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Review of Red Tails (Terence Blanchard)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

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.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

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.  **

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 71:51

• 1. Opening Titles (3:25) • 2. The Train (2:02) • 3. The Church (1:02) • 4. Visit Sofia (0:49) • 5. Operation Shingle (3:56) • 6. Lightning in Trouble (0:42) • 7. German Airfield (1:34) • 8. Victory Rolls (1:08) • 9. Junior Medical/Luntz Screening (3:33) • 10. Lightning Jail (1:40) • 11. Bomber Briefing (2:27) • 12. Takeoff (1:58) • 13. Waiting for Bombers (1:49) • 14. Deacon Damaged (3:34) • 15. German Destroyer (3:20) • 16. Deacon's Crash (2:11) • 17. Junior Prison (2:17) • 18. The Proposal (0:40) • 19. Junior Escapes (2:10) • 20. Luntz Berlin (1:58) • 21. Paper Plane (0:58) • 22. Mission Orders/Stance Berlin (1:49) • 23. Maurice Killed (2:03) • 24. Attack From Above (0:48) • 25. Pretty Boy Killed (1:36) • 26. Lightning is Hit (3:22) • 27. Lightning's Gone (2:24) • 28. End Credits/America the Beautiful (traditional) (4:31) • 29. It's Been a Long, Long Time - performed by Harry James and His Orchestra (3:24) • 30. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - performed by The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra (2:43) • 31. Blue Skies - performed by Maxine Sullivan & Her Orchestra (3:01) • 32. Bless You - performed by The Ink Spots (2:48)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes pictures from the recording sessions, but no extra information about the score or film.

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