The War
Thomas Newman
" A memorable main theme "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
The War is a 1994 drama film directed by Jon Avnet. Starring Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner and Mare Winningham, it is a coming of age tale set in Mississippi in the 1970s. For the music Avnet returned to Thomas Newman (with whom we worked on Fried Green Tomatoes). Considering 1994 became a legendary year for Newman (with 2 Oscar nominations for Little Women and The Shawshank Redemption), The War was somewhat forgotten between all that. Sad really considering it carries a very lovely theme as cornerstone.
You will undoubtedly have heard the main theme before, if you ever saw the tantalizing first part of the trailer of American Beauty. Without a doubt, the warm noble main theme, the soft strings and the lovely vocal of Yvonne Williams make it a moment to remember. "Angel Pen" is without a doubt the highlight of the score.
The remainder of Thomas Newman's score offers us his expected voice. It is a balance between the quirkiness and the orchestral voice of Scent of a Woman and Little Women. Piano, oboe and the vocal open the experience with "Juliette", the main theme returns in "The War (Main Title)", native flutes recreate the sound of the Vietnam war in "Hornets" and "2nd Vietnam" while the more eclectic pieces of Newman color "Trolley", "Junkyard Billy" and "Dare" in pure Texan style. One word though about "2nd Vietnam". It's the longest track of them all, combining darker dramatic music (reminding us of The Shawshank Redemption) with a nice main theme version at the end. Altogether, it listens quite intriguing.
The War has about 30 minutes of Thomas Newman's music, the other 30 minutes are spent on the more known songs of the period. Together it recreates the flow of the movie. Newman's main theme is a winner, definitely when Yvonne Williams sings along with it (as the trailer of American Beauty testifies), while the rest carries no secrets with it. I'm definitely recommending this one for the Thomas Newman fans out there. You can find it reasonably cheap nowadays, enough to warrant a closer look.
Score: ***
Songs: ***
Tracklisting
1. Peace Train: Cat Stevens (4.09)
2. Think: Aretha Franklin (2.15)
3. Summertime from "Porgy And Bess": Janis Joplin (3.57)
4. Daydream: Lovin 'Spoonful (2.19)
5. Sunny: Bobby Hebb (2.40)
6. Spirit in the Sky: Norman Greenbaum (3.59)
7. Follow: Richie Havens (6.20)
8. Up on Cripple Creek: The Band (4.29)
9. Someday We'll Be Together: Diana Ross & The Supremes (3.28)
10. Juliette (3.10)
11. Trolley (2.01)
12. The War (Main Title) (1.13)
13. Hornets (0.52)
14. Resuscitation (1.33)
15. Gone Again (2.39)
16. Life be a Bowlful (1.26)
17. 2nd Vietnam (6.12)
18. Junkyard Billy (1.08)
19. Dare (2.31)
20. Hospital (2.33)
21. Angel Pen (3.35) Excellent track
Total Length: 63.14
You will undoubtedly have heard the main theme before, if you ever saw the tantalizing first part of the trailer of American Beauty. Without a doubt, the warm noble main theme, the soft strings and the lovely vocal of Yvonne Williams make it a moment to remember. "Angel Pen" is without a doubt the highlight of the score.
The remainder of Thomas Newman's score offers us his expected voice. It is a balance between the quirkiness and the orchestral voice of Scent of a Woman and Little Women. Piano, oboe and the vocal open the experience with "Juliette", the main theme returns in "The War (Main Title)", native flutes recreate the sound of the Vietnam war in "Hornets" and "2nd Vietnam" while the more eclectic pieces of Newman color "Trolley", "Junkyard Billy" and "Dare" in pure Texan style. One word though about "2nd Vietnam". It's the longest track of them all, combining darker dramatic music (reminding us of The Shawshank Redemption) with a nice main theme version at the end. Altogether, it listens quite intriguing.
The War has about 30 minutes of Thomas Newman's music, the other 30 minutes are spent on the more known songs of the period. Together it recreates the flow of the movie. Newman's main theme is a winner, definitely when Yvonne Williams sings along with it (as the trailer of American Beauty testifies), while the rest carries no secrets with it. I'm definitely recommending this one for the Thomas Newman fans out there. You can find it reasonably cheap nowadays, enough to warrant a closer look.
Score: ***
Songs: ***
Tracklisting
1. Peace Train: Cat Stevens (4.09)
2. Think: Aretha Franklin (2.15)
3. Summertime from "Porgy And Bess": Janis Joplin (3.57)
4. Daydream: Lovin 'Spoonful (2.19)
5. Sunny: Bobby Hebb (2.40)
6. Spirit in the Sky: Norman Greenbaum (3.59)
7. Follow: Richie Havens (6.20)
8. Up on Cripple Creek: The Band (4.29)
9. Someday We'll Be Together: Diana Ross & The Supremes (3.28)
10. Juliette (3.10)
11. Trolley (2.01)
12. The War (Main Title) (1.13)
13. Hornets (0.52)
14. Resuscitation (1.33)
15. Gone Again (2.39)
16. Life be a Bowlful (1.26)
17. 2nd Vietnam (6.12)
18. Junkyard Billy (1.08)
19. Dare (2.31)
20. Hospital (2.33)
21. Angel Pen (3.35) Excellent track
Total Length: 63.14