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Artwork copyright (c) 1994 Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corporation; review copyright (c)
2004 James Southall
* * * *
67:50
THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIO SYMPHONY
led by
ENDRE GRANAT
conducted by
BRUCE BROUGHTON
ARMIN STEINER
Music Editor
PATRICIA CARLIN
Produced by
DOUGLASS FAKE
NICK REDMAN
INTRADA
Serial number
SPECIAL COLLECTION VOL 8
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET A
bit of old-fashioned Christmas magic A review by JAMES SOUTHALL Christmas movies come and go in cinemas every year. Most
are not particularly great; in fact they are notably less-than-great. But
for those looking for an undemanding way of spending a couple of hours with the
family during the cold nights of December, a few gems are there to be found and,
despite being a disappointment at the box office, Miracle on 34th Street
has endured surprisingly well and is now an annual favourite for television and
DVD audiences. Let's not beat around the bush: Richard Attenborough was
born to play Father Christmas. Ever since he grew his beard and his hair
went white, it has always seemed quite unnatural to see him doing anything other
than riding reindeer and dishing out presents, and if his directorial career
ever ends then I'm sure he will have employment for life (at least during the
last weeks of the year) in any department store of his choosing. Producer John Hughes demonstrated that he knew a thing or two
about making a successful Christmas movie with Home Alone, and he's
worked with an array of top class film composers (Georges Delerue, John
Williams, Michael Kamen, Maurice Jarre and Bruce Broughton amongst
others). Broughton was enlisted for Miracle on 34th Street, and he
turned out to be a fine choice, writing an appealingly nostalgic, old fashioned
score full of Christmas charm. There are a number of attractive themes,
but things are held together with a carol-like tune serving as the main theme,
heard in a variety of guises. Broughton has always been a a natural at
creating pleasant, appealing music for family films and, if this one is full of
more sentimentality than usual, well... it is Christmas, after all. At a shade under 70 minutes, one's first thought might be that
the length would be stretching things a bit, but fortunately one could never
tire of hearing music like this. It is chock full of grace and charm,
along with spellbinding melody. Perhaps things get pushed over the top
from time to time (the choir in "The People We Love" is not exactly a
model of restraint), but these are clearly excusable given the context.
Less restrained still is the "Love Theme", heard in a vaguely
cheesy but entirely appealing soprano sax solo version. The more dramatic
sections, such as "A Big Fat Fake", tend to evoke feelings of
Tchaikovsky (The Nutcracker is mentioned by Broughton in the liner notes,
and it's easy to see why) and are just as magical as everything else.
There are even some lovely pieces of source music, from some faux baroque pieces
to a lovely choral piece, "The Bellevue Carol". The album ends
with a sequence of larger-than-life cues for the film's finale, with some
delightful music contained therein. It's one of the great mysteries of film music why Broughton's
career (in films at least) has trickled out virtually completely in recent years
- he truly is one of the greatest composers we have. With all the magical
scores like this one, he really should be working on high-profile, A-list
assignments. But even as his new scores (and albums) become fewer and
further between, fortunately a great selection of his older ones have been made
available on the Intrada label, with Miracle on 34th Street being the
eighth release in their "Special Collection". Treat yourself
this Christmas. Tracks