Customer Reviews

L. A. Confidential: Original Motion Picture Score

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4 star:		(4)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

After writing some mediocre scores for mediocre films such as Chain Reaction & Executive Decision, Goldsmith has recently got back to his absolute best with brilliant scores for films such as Air Force One, The Ghost & the Darkness, & The Edge. His work here, however, is arguably the pick of the crop. Goldsmith could hardly fail to be inspired by Curtis Hanson's masterful adaption of James Ellroy's novel, & he provides a dramatic, powerhouse score. This score is typically Goldsmithian, with harsh, attacking string rhythms, and some stormingly vicious percussive writing - most notably where the two are combined in the opening track 'Bloody Christmas'. He also makes extremely good use of percussive piano rhythms, particularly at the low end of the scale, which is very typical of this composer. The melodic base of the score is a quite wonderful theme, usually entrusted to the solo trumpet - which links the score not only to the masterful Chinatown, but also to some songs featuring the playing of Chet Baker & others. Indeed, the film features possibly the most assured use of music (including those songs) that I have ever seen - easily matching the brilliance of Scorsese. This pure score CD is a wonderful listen, unfailingly thrilling & dramatic. That Titanic won the oscar over this gem is undoubtedly a tragedy, but not surprising, given it's huge commercial success. Most of all, however, this CD makes you want to watch the film again. Which could never be bad.

The music is perfect, the only problem is really that the songs are too short. When you listen to it your left wanting to hear more, thats how good it is the music.

During the 1990's Jerry Goldsmith's music has gone from interesting and experimental to downright ordinary (exceptions:Rudy,First Night). LA Confidential returns Goldsmith to an earlier style of writing. Harkening back to his Chinatown score, Goldsmith writes a score dripping with noir (low key jazz, and moody strings)that will convince you that you are listening to a master at work. The major detour from Chinatown is Goldsmith's use of heavy percussion (tympany) and jarring strings. This most noticably comes out in "Bloody Christmas" the opening track. Highly recommended for a 30 minute listening experience.

~D

Todd Smith

I saw the movie and loved it. I especially enjoyed the score; I remembered it as having lots of soulful melody to it. Well, I remembered wrong. This is, except for the last track, nothing but irritating noise passing for music. This is the first Goldsmith score that has let me down. Given a do-over, I would not buy this one again. Hard to believe this is the same man who scored "The Blue Max' and "Chinatown".

L.A. Confidential is one of Jerry Goldsmith's best scores and he might have won the Oscar that year if James Horner hadn't for "Titanic." This CD contains only part of the film score and leaves out a lot of the good stuff. Varese Sarabande needs to release an extended version.

Mostly vocal soundtrack to this Oscar award winning film (Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress). Master composer Jerry Goldsmith is represented by a track at the beginning and again at the end. He's probably best known for the Oscar nominated score for that _other_ colorful, set-in-LA neo-noir. You know, the one directed by Roman Polanski, to which this film has often been compared. His work here is quite similar, but with a bit more bite--as befits the cinematic version of a hardhitting James Ellroy text (part of his famed "L.A. Quartet"). The vocal tracks cover the pre-rock era of the early '50s (the film is set in 1953): Dean Martin (upon whom Kevin Spacey based his Jack Vincennes character) clocks in with "The Christmas Blues" and Chet Baker croons "Look for the Silver Lining" among others. Compiled by director Curtis Hanson ("Bad Influence", "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle") and featuring detailed liner notes about each track.

When I first read the words of Curtis Hanson inside the liner notes: "Jerry Goldsmith uses his musical gifts to help tell the story better than almost any other film composer", my jaw almost hit the floor. I would nominate someone like James Horner for a close second. I've made it clear before that I think Goldsmith is great at writing music for science fiction, but not necessarily for drama or action/adventure. I'm sorry but I have to disagree with Pete Murfet: The "Air Force One" score is good in many places, but it's not "brilliant".

The L.A. Confidential score truly is brilliant.

I can safely say that this is the kind of score that just about any serious drama that already includes songs by vocalists from the time period needs to glue everything together. The CD sure does pack a lot in only thirty minutes. Those lonely trumpuet solos are what do it for me the most, as are the eerie rumblings of the instruments heard when the police discover the aftermath of the Nite Owl massacre. The din of the timpani in a track like "Bloody Christmas" is what the hijacking shootout in "Air Force One" should have sounded like.

After all of my ranting and raving, the score does have its intended effect: punctuating the lives of the characters involved in the movie, making us as viewers feel what they feel. And that is the mark of a good film composer.