Intrada Soundtrack Forum

For anyone unaware of the HBO TV film, -- a retelling of the true story of the infamous Attica uprising of 1971 -- I strongly advise you to seek the film out and experience, not only a powerfully-gripping tale set in a terrifying prison environment, but a mood-inducing docudrama with very effective music by Gary Chang (a composer who, at times, grazed the wings of the Media Venture pilots). Now, I never understood this composer's over-produced subtleties in film music -- think of Under Siege's "Takeover" cue and its time-associated "tick-tock" arrangement, so-to-speak, which, by the way, is eerily parallel to John Williams' JFK score (particularly "The Conspirators"). One could also hear most of this musical style in the fantastic, 1993 film, Sniper.

Though, back to Against the Wall. I first seen its debut back in 1994 (on HBO's Saturday night, new-movie schedule), and had the score on my mind then... and even more now, as I revisit the picture. With an employment of a near one-directive string section and small clings and dings in the percussion, Chang sort of ingeniously threads together the film's haunting aspects of brutal anticipation (taking over the prison) and its sorrowful but honest outcome (re-taking the prison). While most of this music refuses to vary its thematic material, or -- as one could argue -- lacks theme what-so-ever, there's such a beautiful entanglement with what Chang has provided, that by the end of the picture (directed by the late John Frankeheimer, I should denote), it almost stands as an uninformed misfire if one imagines the picture without its score. So, point being; there are often moments in film where the less productive composer ties the tightest knot between music and photography, and his ideas are honorably remembered by his audience, preferably or not. I'm sure to be in the minority with this style, and even its composer, but I wanted to share my feelings about it, no-less.

The film was, at one time, hard to find, but Amazon.com now offers the wide-screen DVD (manufactured by the wonderful HBO) , so please, consider visiting it at some point in your life.

* Note: Harry Dean Stanton -- the one and only -- has a great supporting role in this film. If you adore his work, like I do, then all the more reasons to seek it out!