The Wolfman (soundtrack)

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The Wolfman
The Wolfman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).jpg
Film score by
Danny Elfman
ReleasedFebruary 23, 2010
Recorded2009–2010
Genre Film score
Length66:05
Label Varèse Sarabande
Danny Elfman chronology
Taking Woodstock
(2009)		The Wolfman
(2010)		 Alice in Wonderland
(2010)

The Wolfman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album to the 2010 film of the same name directed by Joe Johnston, which is a remake on the 1941 film The Wolf Man . The film initially had an original score composed by Danny Elfman, before it was rejected and Elfman eventually replaced by Australian musician Paul Haslinger. The studio then reverted back to Elfman's initial score composed for the film after they felt Haslinger's electronic score did not suit the film's setting and tone.

Contents

Elfman's score was then completed with the help of other composers, due to the former's commitments on Alice in Wonderland (2010). Varèse Sarabande released the album consisting of Elfman's score for the original cut for the film on February 23, 2010. The score was well received by critics.

Development

In August 2008, Danny Elfman was announced as the film's composer. [1] [2] He was drawn to the project due to growing up on The Wolf Man and other monster characters. [3] Johnston wanted a score that was "atmospheric, stylish and narrative", and Elfman adhered to the former's instructions providing a dark, melodic and moody score. [3] However, the studio rejected the score after the film was cut down half an hour in length and the music became too repetitive. [4]

Due to the film's turbulent production, Elfman was unable to return to re-score the film due to contractual obligations to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010). The producers eventually decided that rather than expand on his music with a new composer, a path that they would eventually take, they would instead attempt a completely different approach with a different composer which includes extensive reshooting of scenes. [3] The idea was to quicken the pace and strike a tone similar to the Underworld films, turning a slow-paced story into a much faster one. In November 2009, it was announced that Elfman's music had been discarded in favor of a new score by Paul Haslinger. [5] However, in January 2010, the producers switched back to Elfman's score after disliking Haslinger's electronic music. [6]

Johnston later elaborated on the change-up between musicians: Elfman's score had fit tonally for a previous cut of the film that was half an hour longer than the released version, however, the music became repetitive after the film was recut. To Johnston's dismay, a higher-up at NBC/Universal suggested re-scoring the film with an electronic-like score after seeing a new trailer of the film that utilized similar music. As a result, Haslinger was hired, and Johnston felt the new composer was given an impossible task, stating, "when we put his music to the picture, even though the music was working, it was so out of context with what you were seeing." [4] [7]

Conrad Pope, Edward Shearmur and Thomas Lindgren were brought in to shape Elfman's score for the film's final edit and also compose 15 minutes of new material. [8] British musician Lustmord further contributed additional music. [9]

Release

Danny Elfman's version of The Wolfman score was officially released on February 23, 2010, 11 days after the film's release through Varèse Sarabande. The album consisted of the actual score Elfman made for the earlier edit, before it was temporarily rejected. Thus, the music in the final film was mostly different from the original work on the CD release, which reflected the first incarnation of the score. [10] A believed-to-be sample of Haslinger's rejected score was released around the same time, but was ultimately confirmed as false by record producer Ford A. Thaxton and Haslinger himself. [11]

Critical reception

Thomas Glorieux of Maintitles.net wrote "The Wolfman is a perfect score for a film, and realizing that this kind of quality music gets rejected is like saying you want to divorce from the perfect person." [12] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com called it as "a strong score as presented" and wrote "like Sleepy Hollow , it's easy to get the impression that The Wolfman will be a score that appeals more to die-hard Elfman fans than the mainstream". [13] James Christopher Monger of AllMusic wrote "there are enough genuine, Edward Scissorhands /Sleepy Hollow-inspired moments, where surprisingly memorable melody breaks through the graveyard dirt into the moonlit night, that there’s no denying that the listener is truly in the presence of a master audio storyteller." [14] The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Danny Elfman's reinstated score works awfully hard to inject excitement". [15] Tim Grierson of Screen Daily wrote "Danny Elfman's knowingly bombastic score recalls his work with long-time collaborator Tim Burton but without the usual vigour or panache." [16] James Southall of Movie Wave described it as "one of those glorious, darkly romantic gothic horror scores". [17] A. O. Scott of The New York Times called it as "throbbing" and "stabbing". [18]

Track listing

The Wolfman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Wolf Suite, Pt. 1"4:12
2."Wolf Suite, Pt. 2"5:54
3."Prologue"2:57
4."Dear Mr. Talbot"1:45
5."Bad Moon Rising"0:59
6."Gypsy Massacre"2:23
7."Wake Up, Lawrence"5:16
8."The Funeral"4:13
9."The Healing Montage"2:49
10."First Transformation"3:30
11."You Must Go"3:46
12."The Antique Shop"3:32
13."Country Carnage"2:31
14."Be Strong"2:31
15."The Madhouse"5:32
16."Reflection / 2nd Transformation"4:11
17."The Traveling Montage"4:26
18."The Finale"4:11
19."Wolf Wild #2"1:27
Total length:66:05

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic: [19]

Hollywood Studio Symphony

Instrumentation

Page LA Studio Voices

Management

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References

  1. ↑ Parker, Cat (August 25, 2008). "Danny Elfman Scores The Wolf Man". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  2. ↑ Outlaw, Kofi (August 27, 2008). "Danny Elfman Will Score The Wolfman". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Weintraub, Steven (March 4, 2010). "Danny Elfman Exclusive Interview ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Talks WOLFMAN, Composing, More". Collider. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "One-on-One With The Wolfman's Joe Johnston". Shock Till You Drop. February 8, 2010. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Danny Elfman Getting Replaced Is the Silver Bullet Into the Heart of Any Remaining Enthusiasm For 'The Wolfman'". The Playlist. November 9, 2009. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  6. ↑ Miller, Ross (January 20, 2010). "Danny Elfman's 'Wolfman' Score Brought Back Into Play". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on October 26, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  7. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (February 17, 2010). "Listen To Paul Haslinger's Scrapped Score For 'The Wolfman'". The Playlist. Archived from the original on October 26, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ Fischer, Russ (January 20, 2010). "Danny Elfman's Score is Back in The Wolfman". Slash Film. Archived from the original on February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  9. ↑ "LUSTMORD: The Wolfman". Lustmord Official Website. November 5, 2009. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Danny Elfman's 'Wolfman' Score Brought Back Into Play". Screen Rant. January 20, 2010. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  11. ↑ "UPDATED: The Wolfman's Rejected Score Surfaces". Dread Central. August 2012. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  12. ↑ Glorieux, Thomas. "Danny Elfman: The Wolfman". Maintitles.net. Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  13. ↑ Clemmensen, Christian. "The Wolfman (Danny Elfman/Various)". Filmtracks.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  14. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Review: The Wolfman [Original Score]". AllMusic . Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  15. ↑ The Associated Press (October 14, 2010). "The Wolfman — Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  16. ↑ Grierson, Tim (February 10, 2010). "The Wolfman". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  17. ↑ Southall, James (March 24, 2010). "The Wolfman". Movie Wave. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  18. ↑ Scott, A. O. (February 11, 2010). "It's Hard to Be Refined as You Howl at the Moon". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Credits: The Wolfman [Original Score]". AllMusic . Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
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