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| Goldsmith |
Under Fire: (Jerry Goldsmith) While United Artists
studio executives had high hopes of using 1983's
Under Fire as
both a political and popular tool, it suffered a more exaggerated
version of audiences' responses to
The Right Stuff from the same
year. The production received critical praise, however, with a hot,
contemporary plot detailing the real-life struggles of American
journalists attempting to report on the 1979 governmental revolution in
Nicaragua. Most of the film deals with the human element as seen in the
most horrific of war zones, ranging from Chad, in Africa, to the turmoil
in Central America. The year of 1983 was an excellent one for film
scores, with a slate of Academy Award nominees that was well beyond most
other years in quality. One of the nominated scores that year was
Under Fire, which marked an achievement in instrumental
integration that would lead to several successful years of orchestral
and synthetic mastery in Jerry Goldsmith's works. Director Roger
Spottiswoode had been enchanted by Goldsmith's score to
Patton,
specifically because the score captured the human emotions of war while
also addressing the larger, grand stage of the conflict. When Goldsmith
accepted the assignment of
Under Fire, he was beginning his
movement towards the heavy use of synthesized instruments (and mostly
keyboarding) as an equal companion to a traditional orchestral ensemble.
Historically,
Under Fire was arguably his first major, widely
recognized success in these endeavors, leading to other masterful
combinations of electronic and orchestral sounds for
Legend and
Hoosiers (among others) in the following years, with the latter
also nominated for an Academy Award. It was suggested that Goldsmith
utilize a handful of solo instruments to provide the appropriate local
accent for the Central American setting, and while the ultimate choices
for the score weren't entirely specific to that particular region, they
were appropriately Latin in a larger sense.
A solo guitar was employed to accompany cues both large
and small, and pan flutes from the Andes region were meant to supplement
the less intense, more intimate concepts. Goldsmith had correctly warned
the studio that the pan pipe-laden temp track that it had used in the
film (and wanted imitated in the final score) was not appropriate to the
region, but his instructions were clear, and
Under Fire was one
of the few scores for which the veteran composer did extensive research
into regional sounds that could help balance both the pipes and his
intended use of synthesizers. The pipes, interestingly, were nothing
more than commercial PVC piping cut to needed lengths, a frightfully
effective display of creativity that should make any listener re-examine
his garage. Regardless of the unconventional approach, the resulting
combination of players and styles would turn out to be magnificent.
Against the odds, Goldsmith manages to capture the essence of Central
America very well, building upon popular rhythms and motifs with his
solo instruments while maintaining the orchestral and synthetic elements
that make the music accessible to non-Latin ears. To this end, he is
even more successful than in either
Extreme Prejudice or
Medicine Man, which both took generally the same stance. His use
of electronic keyboarding (placed directly within the orchestra) as a
distinct rhythm-setter keeps the score moving at the necessary pace of
the drama, and the solo instruments, rather than restraining their use
to thematic performances, are utilized to produce the rhythms themselves
in parts. The tone of the synthetic sounds are fascinating in their
ability to invite an alien atmosphere in an otherwise battered,
second-world environment, proving that their application can be very
well handled in the most seemingly incongruous situations. Despite
Spottiswoode's claim that the pan flutes are the heart of the score,
that distinction really falls upon the acoustic guitar.
Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny was a performer of rising
popularity at the time, and he fell ill during the days scheduled for
recording. And yet, after recording his solo performances several days
later, the guitar is a perfect fit with the attitude and emotional touch
of the score, mixed brilliantly with the other elements of the package.
Contrary to assertions that
Under Fire is a score of rolling
orchestral action, it is better classified as a tightly woven, less
ambitious drama, filled with several lengthy and memorable cues of taut
ethnically-diverse underscore. Goldsmith uses four themes in
Under
Fire, and several of them share structures that allowed the composer
to apply them for divergent purposes. The most lyrical of these ideas is
"Rafael's Theme," serving a dual purpose as a romance theme and
rearranged by Goldsmith into the lovely album-specific performance in "A
New Love." The latter cue, more pronounced than any version of the theme
actually heard in the film, is nothing less than stunning, with in a
very memorable and deliberate high string rendition. The synthesizers
are given their turn with the pipes on this theme in "Rafael." Some true
Caribbean spirit is exhibited in "Rafael's Theme," with localized
percussion and drums providing spirited performances equal in style to
modern resort entertainment. Metheny's own subdued performances vary
just enough in their repeated variations of this theme to keep the score
fresh. These remarkably personal moments of introversion are countered
by the expected explosions of revolution, tackled by Goldsmith with
gusto and march-paced enthusiasm in at least two victorious cues.
Despite being a war film as well,
Under Fire needed a score with
a few bursts of horrific dissonance on blaring brass or synthesizer.
Even when the score does address these moments, there is a certain
romanticism in these thematic cues that brilliantly expresses the
feelings rooted in the excitement of revolt.
One of the more ambitious action cues, "Bajo Fuego," is
actually a summary of both the "Alex's Death" cue (not appearing on the
album releases) and the main theme of the film, the rebel march. In this
performance, Goldsmith replaced the pan pipes that usually set the pace
for the march with impressive accompaniment by the guitar. The most
prevalent pipe usage on this theme arguably appears in "Sandino." A
victorious theme for the rebels is heard midway through "19 de Julio,"
and is a less recognized (but equally impressive) part of the score. A
downright pleasant variant of this idea is explored further in beautiful
harmony in "Fall of Managua." The least engaging theme in
Under
Fire is "Alex's Theme," with arguably the film's two most important
uses of that idea combined into that suite-like track. This understated
piano and string theme is appropriately supplanted by the rebel's march.
Overall, the nearly constant employment of the four themes for
Under
Fire maintain its listenability on album, though fans should also
thank an extensive, coordinated effort by Goldsmith to spend a couple of
weeks editing and recording additional material for the album (after
finishing with the recording of the actual score). Regardless of the
music's strength in the film, it is a work that is better suited for
appreciation on its vastly superior album arrangement. The recording
quality was noted at the time as being among the best of Goldsmith's
career. The mix of the guitar, orchestra, flutes, and synthesizers,
which had been recorded separately in many cases, blended very well in
the final edits. An argument could be made that the only moments when
the mixes were less than perfect exist during the opening and closing
tracks of percussive and brass-dominated bombast from the orchestra,
which overwhelms the sensitivity of the remaining elements. The sound
quality of the flutes, strings, synthesizers, and guitar (with "A New
Love" serving as the most beautiful example), however, is one of lush
intimacy. Sequences when Metheny is allowed some liberty on the thematic
progressions, such as the start and end of "Rafael's Theme," are
spectacular despite their minimal volume.
The overall edit of the performances sounds as though
it is occurring right in front of you in large concert hall, producing a
close and intense, but also reverberating sound. The LP album was
reviewed at the time as having stunning audio quality, and was
advertised in publications with that feature in mind. On CD, the album
has never experienced a complete treatment due to the loss of the
original master tapes. Nor, for many years, was it available in America
on any CD at all. For eight years, from 1992 to 2000, a CD of the score
was only available from Japan, where it was printed by the Pioneer
branch of the Warner Brothers label. It featured 45 minutes of material,
had liner notes mostly in Japanese, and sold on the American market for
as much as $100 a piece. In the year 2000, however, the Warner division
in Germany digitally remastered the album and released it (with the same
contents) across Europe. This album was a much more manageable $20 to
$25 for Americans as an import, and the Japanese version no longer sold
for outrageous prices. In 2008, the imports became moot when Film Score
Monthly, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its extensive Silver Age
Classics series, re-pressed
Under Fire in a surprisingly
non-limited form (no set number of copies was listed for its pressing).
The label thankfully decided not to alter the listening experience,
though with the masters missing their best attempts would have likely
yielded disappointing results anyway. But the label does offer its usual
high standard of superior notation and production quality, with yet
another mastering of the album's contents solidifying an already
impressive soundscape. It's initial price was also closer to typical
retail levels. For Goldsmith fans or general film score collectors,
Under Fire is, like
Hoosiers, an absolute necessity. It
represents a remarkable achievement in instrumental integration and
presents several stunning themes and performances that can give you
goosebumps, the true sign of any classic score.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.28
(in 113 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.3
(in 142,424 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The inserts for both the 1992 and 2000 albums include extra information
about the score and film, sometimes in various foreign languages. A note from the
director is included in English. The 2008 album contains the usual excellent
quality of textual information established in other albums of FSM's series, with
extremely detailed notes about the film and score. It does not, curiously, feature
any actual photography from the film.
