God Awful Hamlisch Soundtrack

The overblown, cheaply written and just plain uninspired soundtrack is probably what keeps this film from being a complete classic. Right from the first note I thought 'This is the wrong music for this film!'.
It's not an age/era thing-- both Planet of the Apes and Bullitt came out in the same year, and they had fantastic scores, as did The Graduate from the year before.
It's the only thing holding this gem back. Time for a re-score!

This beautiful heart-wrenching score IS THE SWIMMER as much as Lancaster or any other component. Yes there is a lot of music in it but during his many pool visits is either heard only as a sort of party like background music (the first pool and later at the Biswanger's) or not heard at all (virtually all of the other 7 to 8 stops) and perfectly delineates the mood and atmosphere for each and every scene it appears. Music is heard as it should be during the transitional periods between pools but there is just the beautiful imagery and Merril (no dialogue to compete with) or for awhile underscores Merril and his one time babysitter Julie most prominent during their hurdle jumping scene together which would have been absurd to go without music. Ditto for the final scene in which Merril finally reaches home. It is essential here that the music dramatically represent the end of our hero's obsessive journey. All along he has defined himself by achieving this one task... "Lucinda is waiting, the kids are home playing tennis, I'm swimming home." The music must and does dramatically coincide here and with it's two alternating themes perfectly match the profound tragedy we witness on screen. As to the other contentious subject, the Cheever story is great. But so is the film. No matter how inspirational the literary source is, the movie starts over simply because it's a story told by a completely different medium. I think the author understood this simple fact. John Cheever was on hand during its filming, helped Lancaster understand the character and even made a brief appearance in the film standing next to it's screenwriter Eleanor Perry. Sounds like a pretty strong approval rating as far as the adaptation of his source material goes.

I don't know how long this UTUBE link will be available, but it is the late Mr. Hamlisch discussing his score for this film.

I saw this film when it came out and I had the LP for this beautiful score for many years until it was lost during a move.
I love this score.

It is very interesting and informative to listen to Mr. Hamlisch discussing his work and discussing this film.
I thought it was a treat that someone posted it on UTUBE and I found it.
The titles appear in French, but the interview is in English.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvAdDzdxLjQ

The word used for this type of music is "schmaltz".

Some people love these kinds of overdramatic soundtracks that tell you what you are supposed to feel...and precisely when.

Marty Hamlisch's works typifies this type of thing. He was very popular with producers of his era as it was, one presumes, assumed his overblown sledgehammer music helped sell tickets. He fit right in Beverly Hills and had a long, golden career and bought loads of real estate.

It's a matter of opinion whether or not you think he deserved all the accolades and $$cash.

I personally loathe his music, but as one can see from the few comments here, many people truly adore his soundtracks of gooey saccharine string sections interspersed w/thunder-and-lightning and pounding kettle drums.

Not my cup of tea.

Yea, it dates the film rather severely whenever it plays.

[deleted]