Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,302
Written 6/10/03, Revised 4/13/16
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Buy it... if you are among those who have been sitting on the LP
release of this fine score for years and are curious about revisiting
one of Laurence Rosenthal's most accomplished scores on either of its
well-mastered CD releases.
Avoid it... if you've never been convinced of the philosophical
viability of English-inspired romanticism merged with Native American
chants, the combination here admirably handled but not overwhelmingly
memorable.
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| Rosenthal |
The Return of a Man Called Horse: (Laurence
Rosenthal) After the success of A Man Called Horse in 1970, star
Richard Harris collaborated with director Irvin Kershner to bring the
title character back to the big screen in 1976. Despite a positive
audience response to the original 1970 film, it did several cinematic
injustices to the representation of Native American lifestyles, and the
new production team wished to correct those errors. The sequel, The
Return of a Man Called Horse, was, through the involvement of
Kershner and his associates, a significantly more sensitive and
realistic portrayal of Native American culture on the big screen. The
film contained several slowly developed visual elements that that gave
it the sensibility of a documentary, including many expansive vista
scenes without much more than Laurence Rosenthal's music to compliment
their beauty. From the 1960's through the 1980's, Rosenthal was known as
a composer of great consistency, a gentleman with classical
inclinations, but also a talent for bringing sophistication to a score
of any genre. In later years, he enjoyed a more successful,
Emmy-recognized career in television music. Some of his works have aged
better than others, but many critics and collectors agree that the
mid-1970's to early 1980's represented the most lasting period of
productivity in his career. After The Return of a Man Called
Horse, which even Rosenthal agrees is among finest, both
Meteor and Clash of the Titans, despite the shortcomings
of their films, continued to interest film score enthusiasts. For The
Return of a Man Called Horse specifically, Rosenthal had the
opportunity to infuse a classical, European sound from the perspective
of the title character into an ethnically rich canvas inspired by the
Sioux tribes he becomes a part of. Add Kershner's habit of shooting long
scenes without dialogue to the equation and Rosenthal's music was
perfectly positioned to make an impact. The success of the composer's
score comes from his ability to combine the two genres of music into one
redemptive package. The film displays a rare acceptance of an Englishman
(Harris) into the Yellow Hands tribe, and the collaboration they
experience is one of trials and ultimate success. Thus, Rosenthal's
music reflects the enthusiasm and perseverance of the title character
during his journey to become a respected leader in the tribe. The score
plays an enormous role in ensuring the film's upbeat vision of
collaboration while also offering enough seriously inclined cues of
drama and tension to service moments of despair felt by the tribe.
While
The Return of a Man Called Horse is a
Western score by definition, it does not feature the rhythmic propulsion
of Jerry Goldsmith or challenging tones of Alex North. The latter better
informed the Leonard Rosenman score for the prior entry in the
franchise. Rosenthal's style is all his own, though the complexity of
his overlapping orchestral activity may remind listeners of John
Williams's vintage style for the genre during its most robust sequences.
Rosenthal offers several exciting action cues for scenes such as the
buffalo hunt, occasionally brutal, stinging material for devastation
("The Massacre"), and authentic, spiritual music of reverence in
alternating cues. It's difficult to imagine how the composer could so
successfully integrate the classicism from horn and strings with the
tribe's native chants, but the resulting congruence is more true to a
documentary fashion than anything John Barry eventually wrote for
similar situations in
Dances With Wolves. On album, the score
will still be easy to the ears of those who prefer not to hear an
emphasis on straight, authentic Native American source material.
Rosenthal's harmonically grand title theme, one which eluded the
composer for a lengthy time, elegantly portrays Harris' character and
the nobility of his heritage and intentions. If one were to have a
complaint with the title theme as heard in the suite at the start of the
album, it would involve an equally enthusiastic percussionist and his
triangle (no, that sound was not a phone ringing in your house). The
flowing romanticism of this theme, emulated in "The Buffalo Hunt" and
"The Young Chief/The New Life," remains a career highlight for the
composer. The score existed on LP record at the time of the film's
debut, but due to time restrictions on that format, a handful of
noteworthy cues were omitted from the presentation. A limited
Varèse Sarabande Club CD of 2003 offered over twenty minutes of
newly released material. In 2015, Intrada Records supplied an additional
40 minutes of material, much of it in the form of alternate takes. Also
included on that 2-CD set is about half an hour of music from
Rosenthal's 1999 score for the expensive television adaptation of
"Inherit the Wind" starring Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott, the latter
in his final role before his death. It's a comparatively minimal score
for small orchestra but contains lyricism in its finale that will remind
strongly of
The Return of a Man Called Horse. As for that 1976
score, other than the "Battle at the Fort" cue, the original LP had
really contained all the best material from the work, but don't let that
stop you from investing in either of the two crisp-sounding CD releases
(both remastered using the best technologies of their day) of one of
Rosenthal's finest career achievements.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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