Promotional release, only distributed through soundtrack specialty outlets.
Splash: (Lee Holdridge) Long before his seemingly endless parade of accolades for his dramatic acting performances, Tom Hanks was a regular favorite in the realm of dumb comedies. While most of these comedies were really quite awful, one of the exceptions was 1984's Splash, a very early entry in his career and featuring an endearing supporting cast lead by the sizzling Daryl Hannah (and including Eugene Levy and John Candy for laughs). After much alteration, Ron Howard's film of a New York dock worker twice saved from downing by (and eventually falling in love with) a mermaid hit all the right buttons, delivering its fantasy with grand comedy while tempering its message about love with the necessary bittersweet ending. For composer Lee Holdridge, Splash was an equally important career-turning success. The composer not only flashed his skills in the lush, orchestral themes that most remember from the film, but also extended his abilities in action and pop culture writing, as well as adapting his title theme for a song (an area in which the composer would support himself well in the coming years). The 1980's would in turn be considered the pinnacle of recognition for Holdridge, despite the composer's prolific production in the two decades to follow on a variety of obscure television and video projects. The wide scope of genres that Splash covers as a film led to an accomplished score sadly neglected through the years until resurrected in the late 1990's on album. For most listeners, the glory of Splash will reside completely in the flowing string theme occupying the film's titles. In "Main Titles," "Reunion," "Return Home," and "End Title," Holdridge unleashes the pleasantly harmonic theme with no reservations, utilizing the familiar high string structures also present in his song orchestrations. Deeply resonating bass strings under flowing layers of mid-range strings and brass accompany the theme, with the composer's keen sense of counterpoint always merging sections of the ensemble with the usual dynamic skill. The theme may not have the gravity of those to be heard in his classics like Old Gringo or The Mists of Avalon, but the allure of the romantic atmosphere it creates for Splash is undeniable.
"The first time I saw the rough cut of Splash, I knew it was a wonderful film. I especially loved the performances by the leading players and the way they were so imaginatively directed. When I first saw Daryl Hannah as the mermid flow across the screen, I knew this was the musical key to the score.
The innocence and honesty with which the mermaid invades New York and captures Alan's heart led me to the love theme, stated simply by a piano solo and then built upon by the orchestra. For the underwater music, I thought that simplicity and transparency would best capture the charm and safety of Madison's underwater world... ...All in all, I took great pleasure in composing the score for this wonderful film."
or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Splash are Copyright © 1999, Super Tracks Music Group (Promo) and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/27/99 and last updated 10/18/07.