The Punisher [Original Motion Picture Score]

by Dennis Dreith

Overview

It might seem reasonable to assume that the star-crossed 1990 film The Punisher (starring Dolph Lundgren), based on the Marvel Comics character, which did not have a soundtrack album initially, finally got one 15 years later only because the property had gained greater recognition, especially musically, after a 2004 remake (starring Tom Jane) resulted in its own gold-selling soundtrack album and a Top 20 hit, "Broken," by Seether featuring Amy Lee. But Paul Tonks, who wrote the liner notes to the belated album, and producer Robin Esterhammer, who interviewed director Mark Goldblatt and composer Dennis Dreith for 23 minutes of conversation that are appended to the disc, say nothing about that. Rather, they focus on the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the film's initial distribution. The company that made it was sold just as it was being finished, with the result that it earned theatrical release only in France, Germany, Great Britain, and Japan in 1990, but went straight to video in the U.S. in 1991. The reason the soundtrack album appeared in 2005, Goldblatt tells Esterhammer, can be found in the name of his record company, Perseverance, and Tonks also makes it sound like the album is a long-promised dream. Nevertheless, the success of the soundtrack to the remake probably had something to do with it. Using a 40-piece orchestra, Dreith, like other composers for action movies before him, has the opportunity to write for a variety of moods, from calm, if ominous, cues like "Tanaka Meets Franco" to stirring martial passages such as those found in "Funhouse Shootout," and even to sneak in some chamber music ("Chopin"). The presence of a major Oriental character, Madame Tanaka, justifies the use of Japanese-sounding percussion, especially in the later parts of the score. The music does not constitute the sort of great lost work Tonks suggests, just as the first cinematic treatment of The Punisher is not a lost classic (although it does get higher points from film critics than the 2004 version). But it is well worth putting on disc for fans of movie music. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	05/17/2024
Label:	Notefornote Music
UPC:	0760137141525
Rank:	203596

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dennis Dreith   Primary Artist,Conductor
Steve Forman   Percussion
Jim Self   Trombone,Tuba,Trombone (Bass)
David Duke   French Horn
John Cooke   Cello
Kenneth Burward-Hoy   Viola
Evan Wilson   Viola
Herschel Wise   Viola
Margaret Batjer   Violin
Gwenn Heller   Violin,Violin
Michael Lang   Piano
Darius Campo   Violin
Malcolm McNab   Trumpet
Frederick Seykora   Cello
Lloyd Ulyate   Trombone
Stuart Canin   Violin
Sheldon Sanov   Violin
Mario Guarneri   Trumpet
Haim Shtrum   Violin
Dane Little   Cello
Simon Stokes   Vocals
Todd Hemmenway   Cello
Bruce Fowler   Trombone
Mihail Zinovyev   Viola
Suzette Moriarty   French Horn
Drew Dembowski   Bass
Diana Halprin   Violin
Kurt McGettrick   Shakuhachi,Clarinet (Contrabass)
Todd Miller   French Horn,French Horn
Reg Hill   Violin
Gwen Heller   Violin
Josef Schoenbrun   Violin
Bob Sanov   Violin
Louise di Tullio   Flute,Piccolo
Fred Seykora   Cello
David H. Speltz   Cello
Jimmy Lacefield   Bass
Misha Zinovyev   Viola
Mark Goldblatt   Director
Russ Cantor   Violin
Bob Zimmitti   Percussion
Roland Kato   Viola
Antony Cooke   Cello
Brian Leonard   Violin
David Schwartz   Viola
Warren Luening   Trumpet
Clayton Haslop   Violin

Technical Credits

Robin Esterhammer   Audio Production,Producer,Interviewer
Dennis Dreith   Composer,Audio Production,Interviewee,Producer
Simon Stokes   Composer
Michael Klein   Executive Producer
Bobby Fernandez   Score Mixer
Les Brockmann   Digital Editing
Kevin Lee Hiatt   Music Copyist
Jim Titus   Design
Sandy De Crescent   Contractor
Paul Tonks   Liner Notes
Michael Ellis   Executive Producer
Harry Garfield   Composer
Steven Fowler   Music Copyist
Douglas F. Dana   Music Copyist
Mark Goldblatt   Interviewee
Jack Furling   Music Copyist