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Dynamic Bill Conti score for 1985 meld of action thriller with romantic comedy finally makes CD premiere! Jeff Kanew directs, Paul G. Hensler & Dan Gordon write the story with Gordon scripting, young Anthony Edwards, Linda Fiorentino star, Universal Pictures presents. Edwards is proficient at Gotcha, a paintball game of "tag" played with his college friends, each armed with paintball pellet guns. He then vacations in Paris, meets Fiorentino, and soon finds himself wrapped up in deadly fast-paced action and intrigue for real in Berlin. Composer Bill Conti pays brief nod to the romance but mostly aims his musical armament in the direction of tense action and intrigue. He launches with a brief, unassuming sequence suggesting the imposing concrete barrier that divided East Berlin from West Berlin in the 80's (still in effect when the movie was made) and the deadly espionage with KGB agents, then takes off with dynamic excitement for "Jon Gets His Man". Here, powerful bass trombone and woodwinds attack, rhythms take command, French horns rip upwards and the sensational cue takes off at top speed! Even Conti's subsequent hints of material for Fiorentino during "Sasha's Secret" avoid romance and instead continue the dramatic elements of East/West conflict and intrigue. Finally, in haunting contrast is the lean, highly exposed melodic line on French horn pointing towards romance in "Love In The D.D.R.", yet even this tender respite plays within darker territory. A highlight in the score is "Sascha Meet Vlad (Alternate)", where suspense slowly builds, the tempo grows urgent and knockout bass trombones with tuba doubling in lower octaves suddenly punch through in fortissimo manner. The cues that follow continue the tense activity with "Checkpoint" introducing the Russian-flavor action. When "Jon, Meet Vlad" arrives, Conti now turns up his real juice. Listeners might note amongst the swirling strings, pulsating trombone/tuba line and tour-de-force French horn counter melody, the complete absence of trumpets. This orchestrational device (used throughout the score) results in a striking action cue that avoids the expectant sizzle of bright, florid color in favor of a muscular, heavier style of excitement. It carries weight! And Conti still has more to unleash with "On The Edge", another musical treat! For the 1985 soundtrack album, only two cues by Conti appeared alongside numerous songs, all by other artists. For this Intrada release, Conti's entire score is presented from complete pristine condition 1/2" multi-track and 1/4" two-track stereo session masters courtesy of Universal. These yielded not only Conti's 28-minute score but an additional 21 minutes of alternate scoring music as well as three national anthems. Finally, the two Conti selections from the 1985 album are also included as "extras", courtesy of original stereo album masters from Universal Music Group, featuring one wholly independent composition composed exclusively for the record and one edited version of a scoring cue also heard complete during the earlier score portion of our CD. Notes by Dan Schweiger and strong graphics designed by Kay Marshall, featuring the original album art complete the package. Jack Eskew, Greig McRitchie, Bill Conti orchestrate, Bill Conti composes, conducts. Intrada Special Collection CD available while quantities and interest remain!
- Intrada
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