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THE PATRIOT – John Williams
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
When word leaked out that Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were less than satisfied with David Arnold’s demo score for The Patriot, it set off a chain of murmurings throughout the film music world. Who would be the man to replace Arnold, whose previous collaborations with Centropolis had resulted in the uniformly wonderful Stargate, Independence Day and Godzilla? Then came the announcement: John Williams. Collective gasp. John Williams scoring a civil war epic? This could be the chance for him to turn in the kind of score everyone wanted Saving Private Ryan to be, but wasn’t. A glorious celebration of honor, nobility, valor in battle, and belief in one’s comrades. You’ll be delighted to discover that The Patriot doesn’t disappoint. Read more…
GLADIATOR – Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
When I’m not actually sitting down and listening to a Hans Zimmer score, I like to tell myself (and anyone else within earshot) that I’m not a great fan of his work. He’s too simplistic, I say. He relies far too much on synthesisers and banks of programmers, and he has a style that virtually never differs from score to score. Every other score he writes is just another variation on the patented Crimson Tide heroic anthem. And, to some extent, each element of the above arguments have some shred of truth within them. But, when I do actually sit down and listen to a Hans Zimmer score, I usually thoroughly enjoy doing so. It’s a painful contradiction, but it proves one thing: as a composer, he has a rather limited range, but as a dramatist and as a manipulator of emotions, he has few peers. Read more…
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