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| Horner |
The Mask of Zorro: (James Horner) After decades
absent from the big screen, the legendary Zorro returned in the form of
Antonio Banderas during a 1998 summer season otherwise dominated by
underachieving disaster flicks. Martin Campbell's surprisingly enjoyable
film fed off the both the mystique of the concept and the chemistry
between its three leading stars. With a lengthy backstory element, the
movie passes the duties of Zorro's vigilante antics from (an unlikely)
Anthony Hopkins to Banderas as the shifting influence of outside
politics affected the local residents of California. In the transitional
era of modern blockbusters in the 1990's,
The Mask of Zorro
proved an alluring blend of the concept's prior charm and the gravity
and action required for younger audiences. The film had a sense of
charisma and enthusiasm absent from the belated sequel,
The Legend of
Zorro, and in many regards remains a guilty pleasure decades later.
The plot's significant placement of the female lead, Elena (Catherine
Zeta-Jones), in the generational connections between the two Zorro
embodiments allows a strong romantic sensibility in the film that
ultimately defines the character of its music. For composer James
Horner, the concept of Zorro's plight represented a stark departure from
the genre of films for which he had begun to mechanically regurgitate
Irish-laced themes and instrumentation earlier in the decade. Horner
himself was in no need of introduction to mainstream audiences at the
time; his score for
Titanic had just ended its four-month
dominance of the music charts two months earlier, and his mantle had
just received two Oscars. His score for
Deep Impact, released two
months prior to
The Mask of Zorro despite being crafted later,
was adequate but did little to satisfy fans awaiting Horner's next major
achievement. What those fans would hear in this film is perhaps more
exotic than expected, for despite significant critical praise and
long-standing respect in the following years,
The Mask of Zorro
never caught on with mainstream audiences outside of the moderately
successful pop song that Horner adapted from his score.
In the afterglow of
Titanic, Horner specifically
sought an assignment that differed from his prior output artistically,
and
The Mask of Zorro was an immediate attraction to him for
precisely this purpose. This score and
The Legend of Zorro are
together a powerhouse pairing that exhibit the spirit of swashbuckling
adventure and instrumental creativity that was lacking from not only his
period before 1998 but in the years in between these two scores as well.
In the process of adapting his comfort zone to fit the flamenco sounds
with which he would define
The Mask of Zorro, Horner finally
accomplished what many of his long-time collectors had hoped for: a
perfect blend of his typical mannerisms with a refreshing new set of
ideas and instrumentation. In many ways,
The Mask of Zorro is a
Latin variation on the composer's popular
Willow, taking the best
thematic and instrumental tendencies from the 1988 score and performing
a cultural rearrangement for the setting of early California and the
flair of Zorro's personality. While
The Legend of Zorro is, on a
technical level, a superior score compared to its predecessor (despite
the significant plunge in the quality of the film itself), you cannot
discount the effectiveness of
The Mask of Zorro as its own work.
Horner may have improved upon nearly every element of the music in the
sequel with the exception of the actual flamenco accents, but the first
score is as entertaining as ever in its own right, with a few unique
aspects of its own to distinguish it. Horner introduces the two major
sets of themes of the franchise in his opening action cue, "The Plaza of
Execution." The original album for
The Mask of Zorro combined
this cue with the "Main Title" recording, which remains absolutely
unique to this film in Horner's career. Starting with shakuhachi and
acoustic guitar blasts that are joined by flamenco foot dancing and hand
clapping sound effects at an ever-increasing tempo, Horner builds
momentum for the false crescendo that was artificially but pleasantly
joined on the original album with Zorro's primary rhythmic device on
guitar exploding with trumpet and castanet accompaniment in the second
cue. That ascending and descending rhythmic formation hails from Latin
folk music and is not original, utilized extensively in countless genres
through the years. (It even graces a classic Cher song.)
Horner's employment of the traditional but somewhat
stereotypical rhythmic device is outstanding in
The Mask of
Zorro, applying it in riff-like ways that the composer hadn't really
explored in other works. At the outset of the actual "The Plaza of
Execution" cue in film, the composer's accompanying main theme for Zorro
takes the mariachi elements and bloats them to the performance depth of
a full, symphonic ensemble, a style that continues throughout the score.
The remainder of this cue, as Zorro stops an execution and whips up a
frenzy, offers several variants of this spirited primary theme that
would clearly delineate one of the composer's most memorable concepts in
years. Aside from the catchiness of the actual tune, the use of
castanets, maracas, tambourines, kena, zamponas, and shakuhachi flute
are all referenced as fascinating percussion accents; the shakuhachi
never carries a theme as it did in
Willow, instead wailing as
representation of Zorro's entry or exit from the scene or puffing along
with a rhythm a la
Thunderheart. The composer never quite
achieves the same symphonic muscularity for the main theme again in this
score, though brief flourishes occupy several of the action cues and
Horner obliges with an arrangement in "Zorro's Theme" constructed to
follow the song in the end credits. (Listeners can hear the idea
expressed with better ensemble posture in
The Legend of Zorro,
thankfully.) The secondary themes related to Elena actually consist of
three separate ideas that Horner intertwines frequently, blending their
purposes. What's most commonly associated as the love theme for Zorro
and Elena actually services the relationship between Elena and her
father, the elder Zorro, to a greater degree. The backstory involving
the two characters is supplied its own ascending identity that is more
of a lamentation for the father, and this idea is applied as the
interlude sequence between love theme performances in the song. A third
thematic variant related to Elena is dedicated solely to her
relationship with the younger Zorro, but aside from two or three subtle
performances in the work, this theme is short-changed. Traditional flute
performances are the highlight of the second theme for Elena, largely
capturing the essence of her childhood and her father's suffering. The
lushest renditions occupy the primary love theme, however, as in the
final moments of "The Plaza of Execution."
The main Zorro theme and primary love theme interact more
extensively in
The Legend of Zorro, their inseparable nature
previewed by usage in
The Mask of Zorro that suggest the latter
was always envisioned by Horner to be a natural interlude to the former.
More unique to the first score, however, is the application of the
secondary Elena theme for the sentimentality of Don Diego in a cue like
"Diego's Goodbye," which features another outstanding flute rendition of
the idea to suggest the familial history of the thematic set as well.
This material, highlighted previously in "Elena and Esperanza" and with
more relevance and poignant presence at the end of "The Confession," is
unfortunately underutilized and doesn't make more than a token
appearance in the sequel score. In the latter moments of "Elena and
Esperanza," Horner stylistically conflates two of the Elena-related
themes, allowing the love theme to receive troubled, minor-key
counterpoint potentially more suitable for the other idea. Horner's
interpolations of these themes into the score are impressively playful
on the whole, the composer masterfully altering the tempo of especially
the main theme for Zorro and launching it with a sense of exuberance and
high style that well matches the classic Alfred Newman approach. (If
only Horner had incorporated castanets into scores with the same
frequency as his bagpipes, perhaps his music would have been more
interestingly stylish.) Three of the action cues after the opening
scene, "The Ride" (which was used popularly in the trailers for the
film), "Tornado in the Barracks," and "Stealing the Map," all present
stunningly frenetic and enjoyable variations on the main theme while
also serving as the most ethnically rich sequences. The pizzazz put
forth by the trumpets alone is remarkable, and, more often than not, a
rowdy acoustic guitar rhythm leads the way. In most of these
performances, Horner follows the action with lush renditions of either
Zorro's theme or the developing primary love theme. The remaining action
cues are slightly more anonymous in that they very much mimic similar
material in
Willow, with "Leave No Witnesses..." striking several
similar notes. The infamous Horner "danger motif," otherwise a simple
series four sixteenth-notes for brass resolving ominously to key, is
employed in a few cues for the purpose of suspense, most notably
"Elena's Truth." It takes turns with major and minor key renditions in
"Leave No Witnesses...."
A snare rhythm with chime hits and shakuhachi wails
represents the lead antagonist, Montero, in much the same fashion as the
villains of
Willow in "The Mine," and the culmination of this
material in the timpani-pounding "Leave No Witnesses...." is adequately
exciting. The climax of the latter cue can be somewhat grating in its
abrasively dissonant crescendo of suspense, but it serves its purpose.
Don't expect the villains in the story to receive much special treatment
from Horner outside of the increasingly prevalent danger motif, sadly,
the composer failing to apply some imperialistic variant on his Latin
tones. Still, the highlights of
The Mask of Zorro often come when
you aren't expecting them. Such a cue that needs specific mentioning is
"The Fencing Lesson," a combination of multiple cues on the original
album. One of the more humorous developmental ideas in the film, it's
additionally a moment when the strikingly crisp sound effects of the
film merge very well with Horner's music. It is in this cue that Horner
makes the most out of his percussion section and soloists, taking simple
triangle hits and castanet spasms and slowly building them into the
recognizable, traditional folk rhythm for guitar as the younger man
learns the trade from Diego. Eventually, a triumphant burst of mariachi
fanfare signals the lesson learned. Additionally, bass strings pluck
along with the guitar to create a fuller sound, reminding in ways of
Jerry Goldsmith's more fanciful propulsion from
The Shadow. The
slashing of a cymbal to represent the swoosh of a sword, most obvious at
4:25 into "The Fencing Lesson," is the kind of creativity that more
Horner scores could use. Overall, you can't help but get the feeling
that Horner really enjoyed himself with
The Mask of Zorro;
whereas
Deep Impact seemed to aimlessly go through the motions,
this score is sharp, precise, funny, and resounding. Most of all, it's
extremely memorable and distinctive in a career that was otherwise
criticized for self-referencing. There is enough Horner DNA in this
score to clearly identify it in his established style; after all, Horner
cannot resist using the clanging danger motif as an ultimate tool of
climactic resolution in "Leave No Witnesses...." Some listeners will
tire of either those overly consistent Horner elements or the
obviousness of the Latin infusions. Even so, there is enough compelling
action and drama bookending this score and providing moments of
brilliance throughout the middle to earn its acclaim.
On the original 1998 album for
The Mask of
Zorro, a welcome 70 minutes of score material was offered in
outstanding sound quality and followed Horner's more favorable habit of
arranging shorter cues into longer tracks. The concert version of the
two primary themes in "Zorro's Theme" may be among the weaker offerings
for some listeners, with both themes receiving more impressive
performances in surrounding cues. Horner's lack of resounding enthusiasm
in fanfare form for the theme in this arrangement continues to annoy as
one of the work's few baffling aspects. Perhaps because most performance
ensembles wouldn't have the necessary specialty instruments to tackle
this score properly, this orchestra-only suite presentation was crafted,
but it thus seems rather dull. The love theme and Elena-specific
interlude are translated into the obligatory pop song, "I Want to Spend
My Lifetime Loving You," that had potential if not for the slashing
sound effects and cheap orchestral hits that diminish the style inherent
in the melody itself. While this song would go on to receive
considerable play on radio, that mainstream version would take a more
conservative mix thankfully absent these effects. A fuller orchestral
ambience would have really improved either variant. In 2023, the La-La
Land Records label expanded the presentation to separate the score's
cues in proper film versions and then appended the album edits along
with the Spanish-language version of the song at the end of the second
CD. While the first album's combination of "Main Title" and "The Plaza
of Execution" was masterful, it's good to hear the first 30 seconds of
the latter cue, as it builds a nice anticipatory introduction on its
own. While much of the middle of the score's filler material isn't
fantastic, it does illuminate the Elena material better despite becoming
mired in suspense. You also get a few new flourishes of Zorro's theme,
as in "Rooftop Getaway." Don't expect any interesting alternate takes on
this product, though, and most listeners may find the original
presentation more than adequate as a result. In the end,
The Mask of
Zorro may not be as massive in scope or offer the incredible
auxiliary action sequences of
The Legend of Zorro, but its
excellent thematic establishment remains an attraction and some of its
snazzy solo performances, especially in "Tornado in the Barracks" and
"Stealing the Map," are more appreciably raw in their enthusiasm. Both
works mark unique high points in Horner's career, and both represent the
most memorably accomplished score released during their respective
years.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15
(in 108 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.23
(in 203,479 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert of the 1998 Sony album includes lyrics from the song (provided below)
and extensive credits but no extra information about the score or film. That of the 2023
La-La Land album contains extensive information about both. The trailers for
The Mask
of Zorro included the use of "The Ride" from Horner's score, as well as excerpts
from Hans Zimmer's
Drop Zone, David Newman's
The Phantom, and original
material from John Beal.
Lyrics to "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You:"
Moon so bright, night so fine,
Keep your heart here with mine,
Life's a dream we are dreaming
Race the moon, catch the wind,
Ride the night to the end,
Seize the day, stand up for the light
I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
Heroes rise, heroes fall,
Rise again, win it all,
In your heart, can't you feel the glory?
Through our joy, through our pain,
We can move worlds again
Take my hand, dance the dance with me
I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
I will want nothing else to see me through
If I can spend my lifetime loving you
Though we know we will never come again
Where there is love, life begins
Over and over again
Save the night, save the day,
Save the love, come whay may,
Love is worth everything we pay
I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
I will want nothing else to see me through
If I can spend my lifetime loving you.
