This is another entry in my Complete Score Breakdown Series, focusing on the complete scores to films that have had abbreviated previous releases or have gone unreleased.
Today we are looking at The Haunting (1999) by Jerry Goldsmith.
This one’s for you trstnvnk, I watched it again! No, but I’ve wondered for awhile how much music was missing from Jerry Goldsmith’s score to the 1999 film The Haunting. I didn’t particularly want to revisit the film to find out, but trstnvnk convinced me to. I think I hated the film even more this time around, but I did enjoy listening to the complete film version of Goldsmith’s score, which runs 62min50sec, resulting in nearly 28 minutes of unreleased score. Side note, the movie features an alternate film version of the CD track “Curtains” that is extended; it features a different middle section that has a more Hollow Man-ish vibe and has a gorgeous Hill House theme tacked onto the end. The addition of this film version makes the (known) complete score runtime 65min 28sec. The original Varese Sarabande album contained 35min15sec of score.
The score in general is pretty fantastic in my opinion, and the unreleased material only makes it moreso, expanding on the music’s chilly, classic horror film grandeur with brief injections of trademark Goldsmith electronics. The theme for Hill House never gets old and the expanded score delivers more great variations on icy strings as well as further developed well-designed old-school fright music with Jerry’s distinct touch. Eleanor’s Theme gets more play as well, and what I noticed that was interesting was that the theme itself is both hummed by the character played by Lili Taylor and played on some sort of vintage instrument, a Victrola or something, so not only is it a theme for Eleanor but it is part of the story in a way. The cue "Faulty Staircase" is a very exciting cue with aggressive and brazen orchestral writing for the scene where Liam Neeson's character attempts to climb the iron staircase to get to Lili Taylor's character. The original CD could've benefited from that cue greatly. The unreleased "Escape Attempt" is some great kinetic Goldsmith as well.
The final two cues (CD tracks “Finally Home” and “Home Safe”) seem to play as one long cue, so I listed it as such in the complete score section.
I hope (and presume) Varese will be working on expanding this classic, last great horror score by Goldsmith!
CURRENT CD RELEASE RUNTIME: 35min 14sec COMPLETE FILM VERSION SCORE RUNTIME: 62min 50sec UNRELEASED SCORE RUNTIME: 27min 36sec
COMPLETE FILM VERSION SCORE RUNTIME + CD VERSION OF “CURTAINS”: 65min 28sec
Complete Score Cue Titles and Cue Times (unreleased cues named by me for the sake of identification):
+ – previously unreleased (or includes previously unreleased material)
1. The Haunting (1:17) + 2. A Place for Everything (1:33) – (part 1 of CD track “A Place for Everything”) 3. Hill House (1:48) – (part 2 of CD track “A Place for Everything”) 4. The Front Gate (1:43) + 5. Mrs. Dudley (1:35) + 6. Theo’s Arrival (0:51) + 7. Purgatory (1:40) + 8. The Carousel (1:03) – (edited from CD track) 9. Eleanor’s Story (0:45) + 10. First Blood (0:59) + 11. Insomnia (2:30) + 12. Curtains (3:00) + – (extended film version) 13. Luke’s Reservations (1:15) + 14. Investigating the Fireplace (1:07) + 15. Welcome Home Eleanor (1:50) + 16. The Greenhouse (1:32) + 17. Bloody Footprints (0:50) + 18. Crane’s Ledger (2:15) + 19. Curly Hair (3:05) 20. The Picture Album (4:05) 21. False Experiment (1:26) + 22. Sealed Bones (1:00) + 23. Shadow (1:05) + 24. Return to the Carousel (3:46) 25. Faulty Staircase (3:12) + 26. Terror in Bed (4:33) 27. Escape Attempt (2:22) + 28. Eleanor’s Theme (0:54) + – (played in film on vintage instrument) 29. Another Way Out (0:44) + 30. Finally Home Safe (9:23)
Current CD Release Track Titles and Track Times:
1. The Carousel (2:56) 2. Terror in Bed (5:35) 3. A Place for Everything (3:18) 4. Curtains (2:38) 5. Curly Hair (3:11) 6. The Picture Album (4:49) 7. Return to the Carousel (3:11) 8. Finally Home (6:18) 9. Home Safe (3:16)
I remember going to see this film in theaters. Put it this way: my money was Maggie Grace and the movie was a foreign sex slaver. Sadly, my particular set of skills did not include asking for a refund.
Terrific score, though. That first cue with the booming 'Hill House' motif over the film's title is my most wanted unreleased cue.
Not a very good movie, except at the craft level. The production design is excellent, the house itself is pretty impressive, and the effects are pretty good. Of course, there is Jerry doing his weird stuff with carnival music or whatever that is, and his blend of electronics and big orchestral sweep in this one is extremely refined.
Another really refined and excellent score, for a less than stellar movie.
Probably my least favorite Goldsmith "horror" score, but perhaps due to the album program I'm used to. I have a feeling an expanded edition might make me appreciate it more. Like a haunted house, I'm certainly not revisiting that movie again.
I absolutely love Eleanor’s Theme. As for the movie itself... I had it playing on Netflix recently and... well, I think it works better if you think of it as a parody.
I wonder what Jerry Goldsmith fans think of this original, especially since Goldsmith was already scoring feature films by 1963. If Goldsmith wrote the music for Robert Wise's "The Haunting", what do you think it might sound like? Would it sound similar to "Freud" and/or "Shock Treatment"? Does anybody think Goldsmith's 1999 "The Haunting" is better than "The Haunting" by Searle?
This was one of the worst assembled soundtrack albums EVER. I couldn't even get through it. Later, I found the complete score in score order and made a nice copy for myself - suddenly it was a real movie score and was terrific, definitely one of Jerry's better later scores.
I remember watching the movie (which is terrible) and being disappointed that they butchered "Finally Home." I'm not sure if an alternate ended up getting written or what but my favorite part of the cue is replaced by some other music.
I love the mixing on the Varese cd. To my untrained ears it is one of the best sounding cds I own- every instrument is clearly audible and the electronics blend in perfectly. I would love an expanded release.
I love the mixing on the Varese cd. To my untrained ears it is one of the best sounding cds I own- every instrument is clearly audible and the electronics blend in perfectly. I would love an expanded release.
I agree with Mike, the mix on this score is really sumptuous, I do not know why, but there is plenty of space in the recording space, there is air in the mix, and the orchestra and electronics are truly in the same audio space. This is an awesome recording.
I still remember going to see the movie in a theatre... and I must have been probably the only one who actually liked the movie back then... haven't seen it in ages, but still... it wasn't as bad as some reviews might suggest. and it would be revelation today with so many crappy found fotage movies and endless rip offs and comic books crap...
The score is great and quite underrated too. Not sure if there is anything important missing, but I would still grab the expansion without a second of hesitation.
It's a wonderful score, though - as others have noted - the album isn't by any means a great assembly and the work as a whole would benefit enormously from a complete presentation.
The movie itself starts off pretty good, and it has some of the best production design of the 90s, but it completely falls apart once the actual "haunting" starts to happen & the mostly ugly CGI becomes egregiously excessive. As a big Shirley Jackson fan, I also have to note that the book is mostly thrown out the window, and hardly figures at all after the opening scene. Of course, a brilliant movie adaptation of the novel was already made in 1963, and it had a score that's even better than Goldsmith's. The real problem here is that "The Haunting" didn't need to be made again when there are other Shirley Jackson novels - "We Have Always Lived in the Castle," "Hangsaman," etc. - that would potentially make great movies if anybody bothered tackling them. But at least we got one of the best late Goldsmith scores out of this.
Thanks, Deputy Riley, for another instructive breakdown of a worthwhile score.
I dislike and disapprove of the remake, but the score is a knockout.
haineshisway: This was one of the worst assembled soundtrack albums EVER. I couldn't even get through it. Later, I found the complete score in score order and made a nice copy for myself - suddenly it was a real movie score and was terrific, definitely one of Jerry's better later scores.
You found a complete tape in score-order and now you can listen to it anytime you want. You make us all envious with a post like that. Any chance of releasing it?
Dylan: The movie itself starts off pretty good, and it has some of the best production design of the 90s, ...
The production design is part of the problem in the remake. Architecturally those hallways make no sense. Nobody builds or lives in a house designed like that.
Some good people in the cast, but the remake is a total waste of celluloid. Too much money thrown at bad ideas. It isn't even a good scare on its own terms. Jerry Goldsmith's score is its only saving grace, and now that Deputy Riley has provided the breakdown, I hope one of the boutique labels who participates here will facilitate an expanded CD release before this year's Halloween.
Dylan: ...but it completely falls apart once the actual "haunting" starts to happen & the mostly ugly CGI becomes egregiously excessive. As a big Shirley Jackson fan, I also have to note that the book is mostly thrown out the window, and hardly figures at all after the opening scene. Of course, a brilliant movie adaptation of the novel was already made in 1963, and it had a score that's even better than Goldsmith's. The real problem here is that "The Haunting" didn't need to be made again when there are other Shirley Jackson novels - "We Have Always Lived in the Castle," "Hangsaman," etc. - that would potentially make great movies if anybody bothered tackling them. But at least we got one of the best late Goldsmith scores out of this.
You express my own thoughts very well. Robert Wise's THE HAUNTING has been a lifelong favorite, and so has the novel. Much of the film's success is owed to the script by Nelson Gidding, with whom Wise worked very closely, I understand. They added the group statue of the Crain family in the atrium to put a face and a sense of presence to the ghosts who are never shown. It works, but in recent years (I first saw the film on TV in the late sixties and then projected at a Halloween marathon) the addition has come to seem unnecessary. As brilliant and perfect as the film is, I think there is room for a remake, one that is faithful to the letter and spirit of the novel while still being different from Wise's version. Your points about Shirley Jackson's novels are also well-taken particularly We Have Always Lived In the Castle her last major novel (published in 1962).
You are welcome for the Breakdown, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I enjoyed reading your post, you very much made me want to go back and check out the original film and book! I'm now very curious about them, even though I loathe this remake.
Thanks, Deputy Riley, for another instructive breakdown of a worthwhile score.
I dislike and disapprove of the remake, but the score is a knockout.
haineshisway: This was one of the worst assembled soundtrack albums EVER. I couldn't even get through it. Later, I found the complete score in score order and made a nice copy for myself - suddenly it was a real movie score and was terrific, definitely one of Jerry's better later scores.
You found a complete tape in score-order and now you can listen to it anytime you want. You make us all envious with a post like that. Any chance of releasing it?
Dylan: The movie itself starts off pretty good, and it has some of the best production design of the 90s, ...
The production design is part of the problem in the remake. Architecturally those hallways make no sense. Nobody builds or lives in a house designed like that.
Some good people in the cast, but the remake is a total waste of celluloid. Too much money thrown at bad ideas. It isn't even a good scare on its own terms. Jerry Goldsmith's score is its only saving grace, and now that Deputy Riley has provided the breakdown, I hope one of the boutique labels who participates here will facilitate an expanded CD release before this year's Halloween.
Dylan: ...but it completely falls apart once the actual "haunting" starts to happen & the mostly ugly CGI becomes egregiously excessive. As a big Shirley Jackson fan, I also have to note that the book is mostly thrown out the window, and hardly figures at all after the opening scene. Of course, a brilliant movie adaptation of the novel was already made in 1963, and it had a score that's even better than Goldsmith's. The real problem here is that "The Haunting" didn't need to be made again when there are other Shirley Jackson novels - "We Have Always Lived in the Castle," "Hangsaman," etc. - that would potentially make great movies if anybody bothered tackling them. But at least we got one of the best late Goldsmith scores out of this.
You express my own thoughts very well. Robert Wise's THE HAUNTING has been a lifelong favorite, and so has the novel. Much of the film's success is owed to the script by Nelson Gidding, with whom Wise worked very closely, I understand. They added the group statue of the Crain family in the atrium to put a face and a sense of presence to the ghosts who are never shown. It works, but in recent years (I first saw the film on TV in the late sixties and then projected at a Halloween marathon) the addition has come to seem unnecessary. As brilliant and perfect as the film is, I think there is room for a remake, one that is faithful to the letter and spirit of the novel while still being different from Wise's version. Your points about Shirley Jackson's novels are also well-taken particularly We Have Always Lived In the Castle her last major novel (published in 1962).
Yes, it was during my Varese years and I saw the DAT and made a CD from it. Any complete release would depend on whether Varese has it forever - in that decade they seem to have gotten forever on a lot of titles. That would not happen these days.
The believability of the remake's production design wasn't an issue with me as I took it for style rather than an attempt to create a "realistic" space. It definitely has a "hall of mirrors" and "haunted mansion" look to it. I'm sure the design of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" doesn't look "realistic" either but it looks amazing. But to each their own.
The only way I'd ever watch another version of this book is if a cast and crew that surpassed the one assembled for the 1963 version tackled a new version and shot it on 35mm with a wonderful orchestral score. Fat chance of that happening. But I would love to see other Shirley Jackson stories and novels adapted for screen.
No, but I’ve wondered for awhile how much music was missing from Jerry Goldsmith’s score to the 1999 film The Haunting. I didn’t particularly want to revisit the film to find out, but trstnvnk convinced me to. I think I hated the film even more this time around, but I did enjoy listening to the complete film version of Goldsmith’s score, which runs 62min50sec, resulting in nearly 28 minutes of unreleased score. Side note, the movie features an alternate film version of the CD track “Curtains” that is extended; it features a different middle section that has a more Hollow Man-ish vibe and has a gorgeous Hill House theme tacked onto the end. The addition of this film version makes the (known) complete score runtime 65min 28sec. The original Varese Sarabande album contained 35min15sec of score. 
