Bill Wrobel's DVD - Film Score Rundowns

there’s really not much “there” there! Neal is not too sexy in that Navy nurse uniform!
And this ex-husband (Wayne) plot of trying to get back with Neal feels odd to me, like
I’m in the middle of a family situation that is hard to explain, or worth too much talky
effort to try. The plot tied to the war side of the film involves the recurrent problem of
torpedoes not exploding as they’re supposed to. The movie itself never exploded into
popularity either! It was pretty much a dud except
-Lawrence of Arabia (1962) *** 1/2 [music ***]
http://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Arabia-Peter-
OToole/dp/B00003CXB2/ref=sr_1_3?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1292883257&sr=1-3
Lawrence of Arabia is held in Columbia Studios in Box 125. I researched this
score in 200 or 2001 at Sony/Columbia. Note that many cues, especially the famous “big”
ones, were not available here for some reason. I started on 1M1 “Main Titles” [1M1]
written on 30-stave paper. 15 pages, 58 bars. Quarter note = 92. Dvd location: Disc 1,
00:04:19. I assume Gerald Shurmann orchestrated most of it but I did not see his name
often. I read from the old Filmus-L list long ago around 1996-97 (the site no longer
exists) that it was this highly professional orchestrator that really helped to make the
music sound epic and grand and full because Jarre simply was not that good at it at this
stage! He was, after all, focused on percussion in his conservatory training, not adept at
large symphonic orchestras. I think even Herrmann commented that “other hands” were
involved with the harmony and overall “sound” of the score besides Jarre! Apparently
Jarre’s music was a bit too sketchy and thin (except for the percussion) for a symphonic
treatment.
I know that movie won a Best Picture Oscar, and that it is acclaimed, and that it is
a classic David Lean movie, but I can only tolerate so much of it. It’s just too long, for
one thing, and the movie peters out for me. There are indeed wonderful scenes, and
certain music sequences are terrific, and I enjoy the stars, but overall I cannot honestly
say I have received complete satisfaction with the movie. To watch it all in one sitting
would be a real chore. I could watch Bridge on the River Kwai in one sitting, but
Lawrence of Arabia I cannot. I liked watching the Special Features in Disc Two and learn
about the history of making this complex motion picture, but the movie itself is not a
favorite of mine. Regarding the music, I appreciate the score by Jarre (and Schurmann’s
contribution), I wondered what it would be like if Dimitri Tiomkin, say, had done the
score, or even Bernard Herrmann! Of course Rozsa would’ve been a highly logical
choice….
In the Main Title, two flutes play cresc poco a poco Line 2 Eb/A whole notes in
4/4 time tied to whole notes next four bars. Violins II play the Line 2 Eb whole notes as
well, while violins I play A. Violas play Line 2 A tied whole notes thru Bar 4. Three
clarinets play pp cresc Line 1 A [written B] whole notes thru Bar 4. The main thrust of
these first four bars is the repeated quarter note simple patterns. Bassoons play Great
octave Eb/A tenuto quarter notes played 4X and repeated thru Bar 4. Horns play the
pattern on small octave Eb/A/Line 1 Eb/A tenuto quarter notes (also cresc poco a poco).
Trumpet II (in C) plays Line 1 A quarter notes, while Pos play small octave Eb/A notes,
and tubas play Great octave Eb/A. VC play Great octave A/small octave Eb quarter notes,
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