HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX

BASIL POLEDOURIS

Rating:

Original Review: Basil Poledouris very rarely scores comedy movies, and it comes as even more of a surprise to find him scoring a spoof sequel, but sensibly he approaches this film as he would any other - seriously - and by doing this he has come up with a score which both works well in the context of the film and sounds wonderful on its own. As usual with Poledouris, the music is fully orchestral and absolutely enormous in scale and, although there is no real central theme to speak of (other than a recurring trumpet fanfare), the score is nevertheless hugely enjoyable and there are many excellent cues. The vast majority of the score is made up of bombastic action music with strong brass lines and heavy militaristic percussion, parts of which would be later re-used in his incredible score for Starship Troopers.

The 'Main Title', had it not been composed for this spoof, would have sounded wonderful in any serious action drama, such is the heroism and grandeur the music conveys; 'Dipsong Fight' is a monumentally grand march, reminiscent of his theme from Robocop; the second half 'Gotta Light' is a gigantic action set piece, full of whirling strings and tense, nervous headache... I mean snare drums, while the nine minute finale of 'Compound Escape' and the hilariously titled 'Saddam Battles/Freedom Fighters' is simply electric, finishing with a final restatement of the Hot Shots fanfare.

Of course, Basil occasionally panders to the comedic tendencies of the film, and incorporates some extremely clever nods and winks into the proceedings: 'The 3 Bears/Flurvian Sea' begins as a surprisingly attractive, if a little sorrowful, love theme, but then turns into a side-splittingly funny parody of the legendary meatball scene from Disney's The Lady and the Tramp, complete with a romantic tenor duet and accordion backing; 'Reel 5' features a lonesome harmonica solo which would not have been out of place in a John Wayne western; while 'Gotta Light' contains a beautifully sexy saxophone and a soft, gentle rendition of the underscore to "Amorado", the song the Italian waiters sing to Charlie Sheen and Valeria Golino.

I honestly think that if you had never seen Hot Shots! Part Deux, and didn't know that it was a take-off of the deadly serious Rambo series, then you would never in a million years guess that this was a comedy by listening to the music. It's a real testament to Poledouris' talent as a composer that, time and time and again, he can rise above his subject matter and write music which is far, far better than the movie it was written for.

Track Listing: Running Time: 29 minutes 51 seconds

Varèse Sarabande (1993)

Music composed and conducted by Basil Poledouris. Orchestrations by Greig McRitchie. Recorded and mixed by Tim Boyle. Edited by Curtis Roush. Album produced by Basil Poledouris.


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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1998. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those of my employer, the Trent Institute for Health Services Research, or those of the University of Sheffield.