Movie/TV/Game Scores Through The Ages - Alan's Personal Favourites

2002 - Hart's War - Rachel Portman

I don't think that this was the score I chose last time I did this list - though I would be pleased if it was - but a lot of things have happened to me since the last time I made my selections. I suppose that one of the interesting things is that favourite lists change over time because of any number of reasons.

To be perfectly honest, Rachel Portman's score for Hart's War - particularly the main theme - manages to cut through everything around me when I listen to it and it seems to bring my emotions into a kind of sharp focus. What I hear in the brass solo of tracks such as "Final Salute" I can't really put into words and whilst I listen to this cue now I find a whole flood of feelings come back to me. Obviously I have never met the composer before - I probably never will - but what she had done with this theme, it's like she has tapped into my soul and put that down on the manuscript page. It's sad, yes, but what she then does is take this theme, wraps it (protectively and lovingly) with full orchestra and transforms it into a celebratory eulogy that always brings me to tears. This score isn't just about this theme though. The remainder of the score has some very dramatic music that makes for an varied as well as emotional journey.

2002 also produced Terence Blanchard's 25th Hour - another score that contains a very powerful and emotional theme. The way that he takes the theme, stripped of most of the orchestra and focuses on only one or two instruments, then adding back the orchestra bit by bit lifts the theme (a bit like Portman's) to almost celebratory levels. This theme also strikes a chord. However, the wailing embellishments he adds are a bit of a distraction.

James Newton Howard's Signs will be familiar to many - and this one may have been my first choice before - and the climax cues of this score are rightly held by many as being some of the best around. But the composer's reliance on repetitive motifs and hypnotic ideas makes this stand out. In some ways similar to Signs, Hans Zimmer's score to The Ring is another stand out score for me. I just love the way that he moulds the strings into various shapes and contortions that - to me at least - very rarely bores. A couple of other scores worth a mention are Bingen Mendizábal's lovely score for El Viaje de Carol. The lovely melodic title theme and the use of simple piano makes for a very enjoyable listen. And Yasunori Mitsuda's score for the video game Xenosaga, with the drama of tracks such as "Gnosis" and the partnership of dramatic orchestra and spine-tingling choral work in "The Miracle", deserves a wider audience (though listening to the entire score is a bit of a struggle to be honest).

Honorary mentions also to themes from The Triangle (LoDuca), The Touch (Poledouris' title song mainly) and Mark Thomas' themes in the British horror film Dog Soldiers.

This year's titles are particularly oriented around great themes and I make no apologies for this, and looking at the scores I could have chosen there are a myriad of popular titles that I haven't even mentioned. But I look forward to hearing other peoples' favourites from this year - I am sure that some of these other scores will be mentioned.

HART'S WAR sounds lovely! And up until today I can't remember ever even hearing of it. Thanks, Alan.

My four favorites from 2002 are...

THE TWO TOWERS (Howard Shore). While (imo) the least awesome of the LOTR scores, it's still monumental, with great new themes, and a perfect companion for the wonderful film. I LOVE "Forth Eorlingas."

DRAGONFLY (John Debney). Debney is the chameleon of film composers. He can sound like anyone. In this case he sounds like JNH and his score to UNBREAKABLE, which is not a bad thing! The finale of this one is fantastic and almost single-handedly puts this score near the top of my list for 2002

SIGNS (James Newton Howard). Excellent stuff. That nearly musical idea in this score comes in three-note groups is so cool. And what more can be said about the two part finale that most of us haven't already said before?

IRIS (James Horner). This score doesn't get mentioned much anymore, but I think it's a solid effort from Horner, and very nice to listen to, if a bit monochromatic (to borrow Horner's way of thinking about music).

I might mention a few others that I like, but these four really rose above the rest of the pack for me.

the least awesome?
I call this one the most awesome one of the 3

your choice of course

I think Attack of The Clones is the weakest of the STAR WARS scores ( at least on album ), it's still bloody good though and yes, Across The Stars is a classic Williams theme, gorgeous.

If I go by what I've played the most then it will have to be JNH's SIGNS but THE TWO TOWERS, THE TOUCH, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS and BOURNE IDENTITY all vie for playing space and get regular workouts*.

*I'm not sure about that term 'regular', at times that means I may play select tracks more than once a year but it could mean that the full score only gets played once every year or so? Truly regular multi-played per year scores for me is stuff like Star Treks I, II & III, early Star Wars, Conan, John Barry's classic Bond's etc.

Hmmmmm, I do like the main title theme to Hart's War, but the rest of the CD, like so many other Portman compositions, just babbles along without many highlights.

In earlier years the winner for me would be a toss-up between Michael Brooks' exquisite, tender and eminently listenable India: Kingdom Of The Tiger and Randy Edelman's electrically charges, high-octane score to xXx (with Poledouris' heartfelt score to The Touch a nice third to round out a top three)

For 2002 a GREAT many other scores though come to mind: John Debney's explosive The Scorpion King, ; John Powell redefining "quirky" forever with his fantastically fun Pluto Nash; Klaus Badelt's strongly techno-oriented cold, calculating and mesmerizing Equilibrium; Ed Shearmur's finest and most allround opus The Count Of Monte Cristo (honestly: why this beautiful score is so overlooked is beyond me), and, maybe slightly more controversially, Brian Tyler's finest and most allround opus Children Of Dune, a stunning epic of a work.

Some most deserved honourable mentions to Shearmur's Reign Of Fire, which is harsh and brutal and totally fits the film (and works wonders on CD as well!), Thomas Newman not treading newground but nevertheless doing what he does best in Road To Perdition, John Powell creating a lovely, highly thematic (always very welcome!) romantic score for Two Weeks Notice and Beltrami's strong and driving work on Blade II.

Some more scores to consider from 2002 (Wow! What a great year this was!):
- David Arnold's charged Die Another Day
- Jeff Danna's thoughtful Uncorked At Sachem's Farm (with some great guitar in there)
- The soundtrack CD to Frida (yes, I know it's Goldenthal, but it's mostly source cues...but damn are they good!)
- Richard Jacques' work on the video game Headhunter: clever and fun!
- Alan Williams' fine and strong score to the documentary Kilimanjaro: To The Roof Of Africa
- Christopher Young's fun and light-hearted Country Bears

For me though, this year though the nod has to go to Roque Baños Salomé.
It's a highly personal choice that has encountered little love from others, but the thoroughly thoughtful mix between oriental moods and Spanish flamenco style is nothing less than spellbinding to me. There's an utterly engrossing, hypnotising, highly emotional quality to this score that really hits home.

But then I am thoroughly partial to this style, so this may easily my most personal choice ever.

Interesting.
I have Far From Heaven filed under 2003
Hitman 2 under 2005

I think Far from Heaven was actually 2002.

I might be pretty clueless, basing it on Filmtracks though.

Same thing for Hans' Beyond Rangoon too - the film is 1994, the album was 1995.

Fair enough.

It's a superb score.

Any news on 2003?

I will get this year's selection up today.

...1 hour, 15 minutes...

I don't know what is my favourite work of this year, but Hans Zimmer's The Last Samurai (as an album, not as a film score though) is among my very favourites.