Good film/bloody awful music

Yeah, it's funny to see such opposite reactions. I've always loved the score, but it's interesting that Bernstein never did another movie score. Was this due to too much public criticism? Or did such slumming bore him (he WAS a bombastic sort who was also a self-appointed potentate of music). I don't think I've ever thought of it that way, that the music overpowers the film. If we could see the movie with no music at all, we'd probably be shocked at the difference. Compared to many crime/racketeer dramas of the day, it's low-key, with only a few tense or violent scenes.

The cab scene is still the best, even though it has become so cliche. That "wow, Charlie" is still a killer. Everyone is fixated on Brando in that scene, but next time you see it, watch Rod Steiger, sweating bullets and trying to hide it because he is about to sacrifice his life for his brother's ("You should've looked after me, Charlie": talk about ironic!). At one point he looks up, and there is a flash of pure primal terror in his eyes. This guy knew what he was doing and was totally believable as a man who thought he'd "made it", but was even more jerked around by the mob than his brother.

Bernstein was known to be derivative, particularly borrowing from his good buddy (and fellow homo) Aaron Copland. If you listen to the finale, when Terry somehow gets on his feet and takes his famous walk (scratching himself all the while), it is sooooooo Copland, especially the gallumphing repetition at the end. And it's said that every Bernstein piece is somehow a variation on West Side Story. He never achieved the greatness he longed for as a composer, because he just wasn't original enough. He soaked up too many influences and was too concerned with his public image. Also he smoked like a chimney, drank far too much, popped pills and generally destroyed himself, for reasons clear only to himself.

That said, I still love the score, maybe because I love the movie so much. But it's no ordinary music score, and does sound more like a concert piece. There are sublime moments, as when Edie brings Terry Joey's jacket and they kiss. And there is a fugue-like piece with very dark strings at the end, after the trial, when Terry's pigeons are killed. But yes, it does sort of say, "listen, this is great music!", which was typical of Bernstein.