Bicentennial Man
James Horner
" It's Braveheart 2 meets Finding Bobby Fisher, but who cares if it moves you that much! "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
James Horner is criticized for re using his musical themes. But what if he uses them so well in an otherwise beautiful effort? Does it then also count as the hack of all times? Well, Bicentennial Man may upset fans, may frustrate the Horner haters but any person that simply doesn't care (in of course a matter of speaking) will love the emotion that runs through the veins of this beautiful score. Chris Columbus' movie may offer sweet sentimentality, I was weeping tears nonetheless with several scenes. And all that because Horner delivers us his most unoriginal score of all time.
Of course not only because of that, the actors were doing a pretty good job as well and Columbus made the story bittersweet, but I still think Horner is to blame for all those tears. After Titanic and The Mask of Zorro we have Bicentennial Man, a score that has unoriginal material up the wazoo, yet stating it in a damn fine fashion on disc. Call it what you will, I call it a hack job with high emotional prosperity.
It is the main love theme that will divide the people. Indeed, the astonishing beautiful main love theme, heard in Braveheart's track "For the Love of a Princess" is the basis of the score. It has the same melody and performance, while adding a somewhat different end to it here. Of course mainstream buyers who don't know anything of Horner will love it and rightfully so. Its spine tingling performance is best heard during the trio "The Wedding", "The Passage of Time /A Changing of Seasons" and "The Search for Another". This offers you almost 20 minutes of supreme emotional music.
This doesn't mean of course that everything is sentimental. "The Machine Age" offers you from the start piano movements straight out of Searching for Bobby Fisher and Sneakers, and even the Sneakers' memory is revisited in "The Magic Spirit". This through the use of soft choral singing. So, it is not always emotional syrup you hear, lighthearted tones are spotted as well. This for instance in track 4 or with more upbeat pleasure in "A New Nervous System" (which truly sounds wonderful).
Closing the disc is the familiar Horner song. Using the main love theme, it is a beautiful song and again one of the better I heard during the past couple of years. Of course, it will never become the next Titanic seller but truth be told, I like it.
Bicentennial Man is a gorgeous score and accompanies its movie perfectly. I know Horner haters will have the time of their life with this score, but that's their concern. I simply think it is a beautiful and satisfying score. At some occasions, it might meander a bit (mainly because this is once more a very long Horner score, 62 minutes without the song) but it never bores which is frankly the most important thing to remember. Of course it has all been heard before, but it offers emotion, style and flair all wrapped in another winning combination. It might even be considered one of the best Horner scores of the last years. And for a hack job that's one hell of a compliment.
Tracklisting
1. The Machine Age (3.32) Excellent track
2. Special Delivery (2.59)
3. The Magic Spirit (3.01)
4. A Gift for Little Miss (5.28)
5. Mechanical Love (2.02)
6. Wearing Clothes for the First Time (2.10)
7. The Wedding (6.49) Excellent track
8. The Passage of Time, A Changing of Seasons (8.32) Excellent track
9. The Search for Another (3.15) Excellent track
10. Transformed (2.25)
11. Emotions (3.55)
12. A New Nervous System (3.51)
13. A Truer Love (2.36)
14. Petition Denied (1.56)
15. Growing Old (3.12)
16. The Gift of Mortality (6.10)
17. Then You Look at Me: Celine Dion (4.22) Excellent track
Total Length: 66.29
Of course not only because of that, the actors were doing a pretty good job as well and Columbus made the story bittersweet, but I still think Horner is to blame for all those tears. After Titanic and The Mask of Zorro we have Bicentennial Man, a score that has unoriginal material up the wazoo, yet stating it in a damn fine fashion on disc. Call it what you will, I call it a hack job with high emotional prosperity.
It is the main love theme that will divide the people. Indeed, the astonishing beautiful main love theme, heard in Braveheart's track "For the Love of a Princess" is the basis of the score. It has the same melody and performance, while adding a somewhat different end to it here. Of course mainstream buyers who don't know anything of Horner will love it and rightfully so. Its spine tingling performance is best heard during the trio "The Wedding", "The Passage of Time /A Changing of Seasons" and "The Search for Another". This offers you almost 20 minutes of supreme emotional music.
This doesn't mean of course that everything is sentimental. "The Machine Age" offers you from the start piano movements straight out of Searching for Bobby Fisher and Sneakers, and even the Sneakers' memory is revisited in "The Magic Spirit". This through the use of soft choral singing. So, it is not always emotional syrup you hear, lighthearted tones are spotted as well. This for instance in track 4 or with more upbeat pleasure in "A New Nervous System" (which truly sounds wonderful).
Closing the disc is the familiar Horner song. Using the main love theme, it is a beautiful song and again one of the better I heard during the past couple of years. Of course, it will never become the next Titanic seller but truth be told, I like it.
Bicentennial Man is a gorgeous score and accompanies its movie perfectly. I know Horner haters will have the time of their life with this score, but that's their concern. I simply think it is a beautiful and satisfying score. At some occasions, it might meander a bit (mainly because this is once more a very long Horner score, 62 minutes without the song) but it never bores which is frankly the most important thing to remember. Of course it has all been heard before, but it offers emotion, style and flair all wrapped in another winning combination. It might even be considered one of the best Horner scores of the last years. And for a hack job that's one hell of a compliment.
Tracklisting
1. The Machine Age (3.32) Excellent track
2. Special Delivery (2.59)
3. The Magic Spirit (3.01)
4. A Gift for Little Miss (5.28)
5. Mechanical Love (2.02)
6. Wearing Clothes for the First Time (2.10)
7. The Wedding (6.49) Excellent track
8. The Passage of Time, A Changing of Seasons (8.32) Excellent track
9. The Search for Another (3.15) Excellent track
10. Transformed (2.25)
11. Emotions (3.55)
12. A New Nervous System (3.51)
13. A Truer Love (2.36)
14. Petition Denied (1.56)
15. Growing Old (3.12)
16. The Gift of Mortality (6.10)
17. Then You Look at Me: Celine Dion (4.22) Excellent track
Total Length: 66.29