The Player
Thomas Newman
" Hypnotic score is an acquired taste "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
The Player is a 1992 American satirical film directed by Robert Altman from a screenplay by Michael Tolkin. It is the story of Hollywood studio executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) who murders an aspiring screenwriter he believed was sending him death threats. It was a critical success, Altman was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe as best director (the film itself won the Golden Globe for best comedy or musical), and it offered Thomas Newman another opportunity to work on another critical acclaimed movie.
The score on the other hand wasn't nominated (something tells me it would have received an Oscar today). The reason why the score wasn't nominated is because The Player is quite frankly an acquired taste. It's typical stuff from Newman, favoring style over substance, allowing his assortment of instruments to go wild. Meaning what you get is hypnotic mood. Often enhanced by a specific sound, scream or synthesizer effect. The frightening opening of "Main Title", the scream in "Schecter Bros.", the sexual breathing in "Sex", a plane leaving off in "Desert Drive", and so forth. I'm sure it's all downright perfect inside the movie, but score wise it has no business here.
Thomas Newman's score isn't exactly easy listening either. It's chock full of his usual piano and percussive moments, but there's very little melody or theme to be found here. The one returning element is the again tantalizing piece for bells and piano in "Funeral Shark", "Opening 3" and "The Graduate Pt.". His ethereal moody pieces do inspire me in "Good Dog's Water" and "Icy Theme", and the absolutely stunning orchestral outburst in "The Player" is definitely the finest Thomas Newman moment on the disc, but apart from that ending, The Player is not exactly Newman at his best. It's quirky, it's strangely hypnotic and somehow it works on album. But I'm more confident the unusual combination of quirkiness, sfx and songs has to be appreciated inside the movie, not on disc.
Tracklisting
1. Funeral Shark (1.02)
2. St. James (1.02)
3. Six Inches of Dirty Water (1.41)
4. Main Title (1.45)
5. Rose's Cafe * (1.39)
6. Icy Theme (2.30)
7. That's All he Wrote ** (2.48)
8. Schecter Bros. (1.23)
9. Sex (3.16)
10. Desert Drive (1.15)
11. Tema Para Jobim: Joyce and Milton Nascimento *** (4.33)
12. The Graduate Pt. (2.20)
13. Lineup (1.16)
14. Good Dog's Water (2.39)
15. Detective DeLongpre (1.11)
16. Silent Night (0.28)
17. Opening 3 (1.05)
18. Griffin's Plan / Let's Begin Again (0.51)
19. The Player (3.06) Excellent track
* Composed by Ralph Nicholls, performed by Akio Ushikudo
** Composed by Thomas Newman and Ralph Grierson
*** Composed by Jerry Mulligan, Lyrics by Joyce Nascimento
Total Length: 35.50
The score on the other hand wasn't nominated (something tells me it would have received an Oscar today). The reason why the score wasn't nominated is because The Player is quite frankly an acquired taste. It's typical stuff from Newman, favoring style over substance, allowing his assortment of instruments to go wild. Meaning what you get is hypnotic mood. Often enhanced by a specific sound, scream or synthesizer effect. The frightening opening of "Main Title", the scream in "Schecter Bros.", the sexual breathing in "Sex", a plane leaving off in "Desert Drive", and so forth. I'm sure it's all downright perfect inside the movie, but score wise it has no business here.
Thomas Newman's score isn't exactly easy listening either. It's chock full of his usual piano and percussive moments, but there's very little melody or theme to be found here. The one returning element is the again tantalizing piece for bells and piano in "Funeral Shark", "Opening 3" and "The Graduate Pt.". His ethereal moody pieces do inspire me in "Good Dog's Water" and "Icy Theme", and the absolutely stunning orchestral outburst in "The Player" is definitely the finest Thomas Newman moment on the disc, but apart from that ending, The Player is not exactly Newman at his best. It's quirky, it's strangely hypnotic and somehow it works on album. But I'm more confident the unusual combination of quirkiness, sfx and songs has to be appreciated inside the movie, not on disc.
Tracklisting
1. Funeral Shark (1.02)
2. St. James (1.02)
3. Six Inches of Dirty Water (1.41)
4. Main Title (1.45)
5. Rose's Cafe * (1.39)
6. Icy Theme (2.30)
7. That's All he Wrote ** (2.48)
8. Schecter Bros. (1.23)
9. Sex (3.16)
10. Desert Drive (1.15)
11. Tema Para Jobim: Joyce and Milton Nascimento *** (4.33)
12. The Graduate Pt. (2.20)
13. Lineup (1.16)
14. Good Dog's Water (2.39)
15. Detective DeLongpre (1.11)
16. Silent Night (0.28)
17. Opening 3 (1.05)
18. Griffin's Plan / Let's Begin Again (0.51)
19. The Player (3.06) Excellent track
* Composed by Ralph Nicholls, performed by Akio Ushikudo
** Composed by Thomas Newman and Ralph Grierson
*** Composed by Jerry Mulligan, Lyrics by Joyce Nascimento
Total Length: 35.50