Broxton Comment-MB-005-56

ECCE HOMO (1968)

Ecce Homo is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama, written and directed by Bruno Gaburro. It is set in the aftermath of a terrible nuclear war that destroyed almost the entire human race, and follows the lives of three people – Jean (Philippe Leroy), his wife Anna (Irene Papas), and their son Patrick (Marco Stefanelli) – who live in a small trailer by an ocean, and are desperately trying to survive in a desolate wasteland.

The score for Ecce Homo is based around a single theme, called “Venuta del Mare,” and the soundtrack contains sixteen variations on it, plus various bonus cues, and a performance of a 14-minute suite. Ecce Home gave Morricone the first real chance for him to incorporate into his film music the concurrent work he was doing with Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, a composer collective dedicated to musical avant-gardeism. As such, the score is an eerie, dissonant, abstract musical soundscape that has drawn comparisons with  Jerry Goldsmithh’s Planet of the Apes, which was released the same year.

The score contains lots of writing for solo voices, quivering flutes, offbeat rattling percussion, and oddly-phrased chromatic string textures which sound agitated, urgent, slightly insane. There’s one repetitive motif that runs through the score – a four note idea that staggers up and down scales – but none of the thematic brilliance or orchestral extravagance for which he is more commonly known and lauded. It’s perfect for creating an atmosphere of desolation, isolation, and desperation, as the film intends, but it’s a challenging listening experience, and will really only be of interest to those who gravitate towards Morricone’s more experimental and peculiar side.

The score for Ecce Homo has been released several times over the years, with the main theme cropping up on numerous compilations. The version reviewed here is the one released by Italian label GDM in 2009; a shorter version was released by Dagored in 2002, while a long suite was included as a bonus cue on the soundtrack for the similarly challenging Un Uomo a Metà in 2012. But be warned; this is an oddball, and anyone who follows Morricone for things like The Mission will likely find this score to be completely inaccessible.

Track Listing: 1. Venuta Dal Mare (Titoli – I) (2:06), 2. Venuta Dal Mare (II) (1:48), 3. Venuta Dal Mare (III) (2:20), 4. Venuta Dal Mare (IV) (1:13), 5. Venuta Dal Mare (V) (1:05), 6. Venuta Dal Mare (VI) (1:51), 7. Venuta Dal Mare (VII) (1:16), 8. Venuta Dal Mare (VIII) (1:08), 9. Venuta Dal Mare (IX) (2:00), 10. Venuta Dal Mare (X) (1:28), 11. Venuta Dal Mare (XI) (2:01), 12. Venuta Dal Mare (XII) (3:58), 13. Venuta Dal Mare (XIII) (2:08), 14. Venuta Dal Mare (XIV) (1:09), 15. Venuta Dal Mare (XV) (3:13), 16. Venuta Dal Mare (Finale – XVI) (4:19), 17. Venuta Dal Mare (XVII) (3:15) BONUS, 18. Venuta Dal Mare (XVIII) (5:19) BONUS, 19. Venuta Dal Mare (XIX) (3:05) BONUS, 20. Venuta Dal Mare (XX) (2:17) BONUS, 21. Venuta Dal Mare (XXI) (1:21) BONUS, 22. Venuta Dal Mare (Suite) – Versione Concerto in mono (14:33). GDM 7070, 62 minutes 53 seconds.

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