November 21, 2014

  • Aleph Releases Classic Schifrin Score: Enter the Dragon

    Fans of Lalo Schifrin’s music will be delighted to hear that Aleph Records will be releasing his score for Enter the Dragon.  Released in 1973 at the height of the composer’s most popular scores, the film is most noted for being martial arts expert Bruce Lee’s final film as well as the first film of its type produced by Americans.  The score has always been a highly sought after item and at one point was available in a special collector’s edition through Warner Home Video.  Now, the score is being issued on its own.  Though more recent listeners are familiar with Schifrin’s Rush Hour scores, this first exploration of Chinese motifs by the composer was the first and is an iconic, and cult music, favorite.

    The variety of percussion instruments creates the perfect atmosphere for the opening “Prologue—The First Fight”.  What makes the score such a great example of the period is that the elements of faux-Asian music is set alongside the sort of big brass action music (“Su-Lin”) that Schifrin was using in films like Bullitt and this “cool” urban atmosphere is what takes over the “Main Titles” so deliciously (an alternate main title closes off the disc as well).  The 1970s’ style of action scoring is thus set against Schifrin’s thematic ideas as the score unfolds.  The striking Asian music ideas, like those that open “Han’s Island” or “The Banquet”, might be otherwise overlooked if it were not for how unique they were in American cinema at the time and that Schifrin captures this sound while also incorporating urban and jazz musical backdrops (“Headset Jazz”), and his personal action music style further reminds the listener as to why this is such a fan favorite.  There are also some interesting effects (as in “Goodbye Oharra”) that add further eeriness to the music.

    The Aleph CD uses the same order that appeared in that earlier CD, but adds and additional track, “Theme from Enter the Dragon”—adding another 2 minutes to the earlier releases playing time.  It also reprints Jon Burlingame’s essay, though with bigger print and spread over a few more pages, though these feature few movie stills.  The sound is excellent in what looks like a repressing of the 1996 remastering.