{"id":5410,"date":"2012-08-13T13:52:59","date_gmt":"2012-08-13T17:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=5410"},"modified":"2012-08-13T13:52:59","modified_gmt":"2012-08-13T17:52:59","slug":"cd-batman-forever-1995","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=5410","title":{"rendered":"CD: Batman Forever (1995)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>B<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Rating: Excellent<\/p>\n

Label: La-La Land Records<\/a>\/ Released: January 3, 2012<\/p>\n

Tracks & Album Length:\u00a0CD1: 28 tracks \/ (74:54) + CD2: 28 tracks \/ (76:35)<\/p>\n

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Special Notes: 24-page colour booklet with liner notes by John Takis\/ Limited to 3500 copies.<\/p>\n

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Composer: Elliot Goldenthal<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

Perhaps the best way to regard the last two Batman films which ended the initial quartet of Warner Bros.\u2019 franchise (1989-1997) are as examples of nineties excess \u2013 too much money, too much talent, and a decision to augment the hero & villain roster to the point where the last film, Batman & Robin<\/strong> (1997), seemed ready to burst at the seams as two or three separate comic book adventures.<\/p>\n

Director Joel Schumacher admitted years later the money proved too irresistible, but he must have been attracted to the giant opportunity to renew the franchise with a glossy new look after the studio had parted ways with Tim Burton and the gothic, morose tone that dominated in particular Batman Returns<\/strong> (1992).<\/p>\n

The tongue-in-cheek tone was always present, but Schumacher wanted to make all humour and human behaviour glow in radiant neon, and that stylistic decision also extended to Elliot Goldenthal\u2019s score, which was also criticized as being too over-the-top; it\u2019s a case where the merits of a score were smothered by the flaws of the film to which it was married.<\/p>\n

Goldenthal\u2019s career at the time was hot in Hollywood, yet after accepting perhaps too many overtly commercial and creatively flawed scoring assignments, he scaled back his scoring duties, and Batman Forever<\/strong> falls between the heavy thematic style established by Danny Elfman in the first two films, yet blendered with Goldenthal\u2019s own interest in warbly electronics, blaring brass, huge sweeping dynamics, and a slight dourness reminiscent of his masterpiece, Alien 3 <\/strong>(1992).<\/p>\n

A cue like \u201cNygma After Hours\u201d is a perfect example of a kludge, where each of the aforementioned elements were folded together, alongside some big bang jazz and use of the Theremin \u2013 a cute nod to the ethereal sci-fi scores of the fifties (if not the Beach Boys). Equally important are the numerous character themes, and his knack for creating striking contrasts, be it with thunderous percussion and eerie dissonant strings, or the ability to go beyond matching cartoon fight scenes by layering in satirical jabs as well as sly references Herrmann (notably the triadic figures at the beginning of the \u201cThe Perils of Gotham,\u201d and the midsection of the Psycho<\/strong> theme which starts \u201cVictory\u201d and swerves into brass riffs of the James Bond theme).<\/p>\n

La-La Land\u2019s 2-disc set practically doubles the score\u2019s length and expands its thematic and bawdy breadth with unreleased cues. Also included is \u201cWreckage and Rape\u201d from Alien 3<\/strong> which apparently made its way into the score after being part of the editor\u2019s temp track. To fans of Alien 3<\/strong>, its inclusion is jarring, but there are a few cues where Goldenthal echoed some of the cue\u2019s gloominess to ensure it would fit more snugly within his massive score (such as sections of \u201cBig Top Bomb\u201d).<\/p>\n

Presented in its full form, Batman Forever<\/strong> is marvelous fun, and stands on its own as a representation of the spoofy tone Schumacher and co-writer Akiva Goldsman were aiming for but missed due to a lack of sophistication and some needed subtleties. It might be that without Goldenthal\u2019s score, the film would\u2019ve been a bigger garish mess, but the composer has nothing to be ashamed of: in terms of its fusion of electric jazz and Wagnerian might, Batman Forever<\/strong> is one of the richest comic book scores of the nineties, and it might be a key motivator to starts a small rapprochement between alienated Batman fans and the Schumacher films.<\/p>\n

LLL\u2019s CD preserves the scope and grandeur of Goldenthal\u2019s animated score, and John Takis\u2019 lengthy liner notes provide a good overview of the film\u2019s production, and cue breakdowns.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2012 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/p>\n

IMDB <\/a>— Soundtrack Album<\/a> — Composer Filmography<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack Reviews<\/a> <\/em>\/\u00a0B<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews \/ B . Rating: Excellent Label: La-La Land Records\/ Released: January 3, 2012 Tracks & Album Length:\u00a0CD1: 28 tracks \/ (74:54) + CD2: 28 tracks \/ (76:35) . Special Notes: 24-page colour booklet with liner notes by John Takis\/ Limited to 3500 copies. . Composer: Elliot Goldenthal . . Review: Perhaps […]<\/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":[20],"tags":[128,688,1495],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-1pg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5410"}],"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=5410"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5413,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5410\/revisions\/5413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}