The 25th Reich
Ricky Edwards
" Temp track love on a bed of synthesizers "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
The 25th Reich is a typical B movie for a lazy Saturday afternoon. A spoof that has all the characteristics of a B-movie, namely decent to shady acting, debatable script, poor laughable effects. It's the movie some fans want to see, others can't stand the sight off. And The 25th Reich pretty much falls in the latter category. For the music Ricky Edwards created "an old-fashioned score" (according to the site), but let us be honest, there is nothing old fashioned about it. Old Fashioned means FOR ME a return to the scores of the 80's and the period before it, and drawing us immediately in disbelief is the synthesized effort we're receiving instead. I'm not attacking the use of synths here, but an orchestra is the first thing that pops in my mind once I hear "old fashioned music".
Despite that, The 25th Reich lacks a serious doses of ... interesting music. It opens funny enough with a direct temp track quote of Darth Vader's march in "The 25th Reich March", right down to the flutes in the middle to pause the cue for a moment. Again, in a way it is to be expected for this kind of spoof, and what better screams out evil than Darth Vader's march. Yet still, I was expecting something else. The alien effect that whooshes through it (and other tracks) is a hint this doesn't have to be taken seriously at all. Like the hint of the raptor high grass scene thumping percussion music in "That Ain't no Puma!", drawing my attention directly to John Williams' The Lost World. Considering Williams already came to mind in the temp track affair, it's safe to say they used incredibly amazing !old fashioned music! as influence for this score.
But besides all those hints or influences, The 25th Reich has a serious issue as well. Namely from the 5th to the 10th track, the score falls deep into one moody pool of nothingness, delivering eerie mysteriousness that doesn't aid the experience at all. The alien effect tries to wake us from our sleep but it doesn't do much else. Luckily, "Traitor in the Camp: Part 1" succeeds more effectively (at least after a couple of minutes) through a wall of dissonance. But that's hardly memorable considering the next couple of tracks continue to meander along. It's the 8 minute "Attack of the 25th Reich" that brings us back to the living, but not without stating ITS temp track love first. Mars, The Bringer of War from Gustav Holst's The Planets is continuously setting the pace and tone. Not surprising considering it was used in the trailer of the film to begin with. Again, this is the weak weak weak version of The Planets, but it at least pulls us from our Saturday nap. And "The 25th Reich End Credits" does the same as the opening track, only longer and slightly better.
The 25th Reich of Ricky Edwards has too many flaws to recommend it at all. Functional and probably better than the movie deserved, it does one thing incredibly well. It creates the best possible tone for the film. But the originality is seriously lacking (the only memorable pieces are 2 highly known temp track examples) and the synthesized sound makes it not particularly inviting. Again, probably better than what the movie deserved, but the inviting press release made me think of something completely different. Because despite its functionality The 25th Reich isn't really worth the time and effort.
Favorite Moment
Nope!
Track Listing
1. The 25th Reich March (3.04)
2. Opening (2.10)
3. Some Crazy People (2.54)
4. That Ain't no Puma! (3.42)
5. A Rabbi in New York (4.03)
6. Breaking the Time Machine (3.08)
7. Rag on a Stick (1.48)
8. Voices and Time Travel (2.46)
9. Mozzie Bite (2.26)
10. Kinderman (1.32)
11. Traitor in the Camp: Part 1 (4.00)
12. Traitor in the Camp: Part 2 (3.25)
13. You've Condemned Us All (5.10)
14. Attack of the 25th Reich (8.34)
15. Kick Some! (2.50)
16. The 25th Reich End Credits (4.40)
Total Length: 56.12
Despite that, The 25th Reich lacks a serious doses of ... interesting music. It opens funny enough with a direct temp track quote of Darth Vader's march in "The 25th Reich March", right down to the flutes in the middle to pause the cue for a moment. Again, in a way it is to be expected for this kind of spoof, and what better screams out evil than Darth Vader's march. Yet still, I was expecting something else. The alien effect that whooshes through it (and other tracks) is a hint this doesn't have to be taken seriously at all. Like the hint of the raptor high grass scene thumping percussion music in "That Ain't no Puma!", drawing my attention directly to John Williams' The Lost World. Considering Williams already came to mind in the temp track affair, it's safe to say they used incredibly amazing !old fashioned music! as influence for this score.
But besides all those hints or influences, The 25th Reich has a serious issue as well. Namely from the 5th to the 10th track, the score falls deep into one moody pool of nothingness, delivering eerie mysteriousness that doesn't aid the experience at all. The alien effect tries to wake us from our sleep but it doesn't do much else. Luckily, "Traitor in the Camp: Part 1" succeeds more effectively (at least after a couple of minutes) through a wall of dissonance. But that's hardly memorable considering the next couple of tracks continue to meander along. It's the 8 minute "Attack of the 25th Reich" that brings us back to the living, but not without stating ITS temp track love first. Mars, The Bringer of War from Gustav Holst's The Planets is continuously setting the pace and tone. Not surprising considering it was used in the trailer of the film to begin with. Again, this is the weak weak weak version of The Planets, but it at least pulls us from our Saturday nap. And "The 25th Reich End Credits" does the same as the opening track, only longer and slightly better.
The 25th Reich of Ricky Edwards has too many flaws to recommend it at all. Functional and probably better than the movie deserved, it does one thing incredibly well. It creates the best possible tone for the film. But the originality is seriously lacking (the only memorable pieces are 2 highly known temp track examples) and the synthesized sound makes it not particularly inviting. Again, probably better than what the movie deserved, but the inviting press release made me think of something completely different. Because despite its functionality The 25th Reich isn't really worth the time and effort.
Favorite Moment
Nope!
Track Listing
1. The 25th Reich March (3.04)
2. Opening (2.10)
3. Some Crazy People (2.54)
4. That Ain't no Puma! (3.42)
5. A Rabbi in New York (4.03)
6. Breaking the Time Machine (3.08)
7. Rag on a Stick (1.48)
8. Voices and Time Travel (2.46)
9. Mozzie Bite (2.26)
10. Kinderman (1.32)
11. Traitor in the Camp: Part 1 (4.00)
12. Traitor in the Camp: Part 2 (3.25)
13. You've Condemned Us All (5.10)
14. Attack of the 25th Reich (8.34)
15. Kick Some! (2.50)
16. The 25th Reich End Credits (4.40)
Total Length: 56.12