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Review of The Postman (James Newton Howard)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you have always enjoyed James Newton Howard's general adventure and fantasy material on a large scale, because The Postman was something of a template for many similar scores to follow from the composer.

Avoid it... if you seek unique themes, instrumental applications, or other techniques in what is essentially a pleasantly generic entry for Howard in the genre.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The Postman: (James Newton Howard) The sudden decline of Kevin Costner's star power in the late 1990's was a subject of much banter and ridicule, his pair of monumental flops of the era, Waterworld and The Postman, both produced by their lead actor. For Costner, the 1997 post-apocalyptic film The Postman was the first directorial venture since Dances With Wolves, and it came at a dead period in his career that signaled the end of his marketability. Costing $80 million to make and only generating $18 million in return, The Postman was universally mocked by critics as a vehicle for Costner's ego, a description not aided by the fact that the story tells of humanity in the future erecting and admiring a large statue of his likeness. He plays a nomad in America's not so distant future, a desolate place due to a global societal meltdown and suggested nuclear winter. Local fascist militias battle with stubborn communities of the Northwest, and the nomad escapes enlistment in the militia and somewhat accidentally starts a rumor that he is a postal carrier for America's restored government, a lie that spawns a myth that causes the people of the region to start their own mail services and connect the states from California to Washington. Among the only lasting unique distinctions for The Postman is the fact that it swept every category in which it was nominated at the Razzie awards for the worst of cinema. As expected, Costner hired James Newton Howard to provide the score for the picture, receiving a result not substantially different from Waterworld. In both cases, the composer overachieved when considering the quality of Costner's films, the music engagingly melodic with rich orchestral textures. For The Postman, a collection of light country and folk songs written by Jono Manson and John Coinman supplemented Howard's score, and Costner would choose to stroke his ego even further by performing a duet with Amy Grant for the highlighted song of the production. The entire package actually works reasonable well, with no part of the score or songs offensive to the ears or too incongruent with each other to handle. The Grant and Costner song ("You Didn't Have to Be So Nice") is the best of the batch, the actor surprisingly sufficient in a secondary, backup role for Grant. The album devotes its entire second half to the sung material, and none of it directly correlates its tunes with Howard's far more interesting score, which itself provides most of the album's running time.

Those who appreciated the orchestrally robust and melodically redemptive stature of Howard's Waterworld were bound to be pleased with The Postman. The latter score is a bit redundant in the larger perspective of the composer's career, serving as something of a basic template for his forthcoming adventure and animation scores. Only slight instrumental references to a country setting are utilized, with the bulk of the workload handled by the traditional ensemble players. A touch of electronic enhancement in the chase sequences is joined by occasional choir for depth and awe. The percussion is, as usual for Howard, a highlight of the score, serving up rolling rhythms of immense satisfaction that foreshadowed everything from Dinosaur to The Last Airbender. The "Main Titles" cue has the prototypical Howard rhythmic opening sequence, combining elements you hear in both Dinosaur and Unbreakable. By "The Belly of the Beast" and "The Restored United States," the snare drum maintains momentum with a hint of Western bravado from brass figures. Larger, medium range drum explosions in those cues are specific precursors to The Last Airbender. The choir is weighted towards the deep male end, logically enhancing the concept of post-apocalyptic gravity. Aside from a few powerful crescendos of dissonance late in "The Restored United States," The Postman is a largely harmonic score, extremely listenable from start to finish. Its three major themes are woven nicely into the entire fabric of the score (with the exception of the aforementioned "Main Titles," which is an enigma on its own), but none of them is worth much hype. A theme for Costner's title character emerges on lovely flute in "Shelter in the Storm" and occupies the early portion of the suite, "The Postman." A love theme in "Abby Comes Calling" is lush and relaxing, receiving full treatment in the latter half of that cue. The main action theme is introduced four minutes into "The Belly of the Beast" and is offered in fanfares all the way through the end of "The Postman." Unfortunately, while sufficient in its anointment of a hero, the idea will remind you of several other composers' general themes of adventure, diminishing its impact. The three themes together are disappointingly anonymous, but none is the least bit troublesome when taken in the context of this wretched film. The vibrant presentation of the score portion on the album for The Postman is consistently solid, devoid to an extent of a smooth narrative but always exhibiting trademark Howard techniques and harmony that will allow you to appreciate the music as a purely background experience. It's undemanding escapism.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 73:36

• 1. Main Titles (2:21) • 2. Shelter in the Storm (6:23) • 3. The Belly of the Beast (6:49) • 4. General Bethlehem (6:55) • 5. Abby Comes Calling (10:49) • 6. The Restored United States (6:43) • 7. The Postman (9:50) • 8. Almost Home - performed by Jono Manson (3:59) • 9. It Will Happen Naturally - performed by Jono Manson (2:18) • 10. The Next Big Thing - performed by Jono Manson (2:19) • 11. This Perfect World - performed by John Coinman (3:38) • 12. Once This Was the Promised Land - performed by John Coinman (2:06) • 13. I Miss My Radio - performed by Jono Manson and John Coinman (2:42) • 14. Come and Get Your Love - performed by John Coinman (3:06) • 15. You Didn't Have to Be So Nice - performed by Amy Grant and Kevin Costner (3:38)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert contains extensive credits and a production photo of Howard with some of the musicians, but no extra information about the score or film.

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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 Postman are Copyright © 1997, Warner Bros. Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/16/10 (and not updated significantly since).