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(2009)

Alongside Randy and Thomas Newman, Michael Giacchino seems to have gained the status as one of Pixar’s go-to-composers.  His two previous scores for the studio, The Incredibles and Ratatouille were well received by film music fans and critics alike, the latter earning him his first Oscar nomination.  Up would go several steps further, achieving the rare feat of winning the Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Grammy.

So, the ultimate question: is Up a good score.  Certainly.  Did it deserve all those awards?  Unfortunately not.  Despite being an enjoyable listening experience and a very functional score in the film, it is not one that deserves to stand alongside the clear classics, such as Star Wars and E.T., that have won those four major awards.  Giacchino is undoubtedly one of the finest film composers working today, and Up is easily among the top ten scores of 2010, but it is definitely not the dominant classic that its award wins would lead you to believe.

One of the major deterrents of the score is Disney’s choice to release it as an MP3 download (as was also the case with Randy Newman’s more recent Toy Story 3).  Speaking personally, I don’t really care whether I have a CD or an MP3 download, but that may be off-putting to those who prefer to have a nice shiny CD.  The main problem with the album release of the score is the compressed MP3 format, which sounds rather dull on any decent stereo system, so make sure you have a pair of headphones handy if you want to enjoy it as best you can.

All that said though, there are several cues in this score that aren’t to be missed.  Oddly enough, the main theme, first introduced by a gentle solo piano in “We’re in the Club Now “ is not heard at its best until “Up With End Credits”, where it’s given a great fully orchestral rendition.  The best cues are “Married Life” and “Carl Goes Up “, with the former cue’s instrumentation matching the mood of the scene so well.  Another theme of the score is for the character Muntz, which is given a light hearted performance in the cue “The Nickel Tour“, but then becomes a dark and menacing piece as it is realized that Muntz is in fact a deranged killer.  This is followed by an excellent action piece: “Escape from Muntz Mountain”.   “Giving Muntz the Bird” is another definite highlight, with the light percussion performances of the main theme with whimsical trumpets in the background.  There are a few other motifs that are to be heard, but none of which are really of much interest.

In sum, this is a fine score and easily merits a recommendation.  It is however, a wildly overrated one, and Giacchino’s previous scores for Pixar, The Incredibles and Ratatouille, are two that you should pick up first.

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Track Listing

1. Up With Titles (0:53)

2. We’re in the Club Now (0:43)

3. Married Life (4:10)

4. Carl Goes Up (3:33)

5. 52 Chachki Pickup (1:14)

6. Paradise Found (1:03)

7. Walkin’ the House (1:03)

8. Three Dog Dash (0:51)

9. Kevin Beak’n (1:14)

10. Canine Conundrum (2:03)

11. The Nickel Tour (0:52)

12. The Explorer Motel (1:26)

13. Escape from Muntz Mountain (2:43)

14. Giving Muntz the Bird (1:57)

15. Stuff We Did (2:13)

16. Memories Can Weigh You Down (1:22)

17. The Small Mailman Returns (3:11)

18. He’s Got the Bird (0:29)

19. Seizing the Spirit of Adventure (5:19)

20. It’s Just a House (1:59)

21. The Ellie Badge (1:30)

22. Up With End Credits (7:38)

23. The Spirit of Adventure – performed by Craig Copeland (2:30)

24. Carl’s Maiden Voyage* (0:52)

25. Muntz’s Dark Reverie* (0:52)

26. Meet Kevin in the Jungle* (1:32)

* Bonus Track

Credits

Music Composed & Produced by Michael Giacchino

Orchestrations by Peter Boyer, Jennifer Hammond, Jack Hayes, Larry Kenton & Tim Simonec

Conducted by Tim Simonec

Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Score (Won)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (Won)

BAFTA Award for Best Music (Won)

Grammy Award for Best Score (Won)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for “Married Life” (Won)

Insert Notes

None.

All artwork and images are Copyright © Walt Disney Records

(1988)

Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language film of 1988, Cinema Paradiso is probably the best film to come from Italy since the days of Fellini.  Written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, the film was both a critical and commercial success, the film is considered a classic by many, and rightfully so.  It was also the first collaboration between Tornatore and legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who has scored all his subsequent films to date.

Morricone is one of those composers who always delivers, even when scoring films that are utter garbage.  He’s scored more than his fair share of dreadful films, but it’s when he composes the score for a masterpiece like Cinema Paradiso that he reaches an altitude that no other film composer could ever hope to match.  Honestly; I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more beautiful film score.  It’s forty minutes of, well…paradise.

Every cue of the score introduces yet more charm and beauty that you wouldn’t have thought possible after having heard the last one.  The score itself is based around a series of some of the finest themes ever written for film.  The two best known are of course the piano led main theme, and the simply stunning love theme, composed by Morricone’s son Andrea.  Both these themes are woven intelligently with new ideas throughout the score, with the best possible results.  Other noteworthy cues include “Maturità” with its lovely guitar performances, which is later heard in a varied form in “Prima gioventù”.  A change of tone is heard in “Cinema in Fiamme”, accompanying the scene of the burning cinema, with the wailing string movements not dissimilar to Bernard Herrmann’s famous music from Psycho, as well as the jazz-style “Dal sex-appeal americano al primo Fellini”.

Like most of Morricone’s best work, Cinema Paradiso is a difficult score to do justice in a written review.  In sum, it is one of the few scores that genuinely deserves the title of “classic masterpiece”.  The fact that it was not nominated for an Oscar is reason alone to dismiss those ridiculous awards.  A truly magical score in every way.  Don’t miss out on this one.

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Track Listing

1 – Nuovo Cinema Paradiso

2 – Maturità

3 – Ripensandola

4 – Infanzia e Maturita

5 – Cinema in Fiamme

6 – Tema d’amore

7 – Dopo il crollo

8 – Prima gioventù

9 – Tema d’more per Nata

10 – Visita al cinema

11 – Quattro interludi

12 – Fuga, ricerca e ritorno

13 – Proiezione a due

14 – Dal sex-appeal americano al primo Fellini

15 – Toto e Alfredo

16 – Per Elena

Credits

Music Composed, Orchestrated, Conducted & Produced by Ennio Morricone

“Tema de amor” (Love Theme) Composed by Andrea Morricone

Performed by Orquesta Unione Musicisti di Roma

Awards

BAFTA Award for Best Music (Won)

Insert Notes

The album’s packaging is all in Italian.  The insert contains a few pictures from the film and a list of credits, but no additional information.

All artwork and images are Copyright © Acoua Records / Miramax Films.

(2004)

Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) winds up trapped in a New York airport due to war breaking out in his nation during his flight, which has rendered his passport and travel documents useless.  He can’t enter New York, and he can’t go home, so he lives in The Terminal, ultimately causing so much annoyance for the management that they attempt to trick him into entering New York so that he’ll be arrested and will no longer be their problem, but he isn’t fooled.  Despite being treated with suspicion by airport employees initially, he eventually befriends many of them, and develops a romance with a flight attendant played by Catherine Zeta Jones.  The film is immensely enjoyable, in the most part because it’s just a light hearted comedy, and doesn’t make an effort to convey the chagrin of being stuck at airports for extended periods of time, which, let’s face it, would be very believable.

The Terminal was the 21st collaboration between Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams, with their most recent being Catch Me If You Can in 2002, which was a particularly welcome change from Williams’ music for Spielberg’s heavy dramas to that for comedy.  Whilst Williams’ work for that film would be difficult to recommend to anybody other than true Williams enthusiasts, the score for The Terminal is a delight from beginning to end.

The main theme, a whimsical clarinet tune, is introduced in the very first cue, and is gradually built up until it is played in all its glory by the full orchestra.  This is immediately followed by the eight minute long “Dinner with Amelia”, a Nino Rota style romance piece.  Next is “A Legend is Born”, a broad brass and horn piece which has the feel of one of those heroic western themes.

Other particular highlight cues include “The Fountain Scene”, a beautiful romance piece, followed by “The Wedding of Officer Torres”, into which Williams includes a few notes from “Here Comes the Bride” towards the end.  “Jazz Autographs” is an excellent solo piano piece with occasional bass, later joined by strings.  Williams includes a brief homage to Bernard Herrmann in the cue “Refusing to Escape”, where Herrmann’s theme from Cape Fear is briefly heard (strange choice, but anyway…).  Williams’ National Anthem for Krakozhia (yes; the film is fictional – that country does NOT really exist – don’t go looking for an atlas) is a brief, but hugely enjoyable fully orchestral piece.

This is undoubtedly my favourite score of 2004.  Admittedly, that year was an excellent one for film music, and so it was a pretty narrow choice.  Regardless however, this is as enjoyable a score from John Williams as I’ve ever come across, and deserves a place in the music collection of anybody who is a fan of his music.

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Track Listing

1. The Tale of Viktor Navorski (4:12)

2. Dinner with Amelia (8:02)

3. A Legend is Born (3:16)

4. Viktor and his Friends (4:43)

5. The Fountain Scene (5:33)

6. The Wedding of Officer Torres (5:01)

7. Jazz Autographs (3:45)

8. Refusing to Escape (3:01)

9. Krakozhia National Anthem and Homesickness (1:49)

10. Looking for Work (3:17)

11. Gupta’s Deliverance (3:18)

12. Finding Coins and Learning to Read (4:02)

13. ‘Destiny’ … ‘Canneloni’ … and the Tale of Viktor Navorski Reprise (5:05)

14. A Happy Navorski Ending (2:47)

Credits

Music Composed, Conducted & Produced by John Williams

Orchestrations by John Neufeld

Clarinet & Accordion Solos by Emily Bernstein and Guy Klusevsky

Awards

None

Insert Notes

None – Purchased as MP3 Download

All artwork and images are Copyright © Decca