| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Unlikely Heroes (Lee Holdridge)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you are a casual collector of Lee Holdridge's
typically superior dramatic work and desire a continuation of his
lyrical mastery for a challenging topic.
Avoid it... if the restrained and respectful style of Holdridge's library of music for films pertaining to the Holocaust has never sustained your interest beyond the composer's often attractive title themes.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Unlikely Heroes: (Lee Holdridge) The Moriah Film
division of the Simon Wiesenthal Center produced a series of highly
respected documentaries about the Holocaust starting in the 1990's, and
Unlikely Heroes was their 2003 entry into the efforts of those in
Hungary and elsewhere to save Jewish lives during World War II. It
follows half a dozen similar films from their studios, the best known of
which is probably The Long Way Home, which won an Academy Award
in the documentary field in 1997. Directed by Richard Trank and narrated
by Sir Ben Kingsley (these films always feature star power behind the
microphone), Unlikely Heroes was somewhat of a surprise for the
director, who had honestly believed that the series had already
exhausted all of its storylines of significant interest. But with this
2003 picture came stories of Jewish resistance rather than depressing
Jewish victimization, and continued positive reviews ensued as a result.
Joining the endeavors of Simon Wiesenthal Center once again (and his
third collaboration with Trank specifically) was composer Lee Holdridge.
One of the most underrated careers in composing for television and film
in the digital era is that of Holdridge, who, despite rarely receiving
the recognition deserved for his mass of work for television,
continuously produced outstanding music while flying under the radar
throughout the 2000's. You won't have heard Holdridge music on the big
screens at your local cineplex anytime during that decade, but you'll
likely have caught a snippet of it while searching past the biographies
and documentaries that many lazy viewers skip over when surfing the
tube. His output for television is outstanding given the usual standard
of quality that he often provides for films that don't always deserve
such music. By the middle of the 2000's, it was amazing to contemplate
what muck he was assigned to for the small screen. One such entry was
10.5, a mini-series in which a massive earthquake drops much of
the West Coast of America into the ocean, never a really bad idea
according to many in the rest of the country. Another was See Arnold
Run, an intriguing bio-picture following two eras in Arnold
Schwarzenegger's life (and viewers were privileged enough to see Jurgen
Prochnow and Mariel Hemingway do their best Arnold and Maria imitations;
both were upstaged by Roland Kickinger as the younger Schwarzenegger).
During that time, however, and extending back into the 1990's, Holdridge
became associated with these high-quality documentary and television
films about the Holocaust.
While it may seem odd at first glance to see a Latino-born composer consistently providing some of the most compelling music for the Holocaust, Holdridge's versatility and ability to generate extremely respectful music for the topic has caused this largely unknown body of strong music to exist with great effect. From The Long Way Home to Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, Holdridge's most elegant music exists partly in the form of these tragic and lyrical tributes to Jewish survival. Indeed no exception, Unlikely Heroes offers a continuation of Holdridge's sweeping and profound sensibilities for the subject. He begins with a sweet theme that could easily be adapted to a soft and fuzzy film like Splash and infuses the heavy dramatic weight in orchestration heard in projects like Old Gringo to create a traditional score that has a sense of lyricism in its melodies that will appeal to ears of many generations. Instead of becoming entrenched in the instrumentation of the era, Holdridge instead takes liturgical melodies from several countries' origins and attaches them seamlessly to his own beautiful title theme. The film follows seven specific people as they resist the Nazis in their own unique ways, and Holdridge manages to maintain orchestral integrity throughout the entire length of the project while interpolating more than half a dozen traditional pieces for specific individual tales. From the solemn piano and woodwinds of the "Friedl Dicker Brandeis (The Artist)" section to the up-tempo brass and percussion of the "Leon Kahn (The Partisan)" section, Holdridge exercises a remarkable restraint in his effort to maximize the respect shown to each character. The highlights of the album, however, are Holdridge's own opening and finale cues, in which lengthy variations on his lovely original theme evoke the same heartbreaking emotion as the end titles for Old Gringo. The nearly 8-minute "Finale" (a recap of the score's adaptations), with its piano performances serving as interludes to the full ensemble's magic, is among the best cues of 2003 for any genre of score. A slightly belated, but highly welcomed album for Unlikely Heroes was released in late 2004, the first available music from the composer on album since his resounding success with The Mists of Avalon three years before. The lengthy CD, complete with source material at the end, was made available by the specialty label Citadel for the price of a regular commercial album, and it was still sold for the same price in the 2010's. For any casual collector of Holdridge's work, Unlikely Heroes is further proof that you should scramble to obtain any new release of his typically superior work. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 71:21
* performed by The Burning Bush/arranged by Roderick Skeaping ** performed by Lucie Skeaping
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes information from both Lee Holdridge and
Richard Trank about the score and film.
Copyright ©
2005-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Unlikely Heroes are Copyright © 2004, Citadel Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 4/1/05 and last updated 10/24/11. |
