Stardust
Ilan Eshkeri
" Surprise yourself with some wonderful stardust magic "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
There's something about fairytales! Meaning fantasy is simply the best magical 6th sense there is. To know what isn't real and to invent what doesn't exist. Stardust is the fairytale about a man in love who tries to capture the heart of his beloved by finding a fallen star named Yvaine. And it all lures him into a magical world of pirates and witches. In the end adventure is born. The movie has received enormously large and rewarding critic. And it truly is a brilliant feel good movie that has everything you want in movies. Acting that sells, a story that moves, effects that amaze and music that soars. Hence the reason why the wonderful score of Ilan Eshkeri was released.
There's something about fairytales. Meaning fantasy is simply the best magical first movie style there is. To flourish what sounds small and to blossom what doesn't enthrall. The score itself which basically is a great orchestral/choral ride hasn't exactly raised acclaim but the person who did discovered it surely praised it enough for its winning galore. And exactly that is the charm of this score. No matter if it sounds a bit familiar in themes or structure, it's the winning big nature where orchestras soar and music dazzles. Newcomer on board is Ilan Eshkeri who recently got attention for his chilling score for Hannibal Rising, and now he receives it for Stardust.
It all begins with "Prologue (Through the Wall)" where strings soar ala Cocoon, at least a bit to create this tiny sense of wonder. It however doesn't unveil much by not telling that this is at first a fantasy tale. For "Tristan" we even have the subtheme for the main character. The sense that we're watching and hearing a grand fantasy tale is soon unveiled when "Shooting Star" raptures into a grand play of brass and choir, totally giving you a sense of awe and fantasy. In it you receive the shine theme and a brief version of the King theme.
A quick word must be said about this King theme. This theme is hardly heard in this soundtrack release (apart from a wondrous performance at the end), but during the movie it does appear a lot more, especially when Septimus appears and when the brothers assume they are king. The funny thing is that Eshkeri already wrote this theme for Ring of the Nibelungs (2004), and in this Television movie it appeared a lot, yet never in the wonder nor power it appeared in Stardust. Why this theme appears in 2 fantasy movies is a question Eshkeri himself can only answer I assume.
Back to the score! "Three Witches" has an ominous opening where the choir strikes again hard with the shine theme. And this theme appears faintly in "Yvaine", considering she doesn't glow yet. Yet there are more themes than just those, for instance a trek theme is spotted (once again more in the movie) in "Septimus" (be ready for its explosive delight). People will also have to admit that "Lamia's Inn" is heavily temptracked from a mix of Danny Elfman / Gustav Holst / Wojciech Kilar's music. And yet it is adapted here from Bach's The Well Tempered Klavier prelude, creating a sense that Kilar's Dracula music was drawn towards the Bach music too. It is in the end an 8 minute mood swinger where the ominous music grows to its big climax.
After this dark intermezzo we're back to more heavenly fantasy music. With "Flying Vessel" the optimistic adventure music soars again for you to enjoy. Call it Hook alike or not, it's fun and exiting. Watch out as well for the Slavonic Dances waltz from Antonin Dvorak and the choral end from the shine theme. This is only heightened even more when the adventure music follows the written path in "Cap'n's at the Helm". The real love blossoms finally in "Tristan & Yvaine" and we welcome the underused love theme of the movie. It may be a little bit like LOTR's hobbit music, it soars nicely on the strings nonetheless.
At first "Pirate Fight" was a disappointment for me. I expected an Eshkeri whopper of adventure and galore. Yet the movie explains everything and then the reworking of The Galop Infernal from Jacques Offenbach makes sense. Director Matthew Vaughn apparently had a hand in "The Mouse", using soft strings over the love theme. This is of course only an appetizer for "Lamia's Lair", which is again a great fantasy cue, filled with adventurous thumping music and sheer thunderous brass.
"Lamia's Doll" uses the shine theme in a dramatic sense now and "Zombie Fight" re ignites the atonal collision of the strings, brass and even piano. Meaning these are short but great cues. But the almighty ending follows soon enough. First with a cacophony of brass shrills (ala the explosion of the Krypton planet in Superman) and heralded by the choral shine theme in its biggest glowing form yet. That is all found in "The Star Shines". But it's when you hear a climatic piece ala "Coronation" that you know you're listening to something fantastical. The awesome rise of magic, the pairing of the king theme with the love theme in a glorifying encore, Eshkeri goes for an all out finale in this one, giving us a happy end in the end.
In a way I find it sad that Take That's song (which fitted so well with the movie) doesn't appear here, but in a way "Epilogue" does the trick as well (it is written by them you see, albeit softer and shorter).
Altogether there are faults in Stardust. The music at times makes you wonder if you hear just a tad too much influence from another composer? But when it's brought in this sense of wonder, power and thrill as presented here, I always say! "Who Cares?" Stardust is a wonderful surprise, a most pleasing listen and a soundtrack that gives fantasy music back its meaning. The themes are less easier to find but nonetheless present, and the majestic stroke of orchestral power that comes your way is like hearing LOTR again. And then you know that there's something magical about fairytales! More magical fairytale music.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue (Through the Wall) (3.45)
2. Snowdrop (2.46)
3. Tristan (0.40)
4. Shooting Star (3.26) Excellent track
5. Three Witches (2.42)
6. Yvaine (2.48)
7. Septimus (1.22) Excellent track
8. Creating the Inn (1.58)
9. Lamia's Inn (8.04)
10. Cap'n Shakespeare (1.27)
11. Flying Vessel (3.41) Excellent track
12. Cap'n's at the Helm (1.01)
13. Tristan & Yvaine (2.05)
14. Pirate Fight (2.03)
15. The Mouse (2.25)
16. Lamia's Lair (3.57) Excellent track
17. Lamia's Doll (1.41)
18. Zombie Fight (1.08)
19. The Star Shines (3.21) Excellent track
20. Coronation (2.32) Excellent track
21. Epilogue (0.52)
Total Length: 53.44
There's something about fairytales. Meaning fantasy is simply the best magical first movie style there is. To flourish what sounds small and to blossom what doesn't enthrall. The score itself which basically is a great orchestral/choral ride hasn't exactly raised acclaim but the person who did discovered it surely praised it enough for its winning galore. And exactly that is the charm of this score. No matter if it sounds a bit familiar in themes or structure, it's the winning big nature where orchestras soar and music dazzles. Newcomer on board is Ilan Eshkeri who recently got attention for his chilling score for Hannibal Rising, and now he receives it for Stardust.
It all begins with "Prologue (Through the Wall)" where strings soar ala Cocoon, at least a bit to create this tiny sense of wonder. It however doesn't unveil much by not telling that this is at first a fantasy tale. For "Tristan" we even have the subtheme for the main character. The sense that we're watching and hearing a grand fantasy tale is soon unveiled when "Shooting Star" raptures into a grand play of brass and choir, totally giving you a sense of awe and fantasy. In it you receive the shine theme and a brief version of the King theme.
A quick word must be said about this King theme. This theme is hardly heard in this soundtrack release (apart from a wondrous performance at the end), but during the movie it does appear a lot more, especially when Septimus appears and when the brothers assume they are king. The funny thing is that Eshkeri already wrote this theme for Ring of the Nibelungs (2004), and in this Television movie it appeared a lot, yet never in the wonder nor power it appeared in Stardust. Why this theme appears in 2 fantasy movies is a question Eshkeri himself can only answer I assume.
Back to the score! "Three Witches" has an ominous opening where the choir strikes again hard with the shine theme. And this theme appears faintly in "Yvaine", considering she doesn't glow yet. Yet there are more themes than just those, for instance a trek theme is spotted (once again more in the movie) in "Septimus" (be ready for its explosive delight). People will also have to admit that "Lamia's Inn" is heavily temptracked from a mix of Danny Elfman / Gustav Holst / Wojciech Kilar's music. And yet it is adapted here from Bach's The Well Tempered Klavier prelude, creating a sense that Kilar's Dracula music was drawn towards the Bach music too. It is in the end an 8 minute mood swinger where the ominous music grows to its big climax.
After this dark intermezzo we're back to more heavenly fantasy music. With "Flying Vessel" the optimistic adventure music soars again for you to enjoy. Call it Hook alike or not, it's fun and exiting. Watch out as well for the Slavonic Dances waltz from Antonin Dvorak and the choral end from the shine theme. This is only heightened even more when the adventure music follows the written path in "Cap'n's at the Helm". The real love blossoms finally in "Tristan & Yvaine" and we welcome the underused love theme of the movie. It may be a little bit like LOTR's hobbit music, it soars nicely on the strings nonetheless.
At first "Pirate Fight" was a disappointment for me. I expected an Eshkeri whopper of adventure and galore. Yet the movie explains everything and then the reworking of The Galop Infernal from Jacques Offenbach makes sense. Director Matthew Vaughn apparently had a hand in "The Mouse", using soft strings over the love theme. This is of course only an appetizer for "Lamia's Lair", which is again a great fantasy cue, filled with adventurous thumping music and sheer thunderous brass.
"Lamia's Doll" uses the shine theme in a dramatic sense now and "Zombie Fight" re ignites the atonal collision of the strings, brass and even piano. Meaning these are short but great cues. But the almighty ending follows soon enough. First with a cacophony of brass shrills (ala the explosion of the Krypton planet in Superman) and heralded by the choral shine theme in its biggest glowing form yet. That is all found in "The Star Shines". But it's when you hear a climatic piece ala "Coronation" that you know you're listening to something fantastical. The awesome rise of magic, the pairing of the king theme with the love theme in a glorifying encore, Eshkeri goes for an all out finale in this one, giving us a happy end in the end.
In a way I find it sad that Take That's song (which fitted so well with the movie) doesn't appear here, but in a way "Epilogue" does the trick as well (it is written by them you see, albeit softer and shorter).
Altogether there are faults in Stardust. The music at times makes you wonder if you hear just a tad too much influence from another composer? But when it's brought in this sense of wonder, power and thrill as presented here, I always say! "Who Cares?" Stardust is a wonderful surprise, a most pleasing listen and a soundtrack that gives fantasy music back its meaning. The themes are less easier to find but nonetheless present, and the majestic stroke of orchestral power that comes your way is like hearing LOTR again. And then you know that there's something magical about fairytales! More magical fairytale music.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue (Through the Wall) (3.45)
2. Snowdrop (2.46)
3. Tristan (0.40)
4. Shooting Star (3.26) Excellent track
5. Three Witches (2.42)
6. Yvaine (2.48)
7. Septimus (1.22) Excellent track
8. Creating the Inn (1.58)
9. Lamia's Inn (8.04)
10. Cap'n Shakespeare (1.27)
11. Flying Vessel (3.41) Excellent track
12. Cap'n's at the Helm (1.01)
13. Tristan & Yvaine (2.05)
14. Pirate Fight (2.03)
15. The Mouse (2.25)
16. Lamia's Lair (3.57) Excellent track
17. Lamia's Doll (1.41)
18. Zombie Fight (1.08)
19. The Star Shines (3.21) Excellent track
20. Coronation (2.32) Excellent track
21. Epilogue (0.52)
Total Length: 53.44