Nineteen Eighty-Four

Airstrip One Company

Music Composed and Conducted by Dominic Muldowney

Lyrics by Jonathan Gems and George Orwell

Release Date: 1999

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     There have been many instances in movie history where a film’s score was replaced somewhere during the production cycle. Alex North’s lost score to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Jerry Goldsmith’s score to Legend are some of the most remembered. Where as North’s music was no great loss, the score to Legend suffered greatly by the replacement of Goldsmith’s score with pop songs. Most of the time, whenever an orchestral score is replaced with pop songs, you can be sure that the original music was something grand. And that is precisely the case with the British film 1984. Even though the score was lost to the film, this album presents the music for us to judge. And in my opinion, this flick suffers from that decision.

     1984 is a movie about an oppressive totalitarian society, a nation called Oceania. The music works wonderfully in this context, even though it is oppressive and dark enough to be avoided if you’re in a good mood. The source music, which is included as an anthem for Oceania and some miscellaneous songs, are well done. Oceania’s anthem plays throughout the score, signifying the encompassing presence of "Big Brother." The theme for Winston Smith is lush and romantic, and is taken over by the Oceania anthem by the end of the score, transmuting a loud, bombastic fanfare to a beautiful orchestral piece. Another neat twist occurs in track eight, which starts of with Winston’s theme with the refrains of a march appearing after a minute or two. The march begins to "march" in on the music until it completely takes over. After a few minutes, the march subsides, leaving us again with the original music that started the track. This makes for a very interesting effect.

     As I’ve said before, this is not a very upbeat score in the least. While this is understandable due to the tone of the movie, it is not a CD that you’ll want to listen to very often. However, the music in this score is excellent, and the varied use of the different themes is terrific. I hope that whenever this movie is released on DVD or re-released on VHS or on some other format, that Dominic Muldowney’s score would be re-mixed into the soundtrack. After all, could you imagine John William’s music to The Empire Strikes Back or Superman being replaced by pop songs? I think not. ****

Track Listing

1 - Aria (1:13)

2 - This Is Our Land (1:26)

3 - Main Title: "Oceania, 'Tis for Thee" (2:44)

4 - Winston's Diary/The Dream (4:22)

5 - Dead Insects and Cheap Perfume (2:33)

6 - The Ministry of Truth (3:09)

7 - Thoughtcrime (1:45)

8 - The Chestnut Tree Cafe/Victory March for The Returning Heroes of the Malabar Front (4:44)

9 - Paddington Station/"The Hiking Song" (2:12)

10 - Winston and Julia (3:14)

11 - Party Rally (2:00)

12 - A Room Upstairs at Charrington's (3:16)

13 - Was There Ever a Time? (0:14)

14 - Winston Meets O'Brien (1:02)

15 - Leaving the Proletarian Zone (1:44)

16 - The Inner Party Speaker (1:12)

17 - Memories of Mother (2:03)

18 - Victory Square (2:50)

19 - "The Washerwoman's Song" (2:08)

20 - The Place Where There is No Darkness (3:01)

21 - The White Cell (0:53)

22 - The Corridor to Room 101 (1:51)

23 - Winston at the Cafe (0:48)

24 - End Titles (4:12)

Total Running Time: 54:19