The Keep Score by Tangerine Dream
Written by Kit Rae and Geoff Andrews. Screen caps by Geoff. Last update June 2013.
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A companion to the soundtrack music of Tangerine Dream and a visual guide to the fantastic imagery of the film, created by legendary cinematographer Alex Thomson and production designer John Box, under the direction Michael Mann. The track-by-track analysis notes are based on the Restoration Project soundtrack, which is the most complete version of the film music. Thanks to Geoff for the story synopsis.
01. The Journey - TD arrangement of Mea Culpa by Brian Eno/David Byrne (4:40) - The film opens in 1941, an overcast rainy and cold day in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. German army Captain Klaus Weoermann is in a sleep-dream state as his Wehrmacht convoy drives through the Dinu Pass to their next assignment.
This eerie opening machine-like driving rhythm track sets the tone of the film, and is one of the fan favorite pieces of music from The Keep. There is much debate about this track being an original Tangerine Dream composition, or a cover version of the music from Brian Eno and David Byrne's song Mea Culpa from 1981. The key and tempo of TD's version are exactly the same, the sequencer and drum pattern play to the same rhythm and beats, and both have a three note chord progression that changes on exactly the same beat, with the third sustained for two bars. Michael Mann was also a fan of Brian Eno, Mea Culpa was released in 1981, Mann wrote The Keep screenplay in 1982, and he liked to have the music he wanted to use in mind before shooting his films.
02. Arrival in the Romanian Village (4:27) - Coming out of a dreamlike mist they reach their destination - a strange village in a mountain valley. Woermann open his eyes and takes in the scenery of this strange place. His transport stops in front of a bridge that spans a gorge, to a massive stone keep built into the foot of the mountain. He has orders to make this a Wehrmacht outpost to guard the Dinu Pass. He orders his troops unload as the villagers look on with fear at the German army infiltrating their home.
The music here shifts from the driving rhythm to a slow ethereal music, setting the tone for the village. Audio quality is better in this version than other bootlegs and it includes the slow drum beats, missing from other versions. Variants of this theme are repeated at several points in the film,usually for outdoor scenes of the village. Similar to The Black Soldiers track from previous bootlegs, and Dinu Pass from the Tangerine Tree:Alternative View bootleg,
03. Woermann Enters the Keep (1:05) - Woermann enters the courtyard of the keep alone and explores the main chamber, seeing the strange silver crosses embedded into the walls. Feeling he is being watched he is startled by the caretaker and his two sons.
Previously unreleased. This simple track was used in the film as Woermann first explores the main courtyard chamber of the keep. The music cue ends abruptly when he Woermann realizes he is being watched by the keep's caretaker. Similar music appears on other bootleg tracks.
04. Father Mihail Contemplates (3:50) - In the village church, father Mihail prays then smokes a cigarette, contemplating the arrival of the Germans in the keep, which he knows holds an ancient evil. As the soldiers set up their outpost inside the keep, the caretaker gives Woermann a tour and explains he and his family have always cared for the keep, but he does not know who owns or built it, nor what its purpose is. Woermann realizes the stone construction was designed to keep something in, not to keep invaders out. After catching one of the soldiers attempting to steal a cross from the keep wall, thinking it made of silver, Woermann orders him to take first watch as punishment. The caretaker warns Woermann 'never touch the crosses', and forbids his men to stay in the keep. Woermann ignores him.
The film music starts around the 2 minute mark. This track also includes music from Truth and Fiction (not heard in the film) and Supernatural Accomplice (intro section is heard in the film), both from the 1997 TDI release.
05. The Silver Cross / Release (6:22) - Night. Lutz, who was caught trying to remove a cross earlier, is on night watch inside the keep, at the back of the main courtyard. One cross in rear chamber begins to shine like a star and seemingly beckons him. A force is manipulating Lutz's greed, and so thinking the cross is made of silver, he decides again to pry it from the wall. With the help of Otto, who was on duty nearby, they attempt to remove the cross, causing the stone block it is mounted into to fall to the floor. This reveals a passage descending deep into the wall. Otto straps belts to Lutz and he crawls inside, finding another block and cross block the path. Lutz frees it and it falls down the passage and away into blackness, almost pulling Lutz along with it through the opening on the other side, into a black void. A long camera pull-back of Lutz peering through the hole in the wall reveals a massive underground cavern with mysterious stone structures on the floor hundreds of feet below. Far away in those depths the spirit of Molasar awakens and races toward Lutz in a flash of light. He consumes Lutz' body, leaving nothing but a burnt, dry corpse.
The music used here is a fan favorite, Logos Part I from the Logos Live album, similar to the bootleg tracks named Brothers in Death /Release / Removing the Silver Cross (all previous versions were mixed from the Laser Disk and Logos Live album). Unlike previous bootlegs, this version matches the mix of Logos used in the film, which was rearranged differently than the original Logos concert performances.
The Keep film photos copyright Paramount Pictures.
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