: (Howard Shore) A number
of seemingly unrelated concepts were irrevocably tied to mental sickness
in Jonathan Demme's monumentally successful 1991 film,
, not the least entertaining of which were fava beans,
census takers, livers, and nice Chiantis. The world suddenly became
fascinated with the brilliant cannibal Hannibal Lecter, enough so to
encourage actor Anthony Hopkins to reprise his incredibly delicious
performance of the character in multiple sequels. He is the unfortunate
key to success for a young FBI agent (Jodie Foster) who solicits help
from the psychologically menacing criminal in her frantic investigation
into the mind of a psychotic kidnapper from whom she needs to rescue a
politician's daughter. As tense a conversational thriller to ever come
from Hollywood,
swept through the awards
season like an uncontrollable wildfire, the highly disturbing
interactions between Hopkins and Foster achieving legendary cinematic
status. The substandard sequels did a great injustice to the
comprehensive quality of the original film, which managed to maintain an
uncomfortable level of tension throughout its entire length, even
extending its heavy atmosphere to the sudden plot shifts and demented
sexuality and humor contained in its story. Among the few aspects of the
production of
that really didn't gain
much attention at the time was Howard Shore's effectively troubling
score. Had the composer enjoyed better mainstream name recognition at
the time, he might have been carried on to his own awards consideration
due to the overwhelming critical and popular triumphs of the film.
Despite producing quality suspense material for feature films dating
back to
in the 1980's, Shore's reputation as a solid
composer for this genre didn't really become widespread until a variety
of higher profile projects later in the 1990's.
Stylistically, the tone of Shore's music for
The
Silence of the Lambs has many fundamental similarities to aspects of
subsequent efforts for
Seven,
The Game,
Sliver, and
Panic Room, though none of these scores has ever been known for
translating into standalone success in album form. Shore's approach to
these assignments is effective nearly every time, perfecting his recipe
for orchestral brooding and smothering the listener with uncomfortable
tones of atmosphere and anonymously shifty motifs from each section of
the ensemble in its lowest ranges. Unfortunately, while these functional
scores have a following from Shore's devoted, pre-
The Lord of the
Rings collecting base, their appeal on album is limited to only
these hardcore collectors. Although
The Silence of the Lambs
contains more thematic development and melodramatic chord structures
than many of its siblings, including some phrasing that foreshadows the
themes for the forces of darkness in the aforementioned
The Lord of
the Rings trilogy, the score's presentation on its numerous albums
is nevertheless unnerving to the point of questionable standalone merit.
This does not reflect the quality of the composition and its chilling
performance for the intended context, though. Shore not only affords
Foster's Clarice Starling a very appropriate seven-note ascending and
descending figure reflective of her ambitious rise to prominence in the
FBI and subsequent disgrace, but he provides an almost intoxicating,
neo-classical series of dramatic chord shifts that may be somewhat
stereotypical but are strikingly powerful for Lecter as he walks off
into a crowd to have an old friend for dinner at the end. The adaptation
of these two ideas during the course of the two characters'
conversations is smart, with Starling's rising and falling theme
becoming more clearly enunciated as she nears her answers (it starts as
an immature, five-note fragment in the opening scenes) before turning
slightly frantic as counterpoint to Lecter's far more methodical shifts
of the minor-key in "Finale." These subtle manipulations of theme are
intriguing upon careful listening, but they by no means define the
score.
The intangible sense of dread that accompanies Shore's
constantly morbid chords and progressions is the heart of
The Silence
of the Lambs, and although many of those movements are accessibly
tonal in nature, they have enough edgy character to take full advantage
of the low woodwinds and brass in every cue. Slight percussive motifs
offer some glimpses of hope at the opening and closing of the score
(similar to vintage John Williams in parts of "Main Title"), countered
at its darkest moment ("The Cellar") with alternatively challenging
electronic textures. The whole listening experience is so bleak that
it's difficult to recommend for standalone enjoyment. There really is no
respite from the creepy environment of this score, which for some will
be interpreted as an arguably boring hour on album. Because the Munich
Symphony Orchestra is employed to dwell in the lower regions with such
immense weight at every moment, there isn't much to intrigue in terms of
instrumental or motific creativity. Some occasional ostinatos performed
by mid-range woodwinds and violins are about the extent of such
activity. It is an atmospheric work of the highest level of consistency,
its volume only interrupted by Lecter's two "out and about" cues that
stray into the tones heard at the end of
Seven. The original 1991
MCA Records product contained more than enough music for casual
enthusiasts, but there had long lingered some demand for a complete
album presentation of
The Silence of the Lambs. Quartet Records
offered that product in 2018, adding about twenty minutes of additional
material that is not unsurprisingly similar in almost every cue to the
already-released music. There is further development of Shore's motifs
in these additional cues, however, better completing the narrative.
Unfortunately, the sound quality of this remastering is not
significantly improved, and Quartet only pressed a woefully inadequate
1,000 copies of the album, yielding a predictable sellout within a
matter of weeks. Quartet re-issued the same product in 2021 in unlimited
form. Even the shorter album's hour is, in all reality, too much of this
score to handle in one sitting for most listeners unless they are really
keen on unnerving themselves or their roommates late at night. You'll
likely respect this score and appreciate its impact in the film, but
most listeners will rarely revisit it on either of its unpleasant,
oppressive albums.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Howard Shore reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.56
(in 25 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.32
(in 101,260 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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