RED CORNER

THOMAS NEWMAN

Rating:

Original Review: To be completely honest, I find about 80% of Red Corner totally unlistenable. This is not to Thomas Newman's discredit, because the music he wrote for this paranoia thriller, starring Richard Gere as an advertising executive charged with murder in a changing China, is about as authentically ethnic as Hollywood movie music ever gets. Right there, though, is the downfall of this soundtrack - to my Western ears, at which the CD is obviously aimed, a lot of the music sounds garbled, messy, out of tune and, at times, downright awful. Three tracks just about manage to salvage Red Corner from the musical garbage pile - but even then only by the skin of its teeth. The opening track, 'Red Corner', introduces the gentle Oriental melody which acts as the film's only recurring theme, and features an unusual but intensely fascinating instrument called a "zheng", which for all the world sounds like a high-pitched human voice.. 'Shen Yuelin' and 'Remarkable Things' present full renditions of a classic Newman love theme, chock full of all the usual flutes, horns and strings which one normally associates with his scores, making sure both album and film finish on a definite high. A couple of other cues, such 'Dead Girl', 'Capitalism', 'Dazhalan Chase' and 'Full Scale Incident' are quite clever and energetic, and make good use of lively electric guitars, synthesised drumbeats, and some very inventive percussion, including one highly peculiar clunking noise which reminds me of a broken washing machine. In addition, the traditional Chinese tracks conducted by Guangming Li ('Night Deeply Sunk', 'Embroidering' and 'The Purple Bamboo Melody') are certainly interesting, if a little awkward, and the final cue - 'Black' - most definitely breaks whatever spell was being cast before, presenting a fusion of industrial techno-rock pulses and traditional chinese instruments in one peculiar but intriguing cue. The major problem, however, is that for long periods of time, virtually nothing happens. And I mean nothing. To my mind, long periods of near silence with occasional bursts of ethnic colour - a saz here, an erhu there, a bit of droning synth and metallic dissonance thrown in for good measure - do not a good score make. I can well understand Newman's problem, and appreciate his train of thought, because Red Corner did not need particularly attractive music to succeed. In fact, in the film, the lack of a familiar 'western' underscore was what made the whole thing seem more sinister, and the fact there were no recognisable musical patterns or melodies to grasp on to made the whole concept of two vastly different cultures clashing in the courtroom seem all the more believable. However, having said that, I would still draw the line at having to sit and listen to an albumful of ambiguous droning and dissonant clanging. For fans of Thomas Newman's work, I can see where this would be an interesting album to hear, especially considering his track record for attractive, if offbeat, scores such as The Shawshank Redemption and Oscar and Lucinda. Personally, though, I would much rather this score stayed firmly in its own Red Corner and never came anywhere near my CD player ever again.

Track Listing: Running Time: 59 minutes 30 seconds

Cinerama 0022882CIN (1997)

Music composed and conducted by Thomas Newman. Orchestrations by Thomas Pasatieri. Chinese traditional music arranged and conducted by Guangming Li. Featured musical soloists Guangming Li, George Doering, Michael Fisher, Steve Tavaglione, George Budd, Chas Smith, Thomas Newman, Ian Underwood, Rick Cox, Jon Clarke, George Watters and Martin Huberty. Traditional Chinese instrumentalists Huacong Jiang, Chi Li, You Li, Qichiao Liu, Meiye Ma, Hua Qin, Renjian Wu, Yicheng Zhang and Youjun Zhou. Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands and Tom Winslow. Edited by Bill Bernstein. Mastered by Joe Gastwirt and Ramón Bretón. Album produced by Thomas Newman and Bill Bernstein.


Home Page | Soundtracks | Soundtrack Reviews | Composers | Soundtrack Links

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.