Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if menacingly religious horror music with a dash of alluring operatic beauty is your delight. Avoid it... if weighty brooding in the orchestra's lower ranges is just too creepy, or if Wojciech Kilar's jaunty theme for the Corso character sounds too out of place in the film and on album. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The Ninth Gate: (Wojciech Kilar) Nobody will ever accuse director Roman Polanski of restraining himself when his films involve grim, violent, or sexual subject matter. Long removed from his tragic years in America and the two films that made him famous there, Polanski remains elusive to American law enforcement, which is still waiting to execute a warrant against him for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in the 1970's. His films since then have been shot in Europe, including the 1999 supernatural thriller The Ninth Gate, a film once again starring his current wife and providing its pleasurable share of gruesome sex and violence. The story of the movie could be considered an intellectual examination of Satanic theory, sending its lead character (Johnny Depp) on a journey through Europe to discover the nature of the mystery behind a trio of books that could, perhaps alone or in unison, unlock the gates withholding the power of the Devil on Earth. The tightly woven plot, despite a few technical flaws along the way, makes for a viewing experience that moves so quickly in its intricate details that a short visit to the popcorn stand could render the entire film unintelligible. A natural fit for the somber and haunting religious atmosphere of the film is composer Wojciech Kilar's score, which plays a noticeably powerful role in accentuating individual moments in the picture. Most mainstream film music collectors will recall Kilar's music for the popular Dracula adaptation earlier in the decade, and a similar sense of distinguished brooding is to be heard in The Ninth Gate. Kilar certainly has a knack for defining the style of orchestral brooding, with his deep bass strings and cello layers leaving no doubt that there is evil in the world. The City of Prague Philharmonic, it chorus, and the crystal clear soprano voice of Sumi Jo are employed very carefully in the film; several of the score's most poignant moments are those during which the score suddenly stops... defying the notion that moments of realization should offer a sudden piece of music to break the silence. Several themes and minor motifs grace The Ninth Gate, each with a distinct purpose. While the film's story may be difficult to grasp at times, Kilar's score is relatively straight forward. The temptation theme, otherwise utilized by Kilar as a representative of his famously brooding capabilities, is a slowly churning string rhythm that slowly builds to a frenzy, with a processional movement well suited for the orgy-filled Satanic gatherings in the film. This theme most often accompanies the three copies of the coveted book at the heart of the story. As the encounter with the Devil draws nearer at the end of the film, a more crazed theme replaces the title piece, using bass region woodwinds and brass in lengthy whole note performances under an ominous snare and male chorus. The choral chants in "Balkan's Death" and "Corso and the Girl" include contributions by Sumi Jo, whose role will be discussed further below. The only somewhat awkward choice by Kilar is the snappy little theme for Corso (the investigator), with prancing rhythms performed by harpsichord and plucked strings under an almost comical trumpet theme. There is good humor in this theme, and as the chase becomes more perilous later in the film, this theme is slowly dissolved by Kilar. But it's difficult to figure exactly why Kilar wanted to identify the Corso character with such a frivolous theme. Perhaps Corso was meant to be a bumbling fool of sorts, and the film occasionally treats him as such. Comparisons to the bouncing, jovial spirit in Elmer Bernstein's primary Ghostbusters theme are bound to result. The final major aspect of the score for The Ninth Gate is Jo's voice, which represents the "guardian angel" of dubious intentions. Her performances coincide with the angel's saving acts, including "The Motorbike" and "Blood on his Face," and the increasing role of the angel in the film equates with a elegantly creepy, alluring series of performances by Jo in the film's final four major cues. The pivotal sex scene music heard in "Corso and the Girl" combines the temptation theme with Jo's vocals for Corso's inevitable (and somewhat terrifying) relational consummation with the Devil. Over the end credits, Kilar writes a longing, melancholy theme specifically for Jo's voice; opening with piano and harpsichord as accompaniment and eventually encompassing the full orchestral ensemble. In between the statements of theme in the film are a mixture of smaller motifs, such as the seductively ominous high strings for "Liana," and a series of rather static action cues. The action often blasts the same notes in succession for lengthy periods, using, by coincidence, a rhythm identical to the low-key suspense rhythms performed by piano and metronome in Jerry Goldsmith's The Russia House. Timpani rhythms, low range piano crashes, and short blasts from trumpets highlight the action. Two rhythmic motifs of "curiosity" round out the score, one for the piano over broad bass string notes (heard, for instance, in the latter half of "The Chase"), and a hypnotic variant with strings and xylophone over light gong hits ("Chateau Saint Martin") specifically for sneaking situations. Most listeners will be drawn towards the operatic concert suite performance in the "Vocalise" cue that bookends the album, despite this theme never playing a role in the film itself. It makes for a fantastic addition to the album, and with one of the aforementioned themes or motifs constantly stated in its ranks, the album for The Ninth Gate is a fluid listening experience. Fans of religiously-inclined chanting over gloomy orchestral textures will delight in the final few cues, providing enough apocalyptic force to stir any neighbor out of bed in the middle of the night. The City of Prague Philharmonic recorded this score near the time it also performed Mark McKenzie's Durango, and a similarly strong sound quality can be heard in both recordings. If menacingly religious horror music with a dash of alluring operatic beauty is your delight, then The Ninth Gate is not a score to miss. **** Track Listings:
Total Time: 54:20
* Contains soprano vocals by Sumi Jo All artwork and sound clips from The Ninth Gate are Copyright © 2000, Silva Screen Records. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 3/7/00, updated 5/22/07. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2000-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
