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Lalo Schifrin's
own Aleph label at last completes its Dirty Harry
soundtracks collection with
The Dead Pool - The Original Score.
This first ever soundtrack album from the fifth and final
film of the Dirty Harry series is
a must
have for all fans of Schifrin, Harry Callahan or cop movies.
In
The Dead Pool
(1988) once again Clint Eastwood stars as the rugged San
Francisco detective,
“Dirty”
Harry Callahan, this time having to solve a potentially huge
murder mystery involving dead celebrities. Things tighten up
once Harry finds that he, too, is a target in this twisted
race of murderous contention.
Compared to Dirty Harry (1971) and Magnum Force
(1973), The Dead Pool
can be considered one of the
weakest chapters of the series - however there are some fun
or almost surrealistic moments in this one that turns it
into a cult movie for many fans: a Guns N' Roses' “Welcome
to the Jungle” videoclip performed by none other than a
newbie
Jim Carrey; Liam Neeson
bearing a
weird hairdo, complete with
pony tail; a fun Bullit homage when Harry is being
chased by a remote-controlled toy car with a bomb strapped
to it; Harry facing the bad guy not armed with his trademark
44 Magnum, but brandishing a large speargun... and for the
most of these moments we have
the inimitable musical signature
of Lalo Schifrin, the
best composer for the series.
No one does an action score like Lalo Schifrin (the
Argentine maestro and musician behind the Mission
Impossible theme, the Cool Hand Luke, Bullit,
Enter the Dragon and Rush Hour scores, among
many others), that was absent from the Dirty Harry
series only in The Enforcer (1975), scored by the
late Jerry Fielding. But before you start to listen to
The Dead Pool soundtrack, take my friendly advice: as
usual Schifrin employed jazzy, pop rhythms and synthezisers
contemporary of that era, and this approach today makes the
music sound dated - surprisingly the sounds and rhythms from
the '60s and '70s aged much better. You'll have to place
yourself back into the late '80s for truly appreciate
this album, and doing so the score turns out to be something
unique.
Even with only 12 tracks that runs 40 minutes in length,
this score manages to capture the action and closing
sentiments of the fifth and final appearance of Harry
Calahan. The album opens quietly with the jazzy “San
Francisco Night”, some kind of sequel for
Sudden Impact's
“San
Francisco After Dark”.
With the synths of “Main Title”
Schifrin establishes the absolute '80s action mood -
undoubtedly dated, but don't forget my piece of advice...
from this point onwards Schifrin switches between thrilling
backdrops (“Kidnap and Rescue”) and heavier, almost
melodramatic moments (“The Rules”). Then comes the jazzy,
even romantic “Something in Return” that works perfectly
inside the score. The penultimate track “Harpoon” showcases
more Callahan-thrills and ’80s action writing.
As usual the soundtrack features liner notes from Nick
Redman, where he comments that the final track - “The Pier,
The Bridge, And The City” closes the album out with “one of
the loveliest instrumental renditions of Harry Callahan's
melancholy ‘love’ theme, figuratively lowering the curtain
on one of the most popular, celebrated, and beloved movie
franchises in contemporary history.” I could not agree more
since this track, that follows some thrilling and exciting
action music, closes the series with a welcomed rendition of
Harry's theme that brings to this final chapter a necessary
sense of nostalgia.
So, if you don't expect something that would sound well
placed in modern cop films, you'll easily notice that The
Dead Pool is a great (despite short) soundtrack released
two decades after the movie that serves. As they say, better
late than never... Thanks Lalo! |
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