Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,692
Written 2/6/12
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Buy it... if fifteen minutes of compelling symphonic and choral
melodrama and action along familiar lines for the WWII setting can
compensate for an otherwise disjointed whole.
Avoid it... if you have no interest in hearing Michael Giacchino's
general sound for this conflict hijacked by the contemporary techniques
of Hans Zimmer and, most awkwardly, an infusion of 1970's funk into
several cues.
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| Blanchard |
Red Tails: (Terence Blanchard) Although the
American military finally softened to the idea of putting its faith in
an all-African American fighter group in the 1940's, Hollywood studios
still refuse to finance a serious movie featuring an all-African
American cast in the 2010's. Producer George Lucas had been attempting
to make a movie about the Tuskegee Airmen since the late 1980's, but the
project was hung up in the financial end because Lucas couldn't find a
studio willing to take the risk on a historical project that contains no
white stars in acting roles. He eventually decided to use his own
fortune to back the picture, even contributing to the distribution
costs, and Red Tails became the first non-franchise Lucasfilm
release in eighteen years. The 2012 production is based upon the
collected stories of several of the original Tuskegee Airmen, covering
the personal hardships and combat trials of the group during their
progressive integration into the conflict over Europe during World War
II. Director Anthony Hemingway used Lucas' experience studying the
movement of vintage aircraft to concentrate on the simulated combat
sequences that dominate the film, and the result was praised for its
exciting recreations of several engagements. Received with less interest
was the script, which suffered the disdain of critics who found the
characters over-simplified and dialogue corny. In its first few weeks in
theatres, Red Tails was on track to cover its costs but do little
more, internet campaigns favoring the movie and harassing the studio
system not as effective as initially hoped. The production's obvious
effort to remain loyal to blacks in its crew presented some hurdles
(stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Terrence Howard had both played Tuskegee
Airmen previously, the former notably in the 1995 HBO film, The
Tuskegee Airmen), and for the compositional duties, few options
better than Terence Blanchard exist. The veteran jazz trumpeter and
composer has been writing film scores since several black culture films
of the early 1990's, essentially taking the place of Quincy Jones in the
industry. His work transcended into the classical realm later in the
decade and peaked in the early 2000's before non-film projects became
his focus over the years prior to Red Tails. His capabilities in
generating film music outside of his traditional jazz background had
slowly gained strength through the years, many of his projects strictly
classical by nature. Undoubtedly, Red Tails presented Blanchard
with a challenge not yet seen in his career, though his original work
for the movie was set to mingle with several source placements in the
form of vintage jazz songs and a re-recording of "America the Beautiful"
for the end credits.
Blanchard tackles
Red Tails with the foundation
of Michael Giacchino's "Medal of Honor" video game scores clearly in
mind, employing a vibrant orchestra and choir in Prague and generating
snare-ripping sequences of brassy heroism in bright shades for many of
the action sequences. Albeit somewhat generic in its tone, the
respectful symphonic demeanor of
Red Tails is its best asset,
despite at times to overstate its respect with bloated, simplistic
melodrama. Tonally accessible brass layers are common to Blanchard's
addressing of the bold feats on screen, with only a few notable
explosions of dissonant noise (the end of "Junior Escapes") interrupting
the feel-good narrative. The score's only major theme is a rather weak
one, a surprise given how often its first three notes are expressed in
rapid succession throughout the action cues. Blanchard never allows this
theme an extended performance to firmly place it in your memory, the
"Opening Titles" exploring it in fragments and a moments like early in
"Mission Orders" and at the end of "Lightning's Gone" cut off
prematurely. Its fullest statements are buried in the fight sequences,
though by "Attack From Above" and "Pretty Boy Killed," Blanchard starts
to emphasize its performances. Inconsequential conversational cues are
highlighted by the faux Italian tone of "The Proposal." The obvious
downside of
Red Tails is Blanchard's inexplicable pandering to
two outside musical conventions: Hans Zimmer's synthetic realm and then,
more awkwardly, modern funk that painfully infuses current African
American sensibilities into the mix. The Zimmer mannerisms are really
obnoxious early on the album release; in "Opening Titles" and "The
Train," Blanchard unleashes pounding brass pulses, electronic guitar,
and synthetic enhancements deep in the bass that, along with slapping
percussion, belong in a modern chase movie. The percussion overlays in
"Lightning in Trouble" and "German Airfield" are extremely irritating,
especially how far out into the forefront they are. Then, you have the
element of funk, which is understandable on the surface but distracting
in execution. Parts of "Lightning Jail" and "Takeoff" would make hips
jiggle in "Soul Train," and you have to wonder if Blanchard's attempt to
force black coolness into this context was really necessary. The
contemporary elements, whether the 1970's funk or brooding Zimmer power,
do a tremendous disservice to
Red Tails, and they sound bizarre
next to a Ron Goodwin tribute cue like "Victory Rolls," which is the
most authentic minute in the work. Overall, the moments of straight
symphony and choir in this score are redemptive to an extent, but a
rather poor narrative and main theme, along with the "stylish" elements
mixed far too prominently, create an impressively disjointed whole. Lee
Holdridge's handling of the topic in 1995 remains far superior, a small
irony given that he is not black, but Latino.
** @Amazon.com: CD or
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