Enter The Dragon

Lalo Schifrin - The Big Brawl (1980) {Quartet Records QR289 rel 2017}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 198 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 46 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1980 Towa Music / Quartet Records | QR289
Jazz / Classical / Soundtrack / Stage & Screen

Quartet Records and Towa Music presents the premiere CD release of super-cool Lalo Schifrin’s high-octane jazz action score for The Big Brawl (aka The Battle Creek Brawl) The film was directed by Robert Clouse, who previously helmed Enter the Dragon, the film that cemented Bruce Lee as a legend of cinematic martial arts. This 1980s effort was meant to do the same thing for Jackie Chan, giving him an American debut vehicle that could make him a household name outside Hong Kong. The story is set in Prohibition-era America where Jerry Kwan (played by Chan) works at a shop and dreams of marrying his fiancée, Nancy (Kristine DeBell). When his crazy fighting skills get noticed by a crime syndicate, Jerry is forced to enter a fighting tournament where he must beat the muscle-bound champion if he wants to see his girlfriend again…

This vaunted "new" chapter in the exploits of serial killer/cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter is actually the first, essentially a remake of Manhunter, Michael Mann's adaptation of the Thomas Harris novel in which Dr. L. is but a supporting player. But where Mann used a nervous, often ironic rock and postpunk pop score, Danny Elfman's largely orchestral soundtrack here punctuates the film's creep factor with tense arpeggios and crashing rhythms. Nothing wrong with that, per se the old school masters succeeded following a similar tack for decades. But Elfman is no Bernard Herrmann here. In fact, there's often precious little to remind us that this is the same composer who served up such goth-modern standouts as Batman, Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and Darkman. It's a score that's masterfully atmospheric, yet strangely sterile - and one that occasionally dithers uncomfortably close to McGoth.