From the Aeolus 13 Umbra YouTube
channel.
Composer Jerry Goldsmith’s soundtrack
for the ground-breaking 1968 film Planet
of the Apes is a remarkable, underappreciated work that exemplifies the
experimental spirit of the 1960s. The “Main Title” theme immediately establishes a sense of mystery, layers of
woodwinds hooting like monkeys, the rattle of sticks, a single chord pounded on
the piano. There’s no melody — nothing analogous to the structure of typical
movie scores, not to mention epic big budget sci-fi films. No rousing theme to
be sold as a single. Here, Goldsmith creates not only an alien landscape, but
also a contemplative space. Planet of the
Apes poses an existential philosophical question to the audience and
Goldsmith’s soundtrack gives the space to contemplate it.
“Earthly mysterious” is a phrase
I’ve previously used to describe this album (“Logan’s Run Film Soundtrack,” also scored by Goldsmith), and I think it
fits pretty well. The instrumentation feels organic, at times even imitating natural
sounds. There’s a tension — even paranoia — in the soundtrack as the mystery unfolds in the film. The score reflects the audience’s journey as the secret to the Planet of the Apes slowly reveals
itself. Goldsmith cites Arnold Schoenberg as an influence in his work, and one can
hear the avant-garde Austrian composer’s atonal influence on
this soundtrack in addition to on parts of Logan’s
Run.
In Cinefantastique’s Planet of
the Apes issue (Summer 1972) Goldsmith spoke about the soundtrack, saying, “it should not be an electronic score, not gimmicky, and [I] wanted to do it
with a normal orchestra. I did not want to do the obvious on this . . . I was
thrilled with it." Goldsmith also notes that at the time of the interview,
“the Austrian Ballet is using it in their production of 'Othello'” (37). While
Goldsmith does use orchestral elements, he departs from the epic orchestration
approach in place of what is a minimalistic and sometimes discordant soundtrack
that captures the sense of mystery and danger in the movie. According to
Goldsmith, no experimental techniques or “unusual instruments” were used,
except perhaps for stainless steel bowls used with the percussion section for the
waterfall scene (“The Clothes Snatchers”) and putting the
mouthpiece backwards on the French horns, to achieve “that swooshing sound in
the desert scenes” (37).
Additionally, in the Cinefantastique article, Goldsmith reported
that he used “A Polynesian instrument called ung-lungs . . . used in the cave
sequence” (“The Cave”) (37). Unfamiliar with the instrument, I did some research and could find no reference to the term except in the book, Celluloid
Symphonies: Texts and Contexts in Film Music History (2011), which states “no such instrument, Polynesian or otherwise, appears to exist” (313). In the first published draft of this article, I noted Goldsmith may have been tossing
out a red herring perhaps to
maintain a professional secret or maybe even as a joke to the still up-and-coming
fanzine. Fortunately, this blog attracts a knowledgeable demographic and Aeolus 13 Umbra reader Tomp (see Comments below) noted that ung-lung is a likely misspelling of the similar-sounding Indonesian instrument angklung, probably due to a misunderstanding in the pronunciation. Thanks to Tomp for solving this mystery and I updated this article accordingly.
Global rights to the soundtrack
were obtained by the International Tape Cartridge Corp. in what was then the
first-ever deal that the rights to manufacture the vinyl album and celluloid
tape versions of the soundtrack were awarded to a tape cartridge
duplicator/distribution company. The soundtrack was released as an LP set, “in
all mechanical forms, and both 4-track and 8-track cartridges,” according to Billboard (22 June 1968). The 1968 Project
3 Records release, featured here, has 10 tracks, but a later 1997 release from Varese
Sarabande includes nine more tracks from the original motion picture soundtrack.
Goldsmith was a wide-ranging
composer with scores to some of the most important and popular film and TV
shows of his era. He garnered Academy award nominations not only for Planet of the Apes (1968), but also for Patch of Blue (1965), The Sand Pebbles (1966), and Patton (1970). Goldsmith also scored for
other films such as In Harm’s Way
(1965), Our Man Flint (1966), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) as
well as the themes to the TV shows The
Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), Room 222
(1969), and The Waltons (1972), among
many others. His soundtracks to Logan’s Run
and Planet of the Apes represent two
avant-garde extremes: the former, ambient and electronic, and the latter, “Earthly
mysterious” and organic. Both albums are essential listening for both film
score buffs and sci-fi fans — neither will be disappointed.
Listen
to the album on the YouTube video above or the individual tracks below.
Music composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith.
1. Main Title (2:13)
2. The Revelation (1:13)
3. The Clothes Snatchers (2:40)
4. New Identity (2:06)
5. The Forbidden Zone
(2:56)
6. The Search (4:59)
7. The Cave (1:21)
8. A Bid For Freedom (1:22)
9. A New Mate (1:08)
10. No Escape (5:17)
Total time: 35:23
● ● ●
How I miss the 60's. Excellent opening paragraph as well as rest of the article, fine example of the power of a film score to reflect the spirit, perhaps even the physical sense too, of the movie. I remember feeling both mystified and scared when I first watched the movie on the big screen.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading AND listening!
DeleteI wasn't trying to be anonymous, it just worked at that way on above comment due to my unfamiliarity with the logging industry.
ReplyDeletepeace -
tomp
new jersey
Tomp - Thanks - I think that solves the mystery of what the ung-lungs are - angklungs! That makes perfect sense. I will update the article with your info and credit your contribution.
DeleteI'm glad to help
ReplyDelete