The Legend of Zorro (James Horner)
(2005)
The success of The Mask of Zorro in 1998 was enough to warrant a sequel to the film, though it took seven years to finally come along, with most of the cast and crew from the previous film returning. It didn’t enjoy the success that The Mask of Zorro did though, with most critics considering it too similar to its predecessor.
Composer James Horner wrote one of the most entertaining scores of his career for The Mask of Zorro, and he returns here to deliver a score that is equally as entertaining, if not more so. The Mask of Zorro saw a brief return by Horner to the dynamic style of writing for which he had become so famous earlier in his career, and so entertaining was the result that it was really quite easy to overlook the fact that the main theme came from Alfred Newman’s Captain from Castile, and that the four note danger motif from Rachmaninov’s 1st Symphony was featured prominently as usual. The score for The Legend of Zorro is based on exactly the same themes as its predecessor, and arguably surpasses it in terms of quality. Only a brief analysis of the score is to follow, since this score is so similar to its predecessor I’d be essentially re-writing my review of that score.
The opening of “Collecting the Ballots” is identical to the opening of the first score, with the familiar acoustic guitars and foot tapping. There are a couple of new themes, but they’re no match for the original love theme and main Zorro theme that are reprised from the original score. As before though, the highlights of the score are the action music. The album’s primary highlight is the eleven minute long track “The Train”, a wonderfully structured piece featuring some of the best action music that Horner has ever written. “The Cortez Ranch” is another great track, with Horner’s faithful shakuhachi flute creating just the right mood for the scene in question. Another aspect that results in the superiority of this score over its predecessor is the lack of a song with Will Jennings’ dreadful lyrics. The album gives the listener a more than generous treatment of Horner’s music for the film, putting the primary Zorro theme, the love theme and the theme for the horse riding, through several great variations.
Overall, like its predecessor, The Legend of Zorro stands as a definite highlight of Horner’s career. It’s easily one of the best scores of its year (and 2005 was probably the decade’s best year for film music), and is a highly recommended purchase.
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Track Listing
1. Collecting the Ballots (3:27)
2. Stolen Votes (6:33)
3. To the Governor’s… And Then Elena (4:07)
4. This Is Who I Am (3:07)
5. Classroom Justice (1:52)
6. The Cortez Ranch (6:37)
7. A Proposal with Pearls/Perilous Times (4:00)
8. Joaquin’s Capture and Zorro’s Rescue (5:02)
9. Jailbreak/Reunited (5:38)
10. A Dinner of Pigeon/Setting the Explosives (5:06)
11. Mad Dash/Zorro Unmasked (3:22)
12. Just One Drop of Nitro (2:42)
13. The Train (11:03)
14. Statehood Proclaimed (5:02)
15. My Family Is My Life (8:14)
Total Time: 75:34
Credits
Music Composed & Conducted by James Horner
Orchestrations by James Horner, Randy Kerber, Bruce Babcock, Eddie Karam, Jon Kull, Conrad Pope, & David Slonaker
Recorded at Todd-AO
Produced by James Horner & Simon Rhodes
Awards
None
Insert Notes
The liner notes contain extensive credits, but no information about the score or film.
All images and artwork are Copyright © Columbia Pictures / Sony Entertainment
