Review #14 - C. LAULIAC (11 juin 1999)
Source : Film Score Monthly
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/1999/11_Jun---Film_Score_Friday.asp

"Today, I was lucky to attend a press screening of THE 13TH WARRIOR, John McTiernan's long delayed Viking saga. Ever since the dismissal of director McTiernan by writer/producer Michael Crichton, rumors began to spread regarding this troubled project. Taking reins over McTiernan, Crichton wisely asked his longtime collaborator Jerry Goldsmith to provide the original score, replacing Graeme Revell, John McTiernan's first choice. And boy, was he right!
The score is bound to become one of 1999's film music favorites among soundtrack cognoscenti. I must admit the movie itself is a very good surprise, although it is a mixed bag. The pacing is sometimes slow moving and confusing, leading one to suspect last-minute editing decisions. The first 15 minutes are worthless, poorly directed and performed as they are. Omar Sharif's cameo appearance as Antonio Banderas' mentor seem to have been left on the editing room floor: Sharif's character leaves the plot in the blink of an eye, with no coherent explanation whatsoever.
But once the plot moves forward, this epic tale of Vikings defending a small forest village against mysterious and terrifying man eaters becomes quite impressive. Its plot is clearly modeled after Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI, but McTiernan imprints his own personal, primitive stamp on the proceedings. Other moments reminded me of James Clavell's underrated THE LAST VALLEY. There are plenty of battles, featuring gruesome moments and virtuoso editing. One of the set-pieces is a gripping descent down a huge cave in which the eaters of the dead hide among their gruesome treasures. This is John McTiernan's most personal film since PREDATOR. In fact, many sequences of THE 13TH WARRIOR bring back memories of Arnold Schwarzenegger's jungle survival thriller. But the movie definitely lacks humor: THE MUMMY it isn't! And I like it all the better for that. It is very dark and downright serious. Let's face the truth: it will surely bomb in the U.S. upon its late summer release.
Moving on to maestro Goldsmith's score, it really stands up in the movie. For one thing, unlike THE MUMMY, it is never drowned by the clashing of swords and the various sound effects. Goldsmith chose to approach the movie following three different directions: Antonio Banderas' character, Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, receives the requisite "arabic" theme, orchestrated with Goldsmith's usual knack for exotic, lyrical instrumentation and catchy electronic textures. It will obviously remind people of THE MUMMY, although its use is never overbearing and a trifle more subtle. There is a second, proud epic theme for horns and pounding percussion over a raw male chorus, the latter representing uncharted territory for the composer, at least in recent memory. This yearning melody depicts the proud and savage viking warriors trying to fight the menacing horde of flesh eaters. Then there are secondary motives, fierce and dynamic action material, a proud swelling theme playing under a "gathering of the forces" scene at the start of the movie, building with Goldsmith's usual testosterone energy and entrain. And Goldsmith wrote a very noble and grandiose theme for the film's climatic death scene (No, this is not FIRST KNIGHT!). The maestro even wrote a full end credits cue, saving music editor Ken Hall the usual cut and paste editing job. All these elements give me the impression this is the kind of scores he wrote effortlessly in the early eighties.
With one single difference: originality and innovation are not the key words here. The composer is on familiar ground: THE 13TH WARRIOR is tailor made for him. Like THE MUMMY it contains many elements of fantasy, horror, and adventure. As much as I love Goldsmith's film scores I simply regret to hear him relying on the same, proven musical tricks: I recognized once again the familiar muted french horn glissando a la LOGAN'S RUN and THE EDGE.
The recipe is not new, but the musical meal is quite enjoyable. THE 13TH WARRIOR kicks! Like THE MUMMY, the score was performed by a standard London studio orchestra: what happened to the trusted National Philharmonic Orchestra? Reportedly, Varèse will release the score in August. The music was recorded in London's lofty Air Lyndhurst Studios, therefore fans can expect a lenghty soundtrack album. If not, music hungry flesh eaters will undoubtedly pay a visit to Robert Townson!"