 |
| Rózsa |
Time After Time: (Miklós Rózsa)
Although exhibiting some rookie mistakes by writer and director Nicholas
Meyer, the fine 1979 movie
Time After Time is technically a
science fiction thriller but also explores romance, societal mores, and
other weightier topics. With the help of an outstanding trio of acting
leads, the movie fictionalizes the life of British author H. G. Wells by
supposing that he actually built a functional time machine. Before he
could test it, the killer known as Jack the Ripper, a professional
acquaintance of Wells, is trapped by police in Wells' lab and thus uses
the machine to shift from Victorian England to 1979 San Francisco, where
the machine is on display in that time. Wells realizes this occurrence
and follows him there, and the rest of the film is a chase as the inept
Wells struggles to match the cunning killer, who is far more comfortable
in the more modern times. Along the way, Wells meets a flighty young
female banker and the two form a relationship that carries the warmth
and suspense of the film's final act. Meyer seemingly fought endlessly
with the studio about the tone of the film, Warner Brothers wanting a
more contemporary take but Meyer advocating for the perspective of the
whole story and the film's production elements to match those from
Wells' viewpoint. One area caught up in this disagreement was the
original score, for which the director insisted upon hiring Golden Age
maestro Miklós Rózsa whereas the studio preferred that
Bill Conti write modern, pop-infused music. Fortunately for Meyer and
Rózsa, who hit it off extremely well during the production and
became good friends, highly positive test screenings and a public
advertising campaign praising Rózsa for his involvement in the
picture saved his score. The movie, despite its somewhat campy premise
and excellent acting, never caught on with mass audiences even after
very strong critical responses, though it's highly respected when viewed
decades later. Although he was still in decent health upon embarking on
Time After Time, Rózsa wasn't one to adapt the style of
his writing in these late years of his career, and his late 1970's and
early 1980's music tended to represent intentionally nostalgic
throwbacks to his 1940's roots. In every way, this entry continues that
trend and, in many listeners' views, highlights this period in the
composer's career.
The score for
Time After Time contains a satisfying
mixture of Rózsa's usual, finely-tuned suspense, raging action,
and overwhelming romance, but there are some source-like diversions
sprinkled throughout as well. These sometimes humorous singular cues
don't cause the listening experience to stray as much as the equivalents
in the later
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and they actually benefit
the overall flow of the narrative. The orchestral palette for the score
is typical to the composer but utilizes a significant amount of swirling
percussive and woodwind activity for the science fiction element. A harp
and xylophone have especially prominent roles, and low woodwinds aren't
as highlighted as in other late 1970's scores from Rózsa. Much of
the composer's comedic portion of
Time After Time was ultimately
unused or dialed way back by Meyer in the final mix. A unique bank motif
early in "First Bank Montage" is pleasantly humorous and was largely
retained, but the equally funny, frantic "Car Ride" scherzo was not used
in the picture. The source-like "Cartoon/War" for Jack the Ripper
showing Wells television shows of violence was largely unused, too. Both
the tunes of "Star-Spangled Banner" and "Rule, Britannia" factor for the
location change, the latter intervening as Wells finally discovers a
British bank in the future whereas the former had announced his
discovery of being in America to begin with. Also technically a source
piece is the swaying "The Time Machine Waltz," which should have been
(or been replaced by) the love theme instead, and the piano-only
alternate recording for this otherwise swooning symphonic moment is only
briefly heard in the picture as elevator source. The rest of the work is
extremely devoted to Rózsa's robust set of themes for the
characters and other aspects of the tale. His main theme represents the
time machine itself more than the aspect of time travel. Anchored by a
five-note fanfare that is somewhat elusive at first but can be inserted
easily as needed, this theme extends directly out of Max Steiner's
Warner Brothers logo music at 0:09 into "Prelude." The seamless
transition is remarkably effective, and the motif repeats several times
to dominate the rest of the cue. Its ascending secondary phrasing isn't
as important as the layering of the main five notes that remind heavily
of many other similar constructs from the composer.
In the story of
Time After Time the main theme for
the machine emerges faintly as it returns from its initial trip at the
end of "The Time Machine" and picks up momentum over clanking percussion
and string swirls in the momentous "Time Travel." It's reduced to an
uncertain oboe solo at the outset of "Man Before His Time" in the museum
exhibit and does not appear in the whole middle portion of the film
because the machine rarely factors. Its whimsy accompanies the idea's
arrival once again in "Finale," but the theme is not as well-explored
late in the story because it's replaced by the love theme by then. A
distinct wonder motif is a trilling woodwind identity applied as a
stinger for time travel in general at the end of "Farewell" that
officially joins the main theme in "The Time Machine" and usually does
so thereafter. Another motif belonging to the machine exists for the
"Vaporising Equaliser" feature that allows a traveler to make a one-way
trip without the machine. This intentionally disturbing tritone motif of
alternating notes for discordant instruments is reprised similarly in
"Vaporising Equaliser," "The Prism Pin," and "The Journey's End." A
separate theme for Wells is far better engrained in the narrative, a
series of yearning but reserved, cyclical figures anchored by an opening
four-note phrase used frequently as a stinger. Introduced on careful
clarinet over thumping strings in "Farewell," this theme is suggested
with light panic in the first half of "Search for the Ripper," and stern
strings and blurting brass try to gain strength for the idea in
"Decision." It earns more fluid, tonal resonance on strings in "Taking
Off" and tries to recover its wits in restrained cycles at 0:29 into
"Man Before His Time," mingling with the opening notes of the
"Star-Spangled Banner" in its secondary stewing. Rózsa toys with
the identity as it barely assists "Second Bank Montage" when the
character acclimates to 1970's life, and it's subdued in "Utopia," in
which the character's secondary phrasing is prominent on oboe against
horn. After a lightly frantic passage in "The Last Victim" as the
character is helpless to stop a murder, Rózsa slows the theme in
futility during "H.G. Arrested" until his arrest turns the idea berserk,
and it is reduced again to somber restraint in "3:20 P.M." and
frustrated by other themes in "Nocturnal Visitor." The Wells theme then
finally gains some anger in "Despair" against hints of the love theme,
and facets of the idea are jumbled during his driving attempts in
"Dangerous Drive."
The most fascinating thematic identity in
Time After
Time represents Jack the Ripper in both time frames, a descending
theme of devious malice that repeats its secondary phrase to denote the
man's unusually bad habits. Heard right away in low instrumentation
during "Jack!," this theme bursts in an aggressive version during "The
Ripper/Pursuit" as the leads confront and chase each other in the
future, the pulsating lines of "Pursuit" often straying from the themes
but still impressive. The Ripper theme announces itself at the start of
"Palace of Fine Arts" as the killer starts up in San Francisco and
overtakes the love theme in "The Dinner" as he is shown looking for the
next victim. This mode continues to gain strength of resolve in "Search
for a Victim" and keenly interrupts in "A New Victim" as he is seen
talking to his next victim. Rózsa allows it to play a very
smartly sinister role in "Frightened" as Jack realizes the story's lead
woman is connected to Wells, and the theme then taunts with reserved but
creepy suspense tones in "The Telephone Book/The Envelope." After
mingling with his separate watch motif in "Decision for Murder" and
accumulating increasing power in an imposing crescendo, this villain
theme makes its mark briefly in the middle of "The Fifth Victim" to
predict the future, laces the conclusion of "The Last Victim" for yet
another kill, and builds intensity "Nocturnal Visitor" as he prepares
for the next victim, echoing early in "Despair" as the deed is done. The
villain's identity overtakes Wells' material with much better focus in
the stomping rhythms of "Dangerous Drive," in which it enjoys a really
fantastic rendition of unrelenting brute force late in the cue. Finally,
as Jack is outsmarted by Wells while in the machine, the former's theme
literally fades into a distant time in "The Journey's End." A very
creative musical device connected to the character exists for his
music-playing watch, for which the director suggested the use of the
French folk song "Chants d'Auvergne" as the appropriate traditional
music box tune, to which the composer agreed immediately. This "L'Aio
de Rotso" melody is the only one to exist solely in mono sound in the
film recording because the original sources could not be located. The
watch motif is reprised in "Search for a Victim" for the sealing of fate
for the next victim, and brief reminders continue in "Decision for
Murder" and "The Journey's End" as the watch is literally triggered on
screen. Meyer was hoping that Rózsa would adopt the melody for
his broader Jack material, and such an adaptation would have been
welcomed, but the composer opted not to do so.
For collectors of the composer's works, the highlight
of
Time After Time will likely be his love theme for Wells and
the woman of the future, a flighty representation of yesteryear not far
from
Fedora in personality. The director had wanted
Rózsa's
Spellbound theme explicitly for at least one scene
with these characters, but it could not be licensed. The composer wrote
a replacement in "The Time Machine Waltz," but the actual, proper love
theme is first heard in the pretty "The Redwoods" on oboe and strings
rather than that initial lunch date, though it still serves its purpose.
Solo strings preview some of the final usage still to come from the
composer in later works. Rózsa reprises the same mode from "The
Redwoods" in "The Dinner" but with a little more trepidation. The idea
briefly tinges "A New Victim" on clarinet but is quickly overtaken,
returns romantically in "The Fifth Victim" until a sudden cut-off of
horrifying realization; the theme then continues in conciliatory shades
on solo violin to close the cue. Barely intact at the end of "Aftermath"
on solo violin, the love theme tries to reassure the woman on clarinet
in "Valium" and struggles to enunciate in the fear of "Nocturnal
Visitor" before dying out in "Despair." But the payoff comes as the
identity earns its Golden Age purpose in "Finale" when the woman commits
to time travel with Wells again. This closing yields the fullest
treatment of the theme yet, with new counterpoint lines of high glory
that feature Rózsa's usual triumphant major-key conclusion of
grandeur. The score isn't pervasive in the picture but still has an
immense impact when needed, even replacing sound effects at times. The
balance between suspense, action, and romance is executed through the
very tightly woven narrative, and the score remains a high
recommendation for anyone seeking a late Rózsa representation in
their collection. Per standards, the composer recorded separate film and
album arrangements of the score, the latter consolidating cues well but
appearing out of film order. That LP record album recording in London
offers outstanding sound quality and was released in identical form on
CD in 1997 by Southern Cross and 2025 by Dragon's Domain Records, the
latter including a few re-recordings of other Rózsa. The longer
film recording for
Time After Time, though also in stereo aside
from the watch motif, is more muted in quality but is the necessary,
faithful representation of what the composer meant for the film. That
presentation was only released by Film Score Monthly in 2009 on a
limited and later quite collectible product. Approach either option with
confidence, though the album recording is the more pleasing and
affordable option for casual interests.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
All three albums contain notes about the film and score, usually with comments from the director.
