Otherwise it's a great (though admittedly still flawed) cop thriller that is 80s in all the best ways. But the music, dear God, it just doesn't fit. At all.
The film's second half is way better because the score is used less. Imagine The French Connection, and paste ridiculous 80s music over it, and that's how I feel about this one.
EDIT: I wish the blu-ray offered an option to watch the film without any music.
The music didn't stand out for me when I first saw this film in a theater but now it screams "eighties". It's very cheesy.
sharethe overall style of the film was pure Los Angeles cocaine. watching this film is like driving through a snowstorm of cocaine with your wipers barely working.
that said, the music, in all its ineptness, works perfectly. my guess is that wang chung's pile of blow, during the recording sessions, made Al Pacino's Scarface pile look tiny.
Gotta disagree - I think WC did a great job on this.
shareThen you were not born in the 80s.
If someone was born a decade later than you, I'm sure they would express similar disdain about a favourite movie or period relic be it music, movie or a combination of the two of yours.
Anyway, that's my opinion and where can a guy get some Tang around here?
The music is very 80s but that don't be it ain't awesome.
The title song is great. The end credit song "Wait" is awesome. The instrumental that plays when Masters is making money is catchy as hell. And even Dance hall days is in there at one point.
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ok, if you're comparing Friedkin scores... Wang Chung ain't at the top. Sorcerer wins for having Tangerine Dream (still near their height).
shareI also agree that the music score doesn't fit. It's all too typical of mid-1980s mainstream pop songs-- the digitally programmed synths and sequencers are antiseptically CLEAN to the point of sterility, especially the tinny metronomic "drums". For me it works against the tough, gritty atmosphere of this movie. My dream scenario would have Adrian Sherwood producing the music. (Most of you are probably not familiar with his work, but those who have heard his early-1980s stuff, especially African Head Charge and Missing Brazilians, will know what I mean.)
As for the person who insisted that anyone who doesn't like the Wang Chung score is an "idiot": Your insecurity is showing. Other people have different tastes in music, different reasons for listening to it, and different reactions to it. This is how the world works.
I'm not a fan of this type of music and I thought it clashed very badly with the whole tough guy law enforcement character. Can anyone really imagine Chance listening to this music in his truck? The music was distracting and obnoxious. Did cowboy boot-wearing tough guys in the '80s listen to this kind of music?
This is not a case of me having to be a fan of a certain genre of music to appreciate its use in a film. I thought the music for Drive worked very well even though I'd never listen to that kind of music on its own.
DISPLAY thy breasts, my Julia!
I agree.
That music is terribly dated . . cheezy 80s synth pop sound is best left forgotten.
But, in 1985, it had to compete with Miami vice which is also best left alone.