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ScoreKeeper Contemplates Christopher Young's SPIDER-MAN 3 Score!!
Greetings! ScoreKeeper here web-slinging my way through urban catacombs to spin my review of the score for SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007) opening in theaters nationwide this weekend.
SPOILER WARNING!!!
MODERATE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
I am a staunch admirer of Danny Elfman’s work in SPIDER-MAN (2002), and SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004) and although I was disappointed his score was hacked up so much in the later of these two films I was also pleasantly intrigued by Christopher Young’s major contributions to the film; most notably the elevated train sequence concluding the picture.
When Elfman and director Sam Raimi parted ways and Chris Young was tasked to compose the score for SPIDER-MAN 3 I was all agog. Young is an immense talent capable of effectively expressing the most miniscule variations of emotion while demonstrating a prowess for storytelling spanning every genre of film imaginable. If I couldn’t experience SPIDER-MAN 3 with Elfman on board, Chris Young was suitable consolation.
The score begins with the familiar “Main Title” composed verbatim by Elfman as heard in the previous two installments. Roughly eighty seconds into the opening credit sequence, the music segues to new material championed by Young’s black suit motive. The transformation has begun and the baton has officially been passed.
Much of the earliest portions of the film utilize pastoral music reestablishing relationships developed through the prior two films. A moderately paced waltz expressed by a lovely solo violin reconnects Peter and Mary Jane and affirms their love and happiness together. This theme will be further developed throughout the picture in accordance to the struggles they face as a couple.
One of the pinnacle moments in the score was the birth of the Sandman; an opulent and tragic piece unexpected in a scene depicting the genesis of our central villain. The poetic phrasing of the music expresses volumes about a character who utters no words yet screams to speak. This is the moment that you realize that Young’s score is there to paint a significantly contrasting picture than what we are used to experiencing especially among comic book adaptations. This realization continues through subsequent scenes. When not in human form, cacophonous flutterings in the upper winds draw a literal portrait of the Sandman as he galavants around town as a flowing cloud of sand. Simple, yet astonishingly effective.
With the introduction of the black suit motive the score takes another curiously delicious bite out of the audience. It’s comprised of a call-and-answer triplet figure performed on horns reminiscent of the great Bernard Herrmann. Like a meticulously manicured garden, these planted seeds grow into venomous vines enrapturing the listener with each progressing frame. As Peter Parker reels from the symbiotic effects of the black suit, Young doesn’t merely plow through the narrative but rather shapes and coaxes it with astute supervision entwining subtle variations of the black suit motive.
Although the quieter, more dramatic moments in the film represent much of what I applaud in this score, the unabashed fervor and rousing excitement of the action sequences should not be relegated merely as sonic wallpaper. On the contrary, his action cues demonstrate as much precision of scoring and sensitivity towards emotion as the dramatic sequences do.
The first battle sequence between Harry and Peter is one of the more bombastic and muscular cues I’ve heard since “Jango’s Escape” from ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002) by John Williams. Yet all this noise is not arbitrary. It carefully contours the action highlighting intimate details surrounding the action of the attack. From the cascading downward spiral of the upper woodwinds, the rising chordal blows of the lower brass, and the densely harmonic tutti section featuring the entire orchestra and choir at the end of the segment, the music lives up to its visual counterpart supplying an aural experience which titillates the most ardent comic book aficionado.
When the two characters square off again later in the film, this time not as Spider-Man and New Goblin but rather Peter Parker and Harry Osborne, the music is careful not to simply mimic the score from their previous meeting but rather it takes on the feel of a classic 70’s street rumble. This wickedly cool moment in the score further develops the subtext while adding an antithetical angle to the underlining action.
Although Young’s score incorporates Elfman’s primary and secondary Spider-Man themes as well as the Goblin theme at opportune moments in the film, he doesn’t try to emulate Elfman in sound nor scope. It serves well to fit within the Spider-Man pantheon while simultaneously creating a polarity within the context of the Spider-Man world. This is neither an improvement nor a degradation upon Elfman’s earlier work but rather a collateral acheivement by another filmmaking talent.
As of this writing, I’ve heard no details of a score release although I would imagine we should be hearing of one in the near future. The two prior films released a song compilation album around the time of the release of the film with a score soundtrack a month or so following. I hope this practice continues so that I may rest a copy of Young’s SPIDER-MAN 3 score along side my two Elfman SPIDER-MAN scores thus completing the trifecta.
At least until it becomes a quadfecta.
ScoreKeeper!!!
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SPOILER WARNING!!!
ScoreKeeper!!!
Klaus Badelt (05.25.06)
Bear McCreary (06.07.06)
Lalo Schifrin (06.18.06)
John Ottman (06.27.06)
Joseph LoDuca (08.21.06)
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John Debney (10.15.06)
Howard Shore (11.15.06)
Clint Mansell (11.27.06)
David Julyan (12.19.06)
John Powell (12.30.06)
Craig Armstrong (01.02.07)
Tyler Bates (02.22.07)
John Debney (2nd Interview/03.06.07)
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THE DAVINCI CODE (2006) by Hans Zimmer (05.06.06)
THE PROMISE (2005) by Klaus Badelt (05.25.06)
NACHO LIBRE (2006) by Danny Elfman (06.10.06)
MONSTER HOUSE (2006) by Douglas Pipes (07.12.06)
PETITES PEUR PARTAGÉS by Mark Snow (08.29.06)
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AICN EXCLUSIVE: The Never Before Released Score For THE ENFORCER Is Coming Soon!! (04.24.07)
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Uncertified Evil Genius
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I don't remember AICN ever dedicating a talkback to a score...
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Thank you score keeper, i was actually wondering how Christopher Young did with such a large score.
F all the haters, Scorekeeper and keep up the excellent work bro! -
Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson
Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba SimpsonBiel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson
Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson
Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba SimpsonBiel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson Biel Alba Simpson (all work, no play makes Jack a dull boy) -
and the guy who did the Children of Dune score.
they're good soundtracks to have. -
Young has been around a really long time, out of nwhere he snags Ghostrider and now Spider-Man 3.
With all of the crap that went down between elfman and raimi, did Raimi choose a "less prominent" composer to work with this time around, so that he might be able to control the score a little more than he was able to with the "bigger personality" of Elfman?
I really hope that i like the score. From what i saw of that 7 minute clip a couple months ago, i did not like the music during the Goblin/Spidey fight. It felt like young was "mickey mousing" it a bit, whereas Elfman would underscore the suspense and danger.
who knows, i guess i will have to decide on my own tomorrow. I am sure if Sony Classical does not release the score, then Varese will. fingers crossed -
Sure... That's, uh, yeah. Great review?
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Hellraiser Soudtrack
The End. -
HELLRAISER SOUNDTRACK
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Subplots in order of importance: 1)Mary Jane 2) HobGob 3) Sandman 4) Gwen Stacey 5) Venom. Imagine Lucas focusing on 1)Maul 2) Sidious 3)Vader. Schumacher did the same fucking thing w/ Bane. That's it, I want a Bane/Venom crossover movie, damnit! lol:)
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I wish Elfman had scored this one. Young's score was a misfire. What the fuck was that JAZZ number doing underscoring Pete and Harry's bareknuckle brawl? File it in the ever-expanding Spidey 3 oh-what-where-they-thinking? file.
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this may have been what Raimi wanted in spider-man 2 but elfman wouldnt allow it.
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his work is great on BSG.
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William's Superman, Elfman's/Goldenthal's Batman themes have far more stirring anthems. Even Zimmer/Howard's atmospheric Batman Begins theme works for me better than Spidey.
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No one gives a crap.
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but I still hated this score. Loved the scores to the first one, the second one had some nice cues, but with the exception of the reused stuff and the birth of sandman cue, everything else was forgettable.
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The great movie score years of the 70's and 80s are over.
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Yes, I agree.
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Danny Elfman did great work with Batman in 89, but then what happened? Got a comic book character? Use Elfman! He even did that Flash show on CBS, and the music to Darkman (anyone remember Darkman?) I think he's great, loads of talent and all, but it's nice to see other styles in the comic book genre.
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You clearly know your music, but please tone down the intellectual vocabulary, you keep mis-using words or seeming to force an unnaturally erudite tone.
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The new themes just couldn't bother me that much. Specially the Venom cue was a bit uninspired and dynamicly a lot less inventive then the work of Elfman. Sandman birth was a beautifull scene and the music was simplistic indeed, in the instrumentation that is. It writing was a bit shallow and just nut as playfull or restrained as Elfmans work. It reminded me a lot of Patrick Doyles soundtrack for Potter 4. Decent as a standalone effort but in the continuation of a franchise it falls a little short.
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writing misuse as "mis-use" isn't necessarily a mis-take, but it looks stu-pid.ain't irony a bitch?
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Will any of the music from this movie still be remembered in forty years? Because this will:
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Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out!
Here comes the Spiderman.
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Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread
Take a look overhead
Hey, there
There goes the Spiderman.
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In the chill of night
At the scene of a crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time.
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Spiderman, Spiderman
Friendly neighborhood Spiderman
Wealth and fame
He's ingnored
Action is his reward.
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To him, life is a great big bang up
Whenever there's a hang up
You'll find the Spider man.
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Best horror movie score of all time. I wonder if they will hire him to score the remake as well?
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I don't feel much for his Spider-Man theme, it's not nearly as iconic as his Batman music and I'm annoyed that they didn't get a new one. That they are treating it like it was a classic and reusing it in film after film is annoying. A better theme could have been written. I don't think X-Men got a decent theme until X3 oddly enough, too bad it was played to a lackluster version of the team fighting without Cyclops, Xavier, or Nightcrawler.
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I was the only one in the theater that wooed when I saw him, my friends were quite embarrased
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I thought that the score was one of the most lackluster parts of the movie. I knew there was trouble when they cut the main Spider-Man theme short in the opening credits and really focused on the sub-par black suit motif. Spider-Man might not have been the greatest of Elfman's superhero scores (though it's better than Hulk) but the main theme actually sticks with you better than you'd believe. In fact, while I was underwhelmed by Elfman's score in the first film, I found a new and greater appreciation of it with the second film, especially as the main theme during the opening credits felt stronger overall. I was hoping for the same here but instead it's all just muddied and muddled. The tone of the entire score felt off and when Young would reintroduce Elfman's themes, he would just kind of toss them off to create the semblance of continuity between the three films. I was disappointed with the score and it drew me out of the film more than it helped.
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Really enjoyed the music even if the films were more than a little sub-par. Also goes without saying that his score music for Hellraiser and Hellbound are about as good as it gets.
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Like an expanded CD release of Temple of Doom and Last Crusade? Or how about proper Star Wars Prequel score releases?
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... Christopher Walken uses cowbell.
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..in the style of the LOTR Recordings would be heaven. Newly recorded for the albums and mixed in dolby. Sweeet.
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"motif"...not "motive"
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is a great composer, but his recent stuff isn't as memorable as his 85-95 work. Mars Attacks and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are the only two Elfman scores that stand out for me in the last ten years.I agree with whoever said the great scores of the 70's and 80's are gone. Where is the memorable music like Star Wars or Indy, or even Jaws? Where is the iconic teaming of a great director with a great composer? Elfman and Burton have come the closest, but no one has repeated that run of Spielberg/Williams and Lucas/Williams from the 70's and early 80's.
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I thought Young's score wasn't very good. The new themes were fine, but the way he used them was terrible. Case in point, the "sandman theme". Wasn't bad, but do we have to hear this over the top barreling theme every time sandman is around? Just over and over? It was just too much. An the cue over the final moments in the construction site and the end? The enitre theater was laughing...and it was because of the cue. The only new (I think new) piece I really like was the cue when Peter and Harry fight at the Osborne place after the confrontation in the coffee shop. That was fantastic. Maybe I needed to have a better working knowledge of Young, but I was really missing Elfman the whole movie.
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The score was totally out of place. And there were several points in the movie that it overshadowed what was going on on the screen. Sometimes you just have to let the characters do their thing! Worst superhero score since X3.
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That score was a bore. I've never missed Elfman as much as I did today. That score was generic and bland.
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I thought the score was one of the highlights of this decent film.
it was the one thing that really stood out for me. i will be really disapointed if they do not commercially release a score cd.
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