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Apparently the DVD release will restore 17 minutes of footage to the film. I wonder what that will mean in the context of Danny’s score – I’ve got to imagine that cues previously cut will return along with the accompanying scenes.
Descent Into Mystery prefers his 1985-1994 output but has the habit of expressing this as if it’s some kind of universal truth rather than personal taste.
Personally, I find myself listening to his more recent composition far more frequently than his earlier works because the compositional techniques on display are more complex. I don’t require a long-lined theme to enjoy a score though, that’s just me. I like his short motif work, very reminiciant of the way Bernard Herrmann went about constructing film scores.
When I saw A Simple Plan in theater I was blown away by Elfman’s score – reminded me of watching Batman as a kid, not because of the aesthetic style of the music per se, but in how effective it was in supporting the visual / emotional tone of the film. And this is one of the scores that immediately followed his Good Will Hunting nomination…
2000’s has Standard Op, Wanted, Hellboy II, Serenada, Hulk, Red Dragon (remember that amazing opening credits cue?) … it’s been a pretty darn good decade by any standards.
very subjective topic. question won’t really be able to be answered objectively until Elfman’s career has ended, no? Afterall, there’s no telling what the future will bring!
I will say that ‘A Simple Plan’ may very well be my favorite Elfman score (as a standalone listening experience, or in the context of the film) and that’s from 1998, which is apparently one of his “bad” years.
So.. yeah.
I was surprised by that comment too – but then I thought that he was probably referring to the main themes from Kingdom, i.e. ‘Waiting’, ‘Friendship” and ‘Finale’ as opposed to the action music… That was my interpretation anyways.
This is a terrific, insightful, fun interview.
Love the story about the Russian version of The Little Things…
Had no idea he scored most of SOP without sync-ing to picture, or the stuff about the Tharp ballet.
Can’t wait to hear that!The only thing I wish the interview had asked him about is the Erik Sanko marionette thing. from awhile back.
It didn’t really occur to me to what extent – between the Serenada concert work, SOP, the Ballet – Elfman is really pushing himself into a new and exciting phase.
I whole-heartedly disagree.
“A clear concise thematic representation” sounds like a business report not a work of art. Boring.
I like my art challenging and requiring a little participation and active attention on my part. I like it when things aren’t just laid out, where your understanding of the work evolves over time, not just during the two hours you spend sitting in the theater or browsing through the disc.This is why Elfman remains one of the few modern film composers who can still get me excited.
Interesting side-note I was noticing about WANTED –
Elfman has been quoting Shostakovich’s DSCH motif for some time now… (Shostakovich’s use of this is most prominently displayed in his String Quartet no.
The first time I clearly noticed it in an Elfman work was during the opening bars of the Prelude to Dolores Claiborne (the music over the logos, not contained on the album proper), and then it appears again during ‘Blue Strings’ from Serenada…. And, now it has finally made it’s way into forming the basis of one of his major themes from Wanted – very appropriate, considering the Russian nature of the film.
Just wanted to share that, as I thought it was very crafty of Elfman to work that in there.
Here’s a link that talks about the DSCH motif > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSCH_(Dmitri_Shostakovich)
~Devin
Apparently it’s the first in a series of books.. found some info >
“The Spook’s Apprentice (American title: The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch), written by Joseph Delaney, is the first story in the series “The Wardstone Chronicles” The plot is centred around a 13 year old farm boy named Tom who lives in the countryside of The County (Although some readers theorise Ireland, as this is where the Author was born, but it is believed that it is around Lancashire, due to the references to Pendle hill) with his large family. He is the seventh son of a seventh son which, in County tradition, allows him to see things others cannot such as boggarts, ghasts, ghosts etc.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spook’s_Apprentice
Sounds interesting – perhaps Burton is thinking of pulling a Peter Jackson.
