Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone
Elmer Bernstein
" Getting away with the theme is easy, getting through the rest is harder, even in 3-D "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the limited release
It's nice to see material flourish when composers are no more. It is a testament to their legacy, a tribute to the work they contributed but sometimes I wish they go for better material. Because before his most famous score of all was released (Ghostbusters), the Varèse bosses went for more obscure releases. However Stripes and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone in 3-D isn't exactly showing Elmer Bernstein's best work.
This score was composed in the era a certain John Williams was making a name for himself with his Star Wars and Indiana Jones scores, and even when James Horner was creating a bulls eye effort with his delightful Battle Beyond the Stars. So it was a disgrace that Elmer Bernstein only got the simply horrendous cheesy Spacehunter fare, with a young Molly Ringwald in the cast.
As said why bother, because even if it's something of a collector's item, any good music buff can hear there is simply so much lacking in the music. Ok, we have a delightful theme, pretty standard but still fun after you heard it for a while. It opens and closes the disc in "Main Title" and "End Credits" and yes, it is typically him. But what's heard in the middle isn't following that standard, nor improving upon it. While some brass suspense in "Girls and Scavs" and a good marching main theme in "History and Landing" makes for some OK listening, the underscore at times bores me to death ("Vultures" or his truly obnoxious synthesizers in "The Planet"). Luckily there is a secondary theme for the girl Niki and it gets nice playful variations in "Niki" and especially orchestral in "Wash Up", a fun moment in the midst of the score.
But from the secondary part Spacehunter loses a lot of attributes the first part still offered. Brooding underscore with the Niki theme in "Cavern", ugly synthesizers in "Women" and rather boring use of his famous instrument in "Desert". The thing is, the heroic moments are the only saviors of the disc ("Bats" or the fun "Moving Out"). However "Capture" is bad. The synthesizers out date the ideas so much that you basically don't care for it anymore. Furthermore whirling strings start to work on the nerves in "Into the Maze" while "Maze" continues the wrecking. The hideous electronic support in "Claw" destroys your final hope, which we leave for the main theme in "Rescue".
It's sad to say this but Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone in 3-D doesn't offer the slightest bit of hope that this score could compete with Star Wars and the likes of orchestral space adventure scores. Perhaps it is the fact Elmer Bernstein wasn't truly at home in this style, because this isn't exactly something he did every day. But it is also unfair to compare the best (Star Wars movie) with the worst (Spacehunter film), because how can you truly get exited about something as weak as this. So, it's safe to say despite all the good parts surrounding the release of Spacehunter (the fact it's released in the first place), this is definitely not one of Elmer Bernstein's better scores. Surely there is better out there, and while I too was lured to the attractiveness of its name and style, 3-D doesn't improve with glasses when the music misses depth on itself.
Tracklisting
1. Main Title (4.19)
2. Girls and Scavs (0.56)
3. Wolff (0.46)
4. History and Landing (4.23)
5. Vultures (0.55)
6. The Planet (3.29)
7. Niki (2.34)
8. Hot Dogs (1.26)
9. Wash Up (1.38)
10. Partner (0.49)
11. Day's End (1.23)
12. Cavern (3.05)
13. Bats (1.11)
14. Tunnel (0.58)
15. Women (1.50)
16. Desert (2.14)
17. Moving Out (1.01)
18. Graveyard (1.51)
19. Capture (2.03)
20. Into the Maze (1.02)
21. Maze (3.42)
22. Getting There (1.13)
23. Claw (1.18)
24. Rescue (1.21)
25. Niki Goes (1.02)
26. Going Home (0.30)
27. End Credits (3.51)
Total Length: 51.25
This score was composed in the era a certain John Williams was making a name for himself with his Star Wars and Indiana Jones scores, and even when James Horner was creating a bulls eye effort with his delightful Battle Beyond the Stars. So it was a disgrace that Elmer Bernstein only got the simply horrendous cheesy Spacehunter fare, with a young Molly Ringwald in the cast.
As said why bother, because even if it's something of a collector's item, any good music buff can hear there is simply so much lacking in the music. Ok, we have a delightful theme, pretty standard but still fun after you heard it for a while. It opens and closes the disc in "Main Title" and "End Credits" and yes, it is typically him. But what's heard in the middle isn't following that standard, nor improving upon it. While some brass suspense in "Girls and Scavs" and a good marching main theme in "History and Landing" makes for some OK listening, the underscore at times bores me to death ("Vultures" or his truly obnoxious synthesizers in "The Planet"). Luckily there is a secondary theme for the girl Niki and it gets nice playful variations in "Niki" and especially orchestral in "Wash Up", a fun moment in the midst of the score.
But from the secondary part Spacehunter loses a lot of attributes the first part still offered. Brooding underscore with the Niki theme in "Cavern", ugly synthesizers in "Women" and rather boring use of his famous instrument in "Desert". The thing is, the heroic moments are the only saviors of the disc ("Bats" or the fun "Moving Out"). However "Capture" is bad. The synthesizers out date the ideas so much that you basically don't care for it anymore. Furthermore whirling strings start to work on the nerves in "Into the Maze" while "Maze" continues the wrecking. The hideous electronic support in "Claw" destroys your final hope, which we leave for the main theme in "Rescue".
It's sad to say this but Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone in 3-D doesn't offer the slightest bit of hope that this score could compete with Star Wars and the likes of orchestral space adventure scores. Perhaps it is the fact Elmer Bernstein wasn't truly at home in this style, because this isn't exactly something he did every day. But it is also unfair to compare the best (Star Wars movie) with the worst (Spacehunter film), because how can you truly get exited about something as weak as this. So, it's safe to say despite all the good parts surrounding the release of Spacehunter (the fact it's released in the first place), this is definitely not one of Elmer Bernstein's better scores. Surely there is better out there, and while I too was lured to the attractiveness of its name and style, 3-D doesn't improve with glasses when the music misses depth on itself.
Tracklisting
1. Main Title (4.19)
2. Girls and Scavs (0.56)
3. Wolff (0.46)
4. History and Landing (4.23)
5. Vultures (0.55)
6. The Planet (3.29)
7. Niki (2.34)
8. Hot Dogs (1.26)
9. Wash Up (1.38)
10. Partner (0.49)
11. Day's End (1.23)
12. Cavern (3.05)
13. Bats (1.11)
14. Tunnel (0.58)
15. Women (1.50)
16. Desert (2.14)
17. Moving Out (1.01)
18. Graveyard (1.51)
19. Capture (2.03)
20. Into the Maze (1.02)
21. Maze (3.42)
22. Getting There (1.13)
23. Claw (1.18)
24. Rescue (1.21)
25. Niki Goes (1.02)
26. Going Home (0.30)
27. End Credits (3.51)
Total Length: 51.25