JUDGE DREDD

ALAN SILVESTRI

Rating:

Original Review: Although it was roundly dismissed by the vast majority of film critics, I personally thought Judge Dredd was the most entertaining blockbuster of the summer of 1995, beating off opposition from the decidedly stupid Batman Forever, the soggy Waterworld - until Apollo 13 and Braveheart came along, of course. I've always been a fan of the 2000AD science fiction comics, and read them avidly as a child, with the eponymous Judge Dredd being my favourite strip. Sylvester Stallone was the perfect casting choice for the role of the lantern-jawed, monosyllabic, ruthless lawman, and his solid performance is the centrepiece of the film.

Visually, as well as conceptually, the film was a triumph, with director Danny Cannon capturing the strip's unique combination of gleaming hi-tec and deprived squalor, outlining the vast differences in the lives of the haves and the have-nots in Mega City One. In this story, Dredd is double-crossed by his evil clone brother (Armand Assante) and, after being falsely accused of murdering the entire senior council of Judges, is spared the death sentence and instead banished into Cursed Earth. With the assistance of an annoying ex-con (Rob Schneider) and a fellow Judge (Diane Lane) who believes in him, Dredd vows to clear his name and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Alan Silvestri's score is all about power and generating the maximum amount of volume from his orchestra. In much the same way as the original comic books did, Silvestri approached his work with the "bigger is better" philosophy - bigger buildings, bigger motorbikes, bigger guns - bigger score. The Sinfonia of London's immense brass section blast out cue after cue of blazing music which rocks to bombastic fanfares and powerful action. You can tell it's Silvestri action straight away, not only through the commanding use of horns, but also through the stylised percussion effects and ominous, rising string motifs which were prominent in his scores for the Predator series and, surprisingly, the otherwise dull Death Becomes Her.

The central theme is based around a bold ascending five-note scale, performed with great passion and intensity throughout, and which is generally heard whenever Judge Dredd does something heroic. It is especially effective when it receives its first rousing performance in the first cue, 'Main Theme', and achieves an additional level of grandeur when it is accompanied by a choir in subsequent cues such as the turbulent 'Judgement Day', the softer, brooding, but darkly romantic 'We Created You' and the immense finale, 'New World'. In addition to these, several tracks can simply be described as being "blow-outs", especially the superb 'Block War' and 'Council Chaos'. Only once does Silvestri deviate from full-on orchestral show of force, in the somewhat unsettling 'Angel Family' which reverberates to a creepy, primal-sounding theme for the vile, dangerous clan of Cursed Earth scavengers.

Looking at the CD, this is another one which might initially put score collectors off, as the seven songs (including efforts from The Cure, The The, White Zombie, Leftfield and Youssou N'Dour) take centre stage and get the biggest font sizes. However, when adding up the track times, you realise that there is actually almost 40 minutes of score on there - longer than many of Varése's recent releases. I was fortunate enough to acquire this score relatively cheaply, but had I known then what I know now, I would have had no hesitation in paying full price for it. Judge Dredd, despite the take-them-or-leave-them source music selections, is a surprisingly fulfilling and breathlessly enjoyable action epic. During recent years, Silvestri has been embracing the romance and comedy genre more and more (Fools Rush In, Mouse Hunt, The Odd Couple II, The Parent Trap, Holy Man), and I for one am awaiting his return to the action arena with high expectations.

Track Listing: Running Time: 72 minutes 47 seconds

Epic Soundtrax 480855-2 (1995)

Music composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri. Performed by The Sifonia of London. Orchestrations by William Ross. Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands. Edited by Kenneth Karman. Mastered by Eddy Schreyer. Score produced by Alan Silvestri. Album produced by Steven Machat.


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