Harry here... and there is no doubt whatsoever that ENTER THE DRAGON is the coolest score ever created. You put it on and suddenly you are... BRUCE LEE! Lalo created the sound of BRUCE LEE slinking in the dark.... ba bum, dodadiddyda da bu bum bum bum bum... Oh yeah baby! The second that score starts up, you are EGG STRA ORD INAWEEEE!!!! Oh yeah! Well, Quint set out to talk to the man, the legend and here's what was said...
Ahoy there, squirts. This is the resident crusty ol' seaman, Quint, here with a fun little interview I did a couple weeks ago with TV and film composer Lalo Schifrin. This man is a living legend whose scores have helped set the tone of some amazing films and television shows over the years. His unique scores have helped Ethan Hunt, Dirty Harry, Mannix, Starsky and Hutch, Bruce Lee and more recently Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan along on their adventures for almost 40 years now.
This man has been scoring film and TV since 1965 and has done amazing work on landmark films such as Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt, THX 1138, Kelly's Heroes, the Dirty Harry films, Enter the Dragon (my personal favorite), The Amityville Horror and more recently Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2... not to mention the hundreds of other films he's scored over the years. He's equally unmatched as a Television composer, having scored such widely known shows and universally loved themes as Mission: Impossible, Mannix and Starsky and Hutch.
Now, this interview starts off a bit rocky... apparently there was a confusion as to the amount of time I had with Mr. Schifrin. Most interviewers cut this stuff out because it makes them look like idiots, but I've always preferred to give you guys exactly what was said during the interview. I very rarely cut out a question. Also, a point of note is Mr. Schifrin was born in Argentina and English is his second language. Try, if you can, to read the interview with that kind of accent in mind. At any rate, here is the interview and I'll catch you folks on the other side. Enjoy.
QUINT: I GUESS WE'LL JUST START AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR CAREER. HOW DID YOU GET INTO COMPOSING IN THE FIRST PLACE?
LALO SCHIFRIN: (Long pause) Well, this is... you don't have my bio?
QUINT: WHAT'S THAT?
LALO SCHIFRIN: You do not have my bio.
QUINT: NO, I DON'T.
LALO SCHIFRIN: Oh... they told me it was a short interview. If you start like that...
QUINT: YEAH, IT'LL RUN LONG...
LALO SCHIFRIN: You should get my bio. We can send you one. You don't know anything about my career?
QUINT: I DID A BIT OF RESEARCH BEFORE THE INTERVIEW, BUT I'M SURE MOST OF THE READERS WOULDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT YOUR CAREER.
LALO SCHIFRIN: OK. We send you information.
QUINT: OK. CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME AND THE READERS THE PROCESS OF SCORING A MOTION PICTURE? YOU GET THE JOB, THEN WHAT HAPPENS?
LALO SCHIFRIN: Most of the time I read the script or I see some of the dailies or sometimes I see a first assemblage. I prefer to see the final cut because if you're making the music on something that's supposed to be happening in time... there's a rhythm to the film, there's a pace to the film. One of challenges a composer has, not only me, but any composer, is to find the rhythm of the picture, so this is an important part of the process.
Then, when finally the post production... the film is finished, the final cut... that is really what triggers my inspiration because the ideas come from the screen. Obviously, all the dramatic or comedic or the most important thing, the story and how it's being told and the photography... One thing that influences the music is the visual images, the way the colors suggest... there's something very poetic about it.
There's a correspondence between music and images. And, again, it's the function and the responsibility of the composer to come up with that correspondence, but sometimes we play a game with that correspondence. What we call "Play A Game" is a visual counterpoint. The movie's going in one direction and the music's going in another. One of the most simple examples I can give you is in the old westerns when there was a big, dramatic fight in a saloon and the piano player is playing different music to the incredible fight of life and death.
That's an exception, obviously, to the rule, but sometimes it works because when the music doesn't know what's going on in the screen it makes a very poignant statement. Sometimes it's better... Sometimes, I'm saying! If it's an exception. Sometimes it's better to play the fight and the danger... Sometimes it'll be too redundant.
But basically, to answer your question, yes, my ideas come from the screen.
QUINT: ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMPOSERS THAT HAVE INSPIRED YOU?
LALO SCHIFRIN: Any other composers that what?
QUINT: THAT INSPIRED YOU TO BE A COMPOSER YOURSELF?
LALO SCHIFRIN: Well... I'd have to give you a laundry list to be longer than your article. Yeah, there's all the great masters of the past in European Music and American Classical Music. From the times of Renaissance and Baroque going to the classics and the romantics and 20th century composers including Stravinsky... They've been the biggest influences.
You have to realize when I was during my formation, there were no music schools that were teaching scorings for films or television. Now there are. There are because there's a big demand from the students. All the most important music schools, not only in this country, but all over the world, they realize that students of composition are interested in the field for artistic reasons and also because you can make a living with it.
In my days, when I was a student, there was no such a thing, so I had to study how to compose for films by going to see a film sometimes 14, 15, 20 times. In those days there were very few soundtracks, especially of the films that I wanted. There were lots of soundtracks of musicals because they sold, but nobody was listening to soundtracks. There were sometimes B movies, horror movies or B movies that had fantastic scores and I paid attention a lot to that. That's the way I learned.
So, then I finally became more aware of who were these composers of this country. Alex North, Alfred Newman, Franz Waxman... I listened a lot to what they were doing. In other countries, to. There were many, many composers in Italy also. Later on came Nino Rota and (Ennio) Morricone. In France, much later, it'd be Michel Legrand and here some of my colleagues are my contemporaries that I admire a lot. John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith. Some people of the new generation I like, like Alan Silvestri and James Horner, so you know... I won't say they influence me, but I do admire them.
QUINT: DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE FILM SCORE THAT YOU'VE WRITTEN?
LALO SCHIFRIN: Well, this is like asking a father who is his favorite child. Basically, I like all my compositions.
QUINT: WHEN YOU'RE SCORING A FILM, DO YOU APPROACH EVERY PROJECT THE SAME WAY? FOR EXAMPLE, YOU SCORED BOTH THE AMITYVILLE HORROR AND THE CAT FROM OUTER SPACE. IS THE PROCESS THE EXACT SAME FOR THOSE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FILMS?
LALO SCHIFRIN: No, I don't think the same way. Because they're different... It's difficult to explain how creative activity goes. Funny, in a school you can teach or learn techniques, but you cannot teach inspiration. Inspiration comes, in the case of film, it comes from the screen. It really comes from the way the picture has been constructed. I said it before to you.
Obviously, a picture like Amityville Horror is totally different from Enter the Dragon or the last one I done, Rush Hour 2 or Tango. Each picture has its own personality. Even Rush Hour 2, which is a sequel to Rush Hour 1, I've done both. The beginning of Rush Hour 2 starts like Rush Hour 1, but very, very little... I mean, I wrote a new main title. There's a short section of the main title of Rush Hour 1 that starts Rush Hour 2 to establish an identity, like James Bond sequels, but after that I go into a different kind of score. This time I did a symphonic score. Very big, very epic. I use a big orchestra.
I ignore the comedy. I play the drama, the danger, the suspense, the action, the adventure. It was an interesting contribution. It was the director, Brett Ratner, is the one who suggested I do it this way and he was right.
QUINT: HE WANTED THE COMEDY TO SPEAK FOR ITSELF AND YOU TO PUSH THE ACTION UP A BIT?
LALO SCHIFRIN: The first one I did like an Enter the Dragon of the '90s. This time there are no rhythmic elements, say, based on popular music. Brett Ratner bought the rights to some Michael Jackson songs or something for the comedy, but my score isn't funny. It's absolutely dramatic. I'm talking the scoring, the background music.
QUINT: SO, HOW DID YOU GET THE RUSH HOUR GIG IN THE FIRST PLACE?
LALO SCHIFRIN: Brett Ratner is a big fan of mine and Enter the Dragon had been one of his favorite movies of all time. In his residence, he has an answering machine that when he's not there plays the music of Enter the Dragon. He's a big fan of mine.
QUINT: WE'VE MENTIONED ENTER THE DRAGON A FEW TIMES. THAT IS MY FAVORITE SCORE OF YOURS. IT HAS A VERY UNIQUE SOUND.
LALO SCHIFRIN: Thank you.
QUINT: HOW DID YOU APPROACH THAT ONE?
LALO SCHIFRIN: Well, by combining... fusing music of that time, it was 1973, the fusion of Jazz and some Rock elements with the music from the Orient, basically. Also, music that would work in the dramatic context. So, the combination of the three. You call it classical, oriental and fusion... this chemistry created the style of the score.
QUINT: YOU'VE ALSO SCORED SOME OF THE BEST CRIME FILMS FROM THE LATE '60s AND ALL THROUGH THE '70s, LIKE DIRTY HARRY AND BULLITT... [at this point a friend's bird who is currently occupying the Orca screeches loudly... twice]
LALO SCHIFRIN: Why, thank you.
QUINT: HEHE. SEE, THE BIRD'S A BIG FAN OF YOURS, TOO. [the bird starts screeching even louder] HOLD ON A SEC. [I go and try to calm the bird down a bit 'til it finally stops] ALRIGHT...
LALO SCHIFRIN: I hope you didn't kill it.
QUINT: NO, NO... THE BIRD'S VERY SAFE. HOW WAS IT THAT YOU STARTED DOING ALL THESE CRIME MOVIE SCORES?
LALO SCHIFRIN: I don't know. These guys called me to do them and I was around and I accepted. There are movies I turned down in the same vain. I didn't only do crime movies. I did Cool Hand Luke, for instance or The Fox. Cool Hand Luke is a human interest story and The Fox is a love story, a triangle. The success of those movies, the box office success, created an interest in the producers. Their mentality was, "Woah, if this guy was associated with that movie, I want him because I'm doing a movie about the same subject." I'd done Westerns. I'd done a Western with Clint Eastwood called Joe Kidd. I've done all kinds of movies. Science Fiction. THX... the George Lucas movie.
QUINT: WHAT GENRE HAVE YOU FOUND YOU'VE TAKEN TO THE MOST?
LALO SCHIFRIN: I like all of them, if the movie's good. The movie has to be good in any genre. It has to trigger something in me, it has to inspire me. If that happens, it's great. If that doesn't happen, it becomes difficult, like moving a big rock uphill.
QUINT: YOU MENTIONED THX 1138. WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH LUCAS AT THAT EARLY POINT IN HIS CAREER, WHEN HE WAS A STARRY EYED FILM STUDENT?
LALO SCHIFRIN: I had a great experience. He knew exactly what he wanted and was very meticulous and was very easy to work with. He knew how to communicate what he wanted.
QUINT: DOES IT WEIRD YOU OUT WHEN YOU HEAR A PARTICULAR THEME OR TRACK THAT YOU'VE COMPOSED JUST POP UP IN EVERYDAY LIFE. FOR INSTANCE, THE MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE THEME HAS BEEN EVERYWHERE SINCE THEY MADE THE FILM A FEW YEARS AGO.
LALO SCHIFRIN: Well, I find it very gratifying. The recognition of my success with themes is always a satisfaction. On the other hand, I don't let that stop me from moving ahead and thinking about my next project or my next ideas. I don't like to sleep in the light of glory.
Also, like awards and nominations... It's dangerous. I know cases, I'm not going to say names, but I know cases where colleagues win either an award or a nomination and they stop writing. They've achieved their goal.
QUINT: THE INTERVIEW IS WINDING DOWN NOW, BUT I'D LIKE TO BRING UP SOMETHING THAT REALLY STRUCK ME AS COOL WHEN I WAS DOING MY RESEARCH ON THIS INTERVIEW. YOU PLAYED WITH SOME AMAZING LEGENDS BACK IN THE DAY LIKE ELLA FITZGERALD, DIZZY GILLESPIE, STAN GETZ...
LALO SCHIFRIN: Dizzy Gillespie is the one who brought me to this country.
QUINT: AWESOME. TO HANG OUT AND PLAY WITH THESE GUYS MUST HAVE BEEN AMAZING.
LALO SCHIFRIN: I have records with them.
QUINT: REALLY?
LALO SCHIFRIN: Yeah. Many records.
QUINT: WOW... MY LAST QUESTION IS WHAT'S NEXT?
LALO SCHIFRIN: Well, in October I'm doing a symphonic composition that I'll record with the London Symphony Orchestra in Abbey Road studios. Also, in November there is a tribute in France at the Film Music Festival and for four nights they're going to be playing all my movies in the theaters.
QUINT: I GUESS THAT'S ABOUT IT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
LALO SCHIFRIN: On the contrary. Thank you. I'm sorry about the bio. We'll send it to you. Take care.
See, wasn't that fun, squirts? You don't get to hear from composers that often, which is a shame because they have one of the most important jobs in the business. Their touch is often the life or death of a picture. What if John Williams hadn't scored Jaws or Star Wars? What if John Carpenter hadn't scored his own flicks? Where would Halloween be? Could Hitchcock have found someone better than Bernard Herrmann to score his flicks? I’m working on getting you guys some more interviews with some pretty big name composers... we’ll see what comes about.
At any rate, there was a glimpse into the career of a living legend. I'm honored to have gotten to speak with Mr. Schifrin about his career and I hope you folks had some fun reading it. Keep your eyes on the horizon, folks, for I still have a bunch of cool interviews and script reviews to share with ye'. 'Til that day, squirts, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
