Lost in the Shuffle XV

From  sex-starved middle age to the Old West, from the court of Henry VIII to the inspired sci-fi lunacy of television and Mel Brooks, all in this week’s “Lost in the Shuffle.”

RIDE, VAQUERO! (1953) – Finale

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One of the reasons to love Film Score Monthly has been Lukas Kendall’s championing of the great Bronislau Kaper. He has brought us Kaper’s delightful Oscar-winning score for LILI and his masterpiece, the towering MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. But we’ve also had gems like this little-seen Western, RIDE, VAQUERO! Much of the score bears a Mexican flavor, but following the final showdown between Robert Taylor and Anthony Quinn, Kaper’s main theme plays as a lament with onlyy the slightest hint of Mexico in the final bars. Kaper is a favorite of mine and yet I barely remember this score. Time to pick this one back up.

GALAXY QUEST (1999) – Rock Monster

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I usually avoid Tim Allen films like the plague, so it took me a few years before I finally saw GALAXY QUEST. The alumni cast of a cult sci-fi TV show are forced to play their roles in real life when an alien race needs their help, and the film captures with wit and humanity the nerd factor of sci-fi conventions and actors inhabiting roles far past their prime. Without resorting to pastiche, David Newman‘s score displays the sci-fi sound perfectly, whether it’s the TV show theme or the bustling score that became so popular after STAR WARS. This dynamic track for the ridiculous rock monster subtly mixes electronic elements with orchestral and forces in a rousing action cue with hints of the main theme towards the end. Newman has always been overshadowed by the work of his famous family, missing out on accolades that have been bestowed on father Alfred, brother Thomas, uncle Lionel, and cousin Randy. But he’s a damn good composer in his own right and GALAXY QUEST is one of his best. Anyone have other David Newman favorites?

LAST TANGO IN PARIS (1973) – Tango

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Arguably the most controversial movie of the 1970s, Bernardo Bertolucci’s LAST TANGO IN PARIS stars Marlon Brando as an American expatriate who embarks on a torrid, anonymous affair with a young Parisienne (Maria Schneider) to mask the pain surrounding the suicide of his French wife. Because of the sexual content, the film was slapped with an “X” rating in the U.S., and picketing and public outcry resulted in the film being removed from various theaters. In Italy, the film was condemned by the Catholic Church, all of the principals were charged with obscenity in the Italian courts (though they were later cleared), and Bertolucci received a suspended two-month prison sentence. A Roman court ordered all copies of the film to be seized and burned, and the film was not legally shown in Italy until 1987. Gato Barbieri‘s tango-tinged score won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album, and the main theme became a staple at the composer’s concerts. The main saxophone melody serve as an ironic “love” theme for two people who feel anything but love for each other. This track came from the original album, a rerecording using the score’s major themes. The Rykodisc (as well as the later Varèse Sarabande) reissue added 29 untitled tracks, hand-picked by Barbieri from the original tracks, for a “Last Tango in Paris Suite.”

SPACEBALLS (1987) – Love Theme

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The sci-fi film epitomized by STAR WARS seems ripe for satire, and few filmmakers do satire better than Mel Brooks. But by the mid-1980s, Brooks was running out steam and his films contained fewer and fewer laughs. SPACEBALLS is no exception, or at least the first half, which is as far as I’ve stayed with it so far. For me, the best humor comes from the character names: Lone Starr, Dot Matrix, Colonel Sandurz, and the truly hysterical Pizza the Hut. Even if Brooks’s jokes didn’t always land, John Morris‘s score does. Anchored by a perfect pastiche main theme, Morris mines the John Williams (and Maurice Jarre) sound to create his own brand of lunacy by playing the musical humor perfectly straight. Amidst all that spoofing comes this absolutely gorgeous love theme, with its sappy, soaring strings.!

THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER (1937) – Seal #2

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My love for the new Tribute Film Classics recording of this marvelous Erich Wolfgang Korngold score is well documented. As pauper Tom is about to be crowned king of England, Hendon (Errol Flynn) barges in to the rescue. A messenger is sent out (this time on his second errand) in this brisk cue to locate the crown seal to prove that “the prince and the pauper” are who they say they are. With a variation on one of the score’s main themes, this brisk cue not only provides an excellent example of Korngold’s brilliant compositional skills, but the superb playing by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra under the baton of William Stromberg. One of the best CD’s of the year.