{"id":12101,"date":"2015-08-30T11:22:39","date_gmt":"2015-08-30T15:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=12101"},"modified":"2015-08-30T11:22:39","modified_gmt":"2015-08-30T15:22:39","slug":"dvd-tribute-to-basil-poledouris-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=12101","title":{"rendered":"DVD: Tribute to Basil Poledouris (2009)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tribute2BasilPoledouris\"<\/a>Film<\/strong>: Very Good<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Good<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>: Excellent<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Singular Soundtracks \/ Quartet Records (Spain)<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a00 (NTSC)<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0 2009<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Concert \/ Documentary\/ Film Music<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0Edited concert footage and documentary tribute of Basil Poledouris conducting a symphonic suite of his “Conan the Barbarian” score.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a02 Documentaries: \u201cThe Tale of Conan\u201d (15:00) + \u201cRemembering Basil\u201d (35:36), non-anamorphic widescreen, in English with forced Spanish subtitles \/ \u201cBasil at Ubeda\u201d Stills Montage (4:06), Widescreen \/ Composer Filmography \/ Text Interview with Basil Poledouris at Ubeda, in English and Spanish \/ 4-page colour booklet \/ Limited DVD (1200 copies)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2005, Ubeda, Spain, has hosted a yearly film music festival where attendees enjoy suites and themes of classic and contemporary film music performed by a live orchestra in a large yet intimate cathedral. On July 22, 2006, the late Basil Poledouris attended and conducted a stirring suite of main themes from his score for John Milius\u2019\u00a0Conan the Barbarian<\/strong>. The score was adapted for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Andaluc\u00eda by Frederik Wiedmann, and orchestrated by Greig McRitchie. Other guest composers included John Ottman and Bruno Coulais.<\/p>\n

Poledouris\u2019 segment ran over 47 mins \u2013 pretty close to the original soundtrack album \u2013 and the occasion marked the composer\u2019s first time conducting his breakthrough music since he recorded it in 1982, as well as a return to Spain, with Ubeda being not far from the location he visited during the film\u2019s shooting.<\/p>\n

The orchestra\u2019s performance was quite faithful to the original recording, and that\u2019s largely due to Poledouris conducting the orchestra & mixed chorus to corresponding sequences of the film projected onto a modest screen.<\/p>\n

The percussion section may not have had the booming sonorities of the original recording, and the final section of \u201cRiders of Doom\u201d proved a bit challenging in one spot (the syncopated sections of chorus, strings, and brass got a bit fuzzy) but certainly for fans of the score as well as the composer, this tribute DVD to Poledouris\u2019 rare festival appearance is a treat. There\u2019s some minor distortion in just a handful of spots, and the video quality is archival DV, but the producers have managed to edit multiple angles into a solid narrative, and mix the performance in Dolby 5.1. (Only qualms: each musical selection should\u2019ve been separately indexed with chapters.)<\/p>\n

Poledouris\u2019 stature as a top composer during the eighties and nineties has been somewhat forgotten because his most recognizable assets \u2013 big, melodic orchestral scores with beautiful themes \u2013 perhaps seemed old-fashioned during the nineties, as producers preferred percussive, rock oriented scores by Hans Zimmer and his troupe (which is frankly odd, given Poledouris composed punchy electronic scores for the 1988 thriller\u00a0Spellbinder<\/strong><\/a>, and the 1987 action film\u00a0No Man\u2019s Land<\/strong><\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Whereas Zimmer\u2019s sound continues to permeate action, comic book, and sci-fi scores \u2013 among the most profitable genres right now \u2013 Poledouris\u2019 style, heavily influenced by idols such as Miklos Rozsa, has seemingly fallen out of favour, yet his best-known scores, such as\u00a0Big Wednesday<\/a><\/strong>(1978),\u00a0The Blue Lagoon<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(1980),\u00a0Conan the Barbarian<\/strong>\u00a0(1982),\u00a0Robocop<\/strong>\u00a0(1987),\u00a0Starship Troopers<\/strong>\u00a0(1997),\u00a0The Hunt for Red October<\/strong>\u00a0(1990), and the Emmy Award-winning\u00a0Lonesome Dove\u00a0<\/strong>(1989) have gone through a gradual re-assessment among fans and critics, and are rightly regarded as genre and scoring classics of the eighties and nineties.<\/p>\n

Perhaps more pleasing is the fact that by attending the festival and reacquainting himself with\u00a0Conan<\/strong>, Poledouris realized how his music is beloved by fans and colleagues. As he explains in the DVD\u2019s separate interview segments, with some coaxing from colleagues John Frizzell<\/a> and John Debney<\/a>, Poledouris seemed to realize it was okay to feel a little proud about one\u2019s work, and boast a little.<\/p>\n

Poledouris composed\u00a0Conan<\/strong>\u00a0within a 12 month period \u2013 an unheard of length, except when the scoring process involves a close relationship with a filmmaker, as was the case with Milius, and directors Randall Kleiser (Lagoon<\/strong>), Paul Verhoeven (Robocop<\/strong>), and Simon Wincer (Dove<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Singular Soundtrack\u2019s DVD includes the full\u00a0Conan<\/strong>\u00a0performance, plus a significant body of extras that should actually be seen prior to the concert. \u201cThe Tale of Conan\u201d is a short behind-the-scenes doc where the composer is seen rehearsing the orchestra, as well as a post-performance address to an audience where he describes his entry into film, friendship with Milius, and the creation of the\u00a0Conan<\/strong>\u00a0score, particularly the love theme (one of his most beautiful creations). That segment sets up the score\u2019s context.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a text interview, which features excellent, detailed questions and answers that includes the composer\u2019s own views on his craft, and \u201cRemembering Basil,\u201d a lengthy and extremely moving tribute documentary. Conceived and supervised by Dan Goldwasser, the doc contains a multitude of interviews with friends, colleagues, and family. Comments deal with his gift for melody (easily forgotten until one hears\u00a0Conan<\/strong>, and catches little homages to Rozsa), his strong sense of family, the respect of colleagues, and reflections from directors Verhoeven and Kleiser. (Absent are Milius and Wincer, as well as John Waters, for whom Poledouris scored\u00a0Serial Mom\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Cecil B. Demented<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

Journalist Jon Burlingame\u00a0provides some stark observations of Poledouris\u2019 lack of worthy projects during his most mature year, and energetic agent Richard Kraft elaborates on Burlingame\u2019s point of the composer never getting the kind of epics he was so well suited to score. (Kraft, incidentally, had fervently pitched Poledouris to the makers of the\u00a0Lord of the Rings\u00a0<\/strong>series, which was eventually scored by Howard Shore.)<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most poignant recollections come from daughters Zoe and Alexis, and wife Bobbi, and of respectively growing up and living with Poledouris\u2019 constant flow of music, as well as his determination to attend the Ubeda festival, weeks after major cancer surgery. The composer looks healthy and energetic, and one can see his delight at the audience\u2019s love of his themes during the\u00a0Conan<\/strong>\u00a0performance.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the concert should be viewed last: one can observe his initial nervousness turning into calm, then surprise and excitement as the audience applause makes the humble composer realize the impact of his 24 year old work. By the end of the official concert, the applause and cheers mandate a repeat of the title music, after which he leaves the stage and passes several colleagues who wipe tears from their eyes. Poledouris then returns one last time to take a final bow with several colleagues – John Ottman<\/a>, Debney, and Frizzell \u2013 before the inevitable fadeout.<\/p>\n

On DVD, most composers \u2013 if highlighted at all by DVD producers – are seen in those short, fast-edited chapters within a DVD\u2019s making-of featurette, and those moments never relay the composer\u2019s stature within his m\u00e9tier. They may appear as part of a documentary regarding their craft \u2013\u00a0The Hollywood Sound<\/a><\/strong>, for example \u2013 or as interview material in a doc about a composer who\u2019s passed away.<\/p>\n

Alongside this important release, Poledouris’ art and personality can also be enjoyed in the 1997 doc\u00a0Basil Poledouris: His Life and Music<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(penned by\u00a0Jon urlingame), and this tribute disc, which collectively form moving archival records of a composer whose impact will hopefully never diminish.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2010 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — Soundtrack Album<\/a>\u00a0— Composer Filmography<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 2005, Ubeda, Spain, has hosted a yearly film music festival where attendees enjoy suites and themes of classic and contemporary film music performed by a live orchestra in a large yet intimate cathedral. On July 22, 2006, the late Basil Poledouris attended and conducted a stirring suite of main themes from his score for John Milius\u2019 Conan the Barbarian…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[3902,3901,3903],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-39b","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12101"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12124,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101\/revisions\/12124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}