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| Goldsmith |
Medicine Man: (Jerry Goldsmith) Films with
political messages about the destruction of the Amazon rain forests were
plentiful in the 1990's (even in the animated genre), and John
McTiernan's
Medicine Man is one of the more tedious and
transparent entries. Blasted by critics, the early 1992 film proposed
that Sean Connery, an ornery Scottish scientist, has found the cure for
cancer in the forest, but the ingredients are quickly being destroyed by
the fires and bulldozers of encroaching agriculture. When Lorraine
Bracco shows up from the company that is financing him to examine his
progress, the two inevitably join forces to develop the cure in time
and, while they lose the larger battle for humanity, they at least can
take solace in each other. For yet another film that didn't live up to
the quality of his contribution, Jerry Goldsmith produced a forgotten
gem of a score for
Medicine Man that managed to survive the
horrific box office failure of the film. Goldsmith's large-scale and
popular score for the film continues to sell well and be played at
public events. Its generous performances of ethnic and orchestral
creativity show the obvious labor with which Goldsmith toiled to write
this score, a considerable show of dedication to detail that would be
lacking in his scores a decade later. In 1992, Goldsmith was still at
the height of his true mastery of electronic and orchestral melding, and
Medicine Man takes both of these elements and combines them with
a diverse percussion section (partially synthetic, of course) to
recreate the exotic, foreign, and romantic atmosphere of the rain
forests. The only redeeming part of McTiernan's film is indeed the
Goldsmith score, which simply dominates several scenes during its
running time. The greatest asset of his music for
Medicine Man is
that it never ceases in its creativity. It therefore maintains a strong
sense of character and personality that is largely unique in his career.
It's silly and playful without resorting to dumb cliches, and it's
menacing in its action without completely losing the style of the work's
lightest moments. And, most importantly, it uses Goldsmith's library of
sound effects to imitate the sounds of the forest, a prerequisite for a
score such as this.
The score rotates evenly between its three main themes,
including those that represent the forest, the romance, and the
impending doom.
Medicine Man opens with a Southern
Caribbean-flavored calypso piece as the lead female character journeys
into the heart of the forest. It is perhaps the best scene of the film,
if only for the perfect match of scenery with Goldsmith's bubbly forest
theme. This title track conveys all the high adventure that the film
suggests at its outset, and although "Rae's Arrival" ends on a
substantially lower emotional note, Goldsmith never loses the child-like
enthusiasm in his rhythms. The first half of the score maintains three
or four lengthy cues of this dancing, percussive material, light with
the orchestra and electronically cute. With flighty spirit, easy
acoustic guitar performances, and the mass plucking of the string
section of the orchestra, the fast-paced native rhythms often yield to
the more tender cues of the romance theme. The use of a pan pipe effect
to puff away at the theme and provide colorful accents in the background
will raise memories of
Under Fire. Goldsmith perfects a light
electronic accompaniment that mimics the droplets of rain as heard in a
natural setting, and his ability to set the pitch of these effects to
match the other performers is among the score's most notable
attractions. The second theme of importance is the horrific, harshly
electronic beating of the synthetic piano and drum pads that signify the
inevitable firey end of the rain forest (a creative, dark mutation of
the "Mountain High" cue). It's equally effective in the film, though
less listenable on album due to the resounding power of bass thumps that
sound like the basketball-dribbling effect from
Hoosiers in its
deepest and most powerful incarnation. In "Mocara" and "The Fire," the
brass theme over this ominous rhythm is provided with outstanding
counterpoint (especially in the latter, penultimate cue). The conflicts
between the two primary characters, out of their element and among the
natives, is often puntcuated by these reverberating electronic thumps
and a faint and dissonant electronic rhythm. When performed by the same
instruments as the cues focused on the natives and forest, Goldsmith
succeeds in juxtaposing a more identifiable city life with the sounds of
the unknown. A distinctly synthetic edge is provided to both the start
of the performances of the doom theme and moments like "Without a Net,"
which extends the sound into a more general purpose of panic.
For many film score collectors, however, the highlight
of
Medicine Man is the National Philharmonic Orchestra's
performance of the sweeping romance theme of the film. Heard first in
"Campbell and the Children" and swelling to remarkable heights in "The
Trees," this theme covers both the love interest between the two leads
and the romanticism inherent in the forest. Although the orchestra is
typically secondary to the tropical electronics, the dominant string
performances of this elegant "theme of awe" are those which appear in
re-recordings and most re-use situations involving this score. With one
of Goldsmith's finest fully orchestral themes of majesty (again
recalling the high string theme of
Under Fire), "The Trees"
conveys the overwhelming beauty of the forest from great heights. There
are distinct similarities in structure between the rendering of the idea
here and John Barry's dominant style of scoring vistas in the 1980's,
though Goldsmith's take on the same general idea is far more refreshing.
Overall, the score for
Medicine Man offers the best of two
worlds, with extended performances of that sweeping theme and nearly
fifteen minutes of Goldsmith's bubbly guitars and synthesizers at their
most inspired. There are parts of this score that will instantly cheer
you up, or maybe even get you out of your seat to shake your fanny. So
happy-go-lucky are the calypso parts of this score that edits of
Medicine Man have been used on the decks of cruise ships in the
Caribbean Sea when their live players are off duty. The only detractions
from the album are the often overbearing sequences of electronic
pounding during the moments of suggested or actual destruction. But even
these cues offer a bold Goldsmith brass motif that remains superior to
much of what the composer provided to generic action films later in the
decade. The texture of the instrumentation, both synthetic and organic,
keep filler cues like "What's Wrong" and "The Injection" from becoming
tedious, begging for appreciation at high volume. For the most part, the
recording presents these elements in an understandably wet sound, with
the exception of the acoustic guitar, which is mixed up front.
Medicine Man is a score that should occupy a spot in your
collection, and if you consider yourself a fan of Goldsmith's creative
80's and early-90's works, then it is an absolute must.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.26
(in 128 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.28
(in 153,786 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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