Tuesday, March 16, 2021

U-571

 


U-571 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Composed and Conducted by Richard Marvin

A new title has arrived! This time Renovatio Records presents you with Richard Marvin’s rousing score for the 2000 film U-571. Directed by Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Surrogates, Breakdown) and starring Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Jake Weber, Jack Noseworthy and Bill Paxton, the film is loosely based on a true story about a World War II German submarine boarded by US submariners with the mission of capturing the Enigma coding machine. While controversial at the time of its release given than the British were the ones that captured the device, rather than the Americans, the film was very well received thanks to its excellent cinematography, sound design and tense plot. With nail-biting action set pieces, it cannot be denied that Mostow’s intent was to emulate the gripping and claustrophobic nature of classics like Das Boot and Run Silent, Run Deep. And the director succeeds in creating this atmosphere to a great extent because of Marvin’s music, which addresses not only the suspense of the picture but also its patriotic soul.

Marvin’s main theme to represent the submarine crew is presented in the first cue of this assembly, and it has patriotism written all over it, with brass fanfares, sweeping strings, militaristic percussion and cymbals. There is much controversy as regards the origins of this theme, since many film music enthusiasts have compared it with Jerry Goldsmith’s main theme for Air Force One, which apparently was used as temp-track in early post-production. It’s true that the theme’s orchestration and progression is quite similar, but at the end of the day, the listener can only admire Marvin’s effort and success in composing a piece that has the same power and sense of patriotism as Goldsmith’s. Furthermore, Marvin adapts his theme meticulously throughout the score for the many situations the crew is forced to go through in the film. The composer moves from an up-lifting rendition of the theme in “S-33 Leaves Port”, to the dreadful “Lock and Load”, to a heart-breaking and impressive full ensemble performance at the beginning of “Sub Battle”, to the desolate and hopeless “Picking Up Survivors”, and so on. Marvin also provides a small motif for McConaughey’s character, Lieutenant Tyler, who is forcefully thrown into the captaincy of the submarine and has to prove that he’s got what it takes. This motif can be heard being played by trumpets in the mid-portion of “U-571 Main Theme”, almost metaphorically holding the whole piece together. However the motif works most effectively when performed by French horns, for example during the opening of the dramatic “The Sinking of the U-571”, a revelation cue for Tyler, who at the climax of the film contemplates that he has asked a man to carry out an order that has resulted in his death in order to save the rest of the crew, a plot point introduced early in the film about the implications of being a captain. Equally effective is the intensity of Marvin’s action music for tracks like “Sub Battle” and “Destroyer Chase”, which will have you on the edge of your seat with their intricate orchestrations. The composer also manages to throw into the mix menacing low-key sequences for the Nazi threats, best summarized in the tracks “Enigma Photo”, “Depth Charges” and during the mid-portions of “Nazi Destroyer”. The score finishes on an optimistic note with a secondary end credits theme, which perhaps was an idea left in the cutting floor, but its engaging melody has made it worthy of wrapping up the score with an inspiring vibe.

Surprisingly, the score for U-571 was never released commercially as an album. Instead, it has only been available as a limited promotional release produced by Super Tracks Music Group in 2000. This promo album was very generous in its length, containing up to 62 minutes of material. However, the album was not presented in chronological order, with the mid-section of the product containing many filler cues that falter the listening experience. Renovatio Records has now put together an album presentation that includes the best parts of Marvin’s score, which has been regarded by many as one of the biggest surprises in film music. It won't let you come up for air until it's over!


Track listing:
1. U-571 Main Theme (2:15)
2. Pier Intro (0:53)
3. S-33 Leaves Port (1:40)
4. Enigma Photo (2:06)
5. Lock and Load (2:13)
6. Sub Battle (7:57)
7. Picking Up Survivors (2:39)
8. Restarting the U-571 (1:05)
9. Nazi Destroyer (8:21)
10. Depth Charges (3:43)
11. Destroyer Chase (4:12)
12. The Sinking of the U-571 (4:40)
13. End Credits (3:37)

Total Running Time: 45:21




Cover Artwork:




No comments:

Post a Comment