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| Holdridge |
Splash: (Lee Holdridge) Long before his seemingly
endless parade of accolades for his dramatic acting performances, Tom
Hanks was a regular favorite in the realm of dumb comedies. While most
of these comedies were really quite awful, one of the exceptions was
1984's
Splash, a very early entry in his career and featuring an
endearing supporting cast lead by the sizzling Daryl Hannah (and
including Eugene Levy and John Candy for laughs). After much alteration,
Ron Howard's film of a New York dock worker twice saved from downing by
(and eventually falling in love with) a mermaid hit all the right
buttons, delivering its fantasy with grand comedy while tempering its
message about love with the necessary bittersweet ending. For composer
Lee Holdridge,
Splash was an equally important career-turning
success. The composer not only flashed his skills in the lush,
orchestral themes that most remember from the film, but also extended
his abilities in action and pop culture writing, as well as adapting his
title theme for a song (an area in which the composer would support
himself well in the coming years). The 1980's would in turn be
considered the pinnacle of recognition for Holdridge, despite the
composer's prolific production in the two decades to follow on a variety
of obscure television and video projects. The wide scope of genres that
Splash covers as a film led to an accomplished score sadly
neglected through the years until resurrected in the late 1990's on
album. For most listeners, the glory of
Splash will reside
completely in the flowing string theme occupying the film's titles. In
"Main Titles," "Reunion," "Return Home," and "End Title," Holdridge
unleashes the pleasantly harmonic theme with no reservations, utilizing
the familiar high string structures also present in his song
orchestrations. Deeply resonating bass strings under flowing layers of
mid-range strings and brass accompany the theme, with the composer's
keen sense of counterpoint always merging sections of the ensemble with
the usual dynamic skill. The theme may not have the gravity of those to
be heard in his classics like
Old Gringo or
The Mists of
Avalon, but the allure of the romantic atmosphere it creates for
Splash is undeniable.
For the cues in between the full performances of this
title theme, Holdridge manages to avoid the pitfalls of typical fluffy,
light-hearted comedy scores. Although containing a few of those elements
throughout, he builds the score around a very captivating thematic
variant for a solo pianist. As the orchestra swells in and out of this
theme, the piano is a constant reminder of the score's core. One of the
most remarkable aspects of the score is Holdridge's ability to capture
the underwater beauty and romance of the mermaid's world, and then
translate those musical motifs into a pop and jazzy format for the New
York City lifestyle. Never do the percussive pop elements overwhelm the
orchestra, however, elevating the score to a level beyond the immature
silliness of a more average urban comedy/romance score. There seems to
have been some dissention regarding the extent to which the pop elements
were present; Holdridge recorded more robust, purely orchestral
variations on the film's late chase sequences (with some notable
performances by the French horns) that were replaced by renditions
heavier on the drums and guitars. For the most part, though, the
Splash score contains a significant number of slight
conversational cues, lead by the acoustic guitar in "Watching TV." The
song variant on Holdridge's title theme is decently performed by Rita
Collidge, with alternate versions on sax and guitar. Though the music
was originally released on LP in 1984, collectors eagerly awaited some
form of CD release of
Splash for years, only receiving a single
track on a Ron Howard score compilation from the mid-1990's. Even
Holdridge had expressed interest for years in seeing a comprehensive CD
release of the
Splash score, being that it was often referred to
as the most popularly recognizable film music work of his career. A
promotional album pressed by the short-lived Super Tracks label in 1999
finally contained the full score, properly arranged in order and
featuring several bonus tracks of alternate recordings. The only thing
missing from the CD is the giant fold-out poster of Daryl Hannah as a
nude mermaid that came with the LP, though art arranger Mark Banning
must be given credit for the abundant cleavage included on the promo's
packaging as possible compensation. Overall, for collectors familiar
with the often gorgeous romance themes produced by Holdridge throughout
the years,
Splash is an easy recommendation.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Lee Holdridge reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.75
(in 13 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.29
(in 7,134 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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