The Wolfman (soundtrack)

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The Wolfman
Film score by
Danny Elfman
ReleasedFebruary 23, 2010
Recorded2009–2010
GenreFilm score
Length66:05
LabelVarèse 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.

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[edit]

In August 2008, Danny Elfman was announced as the film's composer.[1][2] His involvement in the project was mostly being grew up with Wolfman and other monsters during his childhood.[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] The studio, however, rejected the score after the film was cut down half an hour in length and the music became too "wall-to-wall", creating what Johnston called too much repetition.[4]

Due to the film's turbulent production, Elfman's contractual obligation to work on the Tim Burton-directorial Alice in Wonderland (2010), meant that he was unable for re-scoring the film. The producers eventually decided that rather than expand on his ideas with a new compose, 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 similar tone to the successful Underworld film series, turning a slow-paced story into a much faster one. Later, Paul Haslinger was subsequently roped in as the composer in November 2009.[5] He wrote a contemporary electronic score for the film, which the studio quickly realized was not appropriate for the late 19th-century Gothic setting. Elfman's previously recorded original score is, as a result, the one that is used in the final film.[6] 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.[7] British musician Lustmord further contributed additional music.[8]

Release[edit]

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.[9] 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.[10]

Track listing[edit]

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

Reception[edit]

In a four-star review, music critic Jonathan Broxton wrote "One could say that, as a score, The Wolfman has ‘teeth’ where the film itself does not, but that might be taking things a little too far."[11] 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]

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from AllMusic:[19]

  • Music composed and produced by – Danny Elfman
  • Additional music – Conrad Pope, Edward Shearmur, Thomas Lindgren, Lustmord
  • Recording – Robert Fernandez
  • Digital recordist – Vincent Cirilli
  • Mixing – Alan Meyerson
  • Mastering– Patricia Sullivan Fourstar
  • Music editor – Bill Abbott, Shie Rozow, Shannon Erbe
  • Assistant music editor – Denise Okimoto
  • Score editor – Noah Snyder
  • Music supervisor – Kathy Nelson
  • Executive producer – Joe Johnston, Scott Stuber
  • Technician – Richard Grant
  • Management
  • Album supervision (Universal Pictures) – David Buntz
  • Executive album producer (Varèse Sarabande) – Robert Townson
  • Director of scoring (Universal Pictures) – Tiffany Jones
  • Executive in charge of music (Universal Pictures) – Harry Garfield
  • Music business affairs (Universal Pictures) – Phil Cohen
Hollywood Studio Symphony
  • Orchestration – Dave Slonaker, Edgardo Simone, Mark McKenzie, Michael Byron
  • Supervising orchestrators – Steve Bartek, Conrad Pope
  • Conductor – Pete Anthony, Conrad Pope
  • Orchestra contractor – Gina Zimmitti
  • Concertmaster – Bruce Dukov
  • Music preparation – Reprise Music Services
  • Scoring crew – Denis St. Amand, Dominic Gonzales, Stacey Robinson, Tim Lauber, Tom Steel
  • Instrumentation
  • Bass – Bruce Morgenthaler, Chris Kollgaard, Drew Dembowski, Ed Meares, Frances Liu Wu, Oscar Hidalgo, Peter Doubrovsky, Sue Ranney
  • Bassoon – Rose Corrigan
  • Cello – Andrew Shulman, Tony Cooke, Armen Ksajikian, Cecilia Tsan, Tina Soule, Chris Ermacoff, Dennis Karmazyn, Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick, Kim Scholes, Giovanna Clayton, Paul Cohen, Steve Erdody, Steve Richards, Tim Loo
  • Clarinet – Stuart Clark
  • Flute – Louise Ditullio
  • French horn – Dan Kelley, Jenny Kim, Kristy Morrell, Mark Adams, Phil Yao, Steve Becknell
  • Harp – Katie Kirkpatrick
  • MIDI controller – Marc Mann
  • Oboe – Leslie Reed
  • Percussion – Bob Zimmitti, Mike Fisher, Wade Culbreath
  • Piano – Randy Kerber
  • Timpani – Peter Limonick
  • Viola – Brett Banducci, Brian Dembow, Darrin McCann, David Walther, Denyse Buffum, Karie Prescott, Keith Greene, Lynne Richburg, Marlow Fisher, Matt Funes, Mike Nowak, Rob Brophy, Roland Kato, Sam Formicola, Shawn Mann, Thomas Diener, Vickie Miskolczy
  • Violin – Alan Grunfeld, Alyssa Park, Belinda Broughton, Carol Pool, Christian Hebel, Darius Campo, Eun-Mee Ahn, Helen Nightengale, Jackie Brand, Jennie Levin, Joel Derouin, Josefina Vergara, Julie Gigante, Julie Rogers, Katia Popov, Kevin Connolly, Lily Ho Chen, Marc Sazer, Natalie Leggett, Neel Hammond, Phil Levy, Roberto Cani, Roger Wilkie, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Shalini Vijayan, Sid Page, Tami Hatwan, Tereza Stanislav, Yelena Yegoryan, Richard Altenbach
Page LA Studio Voices
  • Vocal contractor – Bobbi Page
  • Vocalists – Aleta Braxton-O'Brien, Alvin Chea, Amick Byram, Amy Fogerson, Bob Joyce, Bobbi Page, Christine Guter, Cindy Bourquin, Clydene Jackson, Diane Reynolds, Richard Wells, Elin Carlson, Elissa Johnston, Fletcher Sheridan, Greg Jasperse, Gregg Geiger, Guy Maeda, Joanna Bushnell, Jonathan Mack, Kimberly Switzer, Leanna Brand, Linda Harmon, Luana Jackman, Marc A. Pritchett, Mary Hylan, Michael Geiger, Michael Lichtenauer, Reid Bruton, Renee Burkett, Rick Logan, Sally Stevens, Steve Amerson, Susie Stevens-Logan, Tonoccus McClain, Vatsche Barsoumian, Walt Harrah

References[edit]

  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. ^ a b c 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. ^ "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. ^ "Danny Elfman WILL Be Scoring The Wolfman After all". Dread Central. January 20, 2010. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "LUSTMORD: The Wolfman". Lustmord Official Website. November 5, 2009. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "UPDATED: The Wolfman's Rejected Score Surfaces". Dread Central. August 2012. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  11. ^ "THE WOLFMAN – Danny Elfman". MOVIE MUSIC UK. February 13, 2010. Archived from the original on October 14, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  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. Prometheus Global Media. 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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