 |
|
 |
|
 | |||||||||
| • | 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 want to be driven by an aggressive orchestral, electronic, and highly percussive score that lets up only for a few cues of melodic beauty. Avoid it... if that same aggression, relentless in its sonic depth and propulsive rhythms, leaves too little of the thematic integrity that many Brian Tyler fans enjoy. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Tyler would assemble an 80-piece orchestra (recorded in Prague and Seattle, an odd combination that does, however, allow for a longer album release), a significantly larger than normal percussion section, a solo vocalist, and several electronic instruments (from keyboards to guitars) to provide the full spectrum of emotions necessary. The result of this combination of forces is a score that, as Tyler explains, is very richly layered, both in instrumentation and in the alteration and mixing of all of those elements into one very thick sound. While Tyler also states that the score is thematic, the two primary themes (for the primary character and for the paparazzi) are very loosely interpolated into the length of the score. An alternating minor/major key motif sets the rhythm of the score throughout and continues to give us the drive behind the perilous good-guy/bad-guy psyche of the film. The more sensitive subtheme for the family is less developed, but does assert itself in about three cues in the score. One thing that Tyler did indeed succeed in providing Abascal with was an extremely aggressive score. There is substantial malice throughout the Paparazzi score, both in the pace of the rhythms and in the extensive mixing process during which Tyler highlighted the harsher edges of each instrumental section. Also resulting from those mixings are sound effects that often rumble, tick, and clang in tandem with the traditional percussion section of the orchestra. Each relatively short cue presents itself in a slightly different variation of mixing, almost as though Tyler is experimenting with the sounds as the film progresses. Despite the extensive lengths to which Tyler went to produce a locust-like "sonic image" for the paparazzi, the score is ultimately not one of memorable creativity. Rather, its 70-minute length (57+ minutes on album) wears you down with the force of its own size and momentum. Within the aggression, Tyler does occasionally let rip with a slightly more stylish variation on his vengeance ideas, and these moments often include a heavier reliance on the electronic instruments rather than the orchestra. The "Premiere" cue, for instance, is appropriately "cool" for the circumstance of Hollywood glamour, all the while maintaining the fast pace of both the lifestyle and chase at the heart of the film. Tyler has arranged the softer moments of the score near the beginning of the album, with the first six or seven cues very effectively alternating between drive and passion, beauty and that invigorating aggression. As the score progresses at the consistently heightened volume and pace in the second half, it does run the risk of aggravating the listener... even with a few minimalistic offers interspersed. This attribute isn't as much of a complaint as it is a comment about the nature of the beast. Paparazzi may not be a score you wish to drive to, because Tyler very effectively boils your blood with his action sequences. The only straight complaint about the score centers on the beautiful "The Awakening" cue, which features one of those over-simplistic melodies that Tyler has a tendency to write, and this one just happens to be over-simplistic in too many similar ways to the overblown melodies of Armageddon. Additionally, an argument could be made that Tyler didn't sufficiently offer a distinct enough sound effect (or orchestral effect) to convince the listener that the photographers are indeed insects. Overall, Paparazzi is a very effective score, and the diverse ranges of theme and sound heard in the first half dozen cues will set you up for the disappointment of over-consistency in the latter half (much like the Timeline album was arranged). In all its parts, Tyler's score has a depth of sonic manipulation that will, along with its breakneck rhythms, at least keep you interested until the end. ***
The insert includes a note from the director about the score. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
