Post by Jens Dietrich on Oct 11, 2009 21:01:04 GMT -8
Sorry, guys. I had to go to Florida for my sister-in-law's wedding last week, so I didn't have a chance to keep up with these. Also, Netflix is making it darn hard to do these in the correct chronological order.
Anyway, I just saw Lilies of the Field for the first time ever. It's the simple tale of traveling black Babtist construction worker Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier delivering an Oscar-winning performance) who, when looking for work, comes across five nuns that escaped from East Germany and are now living at a remote farm. The head nun, Mother Maria, manages to rope him into building them a chapel. Despite his continued insistence that he needs to be paid for his work, he ends up building the chapel for free, all while Mother Maria insults him, bosses him around, and shows absolutely no signs of being even remotely thankful for the work he is doing FOR GODDAMN FREE.
As you can tell, I have a problem with this movie. I feel that Homer is being taken advantage of and that the nuns, especially the Nazi-like Mother Maria, are jackasses. They behave as if by mere virtue of praying and being women of God, they are entitled to everything that is done for them. Still, I did get some enjoyment out of the movie, mostly due to Poitier's wonderfully charming and likable performance as Homer Smith, the ahead-of-its-time multiculturalism of the cast, and of course Jerry Goldsmith's jaunty and extremely memorable score. It is truly the musical embodiment of the Homer Smith character, perfectly capturing his cultural background, personality and faith. Homer's theme is frequently played on harmonica and acoustic guitar, while the string section plays what sound like Goldsmith versions of Babtist hymns. Like most early Goldsmith, it is simple and used sparingly, but incredibly effective. Lilies in the Field has been a favorite soundtrack album of mine for years, and it was extremely exciting to finally experience the score in the context of the film.
Now: Lonely are the Brave - finally.
So, out of the Goldsmith-scored films I've seen from my Netflix queue so far, Lonely Are The Brave is most definitely my favorite. People have described this movie as a "modern" western before, but - knowing very little about it - I never realized that by "modern" they meant "contemporary", rather than just stylistically modern. Set in what seem to be the late 1950s/early 1960s, the film really has more in common with First Blood than your average western. Much of it is a taut and exciting manhunt, Sheriff Morey Johnson (Walter Matthau) doggedly pursuing escapee John Burns (Kirk Douglas) through the mountains. Burns is in trouble with the law for trying to break his best friend out of prison - only to realize that he didn't want to be broken out. Despite being at odds with the law, he is a noble and admirable protagonist, and Douglas plays him formidably. Burns represents a dying breed - the American cowboy - and the film is as much a love letter to his (regrettably obsolete) way of life as it is an efficiently directed and well-paced thriller.
Jerry Goldsmith's score is masterful. Despite being modern through and through, it manages to subtly evoke the sound of a classic western. It also features some of Jerry's very best early action writing. The bar room brawl early in the film and lengthy escape through the mountains near the end are simply amazing.
Anyway, I just saw Lilies of the Field for the first time ever. It's the simple tale of traveling black Babtist construction worker Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier delivering an Oscar-winning performance) who, when looking for work, comes across five nuns that escaped from East Germany and are now living at a remote farm. The head nun, Mother Maria, manages to rope him into building them a chapel. Despite his continued insistence that he needs to be paid for his work, he ends up building the chapel for free, all while Mother Maria insults him, bosses him around, and shows absolutely no signs of being even remotely thankful for the work he is doing FOR GODDAMN FREE.
As you can tell, I have a problem with this movie. I feel that Homer is being taken advantage of and that the nuns, especially the Nazi-like Mother Maria, are jackasses. They behave as if by mere virtue of praying and being women of God, they are entitled to everything that is done for them. Still, I did get some enjoyment out of the movie, mostly due to Poitier's wonderfully charming and likable performance as Homer Smith, the ahead-of-its-time multiculturalism of the cast, and of course Jerry Goldsmith's jaunty and extremely memorable score. It is truly the musical embodiment of the Homer Smith character, perfectly capturing his cultural background, personality and faith. Homer's theme is frequently played on harmonica and acoustic guitar, while the string section plays what sound like Goldsmith versions of Babtist hymns. Like most early Goldsmith, it is simple and used sparingly, but incredibly effective. Lilies in the Field has been a favorite soundtrack album of mine for years, and it was extremely exciting to finally experience the score in the context of the film.
Now: Lonely are the Brave - finally.
So, out of the Goldsmith-scored films I've seen from my Netflix queue so far, Lonely Are The Brave is most definitely my favorite. People have described this movie as a "modern" western before, but - knowing very little about it - I never realized that by "modern" they meant "contemporary", rather than just stylistically modern. Set in what seem to be the late 1950s/early 1960s, the film really has more in common with First Blood than your average western. Much of it is a taut and exciting manhunt, Sheriff Morey Johnson (Walter Matthau) doggedly pursuing escapee John Burns (Kirk Douglas) through the mountains. Burns is in trouble with the law for trying to break his best friend out of prison - only to realize that he didn't want to be broken out. Despite being at odds with the law, he is a noble and admirable protagonist, and Douglas plays him formidably. Burns represents a dying breed - the American cowboy - and the film is as much a love letter to his (regrettably obsolete) way of life as it is an efficiently directed and well-paced thriller.
Jerry Goldsmith's score is masterful. Despite being modern through and through, it manages to subtly evoke the sound of a classic western. It also features some of Jerry's very best early action writing. The bar room brawl early in the film and lengthy escape through the mountains near the end are simply amazing.