And now it's time to take a look back at a score from another era. "Around the World in 80 Days" is a film that was recently remade (score by Trevor Jones) but the updated version failed to connect with modern audience and was thus written off as another Hollywood misfire. The original, however, always seems to bring a smile to the face of those you speak to about it. You see, it's a movie that embraced the fun factor and also capitalized on a more innocent era of filmmaking.
Victor Young's score has been digitally remastered and received a professional packaging for this 'new' release. At first glance, it may not be the type of soundtrack that you'll be aiming for (if you're a modern soundtrack enthusiast), but it's one that is deserving of a chance to be added to your collection because in all honesty, it has a very charming and uplifting appeal.
After listening to "Around the World in 80 Days," it gave me a rather clear understanding of how film music has evolved to where it has reached to today. It seems like there was more of a cerebral approach taken to music from the past. For instance with this score, there is more of a clear approach that is distinguished in the writing -- more of a consistency and well executed strategy. In today's music, score cues differ so greatly from one another in a film that it feels scattered from one moment to the next with all hope for unity being dissolved in the process.
In "Around the World in 80 Days," the music never takes itself too seriously nor does it go over the top in the opposite direction. In it, there are a variety of clearly realized themes and sub themes at work, all of which keep a light air to it. Even during the moments of peril in the story, when dangers is at hand, the score never strays away from the context of the film and retains a light palette that is easy to engage in. There are also quite a few classical motifs to use in a 'guest starring' role, so to speak.
In traveling the various locales, the music also switches to fit the geographical locations. This adds another dash of fun to the mix as you get to hear Young's adaptive skills at work. I especially enjoyed the music heard during the "Sioux Attack" sequence with the colors of the wild west painted in. To look at this track specifically, you can notice the quality of writing as an effective summary toward my points about the level of expertise at work in the world of classic scores. Had a track like this been created today, with all it's varied music retained, you would have been slammed by such sharp cuts and transitions that even an MTV video would become dizzy.
Now, regarding the matter of sound quality -- the remastering of the soundtrack yields decent enough results and makes the output is very listenable. Due to the era in which the score was recorded, you will not get that 'full' sounding orchestra that you may be used to, but that's something worth working around. More so, had a composer such as this had the resources that's available today, it's interesting to thnk about what he could have been delivered to us. As it is, and as it shall be, it's a nice nostalgic situation with this score as it provides genuine entertainment value. If for nothing else, you may want to buy this simply to research the differences between the modern works and those of the classics. If you're serious enough about film music, it's a fun exercise.
Final Score: Rediscover a time of innocence and comedy with the expandedof "Around the World in 80 Days." It's a classic score that achieves entertaining results, no matter the era you're in.
