 "Main Title" (MP3 edit)
Sudden Impact
Lalo Schifrin
Aleph
Dirty Harry was dead and buried as far as Clint Eastwood was concerned. He'd made three films during the '70s, the last being The Enforcer ('76), and had no intentions of making another, or so the story goes.
But Warner Bros. needed a sure-fire hit in '83, and Clint came to their rescue with Sudden Impact. Riding shotgun for the third time was Lalo Schifrin who'd scored Dirty Harry and Magnum Force.
Since it was a new decade — a new era of pumped-up action movies — Schifrin updated his sound with synths that mimic turntablist scratches as well as strings and brass -- notably on the uptempo "Main Title." There also are drum machines and funky slap bass. It's Schifrin gone hip-hop! It's '80s crime funk for a new generation.
"Murder By the Sea" starts innocently enough with smooth jazz-funk, as a chiming keyboard solo tinkles away over a "urban" groove. Halfway through, the groove fades, leaving a spacy sinister mood for violins, woodwinds and piano.
The dichotomy of contemporary style and old school scoring chops continue throughout the score.
On "Frisco Night," pulsing synths and throbbing bass trade passages with dissonant strings and undulating horn tones and echoing percussion to create tension and disorientation.
On "Cocktails of Fire," Schifrin gets into one of his sure-fire action-funk grooves where the rhythm section plays without embellishment for several bars at a time. And when the embellishment comes it's always minimal and tremendously effective.
For all of the tension, there are a number of quiet, somber, soothing and even romantic moods where the, keys, strings and brass come across in reassuringly familiar tones, such as on "The Road to San Paolo" and "You've Come Along Way." Occasionally, as on "Ginley's Bar," the mood gives way to a distinctly '80s brand of instrumental rock.
The oddest bits are carousel organ music for scenes of freaky terror ("Unicorn's Head").
What's striking about Sudden Impact is Schifrin ability to update the "Dirty Harry" sound for the decade of big shoulder pads and bigger hair without getting cheesy about it.
This excellent addition to the Schifrin catalogue contains more music than was actually heard in the movie, including an alternate version of the Main Title.
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