Basil Poledouris (1945-2006)

[Paul MacLean]

Basil Poledouris, composer-extraordinaire, passed away yesterday at the age of 61.

I was among those fortunate enough to make Basil's aquaintance, having interviewed him on three separate occassions. He was a wonderful man -- kind, funny, hospitable, generous and down-to-earth. He was also brilliant, perceptive and articulate about art, music and his profession.

Its human nature to want to believe the people we admire from afar are friendly, accessable and interested in speaking to their fans. Alas, this is rarely the case, but it was most definitely true of Basil Poledouris.

We will miss you, Basil.

[Carlson2005]

I'm gutted. Seriously.

[Edmund Kattak]

It hits you like a ton a bricks - the horrible news. It's a sick and empty feeling that bowls through you for at least 10 seconds.

This is how I felt the first 10 seconds upon hearing Kamen, Goldsmith, and Bernstein died. It is the same feeling I have right at this moment. The loss from Poledouris was felt after the last original score I purchased, THE TOUCH. I kept waiting for him to get that one project (like Goldsmith) that would put his talents back into the arena of acclaim. For some reason, it extends far beyond the notion of "self-validation" of listening to film music. It's a feeling of admiration and pride in someone else's achievements. Everytime I sit down and watch a movie like HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and a family member or friend comments on how good the music is, I can't help but smile and feel that pride. It's a weird concept to articulate, but then again, so is the concept of "loss" at times.

I am just pummeled right now.

[Eric W.]

I'm gutted. Seriously.

@#$%!

You said it!




Does anyone know more or less the cause of death? I feel like I've read here and there that he was having a few health issues.

I certainly wasn't looking out for this, though.

[AndyDursin]

It's sad from a number of angles. Not having met him I can only speak from an admirer's standpoint, which is to say what he left behind -- his strongest works -- are as significant as any in modern cinema. Clearly he was a wonderful guy as well, as evidenced by what so many have written about him and anyone who was in contact with him. The first I heard about him personally was when Paul shared his experiences with Basil, back when I was in college, and I knew then this was a remarkable guy, especially for the industry.

On a professional level, his passing is sad for so many reasons. This is probably isn't the day to do it, but from a film music perspective his loss is as great for what he didn't write as much as he did. Creatively, I don't feel quite as devastated as when Goldsmith, Bernstein, even Kamen passed away. His career of note basically ended with STARSHIP TROOPERS and SWITCHBACK in 1997 -- and the comparative silence of recent years is understandable since we heard he had family problems and health issues.

I also would never call his career tragic, but how many composers who start off scoring a masterwork like CONAN basically fall off the face of the Earth like he did? It's as if he had all this untapped potential -- the ability to write a CONAN, LONESOME DOVE, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, etc. -- but he finished it off flying under the radar with so many unremarkable '90s scores...then CROCODILE DUNDEE IN L.A. and a few TV movies.

Very, very sad -- especially for those of us who were expecting a comeback, which it certainly seems he had in him. As far as I can tell his last theatrical feature was 2002's THE TOUCH, a Michelle Yeoh-Richard Roxburgh fantasy that remains unreleased in the U.S. I've never watched my import copy but I will probably do so now, in honor of Basil. I've also added a note about his passing up near the site's banner, too.

[AndyDursin]

My 5 favorite Basil scores are, in no particular order:

-CONAN THE BARBARIAN: Not the second one (a crushing disappointment in his career), but the original classic. One of the great film scores of all-time, never mind the 80s.

-LONESOME DOVE: Anyone who watched this outstanding mini-series knows how crucial, memorable and moving Basil's themes were. Unforgettable.

-QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER: Scored shortly after the above for the same director, this is a spirited western score with a marvelous main theme that's hard to get out of your head! Out of print now, it's worth every penny, though perhaps Doug Fake and Intrada will resurrect and expand it for a future tribute release.

-WIND: Especially the Japanese CD release with the song he co-wrote...a very satisfying musical collage of synths and electronics.

-BIG WEDNESDAY: There definitely was something so strong about Basil's connection with the sea (as he and Milius were surf buddies). This early work remains one of his very best.

[Carlson2005]

Through mutual friends I met him a few times when I was still living in the States, and I always found him to be generous, friendly, a little larger than life at times (small wonder he got on so well with Milius - he could be almost Milius-lite at times!) and a lot of fun to be around, the kind of person who had the gift of making people around him feel valued and welcome. His recording studio was in a particularly bad part of town that taxis refused to go to, but somehow that didn't bother him - his idea of a security system was a Mexican beer label stuck on the door - not least because it came with a flagpole from which he would delight in raising the Stars and Stripes when he arrived and lowering it when he left.

I can't claim to have known him on those few meetings, but I'll still miss him, both the man and the music.

[Edmund Kattak]

I think it started with Goldsmith for me. That is, when he died (and I'm still numbed by the musical loss), I began to feel the clock ticking more than ever before. So, it's when people like Kamen (55) and Poledouris (61) pass on - still young and very capable in terms of their craft - does the loss (for me) become more heartfelt. I wasn't particularly a Kamen fan. Nevertheless, I felt a tremendous loss when he passed on so suddenly. I believed that he had more to say, musically. There were still some great scores yet to be composed. Similarly, I believed that it was possible for Poledouris to come back for one or two films, if he felt that they were inspiring and challenging enough.

Everyone is going to have their favorites - for their own reasons. For me, it's always been Goldsmith, Williams, Barry, Poledouris, Broughton, Bernstein, Horner. In my musical universe of growing up, these were the "go-to" guys in terms of finding something interesting, fun, sad, happy, exciting, melancholy, lyrical, thematic, atonal, and so on. Maybe it's because they all, in a way, followed a similar composing paradigm. I don't know why, but I feel the loss greater if these guys go, knowing that there might not be anyone with their sensibilities to replace them. It's truly sad.

I supposed those who grew up as children of the Golden Age would feel the same about Waxman, Steiner, Rosza, Friedhofer, Newman, Raksin, et. al. I have very little connection to this era and style of scoring, so it's harder for me to understand and appreciate the music. But I totally understand what they meant to their era - needless to say, the growth of film music in the early days of film.

What will the landscape look like in 5, 10, or 15 years. It's depressing to think about. So I say, enjoy who we have folks.

[AndyDursin]

What will the landscape look like in 5, 10, or 15 years. It's depressing to think about. So I say, enjoy who we have folks.

I think we're already there Ed. I think the landscape has become barren and if it's not Williams or Horner, I'm usually not interested. To me they're the last two composers working today of the traditional, "Classical" film music bent and when they're gone, a part of film music will be gone as well.

Nobody wants to put a list together but whether it's Ottman or Beltrami or any endless number of Zimmer clones, the art of film music continues to diminish at a rapidly alarming rate. Guys like Barry rarely work anymore; Broughton is relegated to TV fare; and others who had a few big hits like Safan are out of there almost entirely.

I sadly think the future is already here. I've told Lukas that if FSM were trying to launch in 2006 instead of 1990, there wouldn't be any FSM.

[Monterey Jack]

*SIGH*

[mkaroly]

Along with CONAN THE BARBARIAN, I also loved THE BLUE LAGOON- the people we grew up on are leaving us and it is very sad.

[Eric W.]

Andy and Edmund summed up my thoughts perfectly on all of this.

[mrsbrody]

>>
I sadly think the future is already here. I've told Lukas that if FSM were trying to launch in 2006 instead of 1990, there wouldn't be any FSM.<<

Well, I think clearly FSM wouldn't be able to launch in 2006 since you were one of the founders and now you don't like film music. You make valid points but I still think there are composers fighting the good fight. From what I've read you don't like Danny Elfman anymore but I can still hear him writing his ass off. Patrick Doyle has done a lot of great work and I'm not about to write him off because Harry Potter wasn't up to his usual standards. James Newton Howard has been consistently terrific on the M Night movies. Williams has showed no signs of fatigue. I don't like James Horner but I'm glad he's still around. Not a lot of Howard Shore fans at andyfilm but he's always pusing the envelope, trying something different. Thomas Newman is a real innovator and has also written some gorgeous melodies (like How to Make an American Quilt). So yes, things are definitely bad, but not as bad as you say. It's not over yet.

[AndyDursin]

Well, I think clearly FSM wouldn't be able to launch in 2006 since you were one of the founders and now you don't like film music. You make valid points but I still think there are composers fighting the good fight. From what I've read you don't like Danny Elfman anymore but I can still hear him writing his ass off. Patrick Doyle has done a lot of great work and I'm not about to write him off because Harry Potter wasn't up to his usual standards. James Newton Howard has been consistently terrific on the M Night movies. Williams has showed no signs of fatigue. I don't like James Horner but I'm glad he's still around. Not a lot of Howard Shore fans at andyfilm but he's always pusing the envelope, trying something different. Thomas Newman is a real innovator and has also written some gorgeous melodies (like How to Make an American Quilt). So yes, things are definitely bad, but not as bad as you say. It's not over yet.

MrsB you are not totally correct. I am not a big fan of current film music -- but I happen to love GOOD film music just fine and as much as I always did I even mentioned Williams and Horner specifically as the last great composers still working REGULARLY today.

Other than that, yes I think it goes without saying there isn't nearly as much great film music being written as there used to be. I also can tell you I'm not the only "founder" who feels this way, either, especially about the "new generation" which continues to flounder and show little sign of writing anything memorable on their own merits. Trying to launch FSM right now in the climate of a dark period in film music would not be viable -- it just wouldn't.

One problem with these other composers you mention is that, indeed, it's a case of what have you done for me lately. Not that they can't write great film music...but when was the last time it happened?

-Newton Howard's collaboration with Shyamalan has indeed resulted in some terrific scores -- some of the best of this decade so far, I totally agree with you, particularly THE VILLAGE. Outside of that, JNH hasn't hit a home run in some time. KING KONG wasn't so hot and I don't need to hear the excuse that it was because he had to score it in 2 weeks -- Goldsmith had an even tighter schedule on STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE but look what he produced.

-Thomas Newman HAS written some wonderful melodies. When was the last great score he wrote? SHAWSHANK was 12 years ago. QUILT was even older than that. It's been a while.

-Doyle has written some WONDERFUL scores. Sadly I can't think of one since his illness that approaches the work he did before he came sick. Just being honest. I named A LITTLE PRINCESS the best of '96 and I loved NEEDFUL THINGS as well, so I know his potential and still listen to some of his older scores (the Branagh works in particular). Recent results, though, indicate he is sadly past his prime from over a decade ago.

-Elfman and Burton have produced some wonderful work together. I did not care for CORPSE BRIDE but SLEEPY HOLLOW was great and I really enjoyed CHARLIE. Outside of his work with Burton, though, when was his last, truly memorable work? Elfman rehashing the same super hero score he's written since the early '90s has exhausted itself to the point where even some of HIS work was being tossed out of SPIDER-MAN 2.

Just my two cents. I still get pumped up over a new Intrada or Varese release routinely and can't wait to see what newly remastered CDs are coming, so don't mistake my comments for a lack of enthusiasm over film music in general.

[mrsbrody]

>>The>-Newton Howard's collaboration with Shyamalan has indeed resulted in some terrific scores -- some of the best of this decade so far, I totally agree with you, particularly THE VILLAGE. Outside of that, JNH hasn't hit a home run in some time.<<

The Village wasn't that long ago and Lady in the Water, while not a homerun, was very good with a terrific cue at the climax.

>>Thomas Newman HAS written some wonderful melodies. When was the last great score he wrote? SHAWSHANK was 12 years ago. QUILT was even older than that. It's been a while.<<Road>>Elfman and Burton have produced some wonderful work together. I did not care for CORPSE BRIDE but SLEEPY HOLLOW was great and I really enjoyed CHARLIE. Outside of his work with Burton, though, when was his last, truly memorable work? Elfman rehashing the same super hero score he's written since the early '90s has exhausted itself to the point where even some of HIS work was being tossed out of SPIDER-MAN 2.<<

I don't know if you've heard Elfman's new concert piece, or if you'd even want to count it because it's not film music, but it's filled with the most infectious melodies he's written in ages and it gives me great hope for his work in the future. It is absolutely tremendous. Spiderman is hobbled by a weak theme but what he DOES with the theme is ingenious and as such, I can't write the score off as Elfman being lazy. The writing is too imaginative for that. I know you do not agree.

Maybe Williams is the only composer left who is consistantly great. But there are enough guys who are OCCASIONALLY great to keep things interesting, for me at least. I actually think Howard Shore has been consistantly great for the past few years too.

Things are never going to be like they were in the 80s but it can't be the 80s forever. And I'm grateful for the handful of guys who are still doing good work today.