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Review of The Life and Music of Basil Poledouris (Video)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... only if you're an extreme Basil Poledouris enthusiast, or are a fan of his popular daughter Zoë.

Avoid it... if the hassle of finding and purchasing the old VHS-format video isn't worth the money you could spend instead on one of Poledouris' collectible scores.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The Life and Music of Basil Poledouris: (Video) In 1997, Film Score Monthly founder Lukas Kendall took a significant financial risk by announcing the debut of a video series that would document the lives of modern film composers. Produced by "Vineyard Haven Video," the first in the series was a 50-minute video profile of Basil Poledouris, with interviews and tours of his house, studio, and, of course, his boat. In coordination with co-producers Michael Rosendale and Nick Redman, the production was limited in what it could show on screen and what original recordings could be heard. Thus, what you get is a significant dose of Poledouris himself, including his personal performances on piano. Poledouris should need no introduction for film music collectors. Before his death from cancer in 2006, his body of work spanned several decades and included some of the most desirable action music on the secondary market. At the time the video was shot, Poledouris had just finished Starship Troopers and was about to venture on to Les Misérables. Ironically, after this video was shot, Poledouris would slowly begin to turn his attention away from regular film scoring duties (as well as fall ill), causing his output in the 2000's to be sparse. Poledouris never showed any hints in the video about his impending reduction in scoring assignments, though he did elaborate on the challenges in the evolution of scoring technologies. The emphasis that Kendall placed in the video exists on the personal side of the composer, and while Poledouris does discuss a handful of his works, most of the running time is devoted to the man's personality and lifestyle. To nobody's surprise, the video concentrates significantly on Poledouris' love of sailing and the sea, a passion that has inspired some his best works for like-minded films. He interacts with copies of film scripts and pictures from films on his wall, and talks about dreams while sailing his boat. Also featured is Poledouris' wife (at the time), Bobbie, and their popular singer/songwriter daughter Zoë, who had just come off of an appearance on the soundtrack for Starship Troopers.

The production quality of the video is professional, but nothing that would blow you out of your seat. The cost of including original clips, both in video and sound, were simply too exorbitant for FSM, so you instead receive significant photography and a consistent use of Poledouris' solo piano performances, which were used to score the video. Poledouris himself seemed patient with the production, but not overly enthusiastic; this could simply be a personality trait, especially given that he and FSM had a strong and viable relationship through the years. In content, the video features in-depth interviews with Poledouris about Starship Troopers, Free Willy, Conan the Barbarian, Lonesome Dove, and the opening and closing themes for the Centennial Olympic Games. While Poledouris' piano performances sometimes mirror the scores being discussed, he also throws in some The Blue Lagoon and Farewell to the King. Technically speaking, while it may be difficult to appreciate these solo performances of such grand symphonic works, the sound quality on the video is excellent. Some viewers who prefer wall-to-wall analysis of the industry and the scores might be bored by the lengths to which the video details Poledouris' family life. Indeed, those folks will be far more fascinated by Poledouris' description of how the job of scoring a film had changed in the previous decade (the complications, technologically and professionally), as well as the scenes involving the massive, seven track mixing equipment of the time. One thing you'll notice about Poledouris' personality is the difference in his speaking style when talking about different subject matters. When discussing scores, the film music industry, or other individuals with whom he works, Poledouris was very serious and professional. Yet when speaking of his relationship with Bobbie, an enormous smile (and a little blushing) lit up his face. This was interesting because of the fact that he separated his work (especially in his quiet, undisturbed work room) from his love of family, sailing, etc, even though they were very much intertwined.

In the end, the production did not succeed as Kendall had certainly hoped it would. Given the expenses of these projects, and the necessity of generosity in time that is required of the composer who agrees to be profiled, this first video in the series unfortunately turned out to be the only entry. At a selling price of $30, the video was slightly too expensive for the masses of casual fans to bother with, and yet the price wasn't high enough to allow the video to use the original film and soundtrack clips that would have been necessary to make the production a success. The price eventually fell to $20 when the product did not sell well. Even if the original investment had been there, the cost of the video with such elements secured would have killed the series anyway. Film Score Monthly really did deserve praise, however, for at least trying in this venture. They continued to sell the product in VHS and PAL (European) formats for several years, never transferring the masters to laserdisc or DVD as hoped. Included on this review page is a track listing compiled by Filmtracks that could have simulated the chapter titles of the video had it been transferred to DVD format. It had been available through their own site's store and soundtrack specialty outlets, though it slowly disappeared through the years. When FSM transferred their store to the Screen Archives site in the mid-2000's, the availability of the video apparently went lost. It may not have been hard to predict that the video wouldn't sell well, but its content was interesting, its production qualities were fine, and it was a one-of-a-kind idea that was worth exploring at the time.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 49:00

• 1. Opening Credits/Introduction (2:30) • 2. Starship Troopers (6:30) • 3. Big Wednesday/John Milius/Conducting (6:30) • 4. Childhood, Family, and Getting Started (6:30) • 5. A Place for Composing (3:00) • 6. Conan the Barbarian (2:30) • 7. Zoë's Tour and Demo Song (2:30) • 8. Sailing (1:30) • 9. Free Willy (2:30) • 10. Modern Scoring Responsibilities/Aspects of the Job (2:30) • 11. Centennial Olympic Games/Greek Influences (3:00) • 12. Lonesome Dove/The Emmy (3:30) • 13. Dreams (1:30) • 14. Conclusion/CD Covers (Farewell to the King) (4:00)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The packaging includes little extra information about the video. There is a surprise ending after the conclusion of the end credits, so don't turn it off too soon.

Screenshot:

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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 The Life and Music of Basil Poledouris are Copyright © 1997, Film Score Monthly and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 1/7/98 and last updated 11/30/06.