 |
|
 |
|
 | |||||||||
| • | Newest Major Reviews: | . | • | This Week's Most Popular Reviews: | • | Best-Selling Albums: | ||
| . |
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 |
6. Pearl Harbor 7. Schindler's List 8. Titanic 9. Braveheart 10. Home Alone | . | . |
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) |
 | ||||||||
|
|
|
Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you appreciate Patrick Doyle's consistent quality of orchestral respect, and seek one of his more varied and percussively creative scores. Avoid it... if you are potentially disappointed by the curious lack of a strong character-centric thematic structure to the score. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The odd thing about Hamlet is, however, that despite this great opportunity, Doyle wrote one of the more disjointed and confused scores of his career. Even with this plethora of interesting characters, high drama, and ghostly politics, Doyle's end result is a whole lot of great ideas that start and die, leaving the score as a whole to be lacking in any overarching identity. The title theme, a "simple" one by Doyle's admission, is remarkably similar to thematic constructs for his much lesser scores, heard in the opening, finale, and closing cues of Hamlet. It interestingly shows little remorse or even beauty, for that matter, and it proves difficult to adapt to the contemplative moments of the lead character's soliloquies. Doyle also wrote themes for Claudius and Ophelia, however neither of these themes is realized beyond the tense string section and occasional woodwind fragment. There is more depth to Doyle's ensemble than in previous Shakeserean scores by the composer, with "The Ghost" (among other cues) providing outstanding rips of percussion and brass. At the very least, Doyle does accomplish the weight needed to anchor this level of drama, and because of his constant string layering, the score suffices. But we are always hearing fragments of themes and other motifs --one of which is surprisingly similar to what Basil Poledouris would write for Les Misérables not long after-- and disappointment sets in as those ideas never reach fruition. Only the title theme, with its grand choral finale, reaches back to the elegance of Henry V to close out the score. Placido Domingo's performance of that theme, "In Pace," is restrained also by the same lack of orchestral power and enthusiasm that haunts the rest of the score. In short, Hamlet, more than any other Shakespearean work (except Othello, maybe), needs strong musical identity for several characters, and the opportunities to weave those ideas together with obvious contempt and passion is sadly missed here. In the end, we get a score that, for much of its length, soothes the listener as did Sense and Sensibility, which speaks directly to the weakness in orchestration, performance, and overall realization of Hamlet. This score teases, but fails to deliver. ***
The insert includes detailed information from Patrick Doyle and Kenneth Branagh about the score and film, as well as lyrics for 'In Pace.' Excerpts from the notes are as follows:
As with Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing the score is unashamedly romantic. Our Hamlet is not presented as a man predisposed to melancholy. His usual character, described so often in the play, is vibrant, curious, positive. So it is with the music. We wanted, wherever possible, to stress the potential for joy in this court. Hence the wedding fanfares at the beginning of the early court scenes speak of glorious possibility, of a relationship between Claudius and Gertrude which could be full of hope, and a bright new era for the Danish nation. Only we, the audience, and Hamlet himself suspect otherwise. This contrast, expressed through music, between the darkness of Hamlet's mood and the potential for happiness in the lives of the other characters was something we pursued constantly. Thus we play the sweetness of the Ophelia/Laertes relationship, the genuineness of the passion between Hamlet and Opheha, and the tenderness of Hamlet's relationship with his father, as positively as we can. We resisted Gothic notions of a permanently gloomy Elsinore. For me, the Play is partly a search (through Hamlet's extraordinary mind) for what makes life worth living. When afforded a glimpse of those things that occasionally inspire Hamlet - love, friendship, the theatre - I wanted the music to soar with Hamlet's temporary optimism and hope. And finally, I wanted the audience to leave, not depressed, but shaken by an emotional catharsis that the music would support in the most full-blooded way. Aside from the great choral finale, Patrick gives us a beautiful funeral elegy. "In Pace" is sung (to our honour and delight) by Placido Domingo. That miraculous voice, expressing with such delicacy lyrics from The Book of Wisdorn, sends our hero on his way with a touching dignity. His journey, reflected in the musical score, resolves itself into a peace, which he has pursued throughout the film. We are moved to accept the tragic inevitability of his fate. It seems to me that, through his score, Patrick has realised a very fine musical response to the play. It has lifted the rest of our work in a way I could scarcely hope for, and I thank him for his remarkable talent."
"The three principal thematic ideas upon which the score is built are those that reflect the characters of Claudius, Ophelia and, of course, Hamlet. The simple, childlike Ophelia melody (first used in track 12) came to me eventually after watching Kate Winslet on the set and being extremely moved by the scene in which Ophelia reads Hamlet's letter to her. In the Confessional scene, as in a number of other scenes, the drama is effectively heightened by interspersing throughout the action a string quartet (and on occasion, a quintet), joined by a full string or mixed orchestra. Claudius' theme (stated in its entirety in the Confessional scene - end of track 14) takes the score much further into the realm of 20th-century harmonies; in addition, to compliment Claudius' dark, troubled soul, I decided on a canon as the most dramatic musical device with which to create a feeling of continued restlessness. This canonic theme ultimately provides the basis for most of the driving material and serves as a musical means of linking Hamlet, his father and Claudius. Hamlet's theme proved to be the most daunting and elusive; the score could not develop until this materialised. I lost count of how many times I stared helplessly at the last scene before the 'simple' theme reared its salvatory head. The song 'In Pace' clearly weaves together the themes of Hainlet and Ophelia. To have it performed by Placido Domingo, one of the great voices of the century, was a tremendous privilege. I had such a happy experience throughout this assignment. The quality of the performances along with all the technical crafts were a constant inspiration. In my opinion, it is unquestionably Kenneth Branagh's greatest work for the cinema, both as a Director and especially as Hamlet. I only hope that my contribution has helped Ken in realising what I consider for him to be a remarkable personal achievement. With deepest admiration I would like to dedicate this score to Kenneth Branagh. I should also like to dedicate 'In Pace' in memory of Rhona."
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
