The Boys From Brazil

A dark tale received a combination of dark unnerving suspense, and true uplifting waltzes. A bizarre combination indeed, you ask yourself if it would work? But knowing it was Jerry Goldsmith for a Franklin J. Schaffner film it was not a question you had to keep repeating. The question is more, are you going to like it? Because the dark music is quite frenetic and potent. Like we heard it before from Goldsmith. But here it plays more on the sinister nature and the unknowing horror of the tale. The waltz is always around the corner somewhere, sometimes taking over frenetically. And let us honest, the theme is also the saving grace of the album. Because without it, it would have been a gloomy tale for sure. Surely the score is full of detail and complexity, and composers of today would merely faint if they ever started to dissect it. But it's also the fact of liking the music as enjoyment. And for that The Boys From Brazil works perhaps better in the film itself. Exceptions are cues like "Jungle Holocaust" which delivers some strong drama, as well as a long main theme statement in "Print! / The Dark Room / End Title". So even though I admire The Boys From Brazil from a technical point of view, I don't see myself listening to it in full again. For that the dark nature is too evident. Compilations are then of course handy, so Goldsmith fans will know what to do if they are not sure.

The main waltz is the thing that will sell this soundtrack for sure.
The complexity, the detail, the craftsmanship. Composers of today would faint by merely thinking of it.
The suspenseful attacking music is both a plus and negative of this score. At one end propulsive and complex ...
... At another end hard to admire considering it will not be for everyone.

Track Listing

CD 1: 55.30
1. Main Title (1.35) Excellent track
2. The Killers Arrive (5.30)
3. What Does He Want (4.02)
4. Find It / Don't Believe Me (4.58)
5. Kill Him (1.36)
6. Reuters News (0.36)
7. Broken Bottles (2.00)
8. We're Home Again (Film Mix): Elaine Paige (4.10)
9. S29 (1.46)
10. Without Hope / Frau Doring (4.48)
11. Do Yours (0.35)
12. The Dam (1.43)
13. Over the Top / Frieda Maloney (2.25)
14. December 11th (1.26)
15. The Hospital (Revised) (2.22)
16. Jungle Holocaust (3.39)
17. Old Photos (2.57)
18. You! (1.14)
19. The Right One (1.18)
20. Print! / The Dark Room / End Title (6.50) Excellent track

CD 2: 55.05
Original 1978 Album
1. Suite from "The Boys From Brazil" (19.49)
2. We're Home Again (Album Mix) (3.51)
3. Frau Doring (8.14)
4. The Dogs & Finale (6.57)

Bonus Tracks
5. Siegfried Idyll [excerpt] (Richard Wagner) (4.24)
6. The Blue Danube [excerpt] (Johann Strauss II, adapted by Arthur Morton) (2.27)
7. Ismael's Samba [radio source] Arthur Morton (2.00)
8. The Hospital (2.19)
9. The Killers Arrive [without percussion overlay] (5.04)