: (John Williams) Director
Steven Spielberg's two World War II masterpieces of the 1990's
unanimously rank among the top war films of all time, but whereas
did so with the terrifyingly
realistic depiction of the lives of common soldiers. The film easily
swept through 1998 with the most consistently positive critical reviews
seen in years, and only the brutal and gory nature of the story's
execution (which almost gained the film an NC-17 rating) deterred
audiences enough to quell the overwhelming popular interest that usually
accompanied a Spielberg film. Robert Rodat's screenplay, Spielberg's
direction, and an ensemble cast that acts with subtlety cause a
compelling tale of the American military's attempt to return one soldier
home from France to convey a level of respect rarely seen on film. The
emotionally powerful production left Spielberg's usual collaborating
composer, John Williams, in a difficult position. Williams' scores for
Spielberg films, including
presented a
number of unique challenges for the maestro. First, the film's major
scenes of action would be absent any music, allowing the explosively
impressive sound effects editing to more accurately represent the
atmosphere of combat. Secondly, the music that Williams provided would
amount to less than an hour in length and was to be mixed during only
transitional scenes that allowed audiences a temporary break. As such,
the score's presence was not dominant enough to allow for significant
thematic development for the plethora of characters in Private Ryan's
unit. At best, Williams could only provide an overarching representation
for their struggle together, and within the short confines of his
occasional synchronization points, any development of those ideas would
be minimal. Finally, the film had used the dramatic theme to Marc
Shaiman's
over its highly popular
trailers, and that music is about as far from the restrained approach
that Williams would take with the film as possible.
Overall, Williams succeeded in providing
Saving Private
Ryan with an appropriate score, but at a distinct cost. As is
customary (and almost mandatory for a Williams project of this
magnitude), a concert piece serving as a tribute to the soldiers who
perished was written and used over the end titles of the film.
Undoubtedly, "Hymn to the Fallen" is the highlight of the score,
especially given that the theme from this cue is only developed with
hesitation throughout the actual underscore of the film. Even amongst
Williams' solemn tributes to previous subjects of considerable
importance, this hymn is somewhat pedestrian. Gorgeous in its respectful
statements, it follows the pattern of the rest of the score by
exercising much restraint. Without the fanfares, the banging chimes, and
the bold harmonies that extend throughout the full range of sonic
spectrum, the hymn resides mostly in the lower registers outside of some
meandering violin, woodwind, and xylophone movements above the brass and
choir. There is nothing about the hymn to suggest the sharp edges of
conflict or patriotism. No pronounced snare or lofty trumpet solos as in
JFK and no overwhelming layers of strings as in
Born on the
Fourth of July are evident here. As a companion to a score with the
typical dramatic gravity of John Williams' writing, the hymn would be a
fine accompaniment. But the remainder of the score suffers in its
entertainment value because of its solemn duty to accompany the grim
environment of the film. Williams has always stated that his scores are
not aimed at enjoyment outside of the context of the film, and from his
career of promoting and conducting his music around the world, that
statement seems more than suspect. But in the case of
Saving Private
Ryan, he indeed produced a rare soundtrack that does not function at
any level outside of the film. The album is a product of the popularity
of the composer, director, and the quality of the film. Most listeners
would have been served just as well with a ten-minute single containing
the primary hymn and a combination of the commercial album's second and
third tracks. For a film that runs almost three hours in length, that's
a surprising statement in and of itself.
Still, hardcore film score fans will find some merit in
Williams' underscore for the film's transitional scenes of movement and
rest. Unless you can appreciate the delicately sequenced solos for
woodwinds and especially French horn and trumpet, then the album could
very well translate into a boring, eventless 50 minutes of a meandering
and thematic void. So melancholy and subdued is Williams' touch here
that even the lightly tapping snare is mixed far at the rear to avoid
any sense of patriotic defiance. The lack of thematic integration,
action sequences, and even any significant suspense cause an abundance
of low, rumbling, horn-dominated solos and dull, repetitious sequences
of aimless strings. Outside of a few distinct moments of accentuation in
"Revisiting Normandy" and "Omaha Beach," the eight tracks in between the
identical concert performances of the hymn feature no individual flavor.
Parts of the score are practically inaudible, which raises memories of
the feathery touch that James Horner utilized for some of
Glory's
more somber moments of reflection. But in this case, there's nothing in
the surrounding material to salvage an engaging listening experience.
Only in "Defense Preparations" do fragments of action rhythms from the
previous year's
The Lost World: Jurassic Park provide a
contribution. This cue alone, ironically enough, would likely function
better if separated from the rest of
Saving Private Ryan and
placed with your library collection of
Jurassic Park music.
Otherwise, the slight and hopeful swing towards the positive, harmonic
structures of the hymn in the first half of "High School Teacher"
represents the most robust thematic statement in the latter half of the
album. On the whole, the score requires a devoted appreciation of the
film and its subject matter to float your interest in the underscore in
between hymn performances. The mix of the score is among its better
qualities; Williams returned to the ensemble and location with which he
recorded
Schindler's List, and the recording of this Boston group
and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus is precise.
In early 1998, there were reports that a few of the
musicians in the Boston Symphony Hall broke down in tears during the
recording of
Saving Private Ryan. Unless this occurred during the
hymn's performance, then it's far more believable that the tears were
caused by a screen with the rough edit of the film's visuals.
Speculation will inevitably continue about whether or not the extremely
restrained technique managed in this score was the most effective use of
Williams for
Saving Private Ryan. Ironically, the same debate
would arise for another Tom Hanks film a couple of years later, Robert
Zemeckis'
Cast Away, which also strikes an odd balance between an
absence of score and the music's sometimes intrusive return to the mix
in later scenes. Most of this speculation about
Saving Private
Ryan's score comes from fans of extremely powerful war films such as
Platoon and
Born on the Fourth of July, both of which
enhanced by thematically strong and independent music. The trailers for
Saving Private Ryan only fueled the debate further, because
Shaiman's theme for
The American President is as flamboyantly
dynamic as the composer always tends to be in such circumstances. And,
frankly, the sound worked to give the combined visuals of the trailer an
extremely heroic edge. In the end, though, you have to chalk up Williams
and Spielberg's decision as one of necessity and move on. The entirety
of the score will be a slow, boring, and sometimes painfully
lackadaisical listening experience for many collectors, but the hymn
remains a welcome addition to any assembly of Williams' best themes.
Re-recordings of this hymn have often been quite successful, with
stunning results sometimes coming from various singing groups, and if
you own one or two such re-recordings, then those should represent the
Saving Private Ryan score well enough to bypass the soundtrack
for the film. As its own product, the
Saving Private Ryan score
ranks among the last of Williams' digital scores to be recommended for
enjoyment outside of the film.
@Amazon.com: CD or
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- Music as Written for Film: ****
- Music as Heard on Album: **
- Overall: ***
| Bias Check: |
For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.78
(in 74 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.65
(in 346,425 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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