PROLOGUE

It is amazing, how a strong experience, whatever that might be, a smell, a picture, a sound, a sequence of musical notes, can change your life. That is more or less what happened to me, when at the age of eleven, in the year 1983, I heard, more than saw, CONAN THE BARBARIAN. It was the first contact I consciously made with film music, it was the beginning of a journey of dreams and nightmares, of beauty and ugliness, a journey through the world of music. A journey through musical notes, arranged in unbelievable states of harmony. For me, the Guide through this Journey, was Basil Poledouris.

He was born in August 21, 1945, in Kansas City. He begun his studies in USC's music department, but switched to film making after one year. There at the late 60s he met John Milius. He completed his Cinema studies with a Master degree, and went to California State University to complete his musical studies. These days he composed music for everyone as it seems. Fellow students' movies, commercials, documentaries. But it was BIG WEDNESDAY, a film by his friend Milius, that helped him invade in Hollywood. Scoring for the BLUE LAGOON, a film by friend Randal Kleiser, established his presence.

POLEDOURIS AND HIS INSTRUMENTS

It is magnificent how he uses the orchestra and the choir. The voices he uses, are actually meant to be there. It is like you hear a part of his music, and expect the ultimate combination. And he gives it to you with heavenly voices.

The Flute, Basses and Cellos, play the rhythm, Violas the melody structure, and then, out of the blue, comes the Flute. What sound, what music can surpass the beauty of the flute? Used strictly for tear-bringing melodies, and always with the sound of the player taking his breath. In such a manner he also uses Oboe and Clarinet.

Percussion. Always there to remind heat, power, strength, but also, anxiety, speed and the need to escape.

As I hear this bad recording, the bootleg, of A WHALE FOR THE KILLING, I wonder how he has managed to blend an acoustic guitar, a flute and a violin in such a way, that you remember them, their gentle sorrowful touch, more than the movie itself. When he wants to take you to a place -on earth, in space or in time,- it is more than certain that he will succeed. A Banjo guitar, in QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER and LONESOME DOVE, takes you to a ranch watching the sunset. An orchestra with fake sound in ROBOCOP, gives you the future and the truth inside the lie. The medieval melodies in FLESH+BLOOD, give you mystery and wonder.

POLEDOURIS AND ROMANCE

His work always involved romance. Either the love for sea and surf (BIG WEDNESDAY), or the love of a boy for a whale (FREE WILLY). The lost love of Mother Country (THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER), or the lost love of a former life (ROBOCOP). The new found love of a Barbarian and his Thief Queen (CONAN), or the new found love of a couple forgotten in an island (BLUE LAGOON). Romance in his music is something that will always be a trade mark of his.

POLEDOURIS AND SORROW

In most of his work, there is death. Death is something we face everyday. Especially in movies. There are seldom any movies without a single dead man. But can death be gentle? Can death be respected? Can death be sweet but fearsome at the same time? Poledouris makes this real. Sad melodies grab your lungs and do not let you breathe, until the act is over. Afterwards there is always time for a tear. Combined with the force of the picture, his music gains substance, solid and true.

In CONAN THE BARBARIAN, the scene involving the death of Conan's mother, will be forever printed in my mind, and Gift of Fury, the accompanying track, will always bring a shiver.

POLEDOURIS AND INFLUENCES

As every composer, or a creator in general, he has a certain style, a pattern, that he follows. It is a trade mark of his. As Danny Elfman's music, except for a few scores, will always be BATMAN and BEETLEJUICE replayed. But notice. I do not say it is bad, in the contrary, I love them. But he follows a pattern that says Danny Elfman. So does Poledouris. When you hear a melody of his, you know it.

Also a creator, cannot create without getting his principle ideas from a certain place. For a film composer, this place is the film itself. But which is the way you think about the film? Where do you get this way of thinking? I therefore believe, that his way of thinking, has much to do, with how Miklos Rozsa used to think. The approach to mr.Rozsa's music becomes definite inthe medieval epic FLESH + BLOOD, where you even hear faint echoes of BEN HUR.

In the same soundtrack, you can hear a musical conflict, that seldom appears. Although one cannot say that this certain piece of music has been "stolen"; track 6, Castle Invasion, bears remarkable similarities with Henry Mancini's, theme from Lifeforce. Both compositions were released in the same year. I wonder if they have noticed it themselves.

POLEDOURIS AND CONAN THE BARBARIAN

So, approaching the final paragraphs of this document, we come to face the one and only film score, that should be hailed, praised and honored, the one that should stay first, or among a couple of other scores, at the top of film music in history.

Do I sound to dramatic? Well I am not. Take it. Hear it. Enter it. Believe in it. Every kind of feeling you have ever experienced, will remind you its existence, while you hear CONAN THE BARBARIAN. Without giving less credit to the rest of his work, I strongly believe that Conan, is his absolute masterpiece. Connected to the last little point with the movie,a collaboration of picture and sound that I've never seen before (except Burton/Elfman perhaps), it is the most important and beautiful trail of thoughts that has ever crossed a man's mind.

What angers me the most, and I believe all the rest of you soundtrack people, is that he was not even nominated for an academy award. I agree that it was the year if GHANDI. But was the influence so big they didn't even noticed Conan? I mean HEY!!, listen to it. Not even nominated?

In the 68 minutes of music (in Varese Sarabande's release), that is a few tracks short of the film, you hear everything you could expect to hear from Poledouris. He has exploited every ability 'E minor' can offer. The choir is forcing its will over you, while violins keep track with dreamy arpeggios. Doom's theme filled with power, while Conan's with melancholy. You can actually feel the fresh air on your face while you listen to Theology/Civilization, you die on the Tree of Woe and rise again on Recovery, you feel drunk hearing The Orgy, with a faint feeling of regret, yourealize yourself in the Awakening. And then, after it is over, you hear it again, all the way from the beginning.

THE REASON WE SHOULD HATE VARESE SARABANDE
(and do something about it.)

The most of Poledouris' work, is released by Varese Sarabande. Except for CONAN THE BARBARIAN, that runs for 68 minutes, all the rest of this labels' releases, are seldom more than half an hour. The people in charge over there should realize that we give our money to buy someone else's knowledge and effort. To re-live the movie experience, to live our own experiences, listening to good music. And when a two-hour film music, is cut to thirty minutes of selected tracks, we feel cheated. We buy it nevertheless, but when a man has written Hours of music and they sell Minutes of it, it is as if they show no respect to the artist at all. Please, you people at Varese, WAKE UP.

EPILOGUE

Music, is a tricky business. And good music shows up, very seldom. But when it does, it has to be rewarded. From me, Poledouris, has more than an Oscar. He has my respect. And if it was up to me, he would have an Oscar.

And I close with a question. Is Basil Poledouris, a man with a Greek name, or Zoe (also Greek) Poledouris for that matter, actually Greek?

Bye and thanks for reading this.