remains one of the most
aggressive projects of all time. With over ten years of development, the
film was the second directorial endeavor of Katsuhiro Otomo, who was
long a prolific writer in the manga field. With the success of 1988's
popular
under his belt and a few cinematic adaptations in
between, he led a production of
with such immense care
that it was the most expensive anime film ever made at the time. The
story envisions an alternate, steam-driven Europe in the 1860's, and one
family of three generations of scientists manages to harness a new power
source that threatens to upend the entire world order. Each of the
generations approaches the new device from different perspectives, and
they are torn apart by organizations seeking to weaponize the
capability. Ultimately, nearly everyone seems to want to develop
machines of war from these inventions, and it's up to the family to
reconcile and defeat these interests in battle. Although the movie was
reasonably successful in Japan, spawning a video game, it languished in
arthouses in America and never caught on. The composing duties for
had rattled around connections at Hans Zimmer's Media
Ventures/Remote Control group before landing surprisingly on the lap of
Zimmer assistant Steve Jablonsky due to a successful demo submission.
Jablonsky was just starting his solo career at the time, mired in
third-rate horror music and soon to embark upon a partnership with
director Michael Bay that brought the composer his most recognition.
Undoubtedly,
was a project that remained distinct in
Jablonsky's career for many years, as it demanded a dynamic orchestral
soundtrack that defied nearly all of the composer's stylistic mannerisms
of the 2000's. From an objective point of view, it's easy to hear that
Otomo and his crew had temped
with the music of James
Horner, as Jablonsky's completed score owed much to Horner's
. You can't really
fault Jablonsky and his supporting team for following the Horner lead so
closely given the gravity of the assignment for him, and the emulation
benefits the listener in the end.
The demeanor of Jablonsky's approach to
Steamboy is
mostly orchestral, though you do hear some of the Media Ventures/Remote
Control post-production and mixing techniques intrude at times. Aside
from an awkward manipulated pitch effect at 2:38 into "Launch!,"
however, outright distortion of the mix isn't an issue. Some listeners
may hear a bit too much focused bravado in the presentation of brass in
action that reminds of less refined Zimmer influences. But despite this
occasional tone and scant employment of electric guitar, you otherwise
hear very diverse instrumental coloration, especially in percussion that
includes an abundance of mid-range drums, wood blocks, tambourines, and
snare, the last of which very appropriate given its sonic emulation of
puffs of steam. Solo horn performances yearn for the same longing tone
that Horner often employed. The role of woodwinds is especially
satisfying (and defying of expectations, to an extent), with flutes of
varying types often conveying the score's character ideas. A slightly
exotic tone to one flute reminds of
The Land Before Time and
Willow. Still, despite solid orchestrations, the score only
sometimes achieves a truly sparkling and ebullient personality, the
action sequences sometimes reaching a somewhat underwhelming level of
stasis and rarely roaring to full potential. Complicating matters in
Steamboy is Jablonsky's employment of a wealth of themes, only
some of them well adapted for multiple situations and the narrative at
times lost in the process. That said, all of the identities serve their
intended purposes, and a few of them are clear winners that continue to
stand apart in the composer's career. He helms this score with two
themes for the lead, titular boy who seeks to find a path between his
father and grandfather in their steam-related inventions. One of these
themes is the overarching identity for the entire picture, and this,
Ray's theme, is a lovable throwback to Horner's
The Rocketeer in
structure and spirit. As a standalone effort, this idea is easy to
embrace, but the phrasing and orchestration of it may reveal it solely
as a lesser sibling of
The Rocketeer to some listeners and send
them back to the original inspiration. Jablonsky succeeds, though, in
providing his theme two parts that can be applied separately, with the
descending figures in the primary, A phrase turns into self-contained B
phrase of compelling heart.
The main theme for Ray in
Steamboy is tentative
and fragmented at 2:25 into "Manchester 1866" but builds a bit of
resolve at 3:21. It extends brightly out of the steam world theme at
1:00 into "The Atelier of Ray," including a reference to the B phrase.
The theme then shifts into distorted action mode in the second half of
"Ray's Dilemma" and is twisted to emulate the phrasing of the villain
theme at the start of "Temptation." This use becomes massive on brass
later in the cue. Ray's theme regains confidence and takes its proper
place at the outset of "Fly in the Sky" as it opens up as a straight
action identity, and it provides relief at 6:36 into "Collapse and
Rescue" with the full B phrase, that secondary section closing the cue
nicely on flute at 7:58. Not to be missed is the great suite in "Ray's
Theme," with the formal A portion featured at the track's start and
again at 1:53 while the B phrase flows wholesomely at 1:01 and the end.
Jablonsky also afforded the character a hero theme that receives a
powerful brass sequence at 1:17 into "Ray's Theme" as well. In the score
itself, Ray's hero theme is lightly previewed for a moment at 4:09 into
"Manchester 1866" and conveyed with tender care on woodwinds at 0:30
into "London World Exposition," but it erupts with victory at 5:04 into
"Collapse and Rescue" and serves as a noble brass interlude to main Ray
theme at 7:14. These themes are all really attractive regardless of
their Horner connections, and listeners may find that the score lacks
enough referencing of them throughout its length. On the other hand, the
composer does provide a couple of other positive themes that may fill
the same need for those listeners. A steam world theme opens the score
at 0:09 into "Manchester 1866" on clarinet in yet another homage to
Horner and quickly develops into a robust industrial identity with
slapping percussion before returning to its original form on woodwinds
and strings at 3:38. This idea is reprised with hints of comedy on solo
horn at 0:21 into "The Atelier of Ray," occupying the first half of that
cue. Meanwhile, a theme for the female love interest, Scarlet, is
hopeful, friendly, and lightly propulsive at 0:16 into "Scarlet" with
the help of a marimba. It's quietly cheerful on piano and flute at 0:57
into "Crystal Palace Waltz" and interjects on flute and strings during
the action at 2:19 into "Fight in the Exposition Ground." The staccato
performance aspects of "Scarlet" are a nicely upbeat alternative to
similarly constructed suspense elements for the score's darker
half.
Jablonsky's handling of the antagonists in
Steamboy is a little less cohesive, with some general cyclical
techniques often employed to connect them or sometimes replace them with
somewhat generic action material. A pair of ideas for the villains and
the concept of war often switch off, the former containing more
prominent four note phrases of unresolved intrigue. This motif is
introduced quietly at 0:09 into "Unexpected Meeting" and stews
throughout the cue, again brooding softly at 1:23 into "London World
Exposition" before developing into a rising five-note tool of suspense
by the end. That second motif of five or more rising notes, often
repeated, supplies anguish and returns at the start of "Ray's Dilemma"
prior to a shift back to the four-note phrasing ominously prevalent at
1:05 on bass strings and guiding the rest of the cue's action. Jablonsky
twists the main villain motif into a three-note variant during the
darkness of "The Sortie of Scotland Yard" and uses its fuller form to
boil in the first minute of "Fight in the Exposition Ground," punctuate
rhythmic momentum in the first half of "Launch!" with increasing brass
presence, and deeply disturb Ray's theme throughout "Temptation." The
five-note anguish motif persists, though, opening "Two Delusions" in a
crescendo over hints of the villain theme, which emerges on deep strings
and a choral effect at 2:13 for one last gasp. Often overlapping the
villain material is the composer's suspense and chase motif, which
debuts on anxious strings at 1:56 into "Manchester 1866" over aggressive
snare and gains strength in the first minute of "The Chase" and
contributes to later action in that cue. It guides almost the entirety
of "Raid by the Airship," informs the latter half of "Ray's Dilemma,"
and offers subtle shade early in "The Sortie of Scotland Yard." This
material drives the long sequence in the middle of "Launch!," becoming
prominent by the cue's end, and turns into a longer, ascending idea of
perseverance in first half of "Collapse and Rescue." Not all of this
action music in
Steamboy is particularly interesting despite
remaining mostly tonally accessible throughout, but Jablonsky makes up
for that deficiency with more than adequate heart in his character
themes. There's twenty minutes of this compelling, Horner-appreciative
music in the work, and the composer has rarely ventured back into that
sound since. The hour-long album presentation has some narrative holes,
but it covers all the major ideas and is a usually effortless listening
experience. Expect to return frequently to the pretty and triumphant
"Ray's Theme" as a highlight of the composer's career.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Steve Jablonsky reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.2
(in 15 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.47
(in 11,918 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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