Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,205
Written 9/24/96, Revised 8/21/08
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Buy it... if your favorite suspense scores create their ambience with an
excess of unusual instrumentation, because Shadow Conspiracy offers a
persona defined by a massive percussion section.
Avoid it... if exploding, pounding timpani sequences and only two cues of
large-scale brass statements of theme can't compensate for the otherwise typical
genre material in between.
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| Broughton |
Shadow Conspiracy: (Bruce Broughton) The middle of the 1990's
were a renaissance period for Hollywood films about the American president, and
that included a fair share of tales involving presidential scandals. The plotline
of the 1996 film Shadow Conspiracy held many parallels with films such as
Murder at 1600 and Absolute Power, and it suffered from overkill of
the subject at the box office. Part of the problem involved its own total
ineptitude, from the casting of Charlie Sheen in the lead to an obvious reliance on
action sequences stolen from other movies to attempt an atmosphere of excitement.
There's even a scene in which a little toy helicopter is supposed to fire bullets
at the president; think about the physics of that one for a moment. An incredible
dumb script can indeed sink a film and cause the studio to delay it by several
months to hide its debut in the doldrums of January. The intrigue involving the
White House in this film revolves around a plot (involving, predictably, Donald
Sutherland) to overthrow the entire American government. Bringing the thriller to
the big screen was director George Cosmatos (of Rambo movie fame), and
composer Bruce Broughton had collaborated with Cosmatos for the successful project
of Tombstone a few years earlier (some had hoped that Cosmatos would return
to his fruitful partnership with the veteran Jerry Goldsmith, but to no avail). For
Shadow Conspiracy, Broughton was be able to raise a noble theme similar in
basic style to what he had produced for Tombstone, though he wouldn't be
able to hold on to it for very long. Cosmatos had a very specific idea in mind when
he hired Broughton for the project; he wanted the score for Shadow
Conspiracy to be performed by a symphony orchestra with a massive percussion
section (and, more specifically, extra drums). The idea was a precursor to
Goldsmith's taut technique for L.A. Confidential the following year, and
listeners will notice parallels in instrumental mixing between the two scores.
Broughton responded by not only employing an extra percussionist
for the drums, but went over the top with a wide range of percussion instruments to
be performed by six total percussionists. The effect of this massive collection is
to produce a constant, deep rumbling of sound that was meant to carry the (or
perhaps compensate for the inherent lack of) suspense of the film. Broughton does
indeed create the correct atmosphere for the genre, with the drums exploding during
pounding sequences of terrifying action. The timpani performances alone well
portray the unseen power of evil government forces. The cue "Touched by Evil" has
a particularly strong timpani solo, for those of you who take perverse pleasure in
rattling your elderly neighbors. Similarly, Broughton uses two pianos to perform an
ambitious, low background rhythm to accelerate the pace of the many chase scenes.
These action cues fit the film well due to their sheer size and intensity, and the
same emotional draw is leveled by suspenseful strings in the slower passages. The
snare drum, throughout the entire score, serves as another reminder of the
presidential stature of the story. It's somewhat of a cliché, but it functions. The
title theme, which fleetingly appears in snippets during several cues, is offered
in full at the beginning and end of the album. The finale cue is arguably the best
track on that album, with a ten minute resolution of returned nobility in the
pleasantly harmonic performances of theme. The layered brass at the end of that
finale cue is remarkably powerful, and will offer
Tombstone fans continued
enjoyment of that kind of Broughton style. Outside of these large-scale thematic
statements, however, the score is a typical, symphonic suspense thriller (with the
exception of having a large presence of percussion to spice up the mix). The album
for
Shadow Conspiracy provides a consistent listening experience, with
Broughton's material playing predictably to the suspense genre without
interruption. Released by Intrada Records, the album has disappeared from
commercial venues, and is primarily available through the label itself. Overall,
the score for
Shadow Conspiracy is a decent, percussive thriller with two
cues highlighting an outstanding brass theme. Don't expect any surprises.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For Bruce Broughton reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.36
(in 11 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.28
(in 4,522 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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