables are both deliberate in structure and pacing. The statements of themes are often lengthy, sometimes obscuring their existence despite whatever intensity Poledouris may be reflecting in the rhythmic counterpoint performed by the ensemble's higher ranges. This is a rare score in which the bass elements perform the theme while the treble elements provide the rhythmic propulsion.

Thematically, Les Misérables is rich with development for each character (and several locations), but don't expect any of the themes (other than the title theme) to particularly grab your attention. The primary identity of Les Misérables opens the film and receives only three major performances by the full ensemble thereafter. It's tempting to place this theme as the identity of Valjean, though Poledouris seems to associate it more with the overall journey of the pursuit rather than the particular character's change of heart. After its monumental debut for low brass and cellos in the opening cue, it provides the highlight of the entire score during a carriage ride sequence heard in "Javert Rides to Paris," joined this time by higher brass and a determined snare rhythm. Another highlight of the album is "Javert's Suicide," at the end of which the theme is treated to its most blatantly tear-jerking performance. The theme would reprise the first cue's performance at the opening of the "End Titles." A theme for Javert (or, once again, one could interpret the theme to represent the concept of "danger" in general) is masked as an ominously layered string rhythm in "Javert." This theme would be emboldened to a full ensemble performance during scenes of revolution later in the film. A theme for Fantine is introduced by mid-range strings in "Caring for Fantine," though this theme would be brilliantly shrouded in despair in "The Death of Fantine," a cue that translates the beauty of the theme into one so sinister that it's almost unrecognizable. A harp and flute are used to introduce the material for Cosette, an obvious breath of fresh air, and an ensemble led by lighter percussion and trumpets in the "Paris" cue offers a snippet of hope. By "Cosette's Farewell," Poledouris has sunk even this theme down to the levels of darkness and fear that seem to eventually envelope every thematic idea in the film. The confrontation scenes late in the film are provided with their own identity. With hints of its ranks in the bombast of "Funeral Attack," Poledouris unleashes a heroic, but doomed theme of defiance in "The Barricades." A clever and subtle mutation of this theme is performed by extraordinarily powerful bass strings in "Valjean Saves Marius."

The overall impression that Poledouris' score for Les Misérables leaves you with is one of overwhelming sadness. It is an unquestionable triumph for the cause of brooding orchestral music that could inspire a person, quite realistically, to consider killing himself. But the beauty of its constantly harmonic and impressively mixed methodology cannot be easily challenged. Poledouris' more heroic music, even at its height of Western, sci-fi, or action drama, cannot prepare you for the relentless low-range power of Les Misérables. Perhaps the only hint of Poledouris' previous work comes in "Javert is Too Late," which erupts with folksy, percussive rhythm reminiscent of his historical fantasy scores of the 1980's. Some listeners and reviewers have argued that the score is rather boring, and this perhaps understandable given that there is little dynamic range to its thematic statements and perpetually rhythmic underscore. It is an extremely consistent work, setting up some listeners for boredom if they cannot engage with the score's deeply sorrowful attitude. But conversely, that consistency makes for a score very soothing to the ears on album. Unfortunately, the album situation for Les Misérables is not quite the same triumph. The Hollywood Records label provided a product so mismanaged that it nearly ruined the score for some listeners. About 49 minutes of the score was edited into four lengthy suites (similar to Hans Zimmer treatment from the label) and this made the individual highlights of the score difficult to find and enjoy. The packaging contained incorrect total and track times, claiming to be 15 minutes longer than it actually was, and the subtitles for each cue had no running times. Inevitably, a bootleg was to follow. Within three years, a 71-minute bootleg would begin floating about the market. It too is somewhat deceptive, though. The most important aspect of the bootleg is that it breaks the four commercial tracks into 29, not adding or subtracting any material in the process. It then adds the "End Titles" arrangement and a few bonus cues. The "Suite" you see listed on many of them contains no new material. The two true bonus cues contain some minor sound effects, though "Revolution Time" is really an outstanding variation on the "danger" (or Javert) theme. Overall, Les Misérables is Poledouris' final masterpiece, so seek it in any form you can find.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

• Score as Written for Film:  *****
• Score as Heard on Commercial Album:  ***
• Score as Heard on Bootleg:  *****
• Overall:  *****

Bias Check:

For Basil Poledouris reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.52 (in 33 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.27 (in 34,754 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.