Music Composed by Jerry Goldsmith
Rating: *** 1/2

While the early half of the 1980s is frequently held to be Jerry Goldsmith’s strongest period (arguably stronger and inarguably more varied than John Williams’ more famous output of the same period), the later half of the 1980s is just as frequently considered his weakest. This isn’t to say that he didn’t compose more than a few fan favorites during the period, but for every Lionheart there seemed to be three Warlocks. Extreme Prejudice falls into this less-than-glamorous period of Goldsmith’s career, and because the score is neither as loveable as Hoosiers nor as hideous as Rent-a-Cop, it’s been frequently overlooked. The people at La-La Land have attempted to change that, however, with their newly expanded re-release of the score. While such an elaborate release for such a minor entry in the Goldsmith canon might a trifle unnecessary, it offers a new opportunity to revisit one of the late maestro’s more neglected works and serves as a solid reminder that even his lesser efforts were still crafted with great care and detail.

Jerry Goldsmith

I’m told that the film is a contemporary Western of sorts, a genre that Goldsmith had dominated in the late 1960s – early 1970s. I couldn’t imagine a score further from the sensibilities of these early Western classics, however. As many have noted, Extreme Prejudice is actually more similar to Under Fire in that Goldsmith uses an enormous bevy of synthesized noises and uses them to build layer upon layer of sound in an almost-minimalist fashion. But where Under Fire used these devices as a means of conveying romance, exotica, and passion, Extreme Prejudice is primarily concerned with suspense. This means that we get little in the way of grand themes or melody in general, and more in the way of edgy atmosphere and tension, only occasionally relieved by Goldsmith’s signature thematic payoff.

And the edginess in that atmosphere, it must be said, is diluted quite a bit by the sheer cheesiness of the synthesizers. Now Goldsmith did more towards making synthesizers a natural augmentation to the orchestra than any of his peers, and at his best the results were both brilliant and timeless – despite the dated equipment, scores like Logan’s Run, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Legend sound just as fresh and stunning today as they did when they first premiered. But for some reason towards the late 1980s Goldsmith’s electronic instruments began to overshadow his orchestra, and the synthesized soundscapes began to resemble strange new worlds less and the standard ’80s pop scene more. Unfortunately, Extreme Prejudice falls close to the latter category, and while it’s certainly nowhere near as bad as the likes of Criminal Law, there are still more than a few cheesy passages that Moroder himself would probably cringe at. Drum machines and every other warbling synth gadget that marked roughly 70% of the film music from the era abound, only occasionally assisted by the orchestra. To be fair, Goldsmith blends the orchestra into his synthscape seamlessly — but whether being seamlessly blended into this synthscape does the orchestra any favors is up for debate.

This hardly sounds like a glowering recommendation, but oddly enough, if you’re willing or able to get over the sheer cheesiness of the tools Goldsmith uses, you actually will find a remarkably well-structured and engaging score. Though big themes are in short supply, fragmented motifs are painstakingly sewn together, and the layering Goldsmith implements is often astonishing. Goldsmith fans will likely recognize pieces of themes from more famous Goldsmith scores in the motifs, from Capricorn One (”Arrivals/Main Title”) to First Blood (”Cash”) to Total Recall (”The Set Up”). Less important than the thematic material itself is how Goldsmith uses it, however. He rarely worked with minimalism, but here he uses the technique to often breath-taking ends, building layer upon layer of maddening tension. The best example of this quality is without doubt the mammoth “The Plan (alternate),” where Goldsmith spends a whopping 9 minutes building momentum and chaotic levels of suspense, reaching explosive results around the 8-minute mark (bafflingly, the director had Goldsmith revise this cue for the final cut – these revisions are heard hear for the first time in the three preceding tracks). There’s an intricate organic sense to the way the score gradually develops, and constantly reminds us that music that sounds cheesy on the surface can still be masterfully constructed.

And we do get one knockout melody that surfaces near the end of the album, first in “No Friendlies,” then in the rousing finale “A Deal.” Played on synthesized pan flute, the theme has frequently been likened to the march theme from Under Fire, though the melody itself is actually more in keeping with those dark Westerns Goldsmith scored in the early part of his career – perhaps the only indication that the film is in fact a Western. Having said that, however, I should note that if you’re among the many who count the closing call to arms from Under Fire as one of Goldsmith’s most powerful creations, then Extreme Prejudice is worth having for the closing track alone. Though not quite as moving as that more famous piece (would that even be humanly possible?), “The Deal / End Credits” carries the same spirit of a passionate anthem that builds so much in scope and power that you’re liable to choke up with emotion no matter what you were otherwise engaged in while listening (strengthening the argument that one should only listening to this score in private). Of course, this is old news to everyone who already had the 1987 release. I’m not convinced that La-La Land’s newly restored and expanded edition is worth the investment if you already have that older edition, but La-La Land’s edition is inarguably the superior product. The extra 15ish minutes of music hardly warrant repurchasing the score, but the new material, along with the improved sequencing, does allow the score to flow in a much more organic manner. The crystal-clear sound quality is also first rate. Granted, I can think of dozens of Goldsmith score more deserving of this first-class treatment, but it’s first-class treatment nonetheless.

Extreme Prejudice is ultimately a difficult score to make a good judgment call on, because every time the music gets cringe-inducingly hideous, something engaging and even brilliant manages to develop from the same material moments later. If you’re more than a casual Goldsmith fan and are the sort of person who can drive down the street with Hoosiers blasting out your open windows without a scrap of shame, then you’ll probably love Extreme Prejudice (perhaps a little too much). But if you’re the sort of person who can’t listen to something like Leviathan alone in the house, for fear of the potential humiliation in store in the event that burglars break in and hear what you’re listening to, then you may want to proceed with caution here. Force yourself to get over the unintentional silliness, however, and you have a fine low-key effort from Goldsmith. It seems like an odd score to treat with such an elaborate expanded edition, but perhaps this will open the doors to newly expanded restorations of other lesser-known Goldsmith classics – if Extreme Prejudice can get the first class treatment, maybe there’s still a chance for The Boys from Brazil, First Knight, the Dante films (hell, any of them!). One can only hope.

Music Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith; Orchestrated by Arthur Morton and Alexander Courage; Performed by the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra; Recorded and Mixed by Mike Ross; Executive Album Producers: Michael V. Gerhard and Matt Verboys; Availability: In print; Label (Catalogue): La-La Land Records, (LLLCD 1028); Release Date: February 22, 2005

01. Extreme Prejudice
Un-Used Trailer Score (2′14)
02. Carolco Logo * (0′18)
03. Arrivals/Main Title (5′21)
04. Cash (7′29)
05. Next Time * (0′23)
06. The Set Up (3′22)
07. Dust (4′18)
08. A Nice Fellow * (1′31)
09. The Plan * (2′04)
10. The Bank (Parts 1,2 & 3) * (5′00)
11. The Bank (Part 4) * (1′33)
12. The Plan (Original Version) (9′23)
13. Identities (1′49)
14. To Mexico (3′07)
15. No Friendlies (2′42)
16. Positions * (0′53)
17. They Don’t Care (3′30)
18. Fighting and Dying * (2′14)
19. The Funeral ** (2′12)
20. A Deal/End Credits (4′40)
* - Never-before-released
** - Not in final film

Total Playing Time: 64′03