I have a confession to make. Often when I\u2019m finalising a score or editing a video, I\u2019ll listen to something in the background. Sometimes it will be a comedy, political talk show, or discussion about the arts and literature. But what I really like is a good mystery with little to no music – something with twists and turns and an intellectual puzzle – old Law & Order reruns are perfect in this regard. That keeps the imaginative side of my brain occupied while my fingers do the busywork.<\/p>\n
I am sorry to say that Stephen Spielberg\u2019s \u201cBridge of Spies\u201d could easily have filled this bill. There was so little music throughout its 137-minute length that I easily could have composed a few pages of score without more than a few fast-forwards. Okay, so that\u2019s a slight exaggeration. But you have to wonder when a Spielberg film has no opening credits music establishing musical themes, and no character leitmotifs. Yes, it was an excellent Cold War spy drama, all the more so for the true story that it told. And the Coen brothers\u2019 script was peerless. It really was more like a Coen film than a Spielberg film, except for the wonderful sense of form, continuity, and overriding awareness of the camera.<\/p>\n
Of course, most readers will know by now the story of how Spielberg intended this to be a John Williams soundtrack, only health issues by the maestro interfered with these plans, causing Thomas Newman to be hired. This is all in the family – Thomas\u2019s father Alfred Newman was once John Williams\u2019 boss at Fox, and gave him his first break scoring pictures. I\u2019ve linked an article at the end of this review that talks about this in a lot more detail. The takeaway that I have from the situation here is that relationship between Spielberg may not have been an easy fit creatively. For all that Spielberg gave Newman his customary trust, I\u2019m not hearing elements essential to a Spielberg film – like a strong internal theme tying together the emotional message of the film.<\/p>\n
This is the most glaring from the start. There is no music at all (especially as I mentioned above, no credit sequence) until over 20 minutes have passed – and then just light, atmospheric touches. It\u2019s really not until the film settles on pilot Lt. Gary Powers\u2019 reconnaissance training that any firmly stated musical themes emerge.<\/p>\n
In fact, this movie is a bit difficult to review strictly from the standpoint of traditional orchestration, because of Newman\u2019s approach in mixing electronic elements, processed piano, and live instruments with such abandon. It\u2019s a great style, don\u2019t get me wrong, but it\u2019s not the thrust of what I\u2019m trying to cover in this series. So I will restrict my observations below to those cues in which a clearly dominant orchestral sound is used. Much credit here is due to orchestrator J.A.C. Roberts (aka \u201cJac Roberts\u201d), Newman\u2019s right-hand man and also composer in his own right of episodic television.<\/p>\n