Thomas Newman Meet Joe Black

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Is a rich example of classic storytelling maintaining its power through the years. In this American remake of an Italian tale, Al Pacino, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Chris O’Donnell continue to captivate. If you love the film already and want to make it part of your collection, consider   its HD-DVD or Blu-ray versions, released later. It seems neither color nor sound were improved for this film until then. To fans’ dismay, Universal has yet to update any discs with special features beyond the outdated text-centered cast/crew list and bios. for the weekend. But Slade’s planned a farewell weekend for himself at a luxurious hotel in New York, where he plans to savor final tastes of food and sex before he offs himself out of his misery. Poor with an untainted moral radar, Simms gets caught up as a suspect witness in a school prank performed by his richer, carefree school friends, just before he leaves for the weekend as Slade’s paid aide. While Simms struggles for his future, Slade fights for his own life.

In step with Pacino’s commanding invitation to silence, O’Donnell’s innocent character visibly develops in response throughout the film. In such a heavy tale,  light moments are few by the second half and mostly cradled in the obvious contrast between the hardened colonel’s expectations and his inexperienced assistant’s naiveté. But even before Pacino enters the film, I was delighted by a young Seymour Hoffman in his supporting but unforgettable part as O’Donnell’s rich friend with a less-developed moral compass, but complete conviction in his role.

The driving force beside the strong cast includes director Martin Brest, screenplay writer/playwright Bo Goldman and composer Thomas Newman.  The trio also teamed up on Meet Joe Black. Now-veteran cast and crew members share several film, stage, music and writing nominations and awards between them.