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FILMTRACKS.COM
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Review of MacArthur (Jerry Goldsmith)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you seek a slightly superior alternative to Jerry
Goldsmith's Inchon, with a predictably prideful military march
and effective secondary theme of contemplation highlighting a
conservative score.
Avoid it... if you expect any of the elements in MacArthur to match the lasting appeal of Goldsmith's more famous work for Patton.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
MacArthur: (Jerry Goldsmith) Universal's delayed
and much maligned 1977 attempt to recapture the dramatic success of
wartime documentary-style pictures from earlier in the decade was one of
a few high-profile looks at the endeavors of American general Douglas
MacArthur. Unfortunately, MacArthur failed to garner the respect
of its model, Patton, despite a carefully restrained and highly
acclaimed performance of the title character by Gregory Peck. Audiences
were treated to a much more introverted and contemplative investigation
of MacArthur's activities from 1942 to 1951 than they perhaps expected,
with very little energy to sustain action enthusiasts. In comparison to
its peers, MacArthur is indeed a dull narrative, though the
intent of director Joseph Sargent was to expose the lesser known
elements guiding the General's decisions rather than the tangible
results of those commands. By all accounts, the historical figure was
fairly represented in the film, exploring both MacArthur's egotistical
side and the U.S. government's careful watch over him. Ultimately,
however, the movie played like a school history lesson, with little
conflict in the narrative to retain interest. The film thus failed to
gain much traction in the theatres, though it performed better than the
disastrous 1981 MacArthur propaganda film Inchon. Both were
provided with occasionally rousing scores by composer Jerry Goldsmith, a
veteran of the war genre who was known for his keen sense of balance
between respect and bravado in his music for such productions. He had
perfectly captured the essence of this merging in his Oscar-nominated
work for Patton in 1970, still a popular score many decades
later. Scores for World War II films were frequent in the previous
decade of his career, and many of these were popular despite extending
out of stereotypical military marches for assignments like Tora!
Tora! Tora!. It's no surprise that both the productions of
MacArthur and Inchon sought Goldsmith's services because
of a typecast that he had created for himself, and while he fulfilled
his basic duties for these relatively late war entries in his career,
none of these efforts could compete with his earlier music.
For many listeners, MacArthur will sound like a faint echo of Patton, its victorious march not as infectiously entertaining and its extended moments of contemplation not as poignant. Some, in fact, will consider MacArthur's score as dull as the picture, an understandable opinion despite being somewhat unfair. Goldsmith's march for General MacArthur is relatively well known because it was often paired with Patton in a "General's Suite" for his concerts. The march is propulsive in its percussion and appropriately heroic in its brass layers, though its tone is perky in a purely John Philip Sousa style of pomp. This bubbly tone is a bit deceptive, because the bravado conveyed in this identity runs counter to the style of the rest of the score, though as a tool to represent the General's public persona and reputation, it is accurate enough. Closer to the heart of the score is the secondary theme of contemplation that accompanies the character in his lengthy scenes of introversion. Heard first on plaintive strings in the latter half of "MacArthur March (Main Title)," this theme is expanded to the full running time of "The Treaty," translating the impact of the man's decisions into a hearty and weightier sense of duty that is guided by his affinity for the West Point military school and the service generally. From the warm solo woodwind performances to the grim brass alternatives later in the same cue, Goldsmith applies this theme with greater dexterity than the title march. The march is indeed revisited regularly in the score, including a performance with all the bells and whistles at the conclusion of "A Last Gift." A third motif in MacArthur is a frustrated three-note phrase for the general's defeat in the Philippines, a prominent tool of suspense in early cues like "The Tunnel" and especially the latter half of "I Shall Return" that is later revisited during "The Prison" in related guises. Another important instrumental motif in MacArthur is the striking of three bass notes on piano keys with a hammer (manually performed), a grating sound that effectively conveys the bitterness of wartime consequences. Heard immediately at the outset of the march, this motif is dominant at the start of "I Shall Return" and, in its application to scenes of solemn gravity, foreshadows similar challenging techniques on the piano utilized in Star Trek: First Contact. Not much of Goldsmith's score for MacArthur deviates stylistically for particular locations. One exception is the scene on Japan late in the movie. A slight oriental tone in the progressions of "New Era" is a distinct reminder of Tora! Tora! Tora! but without the ethnic instrumentation. For this passage, Goldsmith also sought to adapt a Japanese folk song as additional respect for the locale. Otherwise, the remainder of MacArthur is strictly conservative in its approach to meandering, gloomy variations on the contemplative secondary theme and a few singular ideas. One overarching weakness of the score is its inability to tell a story in and of itself, its parts a bit disjointed in the overall presentation. For decades, the score was only available on a relatively rare entry in Varèse Sarabande's flurry of 1990 CD releases of Goldsmith's scores. Out of print and having sold for $100, the album was not worth the pursuit at that price. It represented the re-arrangement and re-recording of the score by Goldsmith for the initial LP record, a treatment that did make the work a bit more palatable in the otherwise abrasive portions of the original film performance. That recording for the film was not heard on album until 2023, when Intrada Records offered a 2-CD set that includes both the full film version of the score and a remastering of the album recording as well. The film recording is peppered with the source-like cues that Goldsmith and several associates provided to the film, including a variety of newsreel-worthy renditions of the score's main march. This presentation is highly fragmented, and since it further exposes the dark underbelly of the work, listeners may find themselves gravitating back to the warmer, remastered album recording. In addition to these two versions of the score, Intrada supplied eight minutes of alternate takes and another eight minutes of outside source music not featured within the narrative of the film version. One notable surprise is the inclusion of Goldsmith's re-recording of "Hard Gained Ground" from Lonely Are the Brave for use in the background of a western film seen on screen in this movie, marking a nice stereo option from Goldsmith's own baton for that cue. Despite this nice inclusion, the 2023 album may not appeal to all listeners even though it finally provides the film version. The score for MacArthur retains more interest than the composer's subsequent Inchon, but even at its best, it is an adequate but ultimately mundane effort in this genre for the composer. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
1990 Varèse Sarabande Album:
Total Time: 33:33
2023 Intrada Album: Total Time: 95:50
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the 1990 Varèse Sarabande album includes basic information about the score and film. That of the 2023 Intrada set contains additional notes about both.
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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 MacArthur are Copyright © 1990, 2023, Varèse Sarabande, Intrada Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 8/6/09 and last updated 3/19/24. |
