Chances are you've already heard an extract from Jerry Goldsmith's The Invaders suite without even knowing as it's cropped up in various television shows and films since its creation. Different sections of the track have been mined like it was the stock musical equivalent of Bob James' Nautilus for shows like Rawhide (1959 - 1965) and The Fugitive (1963 - 1967).
Named after The Invaders, from The Twilight Zone episode where a mute Agnes Moorehead is besieged by tiny alien invaders in her cabin, Jerry Goldsmith's composition would make a recurring musical appearance throughout the show. A favourite example of this being for the episode, To Serve Man, where it can be heard as the musical motif to the big twist:
The first time I recall hearing it was on Lewis Teague's awesome Jaws rip-off, Alligator (1980), where baby Ramón, the pet alligator, is flushed down the toilet in the pre-credits. What are the chances the Farrelly brothers watched the film and made the same musical association with a toilet as I still do? The reason being, the tinkling of the ivories portion from The Invaders can also be heard during the unforgettable toilet scene twist from the nineties classic Dumb and Dumber (1994):
Guessing the Farrellys weren't content with having just one toilet escapade as The Invaders turned up in a deleted scene from the film. Kind of thankful it wasn't included in the theatrical cut of the film as it might have ruined the overall tone, in my opinion.
7 comments:
I can't see the words Chamber Music and not think of Jim Bowen's holocaust joke on Bullseye.
On the subject of reoccurring music, I'm a big fan of how Stanley Myers' Cavatina was originally recorded for some British crime movie, reused in The Deer Hunter and then became the theme song of the nicest children's TV show in BBC history Take Hart.
Will always associate Cavatina with innocent kids' paintings in The Gallery rather than American POWs blowing their brains out playing Russian roulette in some Vietnamese hellhole.
You learn somethinf new every day. Stanley Myers was the soundtrack composer to Pete Walker's best films.
Oh shit!
The Deer Hunter has to be a top 2 most overrated American movie of the 70s. Kermode is spot on about Michael Cimino - the highlights of his career are co-writing the scripts of Silent Running and Magnum Force.
I remember liking the Vietnam scenes in The Deer Hunter, but yeah, I do think it's overrated, since it winds up taking a precious slot whenever I see greatest films list. There's way too much filler in that film, and I can't stand Meryl Streep.
What's the other overrated American movie of the 70s in the top two?
Top 3:
1. Days Of Heaven
2. The Deer Hunter
3. Barry Lyndon
None of those deserve being on anyone’s Top 70s Films list, unless it’s by some jumped up hipster critic. 😀
Watched Joseph Sargent’s Colossus: The Forbin Project the other night and it bodies any of those films, and it’s not even his best film from the 70s.
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