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Artwork copyright (c) 1999 Warner Bros.; review copyright (c) 2003 James Southall
*****
49:54
THE CZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Conducted by
MICHAEL KAMEN
MICHAEL KAMEN
ROBERT ELHAI
BLAKE NEELY
STEVE MCLAUGHLIN
CHRISTOPHER BROOKS
Produced by
TEESE GOHL
STEVE MCLAUGHLIN
MICHAEL KAMEN
CHRISTOPHER BROOKS
VARESE SARABANDE
Serial number
302 066 062 2
THE IRON GIANT Rich,
vibrant, moving modern-day classic A review by JAMES SOUTHALL Michael Kamen was a great film composer in many ways, but
probably the finest was the strength of character and force of personality he
brought to his best scores, quite rare qualities in film music these days.
The Iron Giant is arguably his finest score. A great film also, it
is the only animation scored by the composer, following the story of a giant
alien robot who falls to earth, gets woefully misunderstood by all those in
authority, but is befriended by a young boy. It's wonderful, touching,
classic storytelling, a beautiful movie from director Brad Bird. In every
way, Kamen's music matches the wonder and magic of the movie. As
well as his numerous other qualities, Kamen was one of the few modern film composers with any real sense of how to use an orchestra to its fullest capacity, or to consistently stretch himself with new and exciting approaches to each film he
scored. This score is just a case in point. Highly-ambitious, unlike
any other animated film score before, it is obvious how much time and effort
Kamen put into the music, and it all shines through with beautiful
results. Full of more themes than most composers write in a lifetime, with
truly magical orchestration, inspiring melody, riotous humour, this has
everything you could want - and a whole lot more - from a film score. A lot of
this may come from the unique way he recorded the music: he did not conduct his score to picture, with the usual constraints of needing everything to fit to the nearest tenth of a second, but rather presented it as a freeform ballet that happens to be playing at the same time as the film.
The best film music is always able to be taken away from its film and presented
in a more "classical" form, but Kamen turned that on its head and
decided to approach it as a concert work right from the beginning. That
isn't to say that the music isn't a perfect match for the visuals - because it
certainly is, matching every twist and turn with delightful consistency, without
mickey mousing the action as most scores of this type tend to. Many
composers would have approached this score with a John Williams-style "big
theme" and maybe treated it like a Superman kind of film; but for
me, what Kamen did was infinitely superior. The other approach would have
work, but Kamen's music just seems to transcend the film, elevate it to a new
plane. The beauty and attention to the orchestration, the underlying
passion for life that comes through the music is incredible. The Iron Giant is
my personal favourite score by Kamen. Everything about it is just in a different class from most
modern film music. The performance, by the Czech Philharmonic, shows just what a difference a
good orchestra can make to a score when the conductor allows them a degree of freedom of expression; and Steve McLaughlin's recording showcases all of the orchestra's strongest
assets. Those willing to approach the score with an open mind, and willing to give it a few chances to allow Kamen's delicately-woven web to envelop them, are in for a real treat.
So few film composers were able to write music of this incredible structure and
detail, where every piece has a beginning, a middle and an end, where the score
as a whole actually goes on a journey from one place to another; Michael Kamen,
you will be sorely missed.