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Princess Mononoke on DVD
• "nicely recorded score" • Dolby Digital 5.1 More DVD info... |
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Princess Mononoke on DVD
• "nicely recorded score" • Dolby Digital 5.1 More DVD info... |
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
For the mass majority of American listeners, the history of Hisaishi's career might seem distant and irrelevant, though his immense effort for Princess Mononoke might change your mind. For an animated film, the music is just as powerful and thematically provocative as Mulan, with similar elements (likely from Western stereotypes) to be heard in Princess Mononoke. Hisaishi employs a full orchestra, electronics, and female vocals (lyrical) for the epic tale. The main title theme is on the same level as a typical James Horner theme in scope, and although it is fully orchestral (which Westerners can easily recognize and identify with), Hisaishi always adds a tint of local flavor. Percussive and electronic accompaniment provide an excellent setting for the music. There are elements of lighter, touching themes in Princess Mononoke --most notably in the heartfelt piano solos in track thirty-- and these passages will likely satisfy people who are more interested in Hisaishi's more upbeat work of late, such as My Neighbor Totoro. Be warned, though, Princess Mononoke contains extended passages of brooding underscore. After an initial statement of the main theme, the following ten tracks are of little notice compared to the last two-thirds of the CD. The purely orchestral moments are performed with crisp sound (and sometimes with an echo), and will impress die-hard thematic-fans. The treasure of the music from this film, however, rests in the vocals. The title theme is translated into a song version performed by operatic singer Sasha Lazard, and the song is haunting in its simplicity and orchestra accompaniment. For a moment, it almost reminded me of Sarah Brightman's performances in the Broadway production of Phantom of the Opera. The "Work Song" at track twelve is equally seductive, and more of this type of slightly new-age composition by Hisaishi for vocals would be greatly welcomed in the future. The album situation is a whole other matter. There is a long saga relating to the music on CD. Several versions of the song have been released in Japan, in single and album form. The full score itself was available a few times on a Japanese label, with varying levels of sound quality. The track listings on the Japanese TKDA and American Milan releases are practically identical. However, Milan made one pivotal mistake. The Japanese version is longer by about four minutes, and the music missing from the Milan release is the extended performance of the title song. I can't imagine why this gem of a song would be left off of the American album in its entirety. The 80-second performance provided only teases us! Otherwise, the album is very strong, and would represent an excellent introduction to Japanese film music for those of you who have not experienced it to date. Let us hope that the full version of the song becomes available in the U.S. sometime in the future.
Music as Heard on the Milan Album: **** Overall: ****
The insert notes of the Milan release include lyrics translated into English for the two vocal tracks, but has no extra information about the score. The Japanese releases include tons of extra materials, including a cardboard CD stand, extra artwork, full lyrics, and photos from the recording sessions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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