Search - Lalo Schifrin :: Magnum Force: The Original Score by Lalo Schifrin

My favorite Schifrin score.

Chadwick H. Saxelid | Concord, CA United States | 08/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After contributing what many, including myself, believe to be one the absolute greatest cop film scores of all time for Dirty Harry, it was no surprise that jazz buff Clint Eastwood would want composer Lalo Schifrin to return to score the sequel to the trendsetting cop thriller. Magnum Force was a very different movie from Dirty Harry, this time the villains are Harry's very own - rogue police officers that have grown tired of the legal loopholes criminals use to escape justice and have become Judge, Jury AND Executioners. The tone of the movie was far less serious and placed greater emphasis on over the top action. The body count is the highest of the series, with spectacular gun fights seeming to breakout every ten or fifteen minutes. Ted Post's direction also differed from Don Siegel's raw documentary style, making Magnum Force, as the soundtrack's liner notes point out, a more mass market action movie than its predecessor had been. Schifrin's score reflects this change in tone, being larger, louder, and far more involved in the movie than Dirty Harry's sparse score had been. Magnum Force was my introduction to Dirty Harry and Lalo Schifrin's music. The Force's military theme (heard to excellent effect in The Cop, Magnum Force, Rogue Gun and others) remains my all time favorite film cue. As far as I am concerned, this is Schifrin's best score and it is an essential for his fans and any and all lovers of film music. Highest recommendation."

Good

William R. Nicholas | Mahwah, NJ USA | 07/08/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The score from Dirty Harry was one of Lalo Schaffrin's best. The explosive funk and creepy interludes created quite a powerful album, never mind a soundtrack.



Magnum Force's score works differently. It does contain some of the funk elements of its pedessesor. In fact, it often repeats the theme from the first movie. But here, the emphasis is on the dark, quiet, suspenseful interludes.



These work in the film, and to a degree, on the album. But Magnum Force as a soundtrack album lacks some of the bite of Dirty Harry's score. With the funker elements downplayed, it does not have a consistent intensity.



But it is not bad, particularly if you like Schrifin's experments with dynamics. As ever, these are top notch. Just be ready for a much more subtle, atmospheric album"