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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: (John
Williams) After a year devoid of J. K. Rowling's beloved witches and wizards
on the big screen, Warner Brothers provides the third installment of the
Harry Potter at a new, summertime release date. While continuing the
trend of the series of (currently) five books towards a darker, more serious
concentration of good versus evil,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban also introduces a great number of characters that would be
pivotal in future installments. There have been many strong arguments
stating that this third book is, despite the absence of Lord Voldemort, the
most intriguing story of the series. Composer John Williams returns once
again (along with a continuing cast and crew sadly mourning the loss of
actor Richard Harris) after receiving the assistance of William Ross in
completing the arrangements on his
Chamber of Secrets score in 2002.
For the first time in nearly a decade, Williams took a year off, allowing
2003 to break his vast streak of consecutive years with an Academy Award
nomination for 'Best Score.' Partially because of this break, partially
because of the haunting Christmas music that Williams provided for the
film's trailer, and partially because of the magic that is always possible
in the non-muggle world of
Harry Potter, Williams' score for
Prisoner of Azkaban is as highly anticipated as any in 2004. No
matter your opinion of how well these scores hold up, you must agree that in
the three films so far in the series, Williams has already conjured a
delightful plethora of themes. At some point in the franchise (if WIlliams
continues his ability and willingness to compose for it), he will have more
themes on his hands for the
Harry Potter universe than he has for the
Star Wars one. With so many new characters and ideas in
Prisoner
of Azkaban alone, it's no surprise that three new major themes are
introduced, as well as several smaller motifs that may, given future films,
see a fuller treatment.
Interestingly, not one of these themes seems attached to any
of the substantial new characters; don't expect, for instance, a major
showing of thematic force for Sirius Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, or even the
dementors. Instead, we get some colorful treatment for characters in
individual scenes, as well as more nebulous, atmospheric themes that
encompass the wintry atmosphere of the film as a whole. The choral Christmas
song for "Double Trouble" is a great example of this flavor, as is the
ethereal theme for Potter's patronus and a theme in the cue "A Window to the
Past" that arguably serves as the primary identity for
Prisoner of
Azkaban. As with any Williams score, the amount of personality injected
into every specialty cue requires a cue-by-cue analysis to get a comfortable
feel for how the score will likely sound on your stereo. As such, the
opening cue is really the only substantive connection to the previous
scores, with Hedwig's theme (serving as the Hogwarts identity as well)
tinkering around without much fanfare. The waltz for Aunt Marge is the first
of several cues that prove that Williams is still at his peak; in this cue,
he provides a very classically structured piece for the pompous nature of
Potter's aunt, with so much classical tempo and instrumentation as to make
for pure comedy. Depending on your opinion about wild, crazy jazz, the
"Knight Bus" cue could either be a guilty pleasure or a major irritation.
It's zany carnivalesque attitude as admirable, but irritating nevertheless.
Both the cues "Apparition on the Train" and "Monster Books and Boggarts!"
play as closely to Williams' standard horror/action underscore as possible,
producing plenty of interesting noise for dementors while not progressing
the thematic direction of the franchise. The "Double Trouble" song is
Williams' dark counterpart of his
Home Alone songs, with
McBeth-inspired lyrics and an accelerated pace tilting the song just far
enough off center as to maintain the frightening realization that this
Christmas season at Hogwarts is even more ominous that ones past. It is
reprised on celeste and harp in "Secrets of the Castle" and in the fluffy
underscore cue, "Portrait Gallery."
One of the fantastic highlights of the
Prisoner of
Azkaban score is "Buckbeak's Flight," the first broad and majestic,
fully bombastic Williams cue on the album. The barrage of timpani at the
start leads to two minutes of grand and epic action music that will likely
serve as a highlight in the film itself. The lovely recorder theme in "A
Window to the Past" is the primary musical idea in
Prisoner of Azkaban,
dancing in the solo performance (by composer/performer Richard Harvey of
Animal Farm,
Arabian Nights, and
Suriyothai) of an almost Irish folk tune and building
into a fully orchestral statement. The split cue "The Whomping Willow and
the Snowball Fight" (literally two cues spliced into one) begins with more
of the outstanding drum and horn action in "Buckbeak's Flight" but fades
into some non-descript (although charming) underscore for the snowball
scene. The cue "Hagrid the Professor" is surprisingly disappointing and
potentially out-of-character; perhaps Williams was aiming strictly at comedy
by scoring Hagrid's teaching attempts with a period waltz of light classical
mood. In a more natural move, Williams scores "Quidditch, Third Year" with a
greater sense of urgency than previous gaming scenes. The bright fanfares
have yielded to serious battle tones of the level of intensity we heard in
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. In fact, there are many similarities
between "Quidditch, Third Year" and that score, with highly complex action
movements on brass accented by a meandering female choir. This high standard
of rolling excitement continues in "Lupin's Transformation and Chasing
Scabbers," exhibiting layers of writing that proves that Williams' is still
sharp as a tack. A very simple choral performance in "The Patron Light"
establishes what we'll hear in the finale of the film, as the darker,
distorted, and frantic tones following in "The Werewolf Scene" confirm
--even in Williams' rather mundane underscore cues-- that
Prisoner of
Azkaban and the franchise are indeed headed into the murky depths of
horror and mystery. The Buckbeack theme returns for one great crescendo in
"Saving Buckbeak," after which the pivotal time travel scene is tackled by
Williams in another method that you'll either love or hate. The ticking
clock in "Forward to Time Past" is not really a novel idea, and its
restraining persistence can get on the nerves, but it does further the
quirky personality of the score --even at its most troubled moments.
Williams merges two musical ideas with skill in "The
Dementors Converge," as the "Window to the Past" theme is enveloped and
attacked by malicious horns and choir, and a victorious choral performance
of "The Patronus Light" predictably swells with orchestral power as Potter
saves his friends from the dementors. The statements of these themes
continue to impress in the finale cue, finally possessing the positive
energy that Williams' themes always seem to flourish with, and the sadly
abrupt finale is --along with Buckbeak's cues-- a highlight of the score.
The lengthy "Mischief Managed!" cue at the end (a nifty title for an end
credits suite if you're familiar with the story) is the usual concert
arrangement, throwing the Nimbus/Quidditch theme from the first film in at
the opening and then parading each of the major themes and motifs from
Prisoner of Azkaban. As has been the case in several of Williams'
more recent scores, the end titles suite seems like a simple edit of
previous recordings of each theme, making for a rather dull and disjointed
listening experience on album. As with the other
Harry Potter scores,
Williams tempts us with incredible musical ideas, the usual level of
marvelous counterpoint, and an ingenuity in originality of orchestral
rhythms and instrumentation that continues to amaze. But still, while the
score for
Prisoner of Azkaban has plenty of melody, it lacks a
definitive passion that could (and should) encompass the entire series of
scores. As a package,
Prisoner of Azkaban showcases the brilliance of
Williams' talents, with great ideas rolling out one after another, and yet
it would seem as though the maestro has lost a little of his touch in the
area of wrapping all of these ideas into a coherent whole. If you think back
to a score like
Hook, in which Williams introduced an incredible
wealth of thematic ideas, he wove those themes into a great, coherent,
overall package. Even as recently as in
Star Wars: Attack of the
Clones, Williams has managed an abundance of ideas with great skill.
Prisoner of Azkaban, on the other hand, loses touch with the previous
scores in the franchise, failing to further develop them as the students age
and war approaches. Sure, the first part of Hedwig's theme is inserted as
counterpoint in several places, but nowhere else are the first two films
adequately represented. How about a slight Tom Riddle theme reprise for the
mentioning of Voldemort's return? The Nimbus/Quidditch theme at the start of
the end credits is a welcome sigh of relief, but far too little too
late.
Granted, the score for
Chamber of Secrets played
significantly better in the film because some of the statements of ideas
from
Sorcerer's Stone weren't included on the sequel's album... and
the same could be true here with
Prisoner of Azkaban. But one has to
wonder if Williams attempts too hard to create individual motifs and themes
for specific scenes while neglecting the direction of all three scores as a
whole, and pessimistic sorts could even continue asking questions about
where the magic exists in these scores. An obstacle that Williams (or
another composer) will face in the future films is the continuation of the
innocent wonder that Hogwarts embodies in all of our imaginations while the
storyline (especially by the fifth book) turns downright horrific. Will we
be hearing
The Fury by the time Williams possibly scores
Order of
the Phoenix? On album,
Prisoner of Azkaban is impressive in its
display of Williams' talents, but leaves you wanting more. Maybe more
length. Maybe more of that Williams' magic from ten years ago. Maybe just
more continuity with the first two scores. The end credits suite represents
the disappointment perfectly, as does the stock opening performance of
Hedwig's theme; the score, despite its outstanding achievements in
individual cues, doesn't clearly progress the franchise of scores. In strong
favor of the album is the simple fact that Williams, even when as scattered
as he is in
Prisoner of Azkaban, offers beauty and intrigue around
every turn. For every disappointing or irritating cue, such as "Knight Bus"
or "Hagrid the Professor," there are gorgeous and memorable cues as
"Buckbeak's Flight" and "A Window to the Past." Also of note is crisp and
life-like sound quality, an improvement over the last few Williams albums.
Film music collectors would be best served by hearing the full scores for
both
Prisoner of Azkaban and, for that matter,
Chamber of
Secrets so that maybe Williams' overarching plan for these scores is
better revealed. In the meantime, this most recent score is both
exhilarating and frustrating, and it ranks highly despite its flaws because
Williams continues to translate mind-bogglingly complex ideas to the
orchestra whether you like them or not.
****
| Bias Check: | For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.72 (in 63 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.67
(in 299,145 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes a note from the director about the score and film, as well as a fold-out poster. The CD is enhanced with wallpapers, a screensaver, stills from the film, a video game demo, and a Warner Brothers contest entry.
