With the publicity machine going full-throttle for the new “Planet of the Apes” movie, I thought we’d take the opportunity this week on “Picture Perfect” to look back to Jerry Goldsmith’s music for the original 1968 classic.
Goldsmith incorporated all sorts of unusual effects into his groundbreaking score. He employed such instruments as tuned mixing bowls, a bass slide-whistle, and the cuika, a Brazilian wind instrument used to mimic the hooting of excited apes. He instructed his hornists to play without mouthpieces, and he manipulated percussion through the use of an Echoplex.
Barbaric and unnerving, with little in the way of lyricism, I can’t imagine anything like it being used in a major Hollywood film today. Well, from my description, I guess I can, but Goldsmith was the real deal – a talented composer with real tools (not just a laptop) at his disposal.
While my initial impulse had been to fill out the hour with music from some of the other films in the “Apes” franchise, after listening for a while, the grimness and brutality became a bit too unremitting, so instead we’ll swing with the gorilla theme.
Among the other selections will be an extended passage from the Dian Fossey biopic, “Gorillas in the Mist,” which starred Sigourney Weaver and featured music by Maurice Jarre, of “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago” fame, though from his later, lamentable “electronic” period.
We’ll also hear a bit from the “Mighty Joe Young” remake (since I couldn’t get a hold of Roy Webb’s score for the original). The music is pretty much standard James Horner (eg. “Titanic”), though he does incorporate a Swahili choir.
Finally, we’ll sample from Max Steiner’s landmark score to the 800-pound gorilla of all monkey movies, 1933’s “King Kong.”
I hope you’ll join me this week as we go ape, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, tomorrow evening at 6 ET. Remember, you can always listen to the show later as a webcast at http://www.wwfm.org.
“Take your stinkin’ paws off me…!” (with Goldsmith’s music, including cuika effects):
