Intrada Soundtrack Forum

March 02, 1999

American History X
Composed and Conducted by Anne Dudley
Angel 7243 5 56781 2 6
17 Tracks Total Time: 48:19

Anne Dudley is one of three very visible woman composers establishing careers with U.K. films, now making ripples in America. Like Rachel Portman and Debbie Wiseman, she has moved rapidly up the ranks and already has an Academy Award to her credit, for her comedy score to THE FULL MONTY last year.

Dudley trained at the Royal College of Music and worked in popular music with artists that included Tina Turner, Elton John and Annie Lennox. Also notable is her work with Trevor Horn in establishing the Art Of Noise. Her knowledge of music covers the gamut from traditional to avante garde.

She is also very well represented on compact disc, with releases for THE CRYING GAME, THE FULL MONTY, KNIGHT MOVES, GENTLEMEN DON'T EAT POETS, HOLLOW REED, WHEN SATURDAY COMES, BUSTER, KAVANAGH KC and AMERICAN HISTORY X in the marketplace.

AMERICAN HISTORY X is probably the most powerful work she has written to date. Taking credit for conducting and orchestrating the score as well, Dudley has written music described in the liner notes as "big and elegiac". Her message is delivered via large orchestra and chorus. The music was amongst the most dramatic of last year, sadly neglected by the Academy this time around.

The drama takes place within a brief two day period, centering on Edward Norton, just out of prison, and his younger brother (Edward Furlong). Told with flashbacks (in black and white) and current events (in color), the movie covers topics as intense as the American Nazi movement, white supremists, hatred and the consequences of that hate, and redemption. Though not a box-office success, viewers generally agree on the performances. They're terrific, especially Edward Norton, nominated this year for an Academy Award for his lead.

Anne Dudley uses her orchestra and choir in a somber, deeply moving and even pretty opening piece. But there is an urgency in the piece too as the power of her instrumental forces take over. The mood grows intense, the moving choir returns and is juxtaposed against the brutal crescendos in the orchestra.

The movie title actually refers to a homework assignment given to Furlong and the lean sound of solo French horn dominates the music as he begins to type his paper.

A highlight in the movie and the score is certainly "Playing To Win". A neighborhood basketball contest between white and black sets the stage for much of the movie's subtext. It's an amazing set-piece for Edward Norton. Scored initially with outbursts from the percussion and trombones, the music launches into an action setting, eventually emerging as a powerful and soaring work for orchestra. In my mind, it's as dramatic an example of developing three intense minutes of music into a powerful climax as has been done in recent years.

Some other great moments on the album: "If I Had Testified", one of the longest cues, is dark, boldly punctuated with low brass. The mood is pretty stark, interrupted by the rich choral material again striving to be heard against a powerful orchestral fabric.

One of the most chilling scenes in the film involves Norton, his mother Beverly D'Angelo, and a Jewish friend played by Elliott Gould. Amidst the powerful dialog in this sequence is Dudley's rich and moving string music, emphasizing the middle and lower sonorities.

"Raiders" keeps the unrelenting pace going with the orchestra in a dark and powerful tutti throughout. Underscoring a violent assault by racists on a local supermarket, Dudley ensures the music assumes a suitably vicious role. And in one specific dramatic scene, "The Right Questions", her music moves from the overall mood of grimness to a more neutral setting for strings.

With "The Path To Redemption" a moving clarinet solo and yearning strings allow a feeling of light within this dark picture. Towards the end of this cue the major chord sonorities in the strings, accompanied by the brass, bring the score to one of it's more impassioned and heartfelt moments. It continues during "We Are Not Enemies" allowing more rich and passionate string writing in a mood hopeful but not without struggle. This path moves into "Two Brothers", a cue using exquisite piano lines within a sadly elegiac form. Together these three pieces allow the score a melodic rise over the despair and unrelenting gloom of the earlier cues.

"Storm Clouds Gathering" keeps the picture of grimness in view but favors the strings and their warmth over any brass. Though there is some tympani underneath the piece keeps stays subdued.

The finale to the album, "Benedictus", is another highlight, accompanying an admittedly strong final scene. Though the percussion speak at the beginning the strings predominate. The music is rich, based partially on material from the opening. The piano makes an appearance as well, followed by the chorus. Strings, woodwinds and chorus combine to bring the music to a sad and moving close in a minor key.

My only quibble with this album, and this is small: the omission of Dudley's opening music. Scored for military-styled percussion and French horns, it was a lean and dramatic opener. The balance of the album does represent her score perfectly however.

Upon examination, I think I'm elevating this into a shared position for top spot on my list of favorite scores this year, alongside SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

March 09, 1999

East Of Eden / Rebel Without A Cause
Composed by Leonard Rosenman
Conducted by John Adams
London Sinfonietta
East Of Eden: 9 Tracks (26:56)
Rebel Without A Cause: 6 Tracks (23:26)
Nonesuch 79402-2 Total Time: 50:24

Leonard Rosenman has a most unique persona. He earned a place in music history applying avante garde techniques to movies with a dramatic debut in the fifties. He also pursued a simultaneous career in the concert hall. His training included work with such luminaries in 20th century music as Leon Kirchner, Arnold Schoenberg and Roger Sessions. He even taught piano, with students that included James Dean.

Yet his film output is relatively small and many listeners today remain unaware of his contributions. His concert hall exposure is obscured by a very limited number of recordings. He took time off between pictures to write concert music but that career was elusive. He attributes this to a familiar prejudice lingering towards film music. By scoring pictures you just couldn't be easily accepted into the so-called "serious" music world.

After the two James Dean films in 1955 Rosenman created music for two MGM movies, COBWEB and EDGE OF THE CITY. While not highly regarded in terms of cinema these movies allowed Rosenman to further his radically new scoring style. But by 1957 his profile in films dropped. He continued to actively pursue writing movie music but the output now included more obscure projects, highlights being THE CROWDED SKY, HELL IS FOR HEROES and THE OUTSIDER (a particular favorite of mine).

He will always be regarded though for bringing a new American language into film music, then usually a traditional European-schooled musical form.

He continued to write, both for film and the concert hall. He had a burst of success with his 1966 score for FANTASTIC VOYAGE, now splendidly produced by Nick Redman and available from Lukas Kendall's "Film Score Monthly" publication. And in 1978 he left a deep imprint on the musical scene with his magnum opus LORD OF THE RINGS, available on Intrada.

On his debut score, EAST OF EDEN, Rosenman was able to convince director Elia Kazan to bring him on location during shooting rather than in at the usual tail end of post-production. There are even a couple of scenes where the actors hum tunes by Rosenman! His musical language was new to audiences but he made use of a warm Americana theme as well. Thus the music was received all around.

Nonesuch has made available a series of film music recordings (sadly nothing new has been announced) that includes the two famous James Dean films on one disc. Conducted by John Adams with the London Sinfonietta this is a polished and dynamic album. While there are substantial portions of both scores left out of these suites, they are well represented.

For most people the familiar main theme is the most memorable line in EAST OF EDEN. But for me it's the secondary theme associated more with the rural California setting, often involving Cal (Dean) and his father (Raymond Massey). It is, in fact, that line that actually opens the score, a fanfare for trumpet and woodwinds. The subsequent main theme is a waltz-like tune for strings. It's heard here, brought back in rich fashion during the "Ferris Wheel" music, and comes to the fore at the finale.

One of the real features of this score is the harmonic language. Rosenman often spaces notes vertically far apart. His lines have complex dissonance’s underneath. Simple triads (3 note chords) are obscured by additional tones called sevenths, ninths and so forth, providing a complex layer of sound. They aren't just dissonance’s though. Often the harmonies are rich and pleasing with a wide-open spacing of the intervals. Much of the music ("Cal And Sam", "The Fog") also features a chamber-like sensibility, moving away from chordal writing and favoring individual lines and near-atonal ideas. The sounds often utilize solo woodwinds or strings.

"Cal Helps Father" develops the secondary theme into a complete piece. Starting in unison strings the line moves to flute with the unique harmonies coming into play. Featured also is a lean descant figure for trumpet that soars above the strings at one point during this standout cue.

Fragments of the main theme are tossed about during the "Bedroom Window" music, again emphasizing lean woodwind lines and chamber-like orchestration. And Rosenman's avante garde technique (prominent in later work like FANATSTIC VOYAGE) is clearly evident in "Cal And Aron Visit Mother", the dramatic scene where Cal forces his brother Aron (Richard Davalos) to seek out their mother in a local brothel.

The longest cue is the "Finale", where Cal goes to his father's bedside. It starts with the secondary theme in low strings. Though the main theme is touched upon during the music the emphasis remains on the secondary line until the end. The real tune finally comes in, swells, and Rosenman climaxes the score with a spectacular flourish for the orchestra. More importantly perhaps, the film world was introduced to the now-familiar "pyramid" ending that Rosenman fashioned into his own signature.

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE became the film most associated with James Dean. His death before the film had opened made history, the impact of which is still mentioned today. Rosenman used elements of both contemporary symphonic writing and jazz in the score. Often dissonant, the lines are jagged and angular, the violence of the picture reflected in bursts of brass and flurries of woodwind. Both main themes of the score are heard early in the main title, the melodic "love theme " starting immediately in the brass, the second and more swinging line entering on trumpets, with a brief sax solo sandwiched in between. Prominence is given to the melodic theme with strings.

"The Planetarium" provided Rosenman a perfect opportunity to exploit his modern musical gifts. Since this image was important in the movie (the primary action starts and closes in the planetarium) Rosenman painted the star display uniquely in somewhat atonal terms. The movie here introduces the tragic Plato character (Sal Mineo) and Rosenman skillfully alludes to the film's finale with his increasingly dense and imposing music.

The new kid on the block, Dean is challenged to fight a gang leader while Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo and crowd look on. It's a lengthy sequence starting with the taunting and climaxing at the end of a vivid knife fight. The music is well-matched to the visuals, almost like ballet. Choppy, brutal, difficult rhythms and fragmented ideas dominate.

The action winds up in the planetarium and members of the gang angrily hunt the three leads. Again the music favors jagged and rhythmic writing. It is energetic, giving the brass (particularly trombone) brief moments in the spotlight. Everything climaxes at this point in both film and music. The two themes are given treatment, but it is the swinging line that ultimately predominates. A tragic outcome to the story, Rosenman doesn't return to his love theme but develops the other line in a quasi-chorale for brass. A crescendo leads to the pyramid trademark finish.

Rosenman once told me that he had "built more pyramids than the Egyptians". Two of his best are heard concluding these terrific suites.

March 16, 1999

I've been thinking about melodies a lot lately. What happened to them? Are there still great themes being written? Does it matter anyway?

I really don't have a bias against the date something was written. At any given moment I'm as likely to be listening to a current Graeme Revell action score as I am to a vintage Alfred Newman religious drama. It's all movie music. I can't be pigeonholed as either a "Golden Age" follower or an "electronics" aficionado.

Sure there is some nostalgia. I grew up with the movie music of the sixties. Bernstein and North. Mancini and Previn. Rosenman and Rosenthal. Barry and Goldsmith. I grew up on these guys. But I discovered Korngold too. And Herrmann and Waxman and Steiner and Young (Victor, that is) and all those other guys long gone now. And I'm still discovering. Rabin and Zimmer. Poledouris and Horner. Frizzell and Goldenthal. Silvestri and Young (Chris this time). Nyman and Newman (all of them). Whomever is busy today.

But melodies. There were some great ones way back when. Not as many today. Here's some for you to look into. You might discover a real gem of a score you didn't otherwise know. Maybe meet a new composer.

Okay, I'll proceed. Maybe go out on a limb in fact. Here's my candidate for the finest melody to come from the screen.

"Diana's Theme". Yep, a tune by an "old dead guy". It's from THE ROBE, written by Alfred Newman. Heard most authoritatively in the sequence when Marcellus bids farewell To Diana, this line is warm, heartbreaking, simple. It's not just the melody. The harmony is rich, rooted in a minor key but shifting to major along the way. And in the big version at the end of this particular scene the countermelody in the French horns just soars. I've yet to hear a better theme in the movies.

Standing pretty close is the love theme Alex North composed for SPARTACUS. Again, not just a great tune, but some unique harmonic colorings make this one lasting.

Other great ones. (There are lots so I'm being choosy.)

"The Rock" theme from IN HARM'S WAY, my favorite Jerry Goldsmith melody. This one isn't a love theme, the line usually underscores John Wayne's character. The melody basically descends, comprised of notes within a single octave. Simple ingredients. What stands out is how it bends and twists its way down. It doesn't rely on harmony per se, but most often is heard over propulsive and energetic rhythms (Goldsmith trademarks).

Goldsmith wrote a great tune for CHINATOWN. Usually heard on solo trumpet, this minor key melody beautifully captured the mood and manner of this stylish period detective movie. By shifting from minor to major the theme also worked as a love theme. Accompanied by piano and strings it is one of the great movie tunes of all time.

This same composer wrote a most moving line for solo French horn with his "Hudson Theme" from ISLANDS IN THE STREAM. It's lonely, searching, with some of the warmest harmonies this composer ever fashioned.

John Barry has certainly come up with some nice melodies. BODY HEAT and DANCES WITH WOLVES are obviously quite memorable. But a standout for me is the theme he came up with for THE CHASE. Adding banjo and harmonica to the Barry orchestral sound, a more-smoldering tune I've not encountered.

Heading backwards. Rozsa came up with a lot of melodies. A lot of epic scores. Perhaps the single best melody is the one he wrote for Kirk Douglas playing Vincent Van Gogh in LUST FOR LIFE. Heard prominently in "The Sunflowers" scene, it's a theme perfectly conveying the struggle for inner peace that apparently remained so elusive to the famed artist.

It's pretty hard to come up with a more sensitive and understanding theme than the one Elmer Bernstein wrote for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. If ever a melody better suited the dramatic needs of a picture I'm unaware of it. It worked well whether on solo piano or emerging from the rich sonority of a full string section.

More recent melodies like JFK by John Williams and that same composer's SCHINDLER'S LIST really hold up with repeated listening. So does Rose's Theme from TITANIC. And of course there's the classic EXODUS, and "Moon River" from BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, and all those kinds of memorable tunes too.

They're all probably pretty easy targets. Fairly well known in many cases. But less familiar though no less masterful melodies would include these next gems. The American theme (there's also a Japanese melody) heard in NONE BUT THE BRAVE, an early John Williams effort. The main theme from BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK is a masterful march-like line, driving and angular, replete with some stark harmonic language, all courtesy of the gifted Andre Previn. Heard fragmented throughout the film it is first given a complete statement finally in the end cast. A magnificent way to climax a score.

Mancini wrote one of his best melodies for an early sixties picture called SOLDIER IN THE RAIN. It's lonesome and poignant, best heard as a trumpet solo during the main title. And Bronislau Kaper came up with a most haunting secondary theme for his sixties movie LORD JIM. Though the main theme is rewarding the finer melody for me is the "Girl From Patusan". Another example too, of writing a truly memorable secondary melody is in Alfred Newman's NEVADA SMITH. While the main theme is robust and appropriately western in flavor, the theme for Pilar, the Cajun Girl just stands out. Perhaps not surprisingly, the treatment of this line is similar to the Diana theme from THE ROBE, whereupon I'm full circle with this writing.

I do think it is a part of scoring that has been ignored of late. Melody. A really great tune. It's pretty difficult at the moment to list current examples from the pens of today's popular composers. While I've established an enjoyment of the music by these people, the Hans Zimmer and Mark Mancina crowd, the Graeme Revell’s and Carter Burwell’s, the orchestral sensibilities of the Goldenthal’s and Beltramies, I really can't find a truly classy tune yet.

Perhaps movies today don't need them. Possibly the changing demands on composers, different requirements from filmmakers today, even a different look at what scores do for films. Also, no doubt, the commercial demands in music marketed commercially to the masses and so forth. Maybe, in pictures like THE SIEGE and ARMAGEDDON, great tunes, or love themes, or just a great surging melody somewhere, is honestly out-of-place.

For the time being.

March 23, 1999

While on the topic of themes and melodies last week something occurred to me as I reviewed a bunch of albums. Some composers actually end their scores. Others don't seem to have a clue.

I've always thought of movie scores as real music. Dramatic music. They can have a beginning, assorted ideas throughout, and a finish. After listening to a half hour of music, or an hour, or when viewing a movie where the music is only a part, I want an ending. I like the composer telling me the music mattered.

Somewhere back when movies were different there were no lengthy end credit crawls. The movie ended and the words "The End" came up and that was that. Sometimes a short cast list appeared at the end, perhaps an acknowledgement to some national park or something, but rarely anything longer. The score ended in a flourish or with some big major chord. But the composer did end the music.

Not always the case now. Some scores literally have no finish. Discounting songs, there are scores that have no conclusion, be it end credits or just the last cue in the film proper. I find it unrewarding when a composer finishes his music with a "cut and paste" end title (assembled from various incidental cues throughout the film, sometimes with no ending at all) or just does a medley from earlier material. On albums the lack of a finish really makes a negative impression that never goes away.

Jerry Goldsmith, once a master at concluding his scores, seems to have fallen prey to this. Listening to albums of EXECUTIVE DECISION, CHAIN REACTION, GHOST AND THE DARKNESS, even the much-praised L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, isn't as rewarding for me as it should be. Sure, they're great scores. But they just quit. No endings. Almost every composer has had to relinquish the end credits to a song at some point. But the score should still finish.

Two composers doing impressive endings during the forties and fifties were Hugo Friedhofer and Miklos Rozsa. In the sixties it was Jerry Goldsmith. But in the last twenty years this talent has been dominated by James Horner and John Williams. Both develop their material well, bringing it to satisfying and musical finishes. Bruce Broughton comes off well in this area too.

Anyway, some random examples of what I think are really great endings for film scores.

Probably my favorite remains SPARTACUS. Alex North had no end credits to work with yet still brought the lengthy picture and score to an incredible finish. The last scene, Jean Simmons farewell to Kirk Douglas, is completely scored. North bases the cue on his love theme, culminating all in a resounding sequence of five huge chords. Not just typical harmony, these chords are complex, unusual. A memorable finish to a masterpiece.

Hugo Friedhofer was unique in finishing his scores in that often he brought them to a cadence outside of the harmonic patterns already established in the score. His endings to scores like BOY ON A DOLPHIN, WILD HARVEST (no album), ONE EYED JACKS and a host of others had very striking final cadences.

Miklos Rozsa also had a trademark, often ending his scores with strong major chord progressions based on the stepwise movement of whole tones. Some of his best endings can be heard on suites he prepared for his three Polydor and Deustch Grammophon LP recordings from the seventies, played by the Royal Philharmonic. KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE and YOUNG BESS come off particularly strong, as does MEN OF THE FIGHTING LADY.

Jerry Goldsmith created his most impressive finale with IN HARM'S WAY in 1965, scoring the last sequence on a beach with high strings on the main theme, following the dissolve to a long credit sequence with increasingly dense and agitated music. As bombs are shown exploding behind the credits the music is violent. When the final cadence arrives everything is resolved on a perfect major chord. He also hit a stride that same year with THE SATAN BUG. It ends with a helicopter sequence over Los Angeles. There's a series of strong dissonant chords following the fadeout, closing with a powerful French horn line over a resounding major chord.

Joel McNeely came up with a winner of an ending for his score to TERMINAL VELOCITY. Upon completion of hitting his main theme he brings the entire orchestra together with a particularly strong fanfare and flourish. Yet another great ending by McNeely can be heard at the finish of IRON WILL.

Bruce Broughton has said he likes to end a score, no matter how lengthy or involved, with a quote of the main theme, if musically possible. His TOMBSTONE is a terrific showcase of this. The main theme, only touched upon throughout the long score, is finally developed in full for the first time during the end credits. Other themes are heard. Then, at the very close, the horns quote a few notes of the main theme in triumph.

John Williams wrote a masterful "Hymn To The Fallen" for orchestra and chorus, featuring a pair of trumpets, with SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Though heard on the album at the start as well, this is the end credit music, some of his richest. Certainly one of his strongest musically satisfying conclusions is for the legendary JAWS. Following an energetic and pulsating score, the music finishes with a gentle development of the secondary theme for the sea adventure part of the story. The shark theme is nowhere to be heard, the music winding down in a warm and gently melodic fashion instead.

In my opinion James Horner writes the finest endings to film scores today. Rarely doing "cut and paste" finishes, he ends the scores with lengthy, well-written treatments of his material. It feels like real music has occurred. Horner likes to end his scores quietly, in major keys. He has a few fortissimo closings however, the end to RANSOM being my favorite. With the orchestra growing in intensity over a long period the music finally emerges with a glorious major chord, French horns moving in thirds through the thick of things, and chimes crashing above it all. Wow. And THE ROCKETEER ends with an amazing flurry from the brass and pounding percussion. Similar to the ending he used with STAR TREK II it makes for an exciting and memorable finish.

In concluding I'll mention one favorite, and always intriguing, finish to a movie score. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, the 1962 version by Bronislau Kaper. The roadshow prints ended with an epilogue after the Bounty sinks, the music swelling into a spectacular reprise of the main theme. There were a few copies of the soundtrack album released for a few days with that ending (I have one of those) and it's just magnificent. The bulk of the album pressings, however, used an alternate ending with a quiet choral version of the love theme, fading away on a unison low male chorus. Not nearly as effective. Ironically, the liner notes weren't corrected so they describe the last track ending with a return to the main "Bounty" theme though it never happens. Except on those few early copies.

Soundtrack collectors have tough lives.

March 30, 1999

100 Rifles
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Film Score Monthly CD Volume 2, No. 1
31 Tracks Total Time = 77:08
[Available directly from Film Score Monthly]

Wow. What a Goldsmith album. A sixties western. His trademark action music and unusual orchestral details. Just recently issued this one keeps me occupied a lot lately.

FILM SCORE MONTHLY continues a series of "Silver Age Classics" on CD with this challenging western score. Actually presented twice, in a very generous production, the almost complete score in true stereo takes up the first half and the complete score in mono forms the balance. Since both mixes have advantages over the other this production allows the listener a choice.

While the stereo portion has a sonic advantage the track entitled "Downhill Ride", a genuine highlight, was only available for the mono mix. Instead of choosing one or the other the album just gives you everything available from both versions. Pretty neat.

When Goldsmith wrote this one he was gearing up for TORA! TORA! TORA! Orchestrally speaking, he was working with an idea for both pictures that ostensibly deleted violins from the string section of the orchestra. There were plenty of strings, but now relegated to viola and lower, the sound was darker. When mixed with woodwinds it got edgier. Added to this was a prepared piano and a larger than normal percussion section. But while TORA headed musically into Japan this score aimed South of the Border. It's a credit to Goldsmith that he could move from country to country (so to speak) and keep the scores diverse.

While Goldsmith did a number of westerns (RIO CONCHOS and BANDOLERO are available from Intrada; STAGECOACH is available from Film Score Monthly) the score to 100 RIFLES is unique. While it has some western flavor it is the darkest and most aggressive of the scores. Rhythm plays an unusually strong role. The harmonic language is more strident. In short, the score is more complex and challenging than the genre usually received.

The production quality of this one is first rate up the wazoo. A producer who knows what he's doing (Nick Redman) and a presentation by real fans (Lukas Kendall, Jeff Bond and company) guarantee a valuable return on your twenty dollars.

The "Main Title" remains one of this composer's most exciting. Spotlighting the brass, the main melody is presented on unison French horns. Following that is a "mariachi" styled segment emphasizing trumpets, then a reprise of the main melody for the entire orchestra. A very strong finish to the cue makes this one a rousing piece unto itself.

"The Hanging" develops a half-step melody and a subsequent new theme associated with the rugged landscape, plus the Verdugo motif (derived from the new theme), an angry and aggressive line usually heard on trombones.

The action side of the score comes to the fore when Jim Brown and Burt Reynolds jump free from captivity and make their escape. Goldsmith employed his aggressive rhythmic writing in "Escape and Pursuit" but added the device of placing trumpets in extreme upper registers with the clarinets. It's a chilling effect on a very tricky passage.

As mentioned before, a highlight of the score is "Downhill Ride". As soldiers marched through the desert hills the music emphasized strong ostinato ideas, including a rising figure for tuba and low piano. Much of the melodic material comes from the rugged landscape theme. During this music Goldsmith employed plungers for the brass. These are muting devices that when moved in front of and away from the bells of the instruments creates a distinct and chilling effect. It's a superb color in an already distinct score.

There are numerous other effective cues as well. The score has no "love theme" per se, nor did the picture require one. While Jim Brown and Racquel Welch share a moment (high-profiled in it's day) the picture emphasized the grit and violence of the period rather than anything tender.

Goldsmith was aware of that and kept the score unrelentingly grim, moving everything forward with almost constant rhythms. Even the subdued passages usually have some rhythm and pulse to them. He closes everything with "I'll Go Back". Following a warm major-keyed variant of the main theme the score returns to the aggressive rhythmic sounds that started it all.

Other than the Fox picture BAD GIRLS five years ago Goldsmith has avoided the western genre for sometime. Perhaps he said everything he wanted to say in the sixties and seventies. But the style he employed with 100 RIFLES certainly could use some more discussion. I sure hope he gets back in the saddle again.