TO BOLDLY GO!
Soundtracks of Hollywood's Quest for Space
by Christopher Coleman
Whether it was reaching the
upper atmosphere, the moon or
Mars, the drive and
determination of mankind to
reach their goal has translated
into numerous feature films and
numerous film scores. Some of
the most entertaining scores
have come from films that
centered around man's quest for
space. To that end,
Tracksounds focuses on the
scores that point to unearthly
destinations and the force of
human courage and determination
to reach them.

 |
The Mars
Underground by James Michael Dooley
Released by
Pelagis Records (2005)
Rating: 8/10
Composer James Michael
Dooley was asked if he
would provide the
musical backdrop for
the documentary and
embarked along with
the director and
producers in this
labor of love.
Musically, the end
result certainly
communicates at least
a portion of the love
poured into the
project. James Michael
Dooley takes the score
in a minimalist
direction. Ironically,
for a minimalist
score, there's quite a
bit to appreciate. It
would be easy to think
that Dooley, a
professed "follower"
of composer Phillip
Glass, might have been
influenced by Glass'
recent effort for
ROVING MARS, but the
fact is Dooley had
long written THE MARS
UNDERGROUND before
Glass' score for the
Disney/Imax production
likely came to be.
Once you've listened
to both, you'll see
that there isn't a lot
in common between the
two. In fact, one
would find more
commonalities between
THE MARS UNDERGROUND
and Glass scores such
as THE HOURS.
Read the full
review of The Mars Underground by James M. Dooley
|
|
|

 |
Mythodea by Vangelis
Released by
Sony Classical (2001)
Rating: 10/10
Mars has been the
object of man's
dreams, myths, and
destiny for centuries
and in the last 40
years or so, Mars has
had the eye of NASA.
Probes, fly-bys,
landers, crawlers,
have all been a part
of NASA's ongoing
quest reach and
explore the planet and
currently underway is
NASA's Mars Odyssey
Mission. Just as
feature film
portrayals of our
quest to break the
confines of terra
firma and head to the
Moon has generated
some superior film
music (ie. Apollo 13,
October Sky, The
Dish), it stands to
reason that Mars could
do the same. Even more
recently, Mars has
drawn the attention of
Hollywood. In the span
of a few months movie
goers found themselves
taken to the arid,
redlands of Mars
twice. Unfortunately,
both films left
audiences as dry and
cold as the planet.
Ennio Morricone's
score for Mission to
Mars failed miserably
and was an ear-sore to
most film music fans;
however, Graeme
Revell's score to Red
Planet faired a bit
better with its
progressive-techno
edge. Of course, if
the perimeters were
expanded a bit, Danny
Elfman's Invaders from
Mars could be pulled
into the conversation,
but that one we'll
leave on its own
[wink]
Read the full
review of Mythodea by Vangelis
|
|
|

 |
The
Dish by Edmund Choi
Released by
Varese Sarabande (2001)
Rating: 7/10
Composer Edmund Choi
began garnering
attention in the film
music world with his
spirited score for M.
Night Shyamalan's film
Wide Awake. Even
with a high quality
effort like Wide Awake,
Choi has not become
one of the most
familiar composer
names floating about
Hollywood. This
is a real shame
because by his
previous effort and
now his latest, The
Dish, it is
obvious that Edmund
Choi holds a lot of
talent the Hollywood
would do well to tap
into.
Sound Clips:
Track
26 - The Day the World
Stood Still
|
Track
27 - The Pictures Came
from Parkes
Read the full review
of The Dish
|
|
|

 |
Red
Planet by Graeme Revell
Released by
Ark 21 Records (2000)
Rating: 7/10
Composer Edmund Choi
began garnering
attention in the film
music world with his
spirited score for M.
Night Shyamalan's film
Wide Awake. Even
with a high quality
effort like Wide Awake,
Choi has not become
one of the most
familiar composer
names floating about
Hollywood. This
is a real shame
because by his
previous effort and
now his latest, The
Dish, it is
obvious that Edmund
Choi holds a lot of
talent the Hollywood
would do well to tap
into.
Read the full
review of Red Planet by Graeme Revell
|
|
|

 |
October Sky by Mark Isham
Released by Milan Records (1999)
Rating: 8/10
October
Sky is
one of those scores that, prior to seeing the film, can be extremely
disappointing, but given time and adequate opportunity,
a very satisfying score. Such was
the case with me. After seeing the
wonderful trailer filled with the epic Apollo 13 score by James Horner, I
had high hopes for Mark Isham’s effort. The
only thing that matched my anticipation for both film and score was my initial
disappointment with the score. The
film is a wonderful, heartfelt work by director Joe Johnston and in the context
of the film, Mark Isham’s score seems to be a perfect match. Many
fans do not gravitate to the understated style of a Mark Isham, but sometimes
understated is just what the director ordered.
Sound Clips:
Track -
Splitting the Sky
Read the full review of October Sky
|
|
|
 |
The Music of the Apollo/
Saturn V Center
by David Kneupper
Released by BRC Entertainment (1997)
Rating: 10/10
Touring
the restricted areas of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and
being in total awe of what I’m witnessing, the last thing I anticipated was
coming across some of the best music I’ve heard in 1999.
One portion of the tour is the Apollo/Saturn V Center which opened in
December of 1996. It is a divided
into three powerful segments. The
first is purely a film documentary. The
second is an incredible mixture of film and live reenactments of an Apollo
launch. Last, is the actual exhibit
where, among other incredible sites, one of the three remaining Saturn V rockets
lies horizontally suspended about 10 feet from the ground. Heard throughout each section of this exhibit is David
Kneupper’s astounding score.
Sound Clips:
Track -
Apollo 1
| Track -
Eagle Lands on the Moon
Read the full review of The Music of the
Apollo/Saturn V Center
|
|
|
 |
Cosmic Voyage by David
Michael Frank
Promotional Release (1997)
Rating: 8/10
Along with their towering images, the producers of IMAX
films, seem to know not to skimp on the accompanying
music. IMAX features such as Amazon and Island of the
Sharks, both scored by Alan Williams, are premium
examples of this. If further evidence of this trend is
needed, one need only have one listen to David Michael
Frank’s score for Cosmic Voyage.
Read the full
review of Cosmic Voyage by David Michael Frank
|
|
|

 |
Apollo 13 by James
Horner
Released by MCA Records (1995)
Rating: 9/10
Patriotic.
Passionate. Powerful.
All words which accurately describe James Horner’s score for Ron
Howard’s 1995 film, Apollo 13. This
score is simply one of James Horner’s best ever and many film score fans rank
it similarly. With a story so
intense and almost incredible, the score for the film could really have broken it, if not done perfectly. Ron Howard chose James Horner to fulfill this daunting
scoring mission. For Horner, too,
failure was simply not an option. If
the score did not reinforce the right emotion - failure.
If the score crossed the line and ventured into the land of the corny
score - critical failure. Fortunately,
as one listens to this score, one hears that Horner was equally successful in
his mission. James Horner captures the wide emotional swings from tragedy to
triumph marvelously.
Sound Clips:
Track -
Re-Entry and Splashdown
Read
the full review of Apollo 13
|
Got a comment? Discuss this music here! |
|