: (David Newman) If you desire to behold a
great example of how a filmmaker can totally screw up a literary
classic, look no further than Reinhard Klooss's German-made 3D version
of
. The English-language motion capture endeavor sought to
be a non-musical animated alternative to a 1999 Disney production that
was another variant on the 1914 book "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice
Burroughs. Among the plethora of fatal flaws with Germany's 2014
re-envisioning (although the movie featured in a few international
venues in 2013, it opened in its home country, as well as America and
Britain, in 2014, assigning it to the latter year for Filmtracks'
purposes) was a mutilation of the script to give the story fantasy,
science fiction, and environmentalist elements exaggerated to
embarrassing degrees. Ape and human characters are also re-purposed at
will. The brutality of the story's interactions and overarching message
made it a piss poor choice for young children to attend. Most
problematic is the simple fact that the animation techniques in 2014's
are absolutely horrendous, the quality of the composites
ridiculously underdeveloped compared to contemporary peers. Even the
human anatomy of the titular character is so malformed that his
depiction and movements become laughable. Needless to say, the movie was
blasted by critics and relied upon marginal grosses mainly from hapless
audiences in Russia and Brazil to sustain itself. The only redemptive
element to come out of the film was a continuation of the collaboration
between Klooss and composer David Newman. Their partnership for another
German animated film,
, in 2010 resulted in a fine
outing for Newman and represented a rare album release for the son of
famed composer Alfred Newman. While silly comedy and other wacky topics
have always remained a staple of David Newman's career (let's not forget
that he wrote music for Tim Burton before Danny Elfman did), they seem
to have taken control of his career by the 2010's, his ventures into
mainstream action and science fiction sadly sparse after the 1990's.
While the animation film score for
was still
rooted in the lighter side of things, it previewed the evolution of
style that would bring Newman into the 2010's style of composition for
the much more mature
.
In numerous ways,
Tarzan is a fascinating score for
Newman. Its generous album release offered listeners the first chance in
many years to hear the composer unleash his adventure mode without
restraint, and for those hoping for echoes of
The Phantom and
Galaxy Quest, they are to be heard in places. More interesting,
however, is same transformation that Newman has made to accommodate the
Hans Zimmer and John Powell mould of film scoring that Patrick Doyle was
forced to make when he ventured into the modern franchise realm a few
years prior. The success of these scores depends largely on the
composer's ability to satisfy demands for the masculine Zimmer/Powell
sound while also retaining enough of his original stylistic mannerisms,
and, just like Doyle, Newman manages to pull it off admirably. There
will be listeners who have little tolerance for Newman's adoption of
more forceful bass elements and derivative references to a temp track in
Tarzan, but in many cues (highlighted by "Reunion"), you can hear
vintage Newman methods at their finest. One of the complaints made by
some (certainly not all) Newman collectors in the 1990's was the
composer's lack of "oomph." His scores tended to skimp on the bass
region, leaving high choral, string, and brass elements to provide most
of the personality of a score like
The Phantom. In
Tarzan,
you still have Newman's prior incarnation at work, but it's layered with
thunderous percussion, thumping electronic bass effects, and even an
electric guitar. He emphasizes trombones in extraordinarily harsh,
groaning ways in this work, using them as oppressive but resonating
representations of villainous activity in successive staccato blasts (in
phrases of two or three) similar to usage in Clinton Shorter's
District 9. The choice of percussion for the jungle environment
isn't too distinct from the composer's past works; it sounds different
because of the rambling electronic bass accompaniment underneath. The
electric guitar and cowbell combination in "Tarzan in Camp" is loads of
fun, joined by the more frequently employed acoustic guitar, which
figures most prominently in the upbeat "Growing Up." Choral applications
are perfectly spread throughout the work to accentuate the fantasy
element without becoming overbearing; Newman supplements his typical
high range female voices with deep-throated male tones for the topic as
needed.
The great balance of instrumentation in
Tarzan
is executed well by the Berlin session performers (the same group from
Animals United), their vigorous interpretation of the composition
absent any glaring errors. That result is made whole by Newman's highly
tonal and melodic approach to the material, the composer utilizing a
variety of unique motifs for certain situations in the story but also
conjuring common phrases that he can rearrange into related but distinct
themes on the fly. Contrary to some reviews contending that
Tarzan lacks main themes, Newman offers two primary melodies and
several offshoots based on certain progressions in those ideas. Perhaps
some listeners become sidetracked by Newman's tendency to pass the
phrases of the melodies between groups so that the performers handling
the counterpoint line at any given point can sudden swap positions to
take up the actual, underlying melody. The main theme for Tarzan is
frequently conveyed after the character's coming of age, exploding at
0:26 into "Tarzan Climbs Tree" and recurring countless times thereafter
in several emotional ranges. It is reduced to a solo horn at the start
of "Jane and Dad" and expands to a whopping symphonic rendition at 0:17
into "Take Me to the Meteor," the latter featuring brass layers of pure
Newman lineage. Restrained strings take the theme at 0:57 into "Kala is
Shot," resilient horns answer with the idea at 1:21 into "Tarzan Mourns
for Kala," and the conclusion of the "Finale" offers it in full fanfare
mode. The most intriguing aspect of this theme is Newman's use of its
first three notes (an alternating perfect fifth interval, as in C-G-C)
and its second three notes (an ascending minor third, as in C-D-E flat);
he sometimes reverses the order of these phrases to yield what may be a
theme for the apes. At 1:22 and 3:08 into "Kala and Kerchal," you hear
this reversal that foreshadows Tarzan's theme but in an alternate
reality. In between those two performances, you hear the infancy of
Tarzan's version of the melody on strings. If these choices were
intentional by Newman, then they have to be praised, and perhaps more
such subtle rearrangements exist throughout the score. On the first pass
through the score on its lengthy album, it may seem to any listener that
the various thematic moments are unconnected, but you'd be surprised by
how many resort back to that ultra heroic and simplistic perfect fifth
interval. It's quite appropriate for Tarzan when you think about it, and
not too dissimilar from how Jerry Goldsmith handled Klingons.
Speaking of Goldsmith, the second major, recurring
theme in
Tarzan owes much to his legacy. Newman offers a love
theme for the lead pair in "Tarzan," "Tarzan and Jane," "Tarzan and Jane
in the Lake," and "Finale" that is absolutely saturated with Goldsmith's
mannerisms and typical progressions, allowing for a string and woodwind
sequence in "Tarzan and Jane in the Lake" that will make you think that
Goldsmith is still alive and writing film music. Of the other remaining
motifs in
Tarzan, perhaps none is as engaging as the rising
string rhythm previewed at 0:46 into "Tarzan Looks Beyond" but truly
fleshed out with snare and mixed choir at 0:40 onto "Tarzan Mourns for
Kala," an extended highlight of the work. Even here, however, as in the
love theme, you hear a touch of yesteryear, the "Tarzan Mourns For Kala"
sequence suggesting hints of John Barry romanticism. The one major
detriment one could use against Newman in
Tarzan is his
occasional adherence too closely to a temp track, with portions of
Zimmer, James Horner, and James Newton Howard peeking through at times.
Rarely are they really obnoxious, because Newman manages to keep these
references in the perimeter of focus, though film score veterans may be
blindsided by the most obvious and immediate exception: the clear Howard
tribute in "Prologue." On the whole, however,
Tarzan is an
extremely engaging and often affable score. The lovable portions, as in
the literal symphonic bouncing throughout "Growing Up," are nicely
balanced by the ballsy Andrew Lockington-like action in "Take Me to the
Meteor" and "Detonation in 8 Minutes." You will see many listeners claim
that the 68-minute presentation is too long, but given the quality of
the music, that's plain nuts. What would you cut? Even if you exclude
the slower parts, you still have an hour of solid material with little
redundancy. The unrelated rock song at the end of the album has to be
discarded despite the performer's valiant attempt to emulate Michael
Stipe. The score's presentation is quite dry, so add some reverb to
bolster the fantasy appeal. In an era when scoring by committee has
become the norm, it's fantastic to see one man compose and conduct a
score of this magnitude for a clearly crappy film. There is no doubt
that
Tarzan is among 2014's best hidden gems in the film music
world, and anyone who skimmed through it and discarded it summarily
needs to take more time to appreciate Newman's adherence to contemporary
blockbuster norms (and associated influences) while remaining true to
his own style. Be prepared for the surprise of the year.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check: |
For David Newman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.17
(in 12 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.26
(in 18,998 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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