Flight of the Phoenix
Marco Beltrami
" And the plane will fly "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Flight of the Phoenix is a 2004 remake of a 1965 film, both based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix, by Elleston Trevor, about a group of people who survive a plane crash in the Gobi Desert and must build a new plane out of the old one to escape. Receiving mixed reviews, director John Moore hired composer Marco Beltrami (and did so subsequently for The Omen and Max Payne after that) for the gig. Beltrami, a chameleon in about any genre responded with an eclectic score.
And eclectic is surely the word to go by. Just listen to the opening track "Elliot" that pretty much sums up Elliot's character as Marco Beltrami's at times zany mind. After that zany Danny Elfman opening it moves towards a Marco Beltrami fanfare, which brings me to the point that the opening track delivers indeed 2 musical styles into one. More of Beltrami's mannerisms turn up in "Approaching Storm", when he builds upon the tension with atonal shrills of an out of tone trumpet. More mannerisms are discovered in "Desert Funeral", a cold eerie cue. Luckily some emotional colour is left for "Frank's Plea", heightened by the percussion and ethnic solo vocals at the end.
Flight of the Phoenix can best be described as a typical Marco Beltrami score, because basically anything we remotely remembered of him returns in one form or another. The rhythmic suspense in "Electrical Storm", the ethnic vocals in "Heat Dream" and "Heat Stroke" that get an extra edge through the electric guitar, the atonal shrills in "Model Citizen", the LOST feel through Frank's theme in "Men Hugging", and the piano rumblings in "Wing Crash", it are these examples that shows us Marco is keeping it fresh and diverse.
A different picture is "Nomad Surprise". The first minute is actually strong, giving us finally a straightforward orchestral cue full of hope, until it transforms into a Beltrami festivity of rhythmic percussion, atonal suspense and brassy fanfares. Easily put, it's the best of the entire score and it feels both exciting and powerful. It's followed by a hopeful and fulfilling version of Frank's theme in "Homeward". It may be straightforward, but I kinda wished the album delivered us more of this straightforward style.
Which brings me to the point that Flight of the Phoenix is Marco Beltrami in a nutshell. I admire his will to make his music fresh and interesting, but sometimes I feel Flight of the Phoenix is more a showcase of his abilities than an underscore to the movie. I know with a fact this score works perfectly inside the motion picture, but on album it doesn't always click. This is not a score I'll listen to again, and nor can I recommend it to the people who want to experience the better Marco Beltrami efforts. For that Flight of the Phoenix is more effective than enjoyable. Sad because motion picture wise, it works perfectly inside the picture (it just doesn't stand out).
Tracklisting
1. Elliot (3.01)
2. Approaching Storm (3.20)
3. Desert Funeral (1.27)
4. Frank´s Plea (2.40)
5. Electrical Storm (1.16)
6. They can Deal (0.59)
7. Night One (2.34)
8. Heat Dream (4.24)
9. Elliot counts on Runway (0.51)
10. Nomad´s Alive (3.21)
11. Model Citizen (3.12)
12. Man Missing (1.16)
13. Heat Stroke (1.38)
14. Men Hugging (1.20)
15. Dangers of the Desert (1.25)
16. Day Labor (1.31)
17. Wing Crash (1.16)
18. Nomad Surprise (3.04)
19. Homeward (1.25)
Total Length: 39.56
And eclectic is surely the word to go by. Just listen to the opening track "Elliot" that pretty much sums up Elliot's character as Marco Beltrami's at times zany mind. After that zany Danny Elfman opening it moves towards a Marco Beltrami fanfare, which brings me to the point that the opening track delivers indeed 2 musical styles into one. More of Beltrami's mannerisms turn up in "Approaching Storm", when he builds upon the tension with atonal shrills of an out of tone trumpet. More mannerisms are discovered in "Desert Funeral", a cold eerie cue. Luckily some emotional colour is left for "Frank's Plea", heightened by the percussion and ethnic solo vocals at the end.
Flight of the Phoenix can best be described as a typical Marco Beltrami score, because basically anything we remotely remembered of him returns in one form or another. The rhythmic suspense in "Electrical Storm", the ethnic vocals in "Heat Dream" and "Heat Stroke" that get an extra edge through the electric guitar, the atonal shrills in "Model Citizen", the LOST feel through Frank's theme in "Men Hugging", and the piano rumblings in "Wing Crash", it are these examples that shows us Marco is keeping it fresh and diverse.
A different picture is "Nomad Surprise". The first minute is actually strong, giving us finally a straightforward orchestral cue full of hope, until it transforms into a Beltrami festivity of rhythmic percussion, atonal suspense and brassy fanfares. Easily put, it's the best of the entire score and it feels both exciting and powerful. It's followed by a hopeful and fulfilling version of Frank's theme in "Homeward". It may be straightforward, but I kinda wished the album delivered us more of this straightforward style.
Which brings me to the point that Flight of the Phoenix is Marco Beltrami in a nutshell. I admire his will to make his music fresh and interesting, but sometimes I feel Flight of the Phoenix is more a showcase of his abilities than an underscore to the movie. I know with a fact this score works perfectly inside the motion picture, but on album it doesn't always click. This is not a score I'll listen to again, and nor can I recommend it to the people who want to experience the better Marco Beltrami efforts. For that Flight of the Phoenix is more effective than enjoyable. Sad because motion picture wise, it works perfectly inside the picture (it just doesn't stand out).
Tracklisting
1. Elliot (3.01)
2. Approaching Storm (3.20)
3. Desert Funeral (1.27)
4. Frank´s Plea (2.40)
5. Electrical Storm (1.16)
6. They can Deal (0.59)
7. Night One (2.34)
8. Heat Dream (4.24)
9. Elliot counts on Runway (0.51)
10. Nomad´s Alive (3.21)
11. Model Citizen (3.12)
12. Man Missing (1.16)
13. Heat Stroke (1.38)
14. Men Hugging (1.20)
15. Dangers of the Desert (1.25)
16. Day Labor (1.31)
17. Wing Crash (1.16)
18. Nomad Surprise (3.04)
19. Homeward (1.25)
Total Length: 39.56