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Isle of Dogs (soundtrack)

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Isle of Dogs (Original Soundtrack)
Album cover
Soundtrack album by
Alexandre Desplat
ReleasedMarch 23, 2018
Recorded2017–2018
StudioAir Studios, London
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length43:29
LabelABKCO
Producer
Alexandre Desplat chronology
The Shape of Water
(2017) 		Isle of Dogs
(2018) 		Operation Finale
(2019)
Wes Anderson film soundtracks chronology
The Grand Budapest Hotel
(2014) 		Isle of Dogs
(2018) 		The French Dispatch
(2021)

Isle of Dogs (Original Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2018 film Isle of Dogs directed by Wes Anderson. The album features an original score composed by Alexandre Desplat and musical contributions from Japanese artists. The album was released through ABKCO Records on March 23, 2018. Desplat was nominated for an Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Critics' Choice Movie Awards under the Best Original Score category and won the World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year.

Development

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In July 2017, it was announced that Alexandre Desplat would score music for Isle of Dogs, renewing his association with Anderson since Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).[1] He was brought onboard when the film's production was almost completed.[2] Desplat's likeness towards Japanese culture was reflected on the musical sensibilities and the specific soundscape he found for the film. He used the taiko drums, owing to Anderson's suggestion as it played the melody of the boy, which was "the Japanese seed and color" that Desplat had found. The instruments ranged from various sizes and shapes and had a huge dynamic range in its sound. This eventually varied in creating the ambience and mood of the film, where the drumming of the taiko drums evoke tension and fear.[3]

Besides the taiko drums, Desplat further used saxophones, bass, French horns along with a group of recorders, and male choir, that provided a "very strange mix of an occidental feel with sometimes jazzy elements".[4] The use of American instruments could "really bounce off of the relentless Taiko drumming, and certainly have the syncopation motifs, completely away from any Japanese reference".[4] The chorus was another element of the band, but Desplat refrained from using high register, tenor vocals and female choir, to provide a monk-like chant. Since Yoko Ono plays a character in the film, Desplat suggested the use of the syllables "Yoko, Ono" to provide homage to Japanese culture.[4]

To experiment with the film's music, Wes suggested nearly 30 saxophones, with Desplat reduced it to 4–8 in number, to provide a motif of a barking dog.[5] At times, the recorders also play dissonant motifs with the taikos in the low register, which sounded like the bark. This was made to organically integrate the score with the film and provides authenticity to the Japanese influence. The piano played low notes instead of utilizing it as a tune or a chord, as he wanted it provide it as an element of movement in sync with the Taiko drums which provide a relentless rhythm.[4]

Randall Poster selected several songs from Japanese artists which are used in the film. Most of the compositions are originated in Japanese classic films such as the Akira Kurosawa-directed Drunken Angel (1948) and Seven Samurai (1954).[6]

Reception

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Writing for Backseat Mafia, Jon Bryan gave 7.5 out of 10 and summarized it as "a soundtrack which eludes to peril and danger without trying to hit you in the face with it, and as such it has an unescapable ‘Wes Anderson’ feel about it, which given the film it is soundtracking, means it is job done for Alexandre Desplat."[7] Joe Goggins, in his review for Drowned in Sound, assigned 7 out of 10 and wrote "Desplat’s music—under the watchful eye of, and with telling contributions from, Anderson himself—captures both the light and dark of the piece in assured, if not unforgettable, fashion."[8] Calum Marsh of Pitchfork assigned 7.3 out of 10 and wrote "Isle of Dogs is a film and a soundtrack of grand gestures and tiny fluctuations, of sadness and hope. It affects the mournful quality of Japanese theatre, then zips into the mid-century L.A. exuberance of giddy brass and woodwinds and drums. What’s most evident throughout is the warmth and thoughtfulness behind it all."[9]

Kaya Savas of Film.Music.Media wrote "The score in the end works as a great editing and pacing device for the film, with some clever uses of switching from non-diegetic to diegetic. But in the end you wish there was more of the characters' personal quirks rather than the general overarching quirkiness of the score as a whole."[10] Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times described it as "ever-surprising".[11] Jonathan Romney of The Guardian wrote "Alexandre Desplat’s minimalist score is also a pleasure, mixing taiko drumming, laconic jazz bass and the occasional dash of Prokofiev."[12] Guy Lodge of Variety described it as a "wonderfully sparse, louring score, which sounds like precisely nothing else the melodically inclined Frenchman has ever composed before [...] the soundtrack blends a steady tremble of Taiko drumming with, of all things, the occasional interpolation of Prokofiev's 'Troika'."[13] David Edelstein of Vulture described it as a "lovely, strumming score".[14]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Shinto Shrine"1:56
2."Taiko Drumming" (written and performed by Kaoru Watanabe)0:50
3."The Municipal Dome"2:29
4."Six Months Later + Dog Fight"2:05
5."The Hero Pack"1:08
6."First Crash-Landing"0:56
7."Kanbei & Katsushiro – Kikuchiyo's Mambo" (from Seven Samurai) (written by Fumio Hayasaka, performed by Toho Symphony Orchestra)0:52
8."Second Crash-Landing + Bath House + Beach Attack"4:07
9."Nutmeg"0:48
10."Kosame No Oka" (from Drunken Angel) (written by Hachirō Satō and Ryōichi Hattori, performed by David Mansfield)1:06
11."I Won't Hurt You" (written by Michael Lloyd, Shaun Harris and Bob Markley, performed by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band)2:23
12."Toshiro"1:07
13."Jupiter and Oracle + Aboriginal Dogs"2:05
14."Sushi Scene"1:41
15."Midnight Sleighride" (from Lieutenant Kijé Suite) (written by Sergei Prokofiev, performed by Sauter-Finegan Orchestra)3:01
16."Pagoda Slide"1:08
17."First Bath of a Stray Dog"0:26
18."TV Drumming" (written and performed by Watanabe)0:31
19."Kobayashi Canine-Testing Laboratory"1:57
20."Tokyo Shoe Shine Boy" (written by Seiichi Ida and Tasuku Sano, performed by Teruko Akatsuki)3:02
21."Re-Election Night, Parts 1–3"5:00
22."End Titles"4:51
Total length:43:29

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards February 24, 2019 Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated [15]
British Academy Film Awards February 10, 2019 Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated [16]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 11, 2019 Best Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated [17]
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association December 17, 2018 Best Musical Score Alexandre Desplat Won [18]
Georgia Film Critics Association January 12, 2019 Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated [19]
Golden Globe Awards January 6, 2019 Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated [20]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 14, 2018 Original Score – Animated Film Alexandre Desplat Won [21]
Houston Film Critics Society January 3, 2019 Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated [22]
International Film Music Critics Association February 7, 2019 Best Original Score for an Animated Film Alexandre Desplat Won [23]
[24]
Online Film Critics Society January 2, 2019 Best Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated [25]
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle December 9, 2018 Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated [26]
World Soundtrack Awards October 17, 2018 Soundtrack Composer of the Year Alexandre Desplat[a] Won [27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Also for his work in Endangered Species, Suburbicon, The Shape of Water, and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

References

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  1. ^ "Alexandre Desplat to Score Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs". Film Music Reporter. July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Das, David (November 27, 2018). "Isle of Dogs with Alexandre Desplat". The Society of Composers and Lyricists. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Bright, Charles (December 3, 2018). "Composer Alexandre Desplat on his score for 'Isle of Dogs': Other than the taiko drums, we avoided Japanese influences [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]". GoldDerby. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Grobar, Matt (January 9, 2019). "Composer Alexandre Desplat On The Booming Taiko Drums & Barking Saxophones Of 'Isle Of Dogs'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  5. ^ Reilly, Mark (November 29, 2018). "Alexandre Desplat on Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson, and Star Wars". Collider. Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  6. ^ Kate, Ben (March 23, 2018). "Wes Anderson releases Isle of Dogs soundtrack, featuring score from Alexandre Desplat: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  7. ^ Bryan, Jon (March 27, 2018). "Album Review: Isle of Dogs – Original Soundtrack". Backseat Mafia. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  8. ^ Goggins, Joe (April 11, 2018). "Album Review: Various - Isle Of Dogs (Original Soundtrack)". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Marsh, Calum (March 28, 2018). "Various Artists: Isle of Dogs (Original Soundtrack) Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  10. ^ Savas, Kaya (April 19, 2018). "Isle Of Dogs by Alexandre Desplat". Film.Music.Media. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  11. ^ "Review: Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' is often captivating, but cultural sensitivity gets lost in translation". Los Angeles Times. March 21, 2018. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  12. ^ Romney, Jonathan (February 15, 2018). "Isle of Dogs review – Wes Anderson's scintillating stop-motion has bite". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  13. ^ Lodge, Guy (February 15, 2018). "Film Review: 'Isle of Dogs'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  14. ^ Edelstein, David (March 22, 2018). "Isle of Dogs Should Make You Howl With Joy". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  15. ^ "Oscar Nominations 2019: The Complete List". Variety. January 22, 2019. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  16. ^ "BAFTA Awards: 'Early Man' Snubbed, 'Spider-Verse' Grabs Nomination". January 9, 2019. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  17. ^ Xu, Linda (December 10, 2018). "Critics' Choice Awards 2019: The Complete List of Nominations". Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  18. ^ "DFW FILM CRITICS NAME "A STAR IS BORN" BEST PICTURE OF 2018". Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association (Press release). December 20, 2018. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  19. ^ "2018 Awards". Georgia Film Critics Association. January 8, 2019. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  20. ^ Xu, Linda (December 6, 2018). "Golden Globe Nominations: Complete List". Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  21. ^ Xu, Linda (November 15, 2018). "'Hollywood Reporter,' 'Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  22. ^ Vonder Haar, Pete (December 17, 2018). "Houston Film Critics Society Announces 2018 Awards Nominations". Houston Press. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  23. ^ Flores, Marshall (February 7, 2019). "15th Annual IFMCA Awards Nominations". AwardsDaily. Stone, Sasha. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  24. ^ IFMCA (2019). "2018 IFMCA Awards". IFMCA. IFMCA. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  25. ^ Xu, Linda (December 27, 2018). "2018 Awards (22nd annual)". Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  26. ^ "2018 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards". San Francisco Film Critics Circle. December 9, 2018. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  27. ^ "World Soundtrack Academy announces first wave of nominees for the 18th #WSAwards". World Soundtrack Academy. August 13, 2018. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
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