Remakes. Remakes. Remakes.
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I was, for my first review, originally going to wax lyrical upon certain TV show scores which are a particular joy to me, but I’ll save that for later. Instead let me say a brief word upon Hollywood’s current penchant for remaking classic, or otherwise, films and the scores that go along with them.
I just had the dejavu of watching The Omen. Virtually a shot for shot redo of the original classic. But in every so familiar scene something was missing. Something both integral and telling.
Where the hell was Jerry Goldsmith’s music? Marco Beltrami had taken it and replaced it with a satan spawn, that’s what.
Now, I have no problem with Mister Beltrami as a composer; I enjoyed his work on Terminator 3 and Live Free Die Hard, both of which referenced the original music very well and integrated it within the new score, but The Omen? Oh dear me. From the very start the soundtrack slapped you around the face with it’s “This is a big budget blockbuster score” – ness. None of the subtleties of the Goldsmith choir, the whispering, the instantly recognisable theme. Just big, loud, bash ‘em over the head stuff.
And the problem is right there with a lot of scores now. Where are the great themes? The Raiders March, Star Trek, Superman? Danny Elfman didn’t create anything at all that I can remember for Spider-Man. Where’s that stick in the head tune? Likewise for his Planet of the Apes. Again, the Goldsmith original was an unexpected work of cross pollenating wonder, from the opening titles and their discordant dissonance, to the great hunting horns when the apes first appear. All we got for the remake was another by the numbers Elfman. Alright, he made the second best superhero theme ever for Batman, but all he’s done since…a little samey. Okay, except for the first Hulk movie. That was a brilliant departure, apparently written in a very short time.
But back to The Omen.
Next time you watch the remake, should you be so inclined, turn the sound off and play the Goldsmith soundtrack.
The film will still be pointless but at least you’ll get the proper atmosphere.
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Soundtrack Seek
I agree wholeheartedly. In my opinion, for almost a decade, there have been a great many forgettable soundtracks. Granted, you’ll have some that stand out, like say “Lord of the Rings,” but if you listen to a bunch of today’s soundtracks, they are, what I believe, by-the-numbers scores. They all sound the same; they don’t stand out. You can’t even whistle to many of these scores. I love Hermann, Williams, Goldsmith, Barry and Scifrin (sp). The work these guys did was even able to lift some mediocre films they scored for. I’m still waiting to hear from the new generation of maestros… Okay, I’ll shut up.
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