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HomeBooksEntertainmentMusicMusic for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 1: Film & Television Music |
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 A Danny Elfman fan must have! Oct 27, 2008
Essential Danny Elfman (Singer and founder of "Oingo Boingo")compositions from his early film sound-track work. It's all here and great stuff to put on for your haunted house or Halloween party! Elfman's obsession with the dead comes through throughout!
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Great compilation - and that's just the first half. Sep 13, 2005
I first got this on cassette in the summer of '94 and listened to it every day, drawn by its thematic range and compositional depth. And that was just side-one.
Elfman pioneered the sound that drives today's movie adaptations of comic-books and darker-themed children's stories. Side-One kicks things off with a rollicking, hyper-cartoonish theme from the first Pee-Wee movie - the one where Pee-Wee searches for his beloved bike. Elfman's theme contains layers of different rides - on tightropes, highways, in the middle of a NASCAR rally - which rudely yet melodically crash into each other.
The Batman entry actually contains several pieces - the opening credits, the extended sequence in the cathedral and the climax - which show Batman's darkened extreme at its "Frank Miller" best. (Dir. Tim Burton couldn't sustain the mood in the next sequel, and the franchise took a turn towards the camp of the TV series with the next 2 movies.)
The theme for "Dick Tracy" is perhaps the most romantic on this disc, a quality that surpasses the theme's comic-book origins, but ends on an ironic note that's pure Elfman.
"Beetlejuice" (opening & closing credits) gives Elfman's childish ID a chance to stretch its legs, or in this case, slam-dance.
"Nightbreed" is an enigma wrapped in a dark mystery, and that's just Elfman's score. Elfman's work on this movie is as good as the movie wasn't, having a more powerful narrative than the script - easily the best track on the entire disc, one likely to exceed the movie in its dose of chills.
"Darkman" doesn't quite rise to the occasion, though the score may be hobbled by the movie itself, which seldom surpassed one of the many "Batman" clones of the early 1990's. "Darkman" (the movie, I mean) excelled as a parody of many comicbook staples (the wronged hero, the relentless villain, the scientific breakthrough with just one flaw), but not enough to escape being largely anonymous. Within those constraints, it's still a moving if scary piece.
When is Elfman not like Elfman? When he was in the mid-late `80's and scored "Back to School" (A Rodney Dangerfield vehicle) and "Midnight Run". Horns in "School" bring it closer to Elfman's over-the-top style, while "Run" sounds like a love-theme for the run-down, out-of-the-way parts of America that seldom appear in Elfman-movies. "Run" is a fun score for a fun movie - it's nothing like Elfman's previous work but it perfectly captures the on-the-road-without-a-map craziness of the movie.
To this day, I don't know why I never ventured to Side-two, but it's irrelevant. Even half this disc is worth it
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 The best of Elfman!!! Sep 05, 2005
I was obsessed about getting this CD right from when I heard about it. I found it at the library and was so excited about it, and it didn't let me down. In fact, it was a lot better than I expected. It's a fun and creepy (strange mix, but it really works!) collection of Danny Elfman's film and television soundtracks. The first track, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, is probably my favorite. Also, I really like Batman and Wisdom. Batman is creepy and dark, and Wisdom is just weird, in the best possible way.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes film music, or everyone who is even the tiniest bit an Elfman fan. It's amazing!
5 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Great Collection, A LIttle Too Eclectic Aug 19, 2003
You should be able to tell from the movies and TV shows listed here whether or not you'd be interested in this collection. It's a little too eclectic for my tastes (hence only 4 stars) but better than volume 2. I think thatthe miscellaneous collected ites here along with the previously unreleased stuff should make this worth buying. Especially if you're a fan of Elfman's movie soundtrack work.
5 of 9 found the following review helpful:
What Great Music May 11, 2003
I fell in love with the music of Danny Elfman when Beetlejuice came out. There was something different about the music that he made. When Edward Scissorhands, and then Nightmare Before Christmas - I knew this man was a musical master. Its the verbal form of surrealism.
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