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19 years after the
role that made him a star in Terminator and 12 years after he said "I´ll
be back" in the movie that started the new age of advanced CGI visual
effects, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, "Schwarzie" is back in
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Producers Mario Kassar and Andrew G.
Vajna are back too, but sadly are gone director/writer James Cameron and
composer Brad Fiedel. The treatment that Fiedel gave to The Terminator
was to develop an essentially mechanic tonality, what it is extremely
logical since the history is commanded by the actions of the cyborg machine.
In the remarkable "Terminator Theme" the almost indestructible visitor from
the future is portraied by a 5-note electronic percussion that sounds like a
machine gun firing, and a deep metallic bang.
For the third
installment of the franchise, director Jonathan Mostow tried to set the
music in different directions and hired
Marco Beltrami for the
job. As he explains in the booklet notes, "I sought a musical style that
would be fresh and unique. I wanted a composer who was not afraid of writing
bold visceral music. I quickly zeroed in on Marco Beltrami because he
possesses the talent and range to achieve an ambitious score." To create the
85 minute score, Beltrami incorporated 96 musicians, including 13
percussionists and a 30-voice choir. He did a great job, creating a brand
new score that blends the serie´s traditional electronic accompaniment with
the large orchestra.
T3´s score
is suspense and action music at its best. If you have any doubts listen to "Blonde
Behind The Wheel" or "Kicked in the Can". It also features strong motifs for
the old Terminator (Schwarzenegger) and the new "Terminatrix", the T-X (Kristanna
Loken). But Beltrami´s skills delivered some beautiful and melodic chords
too, in tracks like "JC Theme"
- the theme from John Connor (Nick Stahl) and the main score´s motif - "More
Deep Thoughts" and "Radio", all of them featuring a very nice use of the
strings section. Even achieving the unique sound that Mostow demanded,
Beltrami´s music keep some of the cold, metallic characteristic from Brad
Fiedel´s tracks. Interesting to notice that in his Terminator motif he uses
almost the same percussion heard in the original theme - which, by the way,
was included in the album with an interesting orquestral arrangement (heard
in the final credits, tied with the 2 expendable songs).
The gifted
composer is no stranger to high action science-fiction features as evidenced
by his prior score for Blade 2. Just for refresh your memory, other
scores by Marco Beltrami include Resident Evil, which he co-composed
with Marilyn Manson, The Dangerous Lives of Altair Boys, Mimic
and, of course, the Scream trilogy. However T3 is his first
score for a high budget movie and, as usual, another testament to Beltrami's
musical mastery of the genre. Back to the booklet notes, Mostow explained,
"I am convinced that Marco will soon rank as one of the most important
composers in our industry." Mr. Mostow, I bet you are damn right.
If you want to
know something more about Beltrami and his work, check out our
exclusive interview.
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