Intrada Soundtrack Forum

INTRADA Announces:



A FAR OFF PLACE
Composed and Conducted by JAMES HORNER
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 303

Combining epic adventure, intimate character drama, fierce action and a good-sized dose of exotic color, the 1993 Disney film A Far Off Place provided Horner with a broad canvas, inspired by the novels of Sir Laurens van der Post. Many of the elements that feature prominently in Horner’s score are present from the film’s opening minutes. The first music to appear is an idyllic passage highlighting flute and gentle percussion, used to underscore establishing shots of an elephant herd at a watering hole. Horner returns to this tone later in the film, using it to emphasize the underlying harmony of life on the savanna—even in seemingly inhospitable locations. Here, however, Horner’s expression of peace is violently interrupted by his jarring music for the poachers. Horner paints the band of killers with rampaging percussion, low brass and piano, both here and during the later scenes of slaughter at the lodge. These initial minutes serve as a prelude to the entrance of Horner’s sweeping, majestic main theme for the film. Strings and flute are the instruments most prominently associated with this theme, while also featuring statements for winds and brass. Shakuhachi also makes its first appearance here, punctuating the music with intense, breathy flourishes. It almost serves as an overture for the score and story to come.

The scoring sessions for A Far Off Place were originally recorded on 2” 24-track tape over five days during January 1993 (with additional sessions in February for keyboards and percussion), then mixed down onto ¼” Dolby SR-format two-track tape by engineer Shawn Murphy at Todd-AO. They were vaulted on DAT, and our expanded CD was mastered directly from those DAT masters. This new presentation has been remastered and lavishly expanded with more than half an hour of additional material not featured on the 1993 release.

The film tells the story of Nonnie Parker (Reese Witherspoon), the teenage daughter of local gamekeepers, and her relationship with a tourist boy named Harry Winslow (Ethan Randall, now going by Ethan Embry). When Nonnie’s parents and Harry’s father are murdered by a band of poachers working for corrupt ivory smuggler John Ricketts (Jack Thompson), the children decide to flee across the arid wastes of the Kalahari rather than risk certain capture by trying to reach a nearby village. They are guided on their journey by Xhabbo (Sarel Bok), a mystical youth who communes with nature and whose visions seem to portend the future. It is Xhabbo’s timely intervention that spares Nonnie and Harry from the poachers’ slaughter, and his wisdom that allows them to navigate the desert as they strive to reach Nonnie’s uncle, the poacher-hunting Col. Mopani Theron (Maximilian Schell), before Ricketts and his thugs ride them down.

INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 303
Retail Price: $19.99
Available 12/11/2014
For track listing and sound samples, please visit
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.9331/.f

I can easily say that A Far Off Place is one of Horner's most interesting scores of the 90s as an album experience, with Sneakers, The Mask of Zorro and Legends of the Fall being others. It is very easy to get lost in the musical splendor of these Horner albums.

This is one of those scores that while I do not clamor for an expansion prior to release, it has the allure for me to immediately jump on it when it does get done. And the many people who never had the original album now have an opportunity to get this greatness in a definitive edition.

I watched this film last night for the first time in years.

The main title is a little different, I'm assuming because the film's opening probably changed. The album version returns to the opening light percussion and flute after the grand reveal of the gorgeous title theme, while the film replaces it with a softer string resolution that gives way to a light synth choir. I heard that same music later on in the film which explains that it was indeed just tracked in.

The film is pretty dark by Disney standards. Lots of gunplay, lots of murder by gunfire, but it's all relatively bloodless. It's a pretty good film and I think if it hadn't been released by Disney they likely would have pushed that darker content further. It seemed to walk this fine line the whole time between maintaining the 'family film' aspect and the violence and seriousness.

It will probably make for a difficult listening experience simply because the film, like the music in each sequence, jumped from very tender, heartfelt moments to full-on suspense instantly. That's not a flaw or criticism, that's just the nature of the film and its score.

Will be glad to have this. One of Horner's better efforts from his workaholic days in the '90s.

As an aside, I highly recommend the two novels that were the basis for the film, "A Story Like the Wind" and "A Far Off Place" by Laurens van der Post, to which this film bears only a passing resemblance. They're really, really wonderful.

The Far Off Place main theme is one of Horner's very best melodies... this score is really a magnificent symphony, full of tragedy, hope, darkness and light... This is a work of heart !

I've always enjoyed this score since it's original CD release but it's one of a couple of Horner scores that didn't sound like Horner. I've always felt that much of this score was done by his orchestrator's - especially the late Arthur Kempel. It sounded much more like him than Horner.

Art Kempel didn't work on this score. As far as I know, James Horner gives very detailed music sheets to his orchestrators. I don't think they can compose over Horner's work that easily...

EDIT : My mistake, Art Kempel is credited as a minor orchestrator in the new booklet, and wasn't even credited in the original one.

Ordered with other Intrada releases. Can't wait to rediscover this score. Thank you so much to continue to expand Horner's work Intrada team!

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Rame Tep! Rame Tep! Rame Tep!

I suppose that little bleeep in final track at 3:24 shouldn't be there, right?

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That is very nice of you! Normally these small things are easy to just forget about, but a fix here is very understandable given how powerful a cue it is.

Thank you very much!

It seems it was also included on the original CD too but seems to be bit more evident in the remastered version.

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Any update, please?
Or since this was included in the original too, it is not possible to fix it?

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Same here... ok... I'll try and request replacement with my next Intrada order.

And yes... it is also in the original album as well, but it's a bit more evident in the cleaner remastered edition.
at least I've heard it there too a few months ago when this was discussed above... I'll check again..

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