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Review of Patton and Tora! Tora! Tora! (Compilation)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you enjoy the faithful re-recordings of Varèse
Sarabande's 'Film Classics' series and want to hear Jerry Goldsmith
conduct his two memorable 1970 war scores with stellar sound quality.
Avoid it... if only the original recordings will work for you, despite Goldsmith's involvement with this re-recording from start to end.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Patton/Tora! Tora! Tora!: (Jerry Goldsmith) Only
two films were nominated for "Visual Effects" Academy Awards in the 1970
season, and both were epic war films in documentary style with memorable
scores by Jerry Goldsmith. Winning that Oscar category was Tora!
Tora! Tora!, a lengthy but spectacular film about Pearl Harbor with
a minimal musical contribution by Goldsmith. Winning most of the Oscars
in that year, however, was Patton, a film so respected in its
effective portrayal of the famous American general at war that it needs
little description. It, too, had surprisingly little music given the
running time of the film, but that didn't stop Goldsmith's score from
becoming an inspiration for the next generation of composers.
Goldsmith's musical approaches for the two projects differ almost as
much as the scores' histories on album. As any soundtrack collector
knows, Patton has received outstanding treatment on album through
the years, whether you owned the bootleg versions with the general's
famous opening speech (the George C. Scott version, of course) or the
original recording released on a specialty label. The score has been
well represented on re-recordings and compilations additionally,
existing as part of a "generals suite" that Goldsmith would conduct in
many of his own concerts. Much more elusive through the years was
Tora! Tora! Tora!, a score that was impossible to obtain on LP or
CD for a quarter of a century. Its original form would finally be
restored on a limited specialty CD in 2000 by Film Score Monthly (the
label that also resurrected the Patton score prior). In the
meantime, however, Goldsmith collectors were treated to a handful of
re-recordings contracted by the Varèse Sarabande label in the
late 1990's, and both of these scores for pivotal 1970 films were
included in that series. For Goldsmith, his conducting of the Royal
Scottish National Orchestra for these two scores in 1997 would mark a
rather rare event for the composer; at the time, the only other scores
he had re-recorded for album were Islands in the Stream and
Rio Conchos, both for the Intrada label.
The performers of the RNSO are precise in their orchestration and pacing. With Goldsmith conducting, the recreations are loyal, which is important since both these scores have some awkward instrumental needs. The only complaint some veteran listeners have had about this particular set is that the ensemble may lack some of the driving enthusiasm in its brass section during the full performances of the title march from Patton. Indeed, the brass here doesn't slur upwards with the same vigor during these moments, but their movement is strong enough to make the performances viable anyways. For Patton, the special needs of the score would require an organ and a method of providing the echoing effect of the two trumpets that perform the triplet motif for the general's sense of reincarnation. The organ for the plentiful religious sequences in the first half of the score is easily handled, and the trumpet triplets are handled acoustically rather than with technical manipulation. This change of tactic makes them a little more distant than in the original, but it could be argued that they better serve their purpose this way. Included in these recordings are the "Hospital" cue that was cut from the film and the concert version of the "German March" that had never been intended to be heard in full in the picture (it does, of course, do battle with the title march in the later action pieces). More interesting, but probably less enjoyable for casual listeners, are the five selections (chosen by Goldsmith himself) from Tora! Tora! Tora!. A unique score with an oriental construct performed by a Western ensemble, Tora! Tora! Tora! adds a koto and serpent, as well as a tuning effect on two oboes, as well as enhanced percussion, in place of violins, which Goldsmith dropped from his original ensemble in response to a challenge from Goldsmith's friend Alex North. The opening and closing titles are fascinating in their brass dominance and staggered rhythmic movement (a technique used to represent the concept of miscommunication in the film). The current sound quality really does fantastic justice to Tora! Tora! Tora!, which sounds infinitely better here than in the sparse and distant original. Overall, this was the second of Varèse Sarabande's "Film Classics" series of re-recordings, following To Kill an Mockingbird and moving on to Goldsmith's The Sand Pebbles. These products are generally outstanding, and this one is no exception. *****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 46:52
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes extensive notes about the scores and films.
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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 Patton and Tora! Tora! Tora! are Copyright © 1997, Varèse Sarabande and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 8/17/97 and last updated 7/29/06. |
