Jarre Is Gone
The legendary movie-score composer Maurice Jarre died yesterday in Los Angeles at age 84, following a long bout with cancer. I’m probably not the only one who’s feeling a bit forlorn about this. Jarre’s music could be a little sappy at times, a little too on-the-sleeve. But his melodic gifts seemed almost heavenly at times, and he was one of Hollywood’s most impassioned old-time maestros — right up there with Miklos Rosza, Dimitri Tiomkin, Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, etc.
You can love or admire various films, directors, actors, screenwriters, choroegraphers, directors of photography, screenwriters, etc. But music goes right into your heart and makes the spirit take flight. Jarre’s Lawrence of Arabia music is arguably a more vital component in that film’s appeal than Peter O’Toole‘s performance or Robert Bolt‘s screenplay. (They are at least equally matched.) I never loved Dr. Zhivago, but I can’t listen to Jarre’s overture for that 1965 David Lean film without feeling a slight melting in my chest.
His music for Richard Brooks‘ The Professionals (’66) was electric, crackling, alive, heartfelt. I’m also a big fan of Jarre’s score for John Frankenehimer‘s The Train (’64). And his scores for two great Peter Weir films of the ’80s — The Year of Living Dangerously and Witness — are also among his best. I’m humming the Living Dangerously theme right now. The closing-credits music he created for Witness was a profound counter-point to the Philadelphia detective and Amish farmer cultures shown in the film — it stood its own ground.
He left us with some truely memorable scores. RIP.
As a friend noted, the collaboration with Peter Weir was an entire career by itself. And of course the work with Lean. And then there’s his score for “Man Who Would Be King,” which is just one more reason it’s one of the most underrated films of the past 50 years.
Another great goes. Lawrence/Zhivago/Witness – absolute genius. I even love his score for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The current generation of film scorers just don’t seem to have that level of genius in them.
Forgot about THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING. He also did great scores for movies as varied as THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN, DREAMSCAPE, TOP SECRET!, and NO WAY OUT. And I was a fan of his scores for Weir and Lean movies as well. RIP.
I loved THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, and Jarre’s score for that film ranks as one of his best. He will be missed.
I wouldn’t mind seeing an upgraded WITNESS, with the original synth-heavy music track removed and Jarre’s score redone orchestrally.
“The Professionals”….yes!! Whose pulse
wouldn’t quicken when Jarre starts his madly
clicking castenets during the Columbia torch-lady
logo….
…..and check out his jaunty, creepy theme for
the old classic French horror film “Eyes Without
A Face”
Sadly, as these great gifted composers leave us….all we have left is composers who can do
bombast and percussion well enough, but couldn’t write a memorable theme to save their
lives….
Another great goes. Lawrence/Zhivago/Witness – absolute genius. I even love his score for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The current generation of film scorers just don’t seem to have that level of genius in them.
moviemaniac2002, he was one of the greatest, but if you really believe that last thing you said, please just jump into the grave with him.
My favorite part of the so-so 1966 film “Is Paris Burning?” is the very end when black and white gives way to color and aerial shots of Paris backed by joyous Jarre music. Hitler had wanted this city blown up and burned to the ground but his order was never carried out. It is still here to take our breath away in its very unique, special way.–just as it once did for Ernest Hemingway .I think I’ll go out this week and see if I can find a Jarre CD or the DVD “Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean. ‘ I wonder if you can find either today without turning to Amazon?
I would trade my first born for a copy of Jarre’s score to “The American Success Company”. Why this overlooked gem is not on video is a crime unto itself.
Oh man, I think “Doctor Zhivago” is Lean’s best film and I hold “Bridge on the River Kwai” and “Lawrence of Arabia” very highly. I think the train vignette with Klaus Kinski is one of his better moments as a filmmaker.
A wonderful composer. Today, film music is largely unsubtle apopcalyptic bombast (you hear it in just about every trailer), designed to accompany the explosion and car crash fantasies of adolescent males.
VP19:
For that last comment, daring to mention the
deficiencies of today’s score writers, BurmaShave may ask you jump into Jarre’ls
grave right along side me……
I just hate this idea that nothing will ever be as good again. It’s horseshit. How can you enjoy anything with that mindset? And I’d put Alexandre Desplat, Thomas Newman or Carter Burwell against anyone from the past.
In tribute (from Hollywood Knights):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jm0XmPN000
Looks like both moviemaniac2002 and VP19 are going to have to make room for me in Jarre’s grave. Of all the present film composers, I’d have to say Alexandre Desplat does his best to go against the grain of nondescript bombast that passes for film music these days. Otherwise the individual signature brilliance of the great composers Jeff mentions in this post is long gone. We have now have is almost entirely wall to wall banality, forgettable drivel that can’t hold a candle to the film scores for “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Doctor Zhivago”, or Rozsa’s “Ben Hur”. Imagine “Vertigo” or “Psycho” without Bernard Hermann’s indelible, haunting contributions. I rest my case. Move over guys, here I come.
Sloppy sloppy…”What we have now is almost entirely wall to wall banality”…etc.
And BurmaShave, Thomas Newman seems too often content to recycle the musical themes of his dear old dad Alfred. Not that I mind, but tell me that the score for “Meet Joe Black” doesn’t sound like it was grafted from “The Greatest Story Ever Told”.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing an upgraded WITNESS, with the original synth-heavy music track removed and Jarre’s score redone orchestrally.”
I respectfully disagree. It’s a brilliant score as is. The passage when the barn is being built, in particular, is pure magic.
BurmaShave, I’ll slightly amend the sweeping
condemnation….a few of the new young
composers rise above the noise…(Brian Tyler
for one,…not to be confused with that tone deaf
thief Tyler Bates) And yes, some of Desplat’s
stuff is damn brilliant…
But overall, where are today’s Herrmanns
Goldsmiths, Bernsteins, Roszas, Jarres? What we seem to have now is full-bodied symphonic
versions of Muzak elevator music….it just plays
and plays under the CGI circus, like a two hour
jukebox paid for with two rolls of quarters.
And said to say, the fault may not like with the
composers….but with today’s directors who may
actively fear having a music score that would
link organically to their images and become an
unseperable part of the film’s DNA.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing an upgraded WITNESS, with the original synth-heavy music track removed and Jarre’s score redone orchestrally.”
I respectfully disagree. It’s a brilliant score as is. The passage when the barn is being built, in particular, is pure magic.
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