Harry and the Hendersons
Bruce Broughton
" The value and the emotion behind the tale of Bigfoot are all explained when Broughton opens our hearts through his love theme. "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
By the time of 1987, movies were picking out every scary beast and making them charming to the human public. And so movies like Teen Wolf and Harry and the Hendersons were born. In Harry and the Hendersons Bigfoot seems to exist and the family Hendersons pick up the assumedly dead creature to their house. Only to discover Harry is not dead after all, and not so scary as well. That is until Harry becomes the most wanted creature alive when he's hunted down by LaFleur.
Composer Bruce Broughton is no stranger to the family genre and yet Harry and the Hendersons proved to be a challenge. In the beginning, Harry is considered scary and deadly and so Bruce tackles this with some scary music. But when the love, the comedy and the drama takes center stage, Broughton goes for a warmer, deeper feeling and so Harry and the Hendersons becomes a very treasured and beloved release. Intrada is a true believer of Broughton's talent and I must say I always loved Broughton's music in the movie. I loved the movie for what it did to me all these years ago (and still does).
The soundtrack does start with Joe Cocker's song (based on the main theme) but it gets well underway with "Main Title". In the first minutes, Broughton brings up a happy classical waltz based on his main theme (kinda like Elmer Bernstein did so famously with other well known classical music in Trading Places) until the scary and unnerving music collides with the car after two minutes. Here the growling unbelief is really a frightened and effective closer to the score. "Taking Harry Home" holds the same structure, the main theme more softly until Harry once more throws himself for the window of the car. Again this sequence goes for an all out abrasive attack.
"Harry in the House" is even more frightening since Harry no longer wanders through the house unnoticed. Broughton's music surely confirms that with brassy strikes and stings of the orchestra. There is a returning motif (a darker brassy approach) for the hunter LaFleur that searches for Harry, first discovered in "Night Prowler". The loving caring flute version of the main theme finally unfolds itself in "Some Dumb Thing" but not without the thumps of the orchestra that signify Harry's kinda insensitive approach to the house.
However Broughton takes care for other characters too and "Irene!" is what you call an unwanted guest. Her rapid motif surely feels that way too. The loving main theme in "Eye to Eye", the dog's understanding of it all in "Our Little Pet" and the hunter's return in "Tracking Harry" are all short and pleasant tracks.
In "Harry Takes Off" the stakes get a little bit more serious when Harry decides that it is time to return home. The 'on edge' approach of Broughton underscores it like it's written down scene for scene. However "Big Freeway" goes for a bolder approach with big fanfares while "Sasquatch" holds even the roars of the Bigfoot in their sound. The softer "The Great Outdoors" and "Bigfoot Museum" lets Broughton go back to a western approach and it actually fits this score so easily it makes us wanting more of it.
The scary "Planning the Hunt" and the piano led "Drawing Harry" bring us to "Night Pursuit". This ten minute whopper is no walk in the park. It holds many changes in pace, tone and instrumentation and once more Broughton lets his theme undergo a melodic approach to signify the scene at hand.
More or less this is what you call Disney scoring and while it lacks the craziness of it, it contains the scene per scene explanation. Especially the second part of it is brassy and demanding. The main theme returning ever so lovely is for "First Things First", with a little more emotion then usual in "Wrightwood Meets Harry" and sweet in "Bed Pals".
Finally the adventure and action begins in "Traffic Jam!" and it's with the hunter's motif that the ball starts rolling. The main theme interspersed with various old school techniques ala Jerry Goldsmith (Gremlins) and John Williams makes for a more interesting cue.
The two best cues are however saved for the end. In "Footprints" an eerie atmosphere is broken thanks to a couple of good brassy outbursts of the orchestra. And in "Goodbyes" the main theme gets a never felt emotional love when we discover the reason why Harry wanted to return to the great outdoors.
For nearly 80 minutes Harry and Bruce are never far away, yet this isn't Bruce's best score. Its more mickey mouse approach can become a harder task for those that aren't ready for it. It's even hard for those who know what to expect since it's not that easy music to connect to. However the value and the emotion behind the tale of Bigfoot are all explained when Broughton opens our hearts through his love theme. Then it's easy to save Harry and the Hendersons from your full soundtrack shelve once and a while.
Tracklisting
1. Love Lives On: Joe Cocker * (3.54)
2. Main Title (5.41)
3. Taking Harry Home (4.33)
4. Harry in the House (6.23)
5. Night Prowler (1.03)
6. Some Dumb Thing (3.19)
7. Irene! (1.28)
8. Eye to Eye (0.56)
9. Our Little Pet (1.39)
10. Tracking Harry (1.39)
11. Harry Takes Off (3.22)
12. Big Freeway (1.41)
13. Sasquatch (1.04)
14. The Great Outdoors (1.59)
15. Bigfoot Museum (1.01)
16. Planning the Hunt (2.04)
17. Drawing Harry (1.50)
18. Night Pursuit (9.55)
19. First Things First (1.43)
20. Wrightwood Meets Harry (1.31)
21. Bed Pals (0.45)
22. Traffic Jam! (7.16)
23. Footprints (4.22) Excellent track
24. Goodbyes (4.07) Excellent track
25. Harry and the Hendersons (3.30)
* Music by Barry Mann and Bruce Broughton
Total Length: 77.05
Composer Bruce Broughton is no stranger to the family genre and yet Harry and the Hendersons proved to be a challenge. In the beginning, Harry is considered scary and deadly and so Bruce tackles this with some scary music. But when the love, the comedy and the drama takes center stage, Broughton goes for a warmer, deeper feeling and so Harry and the Hendersons becomes a very treasured and beloved release. Intrada is a true believer of Broughton's talent and I must say I always loved Broughton's music in the movie. I loved the movie for what it did to me all these years ago (and still does).
The soundtrack does start with Joe Cocker's song (based on the main theme) but it gets well underway with "Main Title". In the first minutes, Broughton brings up a happy classical waltz based on his main theme (kinda like Elmer Bernstein did so famously with other well known classical music in Trading Places) until the scary and unnerving music collides with the car after two minutes. Here the growling unbelief is really a frightened and effective closer to the score. "Taking Harry Home" holds the same structure, the main theme more softly until Harry once more throws himself for the window of the car. Again this sequence goes for an all out abrasive attack.
"Harry in the House" is even more frightening since Harry no longer wanders through the house unnoticed. Broughton's music surely confirms that with brassy strikes and stings of the orchestra. There is a returning motif (a darker brassy approach) for the hunter LaFleur that searches for Harry, first discovered in "Night Prowler". The loving caring flute version of the main theme finally unfolds itself in "Some Dumb Thing" but not without the thumps of the orchestra that signify Harry's kinda insensitive approach to the house.
However Broughton takes care for other characters too and "Irene!" is what you call an unwanted guest. Her rapid motif surely feels that way too. The loving main theme in "Eye to Eye", the dog's understanding of it all in "Our Little Pet" and the hunter's return in "Tracking Harry" are all short and pleasant tracks.
In "Harry Takes Off" the stakes get a little bit more serious when Harry decides that it is time to return home. The 'on edge' approach of Broughton underscores it like it's written down scene for scene. However "Big Freeway" goes for a bolder approach with big fanfares while "Sasquatch" holds even the roars of the Bigfoot in their sound. The softer "The Great Outdoors" and "Bigfoot Museum" lets Broughton go back to a western approach and it actually fits this score so easily it makes us wanting more of it.
The scary "Planning the Hunt" and the piano led "Drawing Harry" bring us to "Night Pursuit". This ten minute whopper is no walk in the park. It holds many changes in pace, tone and instrumentation and once more Broughton lets his theme undergo a melodic approach to signify the scene at hand.
More or less this is what you call Disney scoring and while it lacks the craziness of it, it contains the scene per scene explanation. Especially the second part of it is brassy and demanding. The main theme returning ever so lovely is for "First Things First", with a little more emotion then usual in "Wrightwood Meets Harry" and sweet in "Bed Pals".
Finally the adventure and action begins in "Traffic Jam!" and it's with the hunter's motif that the ball starts rolling. The main theme interspersed with various old school techniques ala Jerry Goldsmith (Gremlins) and John Williams makes for a more interesting cue.
The two best cues are however saved for the end. In "Footprints" an eerie atmosphere is broken thanks to a couple of good brassy outbursts of the orchestra. And in "Goodbyes" the main theme gets a never felt emotional love when we discover the reason why Harry wanted to return to the great outdoors.
For nearly 80 minutes Harry and Bruce are never far away, yet this isn't Bruce's best score. Its more mickey mouse approach can become a harder task for those that aren't ready for it. It's even hard for those who know what to expect since it's not that easy music to connect to. However the value and the emotion behind the tale of Bigfoot are all explained when Broughton opens our hearts through his love theme. Then it's easy to save Harry and the Hendersons from your full soundtrack shelve once and a while.
Tracklisting
1. Love Lives On: Joe Cocker * (3.54)
2. Main Title (5.41)
3. Taking Harry Home (4.33)
4. Harry in the House (6.23)
5. Night Prowler (1.03)
6. Some Dumb Thing (3.19)
7. Irene! (1.28)
8. Eye to Eye (0.56)
9. Our Little Pet (1.39)
10. Tracking Harry (1.39)
11. Harry Takes Off (3.22)
12. Big Freeway (1.41)
13. Sasquatch (1.04)
14. The Great Outdoors (1.59)
15. Bigfoot Museum (1.01)
16. Planning the Hunt (2.04)
17. Drawing Harry (1.50)
18. Night Pursuit (9.55)
19. First Things First (1.43)
20. Wrightwood Meets Harry (1.31)
21. Bed Pals (0.45)
22. Traffic Jam! (7.16)
23. Footprints (4.22) Excellent track
24. Goodbyes (4.07) Excellent track
25. Harry and the Hendersons (3.30)
* Music by Barry Mann and Bruce Broughton
Total Length: 77.05