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Co-Produced by:
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Robert Townson
David Bifano
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Release Date:
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February 13th, 2001
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Cast Away: The Films of Robert Zemeckis: (Alan Silvestri) Collaborations
between directors and composers can often span six or seven films, and while it
is no record, Cast Away represents the tenth pairing of director Robert
Zemeckis and composer Alan Silvestri. Even though their first project together
was Romancing the Stone, Zemeckis and Silvestri became famous with their
monumentally successful Back to the Future film and sequels. The
remarkable result of Forrest Gump was unparalled critical praise for the
two, and that praise once again arose for the most recent partnership between
the two: Cast Away. Zemeckis and Silvestri are very close friends, and
the trust that the director has for the composer is evident through the simple
diversity of the genres which the two dive into together. Even while they were
preparing and recording What Lies Beneath in early 2000, they were hard
at work with Cast Away, which figured to be the bluckbuster hit of the
holiday season that year.
Without a doubt, Cast Away has been a success. Even more interesting for
film score fans is the fact that Zemeckis chose to include less than 15 minutes
of music for the entire duration of the film (a film which is, not to mention,
quite long). It was an effective choice, enhancing the feeling of alienation
that Hanks' character experiences on the island. Only once he begins his attempt
to leave the island does the short string, woodwind, and piano theme begin. When
he loses Wilson, the ball, the theme is once again presented. The plane crash
itself went unscored, which was a more curious choice. But in the last half hour
of the film, Silvestri's score makes just a few select appearances, and it
works... proving that sometimes, less is indeed more. The theme itself is very
simple. It's not particularly noble; instead, it's appropriately humbling and
detached. The end credits repeat the same statement of theme heard in the actual
film, but it is extended by interludes of the sounds of crashing waves and
whispering winds through the trees. This mixing of Silvestri's on and off again
strings with the sound effects was a delightful touch over the end credits. It
is equally delighful, therefore, that the full performance of theme and
subsequent mixing of those sound effects are available on this album. The seven
and a half minutes presented here offer the essential music from the film, since
earlier performances of the title theme are practically the same. The Russian
choral piece heard near the start of the film was not composed or even recorded
by Silvestri, so it doesn't appear on this album. It is a traditional Russian
song composed by Lev Knipper called "Oh, My Field" ("Polyushka, Polye") and it
is available on albums of Red Army hymns.
To fill out the album, Varèse Sarabande producer Robert Townson has
compiled original selections from each of the ten scores that Silvestri has
written for Zemeckis films. These are the actual, original soundtrack recordings
from each film, so the album acts as a very effective tribute to their
collaboration. Romancing the Stone and Death Becomes Her are a
glimpse at the wacky side, while Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a flamboyant
score which is difficult to obtain on its original Touchstone album. The three
Back to the Future scores are well-represented. Forrest Gump and
Contact both feature wonderful and thoughtful themes, and their
back-to-back appearance on this compilation provides for over sixteen minutes of
uninterrupted beauty. Just before Cast Away, What Lies Beneath is
certainly the weakest score of the ten, and an unfortunate detraction from the
listening experience. But since the album is a chronological presentation of
each collaboration, it has to be there. Overall, the Cast Away end
credits are an excellent listen, albeit short. Most of the other selections have
their virtues, but since they cross over several genres and are placed
chronologically, they don't always lead well to each other. Nevertheless, it's a
strong compilation of Silvestri's work. ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Romancing the Stone - End Credits (5:20)
• 2. Back to the Future - Theme (3:18)
• 3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Suite (4:59)
• 4. Back to the Future, Part II - Suite (4:35)
• 5. Back to the Future, Part III - End Credits (4:03)
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• 6. Death Becomes Her - End Credits (5:49)
• 7. Forrest Gump - Suite (8:52)
• 8. Contact - End Credits (8:00)
• 9. What Lies Beneath - End Credits (6:36)
• 10. Cast Away - End Credits (7:30)
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Insert includes a note from producer
Robert Townson about the collaboration between Zemeckis and Silvestri. The theme for
Cast Away appeared in the 2003 spoof advertisement of the film for FedEx.
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