Wild Wild West


Colosseum (4005939604226)
Varèse Sarabande (0030206604221)
Movie | Release date: 07/19/1999 | Film release: 1999 | Format: CD
 

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# Track   Duration
1.Main Title3:00
2.West Fights1:14
3.Dismissal2:13
4.East Meets West1:15
5.Of Rita, Rescue, and Revenge5:43
6.Trains, Tanks, and Frayed Ropes4:03
7.The Cornfield1:09
8.Loveless' Plan4:45
9.Goodbye Loveless4:33
10.Ride the Spider2:14
 30:09
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Wild Wild West - 08/10 - Review of Tom Daish, submitted at
Out of the hideous drivel that was the film Wild Wild West there were only three good things, one was Kevin Kline who I've decided is one of my favourite actors and can pull of roles which are crappy and poor and still make it look much funnier that it is. The other great thing about Wild Wild West other than the realisation that was over, was Elmer Bernstein's ultra funky score. While I was expecting a very traditional comedy Western score, Elmer pulled out all the stops and combined a great Western theme with some Lalo Schifrin style funk that really works wonders. It is similar to Danny Elfman's approach to Sonnenfeld's last film, Men in Black which was generally modern funk combined with a few outbursts of more traditional orchestra. Of course Elmer Bernstein has a great grasp on orchestral writing and so it is in these moments that the score really shines. The Main Title starts off none to promisingly with a wavering ondes martenot note, but this soon gives way to some eerie strings and then full on Western theme, which curiously enough isn't actually joyful, but a minor key melody that rather betrays its origins in a comedy film, but is ultimately more satisfying than another cheap Magnificent Seven parody. There is a central section where the retro grooves hit in and while this almost threatens to spoil the rest of the atmosphere created, it actually blends in surprisingly well; especially when placed with the excellent credits sequence which looks like a moving version of some Ennio Morricone spaghetti western score covers.
Of course, no Western is complete without a few dollops of exciting action and just because he is twice as old as some of today's younger composers, doesn't mean that Elmer is a slouch. Far from it in fact, a lot of the action is exciting by being well composed rather than by just being loud. Judicious use of the darkly heroic main theme only adds to the fun of the whole endeavor. While some people will be gutted to think that not every note of this score was written by Elmer need not panic since Peter Bernstein does a splendid job of blending his music in and it is every bit as marvellously composed as Elmer's. One of the highlight tracks would have to be Loveless' Plan which starts off in a mock stirring patriotic style, replete with massive choir, but then follows with a quote of God Save the Queen (that most wonderful of National Anthems) and then into this kind of deranged circus music that is very weird, but perfect for the rather none too sane character of Loveless (played with very little dignity by the rather badly miscast Kenneth Brannagh - stick to Shakespeare, Woody Allen and decent films I think). Loveless does get a great four note mock evil theme which is just a right side of comic and downright criminal. The penultimate cue, by Peter Bernstein is probably the most rollocking action cue of the entire score and makes a nice showdown excitement extravaganza with running strings, bouncing brass, bold statements of the main theme along with the odd quote of Loveless' motif. Ride the Spider is perhaps a bit too much of, a parody of the traditional riding into the sunset type Western ending, but it sounds great, even with a rather curious number of key changes in the closing bars.

Elmer and Peter definitely did an excellent job with this score that blends a great western theme with the odd retro groove, but also a hint of a psychopathic carnival. An unlikely mix that works better than it sounds. The two composer's styles don't clash at all and one would be hard pressed to tell them apart. In this particular instance I think an extra 15 minutes or so wouldn't have gone a miss. Elmer Bernstein doesn't get many opportunities to write western scores these days and this shows that he hasn't lost the knack one bit, even if the film that it comes from was solid gold dog poop.
The music of this soundtrack was used in:

Wild Wild West (Trailer)

This soundtrack trailer contains music of:

Wild Wild West (1999), Will Smith Ft. Dru Hull & Kool Mo Dee (Movie)
Original Trailer Music, ParodiFair (Trailer)
Original Trailer Music, Stephen Graziano (Trailer)


Other releases of Wild Wild West (1999):

Wild Wild West (1999)
Great Composers: Elmer Bernstein (1999)
Wild Wild West, The (2020)
Wild Wild West (2021)


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