Street Fighter

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

What's the point in making film adaptations with movie stories if the real games don't have a story around them? Street Fighter was simply a beat'em up game and yet producers and fans saw a good deal around a film with a story, simply retelling the story around Street Fighter the game, meaning that Guile confronts M. Bison and that others simply fight each other. Voila the movie was set, they took our own Jean Claude Van Damme to do the honors and even the late Raul Julia was so inspired by Bison that he took on his lead in the ultimately faled dudbuster. Now, as a score wise assignment it might do some good but in the case of Graeme Revell it didn't since who speaks now of the music? And as a score Street Fighter has things going for it but one thing I regret Revell ignoring is his thematic voices to confront the heroes and villains. Meaning the themes that would accompany them. There are many ways Revell supports his characters here but not in the way that he uses those sounds in the face of action music when they are confronting one and another. For Mighty Morphin Power Rangers it worked immensely and the toying and simple presentation of those themes made the score so enjoyable. For Street Fighter things were looking great and the effect is one of enjoyable proportions, but due to the lack of themes its also one that passes by shortly after you heard it.

The score doesn't have a main theme but several returning attitudes or presentations for the characters. Colonel Guile has a very distinctive and fitting march with drums in the beginning, and a powerful orchestral setting behind it, which is very effective in 'Colonel Guile Addresses the Troops'. Some other ways of presenting the characters are obvious, the Chinese flutes and percussion in 'Chun-Li Enters the Morgue', the lazy trumpet sounding faintly romantic for the passion in 'Chun Li & Bison' and a brief sign of Hawaiian salsa's in the very strange 'Honda is Tortured'. Bison is of course more darker with its set of additional choir ripping the stuff in 'General M. Bison' and the conclusive 'Bison Dies'. Of course there is action music but it listens more like action / tension music and while its effective and enjoyable, it isn't also the memorable stuff I wished I was getting, tracks like 'Showdown in Shadaloo', '"Raise the Chamber"' and the powerful brass in 'Clash of the Titans' are all good but they don't close off what might could have been exquisite stuff. 'The Stealth Boat Attack' isn't even an action feast but 1 minute of action / tension music and for the rest some bells at the end. Its on the other end a very versatile album and Revell makes a fitting version of Bizet's Hanabero in 'Habanero' that seems to support an action fight in the movie.

Together with some more darker stuff like the choral brief uses for Blanka and Bison, Street Fighter is not bad at all. It on the other end lacks just the final touch. Like the action music, it lacks the final blow that could make a lot of tracks so much better. 'Guile Faces Bison' explodes after a minute and a half into an action piece with great pace but it doesn't completely satisfy, nor the the overall other tracks. Revell's point is good but unlike Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, it doesn't have the themes to close the scope entirely off. Street Fighter in that point doesn't have the feeling nor the excitement of that score. It does have many different musical styles into one and that makes up for perhaps the lack of excitement or simply the overall tone of diversity. The returning march of Guile closing the score of with string relievement in 'The Aftermath' is good but it misses also the pure finishing power of the LSO to back up that relieving emotion. A choir perhaps could have helped but that is used for the darker persons and while doing briefly its work in track 19, it doesn't finish up the job exploding wise. It doesn't sound entirely right like saying that Street Fighter is a product not completely finished off but if you don't use the themes to make the point more then often, it might feel that way. Nonetheless a score that amuses because of its diversity, occasional brilliance and sheer excitement coming of the action / tension material.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Showdown In Shadaloo (4.44)

2. Habanero (Vega & Ryu) (3.16)

3. Chun-Li Enters The Morgue (2.17)

4. Colonel Guile Addresses The Troops (2.47) Excellent Track

5. The Circus Tent (2.13)

6. General M. Bison (1.20)

7. Honda Is Tortured (0.45)

8. Bison Troopers Marching Song (Zangief) (0.58)

9. Chun Li's Story (2.08)

10. Dhalsim Reprograms Blanka (1.36)

11. The Stealth Boat Attack (3.07)

12. "Game Over" (1.42)

13. Chun Li & Bison (3.14)

14. Guile Discovers Blanka (2.11)

15. "Raise The Chamber" (Guile Attacks (2.26)

16. Clash Of The Titans (Honda & Zangief) (1.52)

17. Guile Faces Bison (2.58)

18. Vega & Sagat vs. Ken & Ryu (3.07)

19. Bison Dies (2.03)

20. The Aftermath (3.17)

21. Attitude Adjuster: World Beaters (4.29)

Total Length: 52.48

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Graeme Revell ===