Dominic Frontiere-Film, TV composer RIP ("The Outer Limits")

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by wayneklein, Dec 24, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. wayneklein

    wayneklein Forum Fool Thread Starter

    Frontiere was a terrific composer. Loved his moving compositions for "The Man Who Was Never Born" for the first season of "The Outer Limits". He also orchestrated material for Chicago, The Tubes, Dan Fogelberg among others.

    Frontiere also composed the themes for many TV shows including "The Invaders", " The Name of The Game".

    RIP Dominic.
     
    Shawn, Boo Rad, Pete Norman and 4 others like this.
  2. Felix Martinez

    Felix Martinez Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    Love his score for Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man
     
  3. Damiano54

    Damiano54 Senior Member

    Someone pointed out on the forum years ago that the Outer Limits theme was a TV favorite "...even though it is a ripoff of the 2nd Movement of Bartok's Piano Concerto #2"

     
    MikaelaArsenault likes this.
  4. trem two

    trem two Forum Resident

    Location:
    California, USA


    He also wrote the theme and soundtrack for The Rat Patrol.

    I think he also reused some of the music used in Outer Limits in episodes of The Rat Patrol. I got a weird jolt of familiarity/flashback from the music in the middle of The Rat Patrol.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2017
    MikaelaArsenault and wayneklein like this.
  5. wayneklein

    wayneklein Forum Fool Thread Starter

    Film and TV composers were known many times to recycle some material (James Horner being a prime example) there are exceptions such as Jerry Goldsmith who was loathe to do it.
     
    MikaelaArsenault and geralmar like this.
  6. wayneklein

    wayneklein Forum Fool Thread Starter

    The progression during the theme is similar at the beginning but goes in its own direction after. There's no doubt that Frontiere heard this but it's not a rip off--at the very least the beginning was inspired by Bartok's piece but after the beginning the Bartok's 2nd diverges going into its own direction and we need to consider the musical counter point in Frontiere's as well.
     
    MikaelaArsenault likes this.
  7. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Love his work on Folgelberg's stuff. RIP.
     
    MikaelaArsenault likes this.
  8. Felix Martinez

    Felix Martinez Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
  9. muffmasterh

    muffmasterh Forum Resident

    Location:
    East London U.K
    strange because i can hear planet of the apes in a few other Goldsmith scores, Tora Tora Tora springs to mind but thats from memory, equally a lot of incidental music on the invaders is clearly closely related to the outer limits, however i love both composers RIP Dominic
     
  10. wayneklein

    wayneklein Forum Fool Thread Starter

    Goldsmith did try and use unusual instrumentation although, generally speaking, he found that using the same motifs in films would be distracting. He fought Ridley Scott over reusing parts of his score for "Freud" in "Alien". He did recycle the effect of the Echoplex that he used for the horns in "Patton" in "Alien" (using it for the haunting effect of the Indian conch shell in the film). Goldsmith did have a distinctive style to his writing and score so, perhaps, that's what you're hearing. Goldsmith might write a passage for similar effect in a different score but, for the most part, he was pretty firm about not recycling material for his scores.
     
    Shawn likes this.
  11. geralmar

    geralmar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    Frontiere's scoring for The Outer Limits was first-rate; but I have always hated his tacky music for Hang 'Em High (1968), Eastwood's first post-Leone western. Come to think of it, I hated everything about Hang 'Em High; even the title.
     
    wayneklein likes this.
  12. muffmasterh

    muffmasterh Forum Resident

    Location:
    East London U.K
    i agree he was very distinct, and ground breaking imho, i did not know he did Freud, did he do in Harm's Way ?
     
  13. Lance Hall

    Lance Hall Senior Member

    Location:
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Awwwww.

    I'm a huge fan of his brilliant 1959 "Pagan Festival" album.

     
  14. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    Frontiere's end theme on The Invaders is so ominous and haunting, especially to myself who caught it completely by accident during a BBC re-run back in the mid-1980's, that it immediately hooked me, and I subsequently became a big fan of that underrated and ahead-of-it's-time show.

     
    wayne66 and GuildX700 like this.
  15. James Slattery

    James Slattery Forum Resident

    Location:
    Long Island
    His TV scores are my favorite of any composer.
     
  16. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    loved his TV scores...R.I.P.
     
  17. dougotte

    dougotte Petty, Annoying Dilettante

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I have an SA-CD w/ Bartok's Piano Concertos 1 and 2. I've heard it numerous times, but never noticed the similarity. So, I had to listen very carefully again last night after reading this thread.

    It's probably because the opening strings are so quiet. I think Frontiere was definitely inspired by it. Not only the mood and theme, but the eerie open voicing of the strings was very similar.

    Thanks.
     
    Damiano54 likes this.
  18. wayne66

    wayne66 Forum Resident

    Big fan of The Outer Limits and The Invaders, so I love his work. RIP.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine