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| • | Newest Major Reviews: | . | • | This Week's Most Popular Reviews: | • | Best-Selling Albums: | ||
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1. Nim's Island 2. The Life Before Her Eyes 3. Horton Hears a Who! 4. Leatherheads 5. The Spiderwick Chronicles | . | . |
1. Moulin Rouge 2. Gladiator 3. POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl 4. Star Wars: A New Hope 5. Edward Scissorhands |
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1. Varèse Sarabande 25th 2. The Last of the Mohicans 3. Legends of the Fall 4. Schindler's List 5. LOTR: Return of the King (Set) |
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you relax to Thomas Newman's contemplative tones and seek a subdued variation on his emotional orchestral writing for The Shawshank Redemption and Meet Joe Black. Avoid it... if you expect the thematic quality of either of the above scores or the convincingly spirited ambience for the South that he conveyed in Fried Green Tomatoes. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The most spirited parts of The Green Mile will remind you of the enjoyable flavor heard in Fried Green Tomatoes, with Newman pulling out all of his usual specialty instruments to provide a convincing texture. And yet, for a film that has been criticized for trying too hard, Newman's score for The Green Mile, in relation to his work for The Shawshank Redemption, might make you deduce the Newman was not trying hard enough this time. With the mass of percussion and use of genre songs, Newman does his expected superb job of capturing the area of the film's setting once again. But beyond these elements, the score for The Green Mile lacks that which elevated Fried Green Tomatoes: spirit. There simply is no identifiable musical soul for either of the film's main characters, which is awkward considering the highly personal nature of the story. Perhaps Newman's non-thematic writing style contributes to the absence of personality in this music. Or perhaps the missing link exists because of an album that plays far too long without any coherent center to hold the music in place. Like the score in its entirety, the final title track simply slows to a halt, without memorable theme or announcement, fading into nothingness. In the end, the lack of genuine spirit leaves the score as merely an average listening experience. Individual parts of the score are worth mentioning, including the typical plucked string rhythms from Newman for the mouse. Two action cues are highlighted by the ambitiously brutal snare and brass rhythm in "The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix." As with other Newman albums, period songs break up the continuity of his work, and the insertion of "Charmaine" near the emotional climax of the score, what little of it there is, is extremely unfortunate. Other songs, such as those performed by Fred Astaire and Billie Holliday, are vital to the film and are better placed earlier in the album. Overall, there is nothing awe-inspiring about The Green Mile, and little in its meandering and unsure pacing for 75 minutes will compete with Newman's more famous efforts. ***
The insert includes extensive credits and a note about the score from writer and director Frank Darabont. Featured solists:
Michael Fisher: jaw harp, bass marimba, vibraphone, struck metal, etc. Rick Cox: tonut, phrase samples, bowed bass dulcimer Sid Page: violin Steve Kujala: alto flute, flute Jon Clarke: oboe, bass recorder George Budd: drones Bill Bernstein: saz Thomas Newman: piano, etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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