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| Horner |
Where the River Runs Black: (James Horner) The 1986
fantasy drama
Where the River Runs Black was a tremendous flop
for MGM, failing to gross even a million dollars during its brief
theatrical run. It was shot with great care by director Christopher Cain
on location in Brazil, using the jungle landscape as an element central
to the other-worldly environment of the story. That plot involves the
half-human and half-dolphin people that inhabit the rivers deep in the
jungle, their lore carried by local tribes, and the complications that
arise when a young hybrid boy is separated from that habitat when
gold-diggers exploit the area for riches. When the boy is taken into
custody in the city by a priest, the youth identifies the killer of his
hybrid mother as a local politician, and in his haste to seek revenge,
is forced to flee back to his habitat for protection amongst his kind. A
fairly predictable plot (outside of the dolphin/human aspect, which
needs to be accepted at face value) was a detriment compensated for by
the lovely scenery. Tailoring the music of
Where the River Runs
Black to the fantastic visuals was composer James Horner, whose
career had transcended into the mainstream in 1986 with major awards
recognition. Horner had collaborated with the director for
The Stone
Boy two years prior, and their careers were headed in opposite
directions by the time the low budget
Where the River Runs Black
came along. The ensemble that Horner employed for the assignment,
amongst an early all-digital sound mix for the entire film, will be
familiar to collectors with the composer's later work for
Vibes
already in their collections. In fact, nearly everything about
Where
the River Runs Black will remind listeners of
Vibes, the
jungle settings and hint of fantasy very consistent across the two
scores. Built from keyboarded synthesizers up, these scores both rely
upon electronic vocal effects, panpipes, exotic flute, select plucked
accents, and a variety of dynamic percussion that balances the organic
tones with the synthetic execution. It's a limited set of instruments,
but Horner manages to use them effectively enough to accentuate the
setting and provide a basic layer of intrigue, mystery, and dread to
many scenes that have nothing else in the soundscape. Creativity outside
of these elements is sadly missing; unlike Jerry Goldsmith's handling of
jungle atmospheres, Horner never used his synthetics (outside of
metallic mechanisms to resemble the blowing of wind through trees in
subsequent works) to actually imitate the sounds of water droplets or
similar sounds of the forest.
Horner's use of pan pipes in the 1980's often led to
compelling recordings, and the instrument's quiet, contemplative
meandering in
Where the River Runs Black yields the score's
highlights. When there are times of more active rhythmic intensity to
accompany these performances, never does Horner whip them into a frenzy
as he would in
Vibes. Nor is the memorable lyricism as evident
here, either. The melodies of
Where the River Runs Black are very
subtle, often strained over lengthy periods in their full constructs.
The pipes are joined by electronic choral tones that are synthetic
enough to openly suggest a fantasy atmosphere. Deeply resonating
keyboarding sometimes offers a much-needed bass layer to the music; too
much of
Where the River Runs Black floats about in the treble
region for it to be anything more than an atmospheric work. Cues like
"Underwater Ballet" and "Magic Kitchen" provide a much needed respite
from the contemplation, breathing life with Horner's folksy percussive
and acoustic rhythms that eventually produce an opening to "End Title"
that will be reminiscent for some listeners of the celebratory finale
music in
Willow. Such optimism is rare in
Where the River Runs
Black, however; the majority of the score is so reserved and
minimally rendered that it could be, with the exception of about 10
minutes, a really disheartening experience. The minimal outright
suspense and horror moments, such as "Sierra Pelada," explore tones as
challenging in pulsating low keyboarding as anything in
Vibes,
with some dissonant chime effects carrying over from
Gorky Park.
The biggest difficulty that
Where the River Runs Black presents
in sum is its general lack of direction or maturity of ideas. Horner
basically handles familial and alienation scenes in consistent fashion
from start to end, leaving listeners grasping at the tone of the music
rather than any particular construct. There is no theme by which to
recall this listening experience. Instead, the score will give you
barely an impression, likely one of pleasantly understated ambience.
Only "The Orphanage" leaves an echo of beauty in your mind. With so many
promising ingredients, it's surprising that Horner was unable to collect
these ideas into a more cohesive whole. The original album release for
Where the River Runs Black was a rare Varèse Sarabande
product that demanded prices completely unjust for the quality of the
music, and the label re-issued the same contents as a Club CD in 2015.
It may be more interesting, per se, that
The Name of the Rose,
but the identical components form a more memorable whole in
Vibes. If you like zoning out to your film scores, then this will
be a three-star album.
** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15
(in 108 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.23
(in 203,344 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert of the 1986 album includes no extra information about the score or film. That of the
2015 album features analysis of both.
