Sometimes all it takes is a good mix tape to spark a new post. Granted, I'm using the term "tape" metaphorically, but yes, I still create what I nostalgically call a "mix tape", even if it is in digital form. I try to treat it as "side A" and "side B" or just keep it to CD length to maintain that illusion. What can I say, it's an old habit, hard to break, fun to continue. Recently I crafted three mixes devoted to science fiction and fantasy titles of the 1980's. Soundtrack fans of my age range can rattle off a dozen favorite films and scores from this decade, it's where the bug really bit for many of us. For young geeks there was much to absorb both at the cinema and on TV. I know I wasn't always the best judge of quality but in the end it was really the music that mattered most to me. At that time, critics bemoaned the surplus of these movies. However, I think there are number of aspects that make it unique and worthy of study, not the least of which is the sheer volume of wonderfully varied movie music composed for genre during the decade, still arguably unequaled since.
This was the era which saw the glut of new sci-fi/fantasy movies lean into STAR WARS as the springboard. Movies in its wake borrowed many of its attributes, from effects to production design and story structure, yet there was still a remarkable amount of imagination and boldness to be found. The approach to the score of STAR WARS taken by composer John Williams and writer/director George Lucas, that of grafting the sweeping, swashbuckling orchestral sound of 1930's adventure serials onto an unfamiliar, strange outer space landscape, unexpectedly set an orthodox that holds even to this day. Soon it became commonplace that any science fiction movie needed to feature a big orchestral score, when previously that hadn't always been the case. And I can't argue with the logic of this, as it's an understatement to label this a massively inspired choice by Williams and Lucas. However, even with this approach dominating the genre from the late 1970's and into the 80's, what's most impressive is the amazing diversity heard in the music throughout these years, often due to surprising choices of composer for each project.
DRAGONSLAYER heralded an example of one such musical surprise. This was a 1981 release from Disney, a fatalistic fantasy film populated by wizards, swordplay and (natch) dragons, yet interestingly more concerned with witnessing the passing of an age and of Christianity triumphing over magic. This was far apart from their lighter animated entry years earlier, THE SWORD IN THE STONE, and closer in spirit to 1979's moody THE BLACK HOLE, in which Disney rejiggered 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA for deep space and added a killer robot with scissorhands. I loved it as a kid, then happily scratched its surface as an adult to uncover more to appreciate. Hired as composer for DRAGONSLAYER was Alex North, one of the most unique voices throughout movie history. His style could be angular and atonal, adopting the modernistic qualities of 20th century concert classical music, all while balanced against his tender, melodic side. His challenging sound, along with that of Bernard Herrmann and Leonard Rosenman, stood apart from the lush tonalities of the Alfred Newmans and Franz Waxmans of Hollywood during its Golden Age. North's scores for SPARTACUS, CLEOPATRA, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and his rejected music for 2001 (wait, you didn't know that there was an original score composed for Stanley Kubrick's 2001? Ask me about it!) all bore his personal stamp, helping to bolster the complexity into movie music and what it could represent.
I wasn't aware of any of this when I first saw DRAGONSLAYER at a young age. I didn't even know who Alex North was. I just knew that those powerful, declamatory low brass that open the film grabbed my interest immediately. I still swooned for anything close to the sound of STAR WARS and while this score was fully orchestral, it resided on the opposite side of the field tonally from the sound that shadowed X-wings and lightsabers. Regardless, I loved it and searched for the rare album release for years, finally snagging a copy in the late 90's (plus the official expanded edition from La-La Land Records not too long ago). In talking about this score once with my friend Mark, he commented that it nearly made him laugh out loud with its dramatics. I think he considered it overheated. I disagreed wholeheartedly. It could be that watching DRAGONSLAYER through the lens of today's muted movie soundscape only highlights its eccentricities. I understand how the music could be off-putting for some. It demands your attention, it isn't content to simply linger politely in the background, whether heard in the movie or separately on disc. I keep coming back to the word "challenging", but it's also undeniable brilliant and a score to which I'm quite partial.
Thus, while STAR WARS propelled the huge wave of sci-fi and fantasy films that swept through cinemas in the late 70's and into the 80's, there were still few rules set in stone for the genre then. To me it seems as if everyone was simply throwing all ideas against the wall just to see what stuck. Why else would we get the weird hybrid that is KRULL (1983), with lasers infesting a medieval setting? Or 1980's FLASH GORDON, which is such a loopy, pop-rocks-and-soda-on-celluloid trip? Musically speaking, the massive influx of these imaginative productions led to almost every composer working at that time, in and out of Hollywood, getting a turn at bat (or sword or laser pistol). The bonus for fans is that many were considered giants of the art form who subsequently poured their entire creative arsenal into their one sci-fi shot. Alex North is just one example, but there was also Henry Mancini scoring space vampires in LIFEFORCE, Ennio Morricone wrestling RED SONJA and Maurice Jarre trekking into both ENEMY MINE as well as MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (all 1985). These guys had been movie music titans for decades, with inarguable legacies ranging from BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S to THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Their respective idiosyncratic styles provided class and elegance to pictures in a genre once categorized only as "B", now receiving top billing and dollars.
Alongside the masters, there were some out-of-left-field assignments too, which brings me to the topic of DUNE (1984), directed by David Lynch. I was unaware then of Lynch in any other form before this movie. I had to enter his slanted perspective on life through the door marked DUNE in the sci-fi pantheon. In retrospect, it's not surprising that Lynch shunned mirroring the common sound of sci-fi then - his overall filmic style shied away from almost all convention. But he didn't even hire an established composer. Instead, he went after the rock band Toto to provide music for his epic. Now, you could argue that there was some precedent for this choice, seeing as how Queen amped up FLASH GORDON with their anthems four years prior. Yet here was DUNE, an accepted literary classic, being presented cinematically with a straight face. No doubt this rankled older fans of the book, but the resulting pop/orchestral fusion, while unexpected, was a score I immediately adored. Okay, the electric guitars might stand out against the sight of sandworms just a touch. As a kid, I loved Toto's songs, or more precisely the ones played on the radio, such as "Rosanna". My pop music knowledge obviously only extended as far as Casey Kasem's weekly countdown.
What I find incredible about this era is not just the motley crew of composers but the depth of talent and unique sounds they each brought. Vangelis with the all-electronic BLADE RUNNER, Wendy Carlos with TRON, Lawrence Rosenthal with the Richard Strauss-inspired CLASH OF THE TITANS, Bill Conti on MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, David Shire on 2010 and Craig Safan hitting high brass notes on THE LAST STARFIGHTER. I could go on, but if wasn't for this confluence of a sweeping trend plus talent, I may not have discovered any of these composers. And in certain cases, their single contribution to this genre remains my single favorite score from their career. I'm not going to name names, but... well, alright, one of them might be Ennio Morricone. I like his score for RED SONJA and not much else, except maybe his weirdly wicked music for EXORCIST II. Maybe I just didn't grow up with enough of his movies. This probably seems rather myopic, but they can't all be a Goldsmith or a Williams, where I'm in tune with nearly every note they've put to paper.
Speaking of, you might be wondering why I have yet to mention specific scores by Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams (other than STAR WARS) and James Horner. Their names dominated soundtrack collections back then as they became the backbone of the genre during the decade. Goldsmith truly set new standards each decade of his career, as far back as the original TWILIGHT ZONE series. Sci-fi and action movies were his bread and butter, though not out of his own personal interest, just that his sound and sonic experimentation lent themselves naturally. Horner could've been among the "one and done" group with his initial entry, 1980'S BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. Rather, his sparkling, joyful orchestration for that ramshackle movie rippled across both his career and the sound of sci-fi on into the 90's. Once this style cemented in STAR TREKs II and III, KRULL and BRAINSTORM, it emerged as a subset of the Williams standard - still rich and melodic, but maybe more easily applied to more movies since there was no expectation of another "Imperial March".
But my goal here was to highlight the unexpected, the fortuitous choices. I hesitate to call them "one-hit wonders" because the composers I mentioned here all excelled throughout their career, but it's their obscure sci-fi/fantasy efforts that often escape notice. Hopefully I don't sound too precious about this era. Sure there is some bias, it formed the bedrock of my soundtrack fandom. I like to draw analogies to the era when Westerns and religious-themed epics held sway over cinemas in the 50's and 60's and all composers in town added both under their respective belts, whether earning steady pay from it or taking one swing- even Bernard Herrmann scored a Western (and it's great!).
Today's screens are now chock-a-block with comic book confections. Among this current cinematic wave are the customary highs and lows and shifting degrees of depth, especially as this genre struggles to both be taken seriously and aim for escapism. Thing is, I don't find as much attention being paid to the accompanying music. To my (admittedly aging) ears, the scores tilt towards blandness. A more nondescript sound has been established, it's almost pre-programmed, and it's unfortunate. Comic book movies should be as daring as the heroes they essay, including the music. On a selfish level, at least I know it would provide me with strong tracks for a new mix tape.
Postscript: I'm attempting something new with the music clips chosen below for this post. With luck, everyone will still be able to play these as easily as the youtube clips!
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