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!
