Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) - Soundtrack

Since Jerry Goldsmith was busy composing the score for Patton (1970), Leonard Rosenman was brought in to work on Beneath the Planet of the Apes. It was a wise choice, as the composer's distinct style proved to be an excellent thematic fit for this bleak and uneven sequel.

"I felt that it wasn't as good as the first one," Rosenman explains in the liner notes, "but at the same time it was different and it gave a more interesting idea for music."

Rosenman's approach is described by Doug Adams, in the liner notes, as being "so densely complicated and multifaceted that it almost [feels] unwritten at times." The music consists of "oddly voiced brass, woodwind and string choirs acridly sifting back and forth between one another without ever establishing a repetitive melodic snippet."

Okay, that description is a tad convoluted, but it is also an accurate one. Rosenman's score for Beneath the Planet of the Apes is, for the most part, an atonal soundscape of unique and unnerving power. One that elevates the film it underplays to heights it might have otherwise failed to achieve.