Few people remember Night Crossing nowadays.  It was a 1982 live-action Disney film about an attempted escape over the Berlin Wall in a hot air balloon.  Unusual, perhaps, but a true story, directed by Delbert Mann and starring John Hurt.  Mann turned to Jerry Goldsmith for the music.  Goldsmith was going through one of the richest and most rewarding periods in his career at the time, living up to his name by crafting gold with everything he did.

I've often read people saying that the score is like a follow-up to Capricorn One, but I would disagree.  It opens with an almost identical percussive figure but afterwards is very different, with the older score's slightly abrasive, lean textures replaced by full-bodied orchestral magic from start to finish.  I'm not sure exactly which other Goldsmith scores I would compare it with - possibly a slightly more grown-up version of The Secret of NIMH.

The main theme is propulsive and thrilling.  There are several excellent secondary themes too, notably an accordion theme first heard in "The Picnic", in which Goldsmith deftly combines the creation of a sense of place with real dramatic underscore; there's also a "flying" theme, a truly rapturous piece heard fully in "First Flight" and "Final Flight".  Those two cues are the highlights of the score; James Horner fans should check out "First Flight" to find out where he found some of his best material in Star Trek II; and everyone else should check it out because it's ten-minutes of pure, Goldsmith bliss.

The film is forgotten, but the score lives on.  Unfortunately, despite being one of Goldsmith's best efforts, it's fairly difficult to come by.  Intrada have released it twice, most recently in 1994 when the expanded their original album; you might still be able to find a copy at their website.  No Goldsmith fan can go wrong with it.

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