Scott Benzie
Composer
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“A HITCHCOCKIAN THRILLER EQUIPPED WITH AN EXCELLENT SCORE...KEEPS ITS AUDIENCE WATCHING”
DEREK MALCOLM - THE GUARDIAN
ROOM 36/Scott Benzie/KeepMoving Records
Scott Benzie’s noirish orchestral score for this comedy/thriller was originally composed and recorded in 2002. The film debuted that year at Cannes but didn’t find a commercial release until 2005, and a DVD premiere five years after that. KeepMoving Records has now released the original soundtrack to the film, nicely performed by the Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra. The CD features a new mix created especially for the album. The music maintains a heavy orchestral weight with a number of stylistic echoes of classic Herrmann and contemporary Goldenthal laced throughout; the score has the splendid atmosphere of a 1940s melodrama. Graced with a full symphonic orchestra performance, the score sounds tremendous, and Benzie’s writing is quite the match to the Westminster Phil’s prowess. More motific than noticeably thematic, Benzie creates tonal colors in dark, muted shades, sparkling with harsh, NORTH BY NORTHWEST-ish punctuation. It makes for a very fine listen. ROOM 36 was Benzie’s debut score, who went on to score more than a dozen films since, including indie thrillers like SOUL SEARCHER (2005), TEN DEAD MEN (2008), FEAR EATS THE SEOUL (2011), GRAVE TALES (2011) and numerous short films. The album notes by Gergely Hubai provide insight into the film's troubled production history and a lot of information about the score with new comments by director Jim Groom and composer Scott Benzie.
Randall D. Larson
Room 36 was Scott's first feature-length film score, was written for a very unusual movie. Directed by Jim Groom, the film became famous not only because of its striking black-and-white photography or retro plot elements, but also because of its lengthy shooting process which had been down documented in the aptly titled "Room 36 - 11 Years in the Making". The cast and crew had to overcome numerous obstacles, such as their own changing appearances, re-writing the script after shooting the bulk of the film or the disappearance of several reels during transportation.
Scott joined the production in 2002, auditioning to score the film alongside a number of his colleagues. He eventually won the commission because while director Jim Groom asked for a single demo scene from each composer, Scott had demoed the entire movie within two weeks. This demo became the basis of the finished product, which was written in a style that pays homage to Bernard Herrmann (not the least because the film itself has many Hitchcockian elements).
Scott originally wanted to record the music with a youth orchestra, but this plan fell through when the scenes on screen were deemed to violent for the players' age. The music was eventually performed by the Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra, who were no stranger to the field as they had previously done re-recordings of classic film scores, such as Bride of Frankenstein. The music was recorded at Sony Studios London under the watchful supervision of Mike Ross-Trevor.
The score is available on CD from KeepMoving Records.
ROOM 36
The orchestral score of ROOM 36 was composed , orchestrated and conducted by SCOTT BENZIE at Sony Music Studios in London.
Over sixty minutes of music was recorded in a nine hour session, ‘a record amount of music for one day’ according to engineer, MIKE ROSS-TREVOR who oversaw the recording.
Savage, sexy and stylish, Room 36 is a tour-de-force thriller that combines the razor-edge suspense of classic Hitchcock with the uncompromising brutality and evocative visuals of SIn City.
As the sun goes down on a seedy London hotel, a politician arrives with classified information destined to bring down the British government, a prostitute begins her night’s work, and a hitman contemplates his next assignment.
Before the night is over, a convergence of duplicity and paranoia will draw each one into a remarkable and deadly chain of events that will forever leave a legacy of terror in... Room 36.
Room 36
Original Motion Picture Score
Limited Edition of 500 copies
Label: KMRCD 022
Tracks: 19
Time: 50"02
Jim Groom's Room 36 is a project more than a decade into its making, starting from a humble short film that grew into an internationally recognized independent success and a famous cautionary tale for young filmmakers.
The film is a noirish thriller/comedy about a cleaning-obsessed hitman, an MP, a dirty salesman and a prostitute who knocks on the wrong door.
The music by Scott Benzie was recorded back in 2002 and was already featured in the film's premiere in Cannes, getting more notice when the film finally had a commercial release in 2005.
A year after Room 36's DVD premiere in 2010, KeepMoving Records finally releases the original soundtrack to the film, recorded by the Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra in a record-breaking single day session.
The original sessions were recorded by ace recording engineer Mike Ross-Trevor, but the CD features a new mix created especially for the album. Liner notes by Gergely Hubai provide insight into the film's troubled production history and a lot of information about the score with new comments by director Jim Groom and composer Scott Benzie.
ROOM 36 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Room 36 CD
5/5 - Howling Wolf Records online magazine
