OST: Sudden Impact / 2008 Aleph / 22 Tracks / http://www.schifrin.com /
Sudden Impact is a film, released in 1983, that features Clint Eastwood. It is also the 4th movie in the Dirty Harry series. Lalo Schifrin was tapped to make the score for this film, after being replaced in eir duties by Jerry Fielding for “The Enforcerâ€. The first track on this score is the “Main Title†track, and it really seems to show its age. This means that there is a lot of electronic, sequenced types of drums and a very primitive style of scratching, over which a police scanner track is laid over. The one thing that individuals can immediately get behind on this score is the energy with which each of the compositions is couched.
“Murder By The Sea†may not have a dance type of energy to it, but the fact that the smooth jazz style that is dominant during the track presses individuals so much is further testament to this approach. It is also during “Murder By The Sea†that Schifrin introduces more classical style of music score composition, finishing up the track with something that would be equally good in the 1940s as it was in 1983. The score speeds up and creates tension in “Robbery Suspectâ€, in which Schifrin really is able to give the music the same type of danger and suspense that the movie held at this time. Lalo Schifrin is the individual that, for me, really was able to link together the more classical approach to creating film scores and adapting new and exciting styles to the art form.
Schifrin is one of the reasons why film soundtracks have such an eclectic style, and the reason why soundtracks will be significantly different from each other. The one thing that Schifrin does do that links eir solidly to the earlier style is to weave a narrative through all the tracks on a score. The compositions are not only there to highlight parts of the movie; they tell a story that further bolsters the action in said film. Schifrin has done scores for over 100 films; here’s to hoping that Aleph continues to release any that have not been released on CD, or have fallen out of print.
Top Tracks: Robbery Suspect, Hot Shot Cop
Rating: 7.9/10