Planet of the Apes

While not quite in the same leagues of stupidity as re-making Psycho, 're-imagining' Planet of the Apes was always going to be a shaky idea. The original Charlton Heston starring film isn't quite a classic (certainly not up to Schaffner's best efforts such as Patton and Papillon), but is certainly a great sci-fi movie with plenty of socio-political comment. Burton's version on the other hand is an average sci-fi action flick and while it attempts to be engaging, never really is. Mark Wahlberg is bemused rather than terrified by the apes and several potentially interesting issues, such as a suggested spark of romance between Wahlberg's space man and Helena Bonham Carter's chimp and whether they could have consummated the relationship, are discarded. Wahlberg ends up sleep walking until the dumb, hopelessly tacked on and unnecessary finale. For a better remake, I'll stick with Planet of the Apes: The Musical as featured in The Simpsons.
Almost every newspaper review has panned the film more or less and only one mentioned the music as being one of the few good things in the film (aside from the admittedly impressive ape makeup). I'm not quite sure which copy he saw, but I can't say Elfman's score was particularly engaging outside of a few choice moments. The Main Titles are admittedly impressive, with a building structure that echoes his original Batman titles, but in the more typical recent Elfman style of very basic few note motifs occasionally quoted amongst swathes of percussion. About the most recognisable theme is an unusual ascending percussion motif, but otherwise it's more the martial and brutal soundscape than the melody that is notable. After a brief foray into Basil Poledouris style space music (quite an unexpected turn up) with Deep Space Launch, the style of the titles returns for The Hunt. One of the few scenes in the film to be genuinely thrilling, the athletic camerawork is mirrored with some equally athletic writing and a superbly brutal musical attack.

The problem with a loud score like this is that you really need quieter moments to give a little balance and allow some breathing space. Unfortunately, Planet of the Apes suffers from some fairly mediocre low key scoring which meanders its way to no particular point and is lacking in any memorable melodic material. It is welcome, but cues such as Escape from the City - The Legend become fairly uninteresting fairly quickly. Things pick up with a stoic march in Ape Suite #2 (did these cues not have titles at the scoring stage?) and The Battle Begins is fairly thrilling with plenty of percussion, screaming brass and running strings going all out to make a somewhat unexciting sequence in the film halfway thrilling.

The original film may not have been an absolute classic, but Jerry Goldsmith's original score certainly was and as a study in providing alien musical soundscapes, it's hugely memorable, albeit not easy listening. I would guess that someone like Elliot Goldenthal might have written something more experimental than Elfman's effort, which seems to be a by-product of the film being more a mainstream thrill ride than an edgy and scary science fiction satire which it could have been. Elfman's score seems to take more of a crash, bang, wallop approach as it thunders its way towards the Rule the Planet Remix - not quite a dance version of the main title, but a lame excuse to sample some bits of dialogue and drum beats over Elfman's music. A score not entirely without merit, but not as engaging as their previous Sleepy Hollow. I suspect it will please Elfman fans, but others might find they couldn't give a monkeys long before the end. Yes, I've been waiting to do that joke all week. Sorry.

One of the most anticipated films of 2001, Tim Burton's own version of The Planet of the Apes, comes with an equally anticipated score by long time collaborator Danny Elfman. There are a couple of words that pretty well describe the kind of score Elfman has delivered: primitive, percussive and aggressive. And complex. Listening to this score is no walk in the park. It takes concentration. And tolerant neighbours or a pair of headphones, because with The Planet of the Apes Elfman gives the listener some kick ass, adrenaline pumping action music that will rock your house.

There are no big themes. If that's what you're looking for - just forget about it. Instead, Elfman weaves the score together with several motifs, such as the rising percussive little rythm heard for the first time in the opening cue, "Main Titles". These little motifs can be hard to spot the first time one listens to the score, but with repeated listenings they become easier to notice. Because, like so many of Danny's action scores, The Planet of the Apes is a score that grows on you, and gets better for every listen. The first time it might just seem to be dissonant, atonal and annoying. But after some time the score gets more interesting. It's still mostly dissonant and atonal, of course, because that is how Elfman wrote it. The Planet of the Apes has got to be one of the more complex scores by the composer out there, when it comes to developing musical ideas and orchestrations.

The percussion and brass take up the majority of the stage, supported by lots of synths and samples, with the strings staying in the background most of the time. The percussive roster is actually quite impressive. Elfman seems to make use of pretty much everything but the kitchen sink, and the extensive use of percussion gives the score a very primitive, dark and tribal sound, which really suits the film it was composed for. The already mentioned "Main Titles", and the action packed "The Hunt" are perfect examples.

The more quiet parts are easy to remember, because they are very rare. A slow, melodic theme is presented in the second track, "Ape Suite #1", and it shows up later on in the score, but that's it really. This is an action score, and action is exactly what you'll get. Chances is that if you like the composers' score for Sleepy Hollow, the music for The Planet of the Apes might just be something up your alley. Just don't expect a big theme.

Tim Burton's nieuwste verfilming, een remake van de klassieker Planet of The Apes, de brutale en primitieve wereld waarin de apen de mensen overheersen ... De originele versie van Planet of the Apes dateert uit 1968 en enkele sequels volgende. Tim Burton noemt zijn versie eerder een re-imaging dan een remake, daar het scenario heel wat gewijzigd is. Nu is afwachten of dit soort films vandaag nog een hype kan worden ...
Danny Elfman's score is iets wat het midden houdt tussen de avonturenscores van weleer en huidige filmmuziek. Danny Elfman omschrijft zijn score zelf als zijnde melodisch en eenvoudig maar met heel wat kracht erachter. De approach is niet deze van zijn lyrische scores van weleer, eerder een mix van zijn nieuwe experimentelere stijl van actie te scoren met een mix van veel koper, dissonantie, primitieve drum ritmes, strijkers en synthesizer effecten. De algemene atmosfeer is angstaanjagend en kil.
Door de soundtrack herhaaldelijk te beluisteren hoor je hoeveel verwijzingen naar vrijwel alle stijlen die Danny Elfman in eerdere scores gebruikt erin verwerkt zitten. Planet of the Apes is misschien niet meteen de soundtrack voor het grote publiek, en geruchten doen de ronde dat Fox de score op het laatste moment een meer heroïsche klank wilde geven, om Planet of the Apes meer te laten toenaderen tot een Science Fiction versie van Gladiator ...

Er is vaak gesproken over het feit dat Elfman niet meer de oude is. Geen opzwepende thema's meer, maar complexe, broeierige muziek vol percussie en elektronica. The Planet of the Apes is een goed voorbeeld van deze nieuwe stijl, net als Spiderman. Al geef ik toch de voorkeur aan dit album. Mede door de donderende Main Titles. De geluidseffecten die hij er tussendoor mixed geven een bizarre 'tribal sound'. Dat geldt ook voor de overige nummers. De rustige nummers klinken erg pessimistisch, waaruit blijkt dat Elfman een duidelijke toon voor deze score heeft gevonden. Thema's zijn er wel, maar moeilijk te vinden. Er is er zelfs een voor de 'grote boze aap' Thade. Seek and you shall find, dus. Hoogtepunt is het nummer The Hunt: een bonte verzameling ritmes en beukende percussies die steeds veranderen en in kracht toenemen. Ik weet dat de meningen zullen verschillen, maar er valt wat mij betreft genoeg te ontdekken in deze rijke, duistere score. Elfman's muziek moet tegenwoordig wel meerdere malen beluisterd worden; dan pas ontdek je hoe knap en complex de score in elkaar zit.