CrimeWaves: part 9

Title: Qualcuno ha visto uccidere… (Witness to murder)

Year: 1973

Composer: Stelvio Cipriani

For a movie about a guy killing his wife’s lover by planning a plane crash and dealing with the revenge caused by it, the score seems rather tame. Cipriani wrote two main themes that are perhaps too light for the subject matter and don’t really stand out from the crowd of other exceptional main themes created by the composer.

The album opens with a somewhat groovy arrangement of the main theme. It’s rather similar to other melodies for his works in the giallo genre, but instead of the regular female voice of Nora Orlandi, the melody is carried by a solo saxophone and electric guitar. The underlying latin rhythms give the cue some 70s cop show type edge which I like. The bouncy bassline is heard later in the score as an action motif that dominates the score’s two best cues, Seq. 13 and 15. The first is the fullest arrangement of the main theme simultaneously working as an exhausting chase cue. It goes through many instrumental solos like a marimba, a theatre organ and wild percussion section showing the orchestral brilliance Cipriani was capable of. The latter highlights an awesome saxophone solo played with passionate clarity. The same brilliant sax carries over to Seq. 16 but after so many repetitions of the same motif it starts to get a bit redundant. Unfortunately these cues are really the first ones after the opening that burst with any energy or excitement. Any previous versions of the main theme, like Seq. 3, 4 & 10, act as alright background music but offer no extra punch.

The love theme, Seq. 2, is a sweet lullaby that almost puts you to sleep which isn’t a compliment in a film where brutal acts of crime appear. It’s a simple tune thus offering almost no room to grow to anything more substantial. Though Seq. 8 tries to connect it with the suspense stylings, the result leaves the listener cold because the orchestration is just too plain, especially when compared to the complex orchestrations of the chase cues. The tremolo strings playing the main theme’s chords are a sweet touch at the beginning of Seq. 17 and the resulting love theme statement might be the album’s sweetest. Fortunately the ‘final confrontation’ i.e. the last suspense track, Seq. 18, combines snippets of the love theme and the suspense material far better than the previous attempts.

As the story unfolds, a few other styles emerge as well, like the bar source music of Seq. 5 and 14 both of which are built around simplistic, repeating riffs. The first attempts of so-called suspense of Seq. 7 are just a collection of electric guitar droning dissonantly over looping bass figures culminating into some annoying distorted guitar notes. In Seq. 9 it’s hard to even hear anything because the orchestration is so sparse. Even the short love theme reprise at the end can’t salvage this bore of a cue. Seq. 11 at least tries to offer something new by combining a glockenspiel to the distorted guitars, which are still annoying as hell. Luckily the previously mentioned action motif brings some new life to the score with some crazy keyboard effects in Seq. 12 creating an actually enjoyable cue.

I really didn’t care that much of this album. The score feels a bit like it was written on autopilot; put together with bits and pieces from better scores and failing to find cohesion in the process. Though there are a few instances where the music soars with pace and excitement and the musicians seem to have fun, most of the score is just too dull to leave a lasting impact.

Rating: **1/2

Tracklist:

1. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 1 - Titoli) (02:35) ****

2. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 2) (02:04) ***

3. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 3) (02:01) ****

4. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 4) (02:09) ***

5. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 5) (01:24) **

6. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 6) (00:59) **

7. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 7) (03:57) *

8. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 8) (01:54) **

9. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 9) (03:29) *

10. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 10) (01:41) ***

11. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 11) (01:08) **

12. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 12) (02:27) ****

13. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 13) (04:31) *****

14. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 14) (01:01) **

15. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 15) (01:43) *****

16. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 16) (03:08) ****

17. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 17) (02:01) ****

18. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 18) (00:55) ***

19. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 19) (03:48) ***

20. Qualcuno ha visto uccidere (Seq. 20 - Finale) (01:27) ***