The Quiet Earth [Original Film Score] (1985)

Описание: The Quiet Earth [Original Film Score] (1985)
Composed by John Charles

Tracklisting:

1. [00:00] Sunrise
2. [03:25] Empty Town
3. [04:50] Moving Up In The World
4. [07:00] Zac Takes Over
5. [07:50] Going Down
6. [09:13] Born Again
7. [10:23] There Are Others
8. [11:45] The Effect Continues
9. [13:15] Trio
10. [14:58] Taking Off
11. [16:02] Roadblock
12. [17:14] Alarm
13. [18:15] Last Love Scene
14. [19:28] Finale: Saturn Rising

Directed by Geoff Murphy (1938-2018) and based on Craig Harrison's novel of the same name, this New Zealand sci-fi post-apocalyptic film features a small cast that includes Alison Routledge, Norman Fletcher, Tom Hyde, Anzac Wallace (1945-2019), Pete Smith (1959-2022), and Bruno Lawrence (1941-1995), who's oddly diverse talents made him a character star and cult icon in both NZ and Australia during his relatively short life. Visually startling with cinematographer James Bartle's otherworldly landscapes, the film goes to great lengths to illustrate what the world would look like if most people suddenly disappeared. Following his successful Māori drama 'Utu (1982), New Zealand director Geoff Murphy's 'The Quiet Earth has become a cult classic among sci-fi film buffs and is still frequently shown at art cinemas around the world.

After a global top-secret energy experiment misfires, scientist Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) awakes to find himself the only living being left on earth. The energy project (Operation Flashlight) which he had been working on for a year, has dramatically changed the world. Humanity seems to have been wiped out. At first, he lives out his fantasies, helping himself to cars, food, and clothes, before the implications of being 'alone' sink in, along with his own culpability in the disaster. As this awareness sends him to the brink of madness, he discovers two other survivors, Joanne (Alison Routledge) and Api (Peter Smith). Despite the urgency of their survival being paramount, sexual hubris, suspicion, jealousy, race-based assumptions about intelligence and passive-aggressive violence ensue...

Beautifully scored by New Zealand film composer John Charles, the soundtrack, employing a large symphony orchestra and judicious use of electronics, adds that very important 'third dimension' to the film. For the first forty-minutes or so, with just one person on screen and little dialogue, Charles' music and sound effects were essential in creating atmosphere and expectation. The opening scene was minimalist in the extreme: for nearly three minutes the only thing on screen is the sun slowly rising over a dark red horizon and the orchestral music slowly rises with it to a full climax. This haunting main theme alternates with a series of short motifs; a counter motif for bells and harp, an agitated passage in a neo-classic style, and a brief recurring benedictory fanfare for brass. The score also features experimental electronics but used mostly for the sequences involving the mysterious 'effect': the opening 'Sunrise and the final 'Saturn Rising. 'The Quiet Earth was the second film Charles scored for full orchestra, again performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and conducted by William Southgate. John Charles brings to his film scoring a varied background in composing concert music, playing jazz piano and conducting both symphonic works and opera. He created a number of musical works for New Zealand cinema during the 1980's to the early 2000's, including compositions for films such as 'Goodbye Pork Pie (1980), 'Utu (1982), 'Constance (1983), 'A Soldier's Tale (1988), and 'Taking Liberties (1993). He also composed music for several television films and miniseries.

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