Dreamscape Soundtrack

Just watched the movie the other day for the nth time and it hit me that the soundtrack sounds like something from the early 70s. Between then and the mid-80s, music, in general, had come a long way.

The music strikes me as being somewhat twisted. The first person I think of whenever I hear it is Tommy Ray.

Agreed. Appallingly horrid music from a compositional genius. Guess they can't all be hits. :-/

The soundtrack was one of the best parts of the movie. It worked exactly with the story and the dream sequences. If you were looking for a rap/hip hop piece of junk with songs running through it the entire time, well, in 1984 they knew how to make quality soundtracks not a stack of ugly songs tossed in.

I thought it sounded like bad circus music. Horrendous!

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

Oddly enough, I like this soundtrack, and own it. But, decidedly, it's awkward in places. Some of the aural effects and deeper tones are very effective, moody, and build tension. Others admittedly sound far too much like primitive electronica.

But don't some of you notice a pattern that was in effect at this time in the early/mid-80's? With these established, brilliant veteran film composers switching over to electronics/synthesizers with variable results?

The DREAMSCAPE score by Jarre seems similarly problematic to other composers of similar pedigree during this period. Jerry Goldsmith's score to RUNAWAY certainly comes to mind, and John Barry's JAGGED EDGE score to an extent. Also, Jarre's score to ENEMY MINE could be included in that list, and also FATAL ATTRACTION. And though Giorgio Moroder was more of a pop music producer who happened to do scores as well, one could also site his work on CAT PEOPLE and SCARFACE as part of this trend.

These scores aren't "bad" per se, or "worthless," but very awkward...especially with the higher notes being so overtly electronic, loud, and noisy. Also, different sounds than one associates with a John Carpenter synthesizer score, as he seemed to develop a credible, plausible sound well before the "trend" took off elsewhere in the industry.

There's an argument that these iconic composers were just experimenting too much with their "new toys" at the expense of serving the artistic or narrative needs of the project. There's also another argument that the sound itself was just very en vogue via the New Wave movement in pop music/culture. And while I like a number of these scores anyway, there's no doubt some of them are ill-fitting or perhaps don't hold up as well. Would be interesting to know if the producers or other powers-that-be behind these films ever took issue with the ill-fitting sound, or thought they were "just fine" at the time.

Jarre himself seemed to have moved past the dated sound by maybe the early 90's, recalibrating at a largely orchestral sound with some synthesizer supplements. (The GHOST score, for example.)