Let’s face it; the 1980s are responsible for many terrible things, but one good byproduct was the slew of fantasy films that came in the wake of “Star Wars.” Some were expensive, some were cheap, but they all seemed to share George Lucas’ musical vision of the return of the stirring symphony to the movie screen en masse, with the beard contributing once again with “Willow,” which I watched earlier this week in preparation for the new show, and subsequently set this idea off. So let’s look at five of the best from an age undreamed of, where dragons stalked the screen, and you could usually catch at least one pair of breasts in a PG movie.
1. Conan the Barbarian
There’s a reason everyone misses Basil Poledouris, as his music was always wonderfully vibrant and lyrical, and that’s perfectly illustrated in his score for John Milius’ 1982 adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s famous warrior stories. The cue that kicks off the film is ‘Anvil of Crom,’ and it’s an incredible personification of the themes of steel and courage that flow through the picture, with the punishing percussion and exhilarating brass giving way to that soaring bridge with the love theme. But the one I always return to is ‘Theology/Civilisation,’ which is where that poetic side comes out to play through a simply incredible melody that speaks to Crom himself. And if he does not listen, to hell with him.
2. The Beastmaster
Universally seen as a rip-off of “Conan,” Don “Phantasm” Coscarelli’s film only came out a couple of months after Milius’ film, although it certainly feels like it apes it. However, the film was also based on a literary source, albeit vaguely, in the name of “The Beast Master” by Andre Norton from 1959. In any case, the film featured Marc Singer from “V” as Dar, aka The Beastmaster, a young man whose village was destroyed and whose parents were murdered, and who takes revenge with the help of his power of commanding animals like a panther, and eagle, and some ferrets. Like many of these pictures, the action is greatly enhanced by the score, which was composed by the great Lee Holdridge, who arranged several of Neil Diamond’s records before scoring movies like “Jeremy” and “Splash.” It’s a terrific score, and the crown jewel is the thundering main theme, which, like Maurice Jarre’s theme from “Ghost,” resembles Stu Phillips’s main title from “Battlestar Galactica.”
3. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Joe Hisaishi’s body of work is an embarrassment of riches, especially regarding his scores for the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Technically, Miyazaki’s 1984 anime “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” based on his own manga, isn’t a Ghibli film, as it was produced a year before the company's creation, but it has been accepted as one. It’s a beautiful film, a post-apocalyptic epic to rival “Mad Max,” and Hisaishi’s music is perfect for it. His scores are always so emotionally powerful and melodramatic, and they fit the visuals perfectly while being a wonderful listening experience in their own right. The music of “Nausicaä” is constantly thrilling and enthralling, and the beautiful and warm pieces that bookend the film are just so inviting and such a treat to hear. The suite below is a perfect distillation of Hisaishi’s score.
4. Legend
Ridley Scott’s 1985 picture “Legend” is usually known for two things; Tim Curry’s masterful performance as the Lord of Darkness, together with Rob Bottin’s spectacular effects makeup, and Tom Cruise in tiny shorts. In music circles, it’s a continuing controversy. When the picture was previewed to an audience (of dopeheads, according to Scott), the reactions were not kind, and the producers and the director panicked. The result was the ditching of Jerry Goldsmith’s intricate score to be replaced with German electronic wizards Tangerine Dream, who at that time were hot due to writing excellent music for films like Michael Mann’s “Thief” and another Tom Cruise flick, “Risky Business.” It wasn’t cut wholesale; The version of the film for European audiences went out with Goldsmith’s score, while the US theatrical cut had the Tangerine Dream score, plus a Bryan Ferry pop song. Both versions have their own merits, but Goldsmith’s really comes into its own in the restored director’s cut, which reveals the true scope of his work, which includes complex electronic elements as well as several songs written with lyricist John Bettis, who had previously written the hit 1973 Carpenters track “Top of the World” with Richard Carpenter. The score has been made available a couple of times in expanded versions, the latest is from Music Box Records from last year and really deserves a better reputation than it receives.
5. Return to Oz
Everyone knows “Return to Oz,” and it’s frequently put on histrionic lists of movies that scarred people’s childhoods. Despite that, Walter Murch’s picture is a fascinating and unique interpretation of the true weirdness of L. Frank Baum’s original “Oz” stories, with a desperately beautiful score from David Shire. Some may find him an odd choice due to his eclectic resume, with his great soundtracks to genre-defining thrillers such as “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” and “The Conversation,” and he popped up in this very newsletter recently when talking about his unused score from “Apocalypse Now.” But he always had an aptitude and appetite, and his music for films such as “The Big Bus” and “Norma Rae,” the latter of which saw him win an Oscar with Norman Gimbel for the song ‘It Goes Like It Goes,’ are just two examples of his talent. His “Return to Oz” score is absolutely gorgeous, with Shire running two evocative and disparate themes throughout the picture that eventually coalesce at the climax for an absolutely devastating ending. A treasure.
Bonus: The Black Cauldron
The 1985 animated picture “The Black Cauldron” is still seen as a black mark on Disney’s record. When it came out, many people were unhappy with its darker fantasy tone that strayed away from the lighter tone - for the record, the previous release from the Mouse House was “The Fox and the Hound” in 1981. Brought into score the film was the legendary Elmer Bernstein, who at that point was in his renaissance period and scoring hit after hit; at that time, he had recently scored “Trading Places” and “Ghostbusters.” His music for “The Black Cauldron” is absolutely wonderful and the sound of a composer really in his (second) prime. I hate the word, but it seems Bernstein is underrated or at least underheard these days. He deserves a lot more exposure than he gets.
Got an idea for a future Friday Five? Let me know in the comments.
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It’s been a fairly busy period with the dreaded “C” word on the horizon (not that one), and I’ve managed to get a couple of pieces done recently, including, sadly, an obituary for the amazing Kevin Conroy, who passed last month. I managed to get a look at some new Blu-ray releases, including Mike Hodges’ fabulous “Croupier,” the French classic “Casque d’Or,” and the new 4k UHD of Robert Weine’s “Das Cabinet des Dr., Caligari,” which looks absolutely incredible on 4K. I also interviewed the composer VAAAL, who has just scored the excellent new horror picture “A Wounded Fawn,” and that should hopefully be up on Fangoria shortly.
As always, have a better one.
The Beastmaster is an interesting selection. It's funny how so many of these fantasy movies from the '80s seemed like ripoffs of one another, even when they had different source material. I'm thinking specifically of Gor, which was based on a series of books but really failed in creating a distinct identity as a film. And all those Miles O'Keeffe movies.
Always so glad to see love being given to RETURN TO OZ! Vastly underappeciated film and, you are right, a marvelous score from Shire. Love the way you describe the two themes and their eventual joining, and that ragtime march of his always makes me smile.