In any case, I haven't seen the Gilles Mackinnon film that this score accompanied. It was lost in the clamour of press that greeted the mawkish 'film to end all wars' SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, but from the sound of it, traded high-tech film-making for a more novel approach to one of the 20th century's great wars. The novel the film is based on centres on a possible (fictional?) trenchline friendship of poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, the former of whom was killed in battle. I missed the opportunity to see the film on release, as I still thought of movie going as a social experience, and my friendships of the time steered me clear of the film. It may well have emerged on DVD in Australia, but my bad reaction to Mackinnon's subsequent HIDEOUS KINKY, a film I was probably too close-minded to appreciate at the time, kept me from seeking it out. More shame. If the film ever was on DVD here, it's out of print now. (I may order the region 2 DVD.)

The score by Mychael Danna has definitely won my heart though. Danna's often made marvelous use of solo violin parts in scores, and perhaps his most touching positions a soloist against a reserved ensemble for 'Garden of Death'. Funereal is the word I would use to describe the use of organ, oboe and vocalist in 'The Gamekeeper's Traps'. The main theme from 'Garden of Death' appears in many guises - from the lonely trumpets of 'Declaration' to the clarinet of 'Skulls like Mushrooms' and the grainy fiddle of 'Do Write Something about the War'. A gentle melody with a Celtic lilt offers a few lighter moments - 'Dottyville' and 'Toy Boats' - the latter's texture of flute, harp and pizzicati a nice contrast to the bleak surrounds.

For those who were moved by 'Elegy for Dunkirk' from the recent Oscar winner ATONEMENT, this music taps into some very similar emotions, though is perhaps a little more restrained (less epiphany) and the score is considerably less Romantic as a whole. Like that cue, this score feels like it taps into some 'British' tradition of composition (Britten, Holst and others come to mind) that I'm not musically equipped to describe properly.

The Varese Sarabande disc has only 30 minutes of music, a typically short but emotionally complete effort from the composer. The remaining eight minutes of the running time is taken up with readings of Sassoon and (to me) the more chilling poetry of Owen, whose battle-weariness and gift for language created such memorable metaphors as "the shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells". It doesn't necessarily strengthen the album throughout, but the balance (unlike the recent CAPOTE) is weighted firmly in favour of the score. The use the poems throughout does the lay the foundation for the album's concluding track, which utilises a moving monologue from the film, followed by Owen's 'The Parable of the Old Man and Young' over a bleak processional beat. On the poem's devastating conclusion, a reprise of 'Garden of Death' brings the album to a close.

What else is there to say about REGENERATION, one of the most overlooked scores of the 90s, but the opinion of its creator (c.2006)? (From an email in response to an article I wrote on Danna which mentioned the score as an overlooked highlight.)

quote:

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Noone seems
to know that film, certainly in North America, and it's one of my favourites, both the film and the score. Probably my "one filmscore you did that you can take with you to a desert island" choice.

Although it might make it a pretty dark time on that island.

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EDIT - Ah, I see the composer's spelling is more interesting than the score. I better fix that up.

Michael McLennan - 0

Read it and weap, bitch. Now maybe you'll think twice before posting such blasphemy. Next you'll tell me that Howard Shore is better than uber-mensch Ken Thorne! I think you're lucky that you didn't post this phoney non-sense on FSM. They would've eaten you like a hamburger with pepper jack cheese and onion rings.