Score Sample: Masters of the Universe (1987)

At some point I wonder if Bill Conti wondered what the hell he was doing working on the film Masters of the Universe. Not only was the popularity of the animated series and toy line already long over by the time 1987 rolled around. But the movie was being produced by Cannon Films, not necessarily known for making quality entertainment. Check out the film Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films to find out more about some of their adventures in film making.

The movie bombed pretty hard in the box office and Cannon films was pretty much destroyed by its failure. But Bill Conti, well the guy gave it a very strong effort. Combining his heroic bombastic style, heard especially well in films like The Right Stuff with a bit of classical influences like Holst's work on The Planets. Let's not forget some likely temp tracking from John Williams Superman and Miklos Rozsa's God theme from Ben Hur and you've got something pretty impressive. Conti take the familiar elements and makes them his own in a rousing and fun fantasy score, one of the best of the decade. Much like Jerry Goldsmith's work on Lionheart it is a shame the movie is was lost to the mists of time, because the music doesn't deserve to be.

Here are the end credits to Masters of the Universe featuring a good mix of Conti's main theme, the Cosmic Key theme as well as some villainous material for Skeletor (played with relish by Frank Langella). Enjoy!