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“BLADES OF GLORY
skates around a number of musical ideas and genres, more
successfully with the straight—and sometimes overblown—heroics than
with the outright comedic bits.”
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Not Exactly Glorious…But Fun Nonetheless
Review by Cap Stewart
In the realm of sports, the phrase “Blades of Glory” might conjure up
images of amazing feats and astounding accomplishments. The last thing
that would naturally come to mind (before the release of this movie,
anyway) would be Will Ferrell and John Heder, let alone as men in
tights…on ice…in skates. Of course, that’s kind of the point. Comedy
springs from the unexpected, and the plot of BLADES OF GLORY is no
exception.
Not exactly unexpected was the selection of THEODORE SHAPIRO to provide
the score. No stranger to comedy, Shapiro had previously written the music
to STARSKY & HUTCH, DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY, and THE DEVIL WEARS
PRADA (just to name a few). The composer has stated that he prefers not
forcing comedic elements into a film, but rather to play seriously and let
the comedy come out of the story. This tendency is evident in BLADES OF
GLORY. The musical devices and genres Shapiro uses are rather varied, but
the most prominently used is the heroic sports music, and this music ends
up being the score’s saving grace.
In fact, the main theme is such a memorable and inspiration piece that it
would fit perfectly in the televised presentation of the Olympics. As a
standalone piece of work, the sports music for BLADES OF GLORY rarely
sounds over-the-top—although I’m betting the accompanying visuals
dramatically (or comically) change the feel. (Not having seen the film, I
can’t say for sure.)
If one were to be exposed to the first several tracks of the soundtrack
without any introduction, the resulting conclusion might be that this is a
serious score for a serious sports movie. It isn’t until track 5 that the
music becomes blatantly comedic. Of course, one look at the track titles
would confirm the music’s—and film’s—genre. Such track titles include
“Slice and Dice on Ice,” “Icy Hot Superslides,” and “Grublets On Ice!”
Track lengths generally stay around one or two minutes. Only “The Chase”
(track 21), an all-out action cue, and “Blades of Glory” (track 23) exceed
the six-minute mark. Unfortunately, two of the best tracks on the album,
“World Wintersport” (track 20) and “Breaking the Ice” (track 22), are also
two of the shortest—both under thirty seconds.
As mentioned earlier, there is a rather large hodgepodge of musical
ingredients. None of the elements stays around for too long, but there are
hints at many ideas, including the Middle-East, the Old West, ancient
Middle-Earth (think Howard Shore’s theme for the Orcs), and even Barney
(yes, the purple dinosaur everyone wishes Dick Cheney would go hunting
with).
Not to be outdone by the (purposefully) heavy-handed nature of “The Chase”
(track 21), the last track begins with a thematic, instrumental, and
choral buildup that rivals the dramatic intensity of any action/epic movie
trailer ever produced. “Over the top” doesn’t begin to describe it.
(Again, I’m sure that’s the point. In any case, it’s a great sixty seconds
of music.) Shapiro finishes the album by bringing back the sports elements
in all their…well, glory.
In summary, BLADES OF GLORY skates around a number of musical ideas and
genres, more successfully with the straight—and sometimes
overblown—heroics than with the outright comedic bits. The score won’t win
any gold medals, but it is fun enough to listen to.
Rating: 6/10
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Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
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1 |
Slice and Dice
on Ice |
1:08 |
*** |
|
2 |
Capture the
Dream |
2:37 |
*** |
|
3 |
Freight
Train
from
Hell |
2:35 |
*** |
|
4 |
Snow
Cones |
2:28 |
*** |
|
5 |
Icy
Hot
Superslide |
1:21 |
*** |
| 6 |
The Verticoli |
0:54 |
*** |
| 7 |
The Family Plot |
1:55 |
*** |
| 8 |
The Iron Lotus |
1:31 |
*** |
| 9 |
Ready to Make History |
1:00 |
*** |
| 10 |
The Illustrated Man |
1:16 |
*** |
| 11 |
Pile of Guts |
1:57 |
** |
| 12 |
The Loophole |
0:57 |
*** |
| 13 |
Grublets on Ice! |
0:56 |
** |
| 14 |
Teh Human Onion |
0:35 |
** |
| 15 |
We Did It |
0:40 |
*** |
| 16 |
Plan B |
0:52 |
** |
| 17 |
Stranz and Fairchild |
0:55 |
** |
| 18 |
Disowned |
1:12 |
** |
| 19 |
Cruel Bitch Mother |
1:21 |
** |
| 20 |
World Wintersport |
0:28 |
*** |
| 21 |
The Chase |
6:53 |
*** |
| 22 |
Breaking the Ice |
0:23 |
*** |
| 23 |
Blades of Glory |
6:02 |
**** |
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Total Running Time (approx) |
51 minutes |
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