Angels and Demons (2009)

A fantastic follow up to the nervous and beautiful Da Vinci Code, this music is more action oriented. While the whole score is top notch and Joshua Bells's violin playing is lovely, track 1 "160 BPM" is the highlight and, in my opinion, one of the best things Zimmer has ever written. Unrelenting drive and energy, always a bit off-kilter thanks to the 7/8 rhythm, with an inspired orchestration dominated by strings, bells, organ, percussion, and a powerfully menacing chorus. 



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Iron Man (2008)

The IRON MAN score is founded upon two motifs.  There is the aptly-chosen rock-band motif and then the more traditional orchestral element.  The rock motif is made up of five notes (sometimes extended to seven notes) which Djawadi develops through the length of the score. It functions more as a theme for the development of the Iron-man-concept: forming the base of both Iron Man's theme and later for the Iron Monger. In "Trinkets to Kill a Prince" (4) we can hear the formation of the motif performed comparatively softly on strings. From there we hear progressively aggressive use of the motif through Mark I (5), Fireman (6), until we reach track 12. "Iron Man" (12) builds, without sacrificing it's edginess, to a fitting heroic-crescendo.

The second and orchestral motif is first heard In "Vacation's Over" (7). We hear a grand four-note theme played by full orchestra which later becomes another five-note theme when we hear it in "Driving with the Top Down" (1).  This track would chronologically would follow "Gulmira," (13) and gives us an appropriately "elevated" performance and proves to be one of the more enjoyable tracks of the release. In the climactic "Arc Reaktor" (17) we hear both motifs; themselves locked in a musical battle of their own.

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Batman - Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight score builds on Batman Begins' sound, but ratchets up the propulsive power of the music. While many people criticized the lack of a big theme from the the first movie, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, and Christopher Nolan have made it clear in several interviews that this was intentional. Bruce Wayne is in the process of finding himself and discovering what kind of person/hero that Batman will be. Hence, the music was designed to not have a "Batman theme." But the composers did compose a theme. Fragments of this theme underlie Batman Begins, and in Dark Knight more of this theme is revealed. It gets it's fullest statement on the album in the last track, "Dark Knight", a 16 minute suite. The big theme is very different from the Elfman and Goldenthal themes, but it fits the style that Nolan has created. The theme is straight out of the Late Romantic period, sounding like something from Rachmaninoff or Tchaikovsky. Very beautiful and full of dark emotion. 

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The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Powerful, moody score in the style of Batman Begins (but with more melodic definition), The Thin Red Line and Hannibal. The strings dominate with strong choral support. As I listened to the music, I was most struck by its similarity to a lot of Rachmaninoff's symphonic music - not suprising since he was influenced by liturgical music, and this score is obviously leaning toward that almost-sacred sound. I've not (yet) seen the movie, but the music perfectly captures the mood of the book. Most tracks are dark and brooding, with occasional spikes of action. There are some very powerful choral tracks in here as well. Track 12 is downright creepy and hair-raising, with unsettled strings and solo violin and cello jumping in and out of the texture. 

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Gladiator - More music (2000)

Other than that, there is so much good material here, most notable is "The General Who Became a Slave." This piece was a possible choice for the "To Zucchabar" scene. This track is so beautiful. It begins with the "Strength and Honor" piece from the original soundtrack, then goes into the strings of a Yan Chin and some drums.
"Duduk of the North" is a great piece. It begins like "Earth" does in the original soundtrack then uses a spanish approach at the end.
"Rome is the Light" gives up more variation in Lisa Gerrard's vocals. Very pretty track.
"Figurines" is excellent. A mood setting piece performed by Lisa Gerrard on a Yan Chin.
"The Mob" is absolutely amazing. It begins with a bombastic choir, then moving into Lisa Gerrard's voice. Some great orchastrations in this track. I get the hint of The Lion King soundtrack in this track for some reason.


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Dinosaur (2000)

James Newton Howard employs a full orchestra and choir to create one of the better Disney scores around. Although this isn't The Lion King, Howard does employ the same ethnic tonal qualities you find in that film.

The score begins with slow prodding percussion and a bassoon then breaks forth into strings and strong percussion. Throughout the album, all kinds of film music is heard. From some of the best action music in a Disney film (like in Mulan and The Lion King) to adventurous themes and suspenseful music. Bursts of triumphant choir and orchestra add to the enjoyment, as well as mournful strings, plenty of percussion and other ethnic qualities.

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The Mask of Zorro (1998)

The grounded-heel flamenco rhythm that opens up "The Plaza of Execution" immediately made me think "Oooh this is gonna be good!" And what a score! The fast tempo just drops you right into the middle of the action. The opening bass and the flamenco rhythms of "The Fencing Lesson" is a great formula. The quiet break and snapping guitar put the listener right back in the scene where Don Diego is trying to train the imbecile Alejandro. Then with "Tornado in the Barracks," the light-heartedness on top of action just doesn't stop with stunning guitar work. "Zorro's Theme," besides "The Confession," keep such a romance inside of all this action. A fantastic action score to an outstanding movie.

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Mulan (1998)

With the freshly minted Pixar creeping up behind them and the glory days of their collaboration with composer Alen Menken concluding with a foul note for Hercules in 1997, Disney revisited the formula that gave them success with The Lion King. Putting Menken on ice until a failed attempt to resurrect his success in 2004's Home on the Range, Disney decided to approach a mainstream composer with whom the film could be scored with more serious music than Menken tended to provide. For the songs, Disney solicited the Broadway sound from Matthew Wilder and a touch of The Joy Luck Club sound from Rachel Portman, whose Oscar-won popularity was at its height. Because of Portman's pregnancy early in the process, however, Disney made an odd, but rewarding call to veteran Jerry Goldsmith, who had not scored an animated film since The Secret of N.I.M.H. in the early 1980's. He would provide an ethnically heroic and heart-pounding adventure score, rich with its own themes and creative use of percussion and synthetics. Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Mulan from the perspective of a Disney collector is the complete disconnect between the themes of the songs and those of the score. While Goldsmith recorded a suite of music that combined a few of the song themes with his own, the actual underscore is completely unrelated to Wilder's tunes. Those songs are decent at best, generally considered functional if not unnecessary. Unlike the unbelievably bizarre gospel approach that Disney chose to take with the Greek themes in Hercules, Mulan's songs are appropriately dramatic and contain elements of Chinese influence in their instrumentation. Gone is the traditional prologue song, which will be a disappointment for some, and the commercial album therefore starts directly in with one of the film's weaker songs at its opening. The quantity has also shifted, with only five songs appearing in the film and none of them receiving the normal reprise that these musicals typically offer.

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The Lost World Jurassic Park (1997)

This is one of the best John Williams scores of 1997. However, it does lose to the original Jurassic Park theme. But, John Williams replaces it with a grand theme. The action cues on the album are some of the best by Williams. 

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The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

Jerry Goldsmith does a good job with a somewhat difficult score; he creates a good "creepy" atmosphere when appropriate and one of triumph as well. The opening track is a lively melody which could have easily come from colonial Africa in the 19th century. It appears throughout most of the first half of the movie, as construction of the bridge gets underway. The sinister overtones of "Starling's Death" depict the lions' devious, malicious intentions very well, including a shrill string cue as one of the lions attacks Starling while Patterson is about to shoot the first one. The last minute and a half of "Lions Attack" portrays the despair of the Indian workmen as they flee Tsavo station - and the lions - by jumping on a train as it rolls through Tsavo the day after the lions killed several patients by hitting the newly built hospital. A solid score by Goldsmith, although not quite as good as some of his other ones.

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Congo

The music for Congo is not bad, but not fabulous. It is a typical, yet solid Goldsmith action score, with a majestic main theme, and a plucky “cute” theme for the little gorilla character, Amy. This material is basically what you’d expect. When I first saw this picture, and “Spirit of Africa” began to run over an impressively photographed African landscape, I knew I was at least in for a solid score. In Congo, Goldsmith experiments with new sounds and textures, reminiscent of his efforts in Planet of the Apes, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The score has a decidedly African and tribal flair, utilizing pan flutes, traditional African instruments, heavy percussion, electronics and several other instruments that are rare in the Goldsmith orchestra. Guest vocalist Lebo M (a somewhat cliched voice by now) provides African lyrics to a couple of tracks, delving the listener deeper into the context of the film. These lyrics are welcome but are only found in the beginning and at the end of the album (and film), sometimes feeling out of place. The highlight of these new elements is the intricately orchestrated percussion section, whose varied instruments shine in many of the cues (even though some of the performers are occasionally off tempo). Even though there are new elements, all of the Goldsmith trademarks are present, including strong thematic material (with many variations throughout), and driving brass/string action cues. To Goldsmith fans, many of the cues will sound familiar, some of which are very close to the ethnic textures of Goldsmith’s TheGhost and the Darkness, and later, The Mummy. Ultimately, this is the score’s failing: It comes off as somewhat uninspired. Its familiarity prevents the listener from truly being captured.

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Lion King

The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the original motion picture soundtrack for Walt Disney's 1994, 32nd animated feature The Lion King. It contains songs from the film written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score composed by Hans Zimmer. In addition to John, Carmen Twillie, Jason Weaver, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeremy Irons, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Sally Dworsky, and others perform on the soundtrack. The album was released on July 13, 1994 on CD and audio cassette.

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Jurrasic Park

Jurassic Park was the twelfth project on which renowned composer John Williams worked with Steven Spielberg. He composed and partially conducted this film score. Most of the cues were orchestrated by John Neufeld, with two of those being partially orchestrated by Conrad Pope and with three others entirely orchestrated by Alexander Courage.

MCA Records released a soundtrack album for the film on May 25, 1993. Also produced by Williams, this album includes most of the film's major cues, sometimes edited together into longer tracks and often containing material that was not used in the film. Several passages are also repeated in different tracks.

Three major melodic ideas can be heard in this score. The first, known simply as "Theme from Jurassic Park", conveys the elegance and beauty of the dinosaurs and is introduced when the visitors first see the Brachiosaurus. Another theme takes the form of a noble fanfare first heard as the helicopter approaches Isla Nublar; this one, too, seems to represent the dinosaurs and the park they inhabit. Both of these themes are also used for quieter, more tender moments in the score, typically with woodwinds, horns, or keyboards.

The third major theme is very different from the first two. Comprising four menacing notes, it is heard frequently in scenes involving the threat of the carnivorous dinosaurs - the raptors in particular. The cue "Into the Kitchen" (entitled "The Raptor Attack" on the original soundtrack) explores this motif extensively.

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Magnificient Seven

A Legend Among Westerns … A Film Music Masterpiece!
Spectacular gun battles, epic-sized heroes and an all-star cast that includes Academy Award winners Yul Brynner and James Coburn, together with Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach and Charles Bronson, make The Magnificent Seven a legend among westerns. Spawning three sequels and a successful television series, and featuring Elmer Bernstein’s Oscar-nominated score, this stunning remake of The Seven Samurai is “a hard-pounding adventure” (Newsweek) and “an enduringly popular” (Leonard Maltin) cinematic classic.

Merciless Calvera (Wallach) and his band of ruthless outlaws are terrorizing a poor Mexican village, and even the bravest lawmen can’t stop them. Desperate, the locals hire Chris Adams (Brynner) and six other gunfighters to defend them. With time running out before Calvera’s next raid, the heroic seven must prepare the villagers for battle and help them find the courage to take back their town…or die trying!
Elmer Bernstein’s score is as classic as they come. It features one of the most famous themes ever written for a film and possesses a spirit and energy that is all but unmatched. 

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