Composing Greatness: #8. Thomas Newman - "The Good German" (2006)

Scene from The Good German

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Series Composer: Thomas Newman

Entry: The Good German (2006)

Collaborators (If Available): N/A

Nomination: Best Original Score 

Did He Win: No

Other Nominees:
-Babel (Gustavo Santaolalla)*winner
-Notes on a Scandal (Philip Glass)
-Pan's Labyrinth (Javier Navarrete)
-The Queen (Alexandre Desplat)

Additional Information

This is to help provide perspective of where each composer is in their Oscar-nominated life as it related to the current entry.

Oscar Nomination: 8

Oscar Wins: 0

Track List

1. "Unrecht Oder Recht (Main Title)"
2. "River Havel"
3. "Countess Roundheels"
4. "Such a Boy"
5. "Kraut Brain Trust"
6. "The Russian Deals"
7. "A Good Dose"
8. "Muller's Billet"
9. "Wittenbergplatz"
10. "Trip Ticket"
11. "Safe House"
12. "A Nazi and a Jew"
13. "Dora"
14. "Kurfurstendamm"
15. "The Big Three"
16. "A Persilschein"
17. "Stickball"
18. "Golem"
19. "Atom Bomb"
20. "The Good German"
21. "Hannelore"
22. "Occupation Marks"
23. "U-Bahn"
24. "The Brandenburg Gate"
25. "Skinny Lena"
26. "Rockets for Our Side"
27. "Always Something Worse"
28. "Godless People (End Title)"
29. "Jedem Das Seine"

Note: Listen to here.

Exploring the Music

The area of the column where I will explore the music in as much detail as I see fit for each entry.

Theme Exploration:

"Unrecht Oder Recht (Main Titles)"

If there's one thing that's a bit disconcerting about the latest Thomas Newman nomination, it's that it's maybe his least Thomas Newman-y. If the listener wasn't aware of the composer, there's a good chance that they'd be quicker to suggest that this was Max Steiner, or someone borrowing his deeply melodramatic tone that flows through the high pitched strings, booming drums, and the dramatics more akin to films of the 1930's and 1940's. With that said, it's an uncanny achievement for Newman, as he sounds exactly like Steiner's best work - managing to recall the danger of King Kong and the romance of Casablanca. For as much as this isn't an easy work to associate with him, he does a great job of creating the film noir atmosphere for the film, and does so with the familiar rich instrumentation, even if it's far more limited htan something like Finding Nemo or American Beauty.

Interesting Standout:

"Kraut Brain Trust"

As a whole, there's not a lot of moments that veer too far from the tonal center of the music. Thomas Newman is the most accomplished throughout this entire score, managing to create a dour atmosphere with every lingering note. That is, except for those spare moments of intensity where he's required to be more energetic (though still very much in a Max Steiner-esque score). Here he's playing around with the sound of strings punching along in a way that's secretive, forcing a mystery as the marching drums kick in. It's methodical for sure, but it manages to be a nice break from the swelling strings that flow like a river. Here, they're almost too short and jarring, but it works to capture a feeling of someone lingering behind you at every corner.

Best Moment:

"Dora"

To be honest, it's hard for Thomas Newman's score to have a lot of truly great moments, in large part because what is here is short and precise. That isn't a bad thing, but the tracks usually end before anything of value resonates. His melodies are precise, but it's not until the latter half, such as this track, where he begins to explore the other half of a Max Steiner score. He becomes romantic, heartfelt, and a bit somber. There's enough power here to forgive the first half's brevity and general lack of emotional impact. Where the first half feels like homage, this portion of the score is more fleshed out and features enough charm to work. This flows like the other tracks, but it's hard not to get something out of the emotional resonance of the strings that build to something intense and scary before fading out. It's an accomplished piece, and one that covers what's great about the score in one track. 

Did This Deserve an Oscar Nomination?:
Yes

In all honesty, it's hard to say that this should've won. While it's not the weakest of his recent run (A Series of Unfortunate Events), it's still good enough to work as a mood piece. The music is effectively coherent and brings out certain emotions in the expertly crafted orchestration. The only issue is that there's little here that's singular. It would be tough to think of this as a good representation of a Thomas Newman score, if just because there's not as much clever uses of instruments in the background. It's more of a tribute to the great Max Steiner, who is one of early Hollywood's greatest composers. So at least Newman is pulling from the best, and he's doing a good impression. It's hard to call this one great even if it rarely falters, but it does the job and it's an achievement unto itself that it captured the feel of an older movie score better than just about anyone else could. 

Up Next: WALL-E (2008) for Best Original Score and Best Original Song

Best Theme

A ranking of all themes composed by Thomas Newman.
1. "Dead Already" - American Beauty (1999)
2. "Wow" - Finding Nemo (2003)
3. "Orchard House" - Little Women (1994)
4. "Rock Island, 1931" - Road to Perdition (2002)
5. "Shawshank Prison (Stoic Theme)" - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
6. "Unrecht Oder Recht (Main Titles" - The Good German (2006)
7. "The Bad Beginning" - A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
8. "End Titles" - Unstrung Heroes (1995)