Cutthroat Island

Cutthroat Island (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Music Composed by John Debney

Renovatio Records’ next title is non-other than John Debney’s thunderous score for 1995 infamous pirate film Cutthroat Island. The motion picture directed by Renny Harlin was set to bring the pirate movie genre back to the surface, long before the now successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. However, it ended being regarded as one of the most spectacular box-office bombs of all time. Cutthroat Island costed almost $100 million to make and only managed to recoup barely $10 million, leading to bankrupting Carolco, the studio that financed the film. Even if it’s an entertaining and engaging movie in several parts, negative reviews and little audience interest quickly sank the movie into oblivion, almost taking with it the careers of some its cast and crew members. The film is starred by Geena Davis, who plays Morgan Adams, a female Caribbean pirate who is entrusted with the part of a map written in Latin that leads to the mythical Cutthroat Island, where a vast treasure is hidden. With the help of William Shaw, a slippery Latin-fluent thief played by Matthew Modine, Morgan manages to decipher the map and sets sail to the island in a race against time, as her villainous uncle Dawg (Frank Langella) is also looking for the treasure and will stop at nothing until he gets his hands on it.

Even with its clichéd script and silly dialogues, Cutthroat Island provides plenty of elaborate action set pieces, from a thrilling carriage chase through a town being destroyed by cannons, to swashbuckling swordfights and sea battles, culminating in what may well be one of the biggest ship explosions ever captured on film. All of this with Debney’s relentless and rumbling score that puts the powerful London Symphony Orchestra to the test with its dense and energetic yet memorable compositions. Right from the opening track, “Morgan’s Ride”, the listener will quickly realize that this is a purely leitmotivic score, as it presents the film’s main theme in all its splendor with the full ensemble (all with wonderful choir performances from the London Voices). This track is an instant winner and will surely have you hitting the repeat button over and over. After introducing his main theme, Debney plays around with it in almost every single cue of the score, sometimes as a brief fanfare to highlight certain heroic sequences and sometimes interwoven with other secondary thematic ideas producing an astoundingly harmonious effect. But that’s not all that this score has to offer as there are several other equally effective themes and motifs. Besides the main theme that accompanies Morgan’s heroisms from start to finish, her character has a secondary theme to emphasize her personal quest for the treasure, which is introduced in the form of a beautiful melody for violin and choir at the end of “The Rescue”, reprised again during “The Funeral”, and also taking the form of a propulsive march during the second part of “Morgan Takes the Ship”. There’s also a tender love theme for the romantic relationship between Morgan and Shaw, first heard in “First Kiss” and then played by the full ensemble in “Discovery of the Treasure”. The evil Uncle Dawg character is treated with a threatening low-range brass, choir and percussion, best heard during the beginnings of “Swordfight” and “The Triumph”. And last but not least, you have the action music, with the massive ensemble playing complex passages for the brass section, bolstered by the use of heavy percussion, cymbal clashes and a busy string section; tracks like “Carriage Chase”, “Swordfight”, “The Battle” and “Morgan Battles Dawg” are total tours de force that may leave any listener gasping for air. Debney also takes the time to make homages to Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s swashbuckling epics, as in the case of the latter half of “Setting Sail”, which follows the Austrian composer’s well-known mannerisms for adventures on high seas. The score also has many delicate and softer cues that provide moments of respite for the listener to explore and appreciate a handful of passages, such as the aforementioned violin solo in “The Rescue”, lovely flute solos over a harpsichord in “The Language of Romance”, and sinuous and mysterious brass experimentations in the first half of “Discovery of the Treasure”. The London Voices also get their moment to shine, as in the impressive “To the Bottom of the Sea”, which offers explosive choral bursts that will leave you speechless. The score culminates with the ten-minute track “It’s Only Gold”, which offers an end credits suite incorporating Debney’s main ideas. This track may well be one of the composer’s best compositions of his entire career and will most likely have many listeners air-conducting while enjoying it.

The score for Cutthroat Island has had a number of releases over time. First, it was available as a 70-minute album in 1995 from Silva Screen, containing several of the best parts of Debney’s work, but with the tracks presented out of chronological order, which was an aspect somewhat criticized, though it can be understood that the intention was to improve the listening experience. Later, in 2005, it was released for the first time as a 2-disc complete score by Prometheus Records. La-La Land Records would repeat this formula and present the entire score in 2 discs with remastered sound quality. For film score enthusiasts, both complete score releases are a must. However, many have come to deem these releases overlong and even found it a bit difficult to listen to the entire score on a regular basis. Renovatio Records now releases Debney’s score in the form of an 80-minute album presentation that shares some similarities with the first album, but with a new arrangement of tracks in chronological order while also adding noteworthy material that was only available (and a bit lost in the mist of wall-to-wall action cues) in the complete score release. So hoist your colors and let yourself be taken back to the high seas of swashbuckling adventures!

Track listing:
1. Morgan's Ride (4:41)
2. The Rescue (3:42)
3. The Funeral (1:30)
4. Morgan In Command (2:48)
5. The Language of Romance (2:38)
6. Carriage Chase (7:20)
7. Mordechai (2:34)
8. Swordfight (4:39)
9. Setting Sail (3:01)
10. First Kiss (1:54)
11. To the Bottom of the Sea (5:22)
12. The Island (4:47)
13. Discovery of the Treasure (5:30)
14. Morgan Takes the Ship (4:30)
15. The Battle (6:08)
16. Morgan Battles Dawg (4:44)
17. The Triumph (3:32)
18. It's Only Gold (9:46)

Total Running Time: 79:08

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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

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Deep Blue Sea

 

Deep Blue Sea (Original Motion Picture Score)

Music Composed by Trevor Rabin

Renovatio Records proudly presents you the score for Deep Blue Sea from composer Trevor Rabin. Deep Blue Sea is a thrilling action film mixed with a bit of horror and a bit of science fiction. Directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) and starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgård and none other than Samuel L. Jackson, the 1999 movie features vicious mako sharks that have had their brain mass genetically altered by a group of scientists in hopes of securing a cure to Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, in the process of doing so, the sharks seem to have become a lot smarter than expected and they quickly revel against their human captors. If as a viewer you can shut off your brain and ignore the heavy religious undertones, the film being a cautionary tale with messages such as "don't mess with nature" and "science is our doom", Deep Blue Sea has plenty of action and entertainment to offer: from scenes involving giant sea waves and explosions, to nail-biting sequences in which sharks chase people through flooded corridors. Not to mention lots of blood and gore to satisfy shark-movie fans. All of this highlighted by former Yes guitarist Rabin's impressive score, who at the time was just fresh out of Armageddon and already starting to build his own fan base in the film scoring business.

As it could not be otherwise, Rabin resorted to synthesizers for much of the score of Deep Blue Sea, influenced mostly by the Hans Zimmer/Media Ventures sound that was so popular in blockbusters during the nineties. Rabin took an extra step, though, and added much emphasis on orchestral and choral elements to highlight the fantasy aspects of the story rather than the horror ones. This decision results in many harmonious moments and a substantial amount of thematic material. The score is dominated by two major themes, the primary theme being a majestic series of two four-note progressions, which is a heroic mix of strings and synths in Armageddon fashion, augmented occasionally by a grand choir that will certainly give listeners chills down their backs. This theme will quickly call your attention in the pounding non-stop action track "Death of Aquatica", but its best treatment can be heard in the form of two full ensemble performances in the track "Aftermath", a highlight not only of the score but of Rabin's entire career. The second main idea is an exciting series of two six-note progressions to represent the grandeur of the underwater facility in which the scientists operate. This theme appears during a fly-by sequence in "Journey to Aquatica", at the end of "Decoy" and gets a massive choral and orchestral performance at the end of "Death of Aquatica". Rabin also takes the time to throw in thematic ideas for some of the main characters, one being a tender piano motif for Burrow's character (best heard in "Susan Softens"), and the other one being a chilling theme for the shark themselves, which opens the score with "Main Title & Prologue" and makes its appearances throughout the film in effective Jaws fashion: whenever there's the feeling of the sharks being around just below the surface. In the last part of the track "Final Confrontation", you can hear an effective treatment of the shark motif merged with the primary main theme. The mixing of the music with the L.A. Master Chorale is astounding, especially in the shark attack sequences, which are certain to put your speakers to the test. Rabin's electronic work is quite astonishing as well, since the composer manages to embed many ocean-related sound effects in the score, in many instances resembling whale and dolphin vocalizations, buoy bells and underwater sounds.

The score was released in 1999 by Varèse Sarabande in the form of a short 30-minute album, that features some of the best moments of the score. Unfortunately, many parts of Rabin's work were left out. Renovatio Records has now put together this new presentation of the score, including more than 30 minutes of unreleased material and in chronological order, which is granted to satisfy not only Rabin's most avid enthusiasts but also those who have always felt indifferent to the South African composer' scores. You'll be in for a treat!

Track listing:
1. Main Title & Prologue (4:53)
2. Journey To Aquatica (3:54)

3. Life Underwater (1:51)
4. Hunting In Packs (1:42)
5. Decoy (5:47)
6. Experiment (4:30)
7. Death Of Aquatica (6:03)
8. Jim Returns (1:21)
9. Franklin's Demise (3:12)
10. Elevator Shaft (5:43)
11. Susan Softens (1:25)
12. Lab Attack (4:32)
13. Power Cable (3:55)
14. Back To The Surface (4:57)
15. Final Confrontation (6:25)
16. Aftermath (2:46)
17. Finale (1:06)

Total running time: 64:02

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