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The African flavor of parts of Amistad was of interest to Williams fans at the time because the composer had been commissioned to write music for the forthcoming Olympics, and many had thought (erroneously, as it would turn out to be) that he would provide music of precisely this international flavor for the opening of the event. The personality of Amistad is split into two halves, which is perfectly understandable given the plot of the film. The African elements, heard in the title theme's song performance and a sub-theme for Djimon Hounsou's character of Cinque, both feature instrumentation atypical to Williams for the period and are a refreshing exploration of tribal sounds. The American counterpart to this African half is scored with Williams' usual noble ideas for trumpet and French horn, respectfully tasteful at every moment. The title theme is the score's most obvious identity, and it offered Williams a chance to assemble 50 vocalists and a variety of authentic percussion (including a slapping metallic sound unique to this score) to accentuate the powerful bass of the orchestral ensemble. The poem "Dry Your Tears, Afrika" by Bernard Dadie is adapted with all the victorious bravado that Williams can arouse, though the upbeat nature of this theme is a somewhat surprising choice for the composer. For the slaves, there would be decades of hardship to come, and "Dry Your Tears, Afrika" seems to handle the topic with valiant defiance that perhaps doesn't apply necessary gravity to the concept. The underlying theme's presence in the score is pervasive in that it features an elegant repetition late in its progression that is used to tie the score together. This five-note conclusion to the theme is appended masterfully to the end of both Cinque's theme and the American theme, symbolizing the eventual and inevitable merging of cultures. Full reprises of the song would explode in "The Liberation of Lomboko" and the official concert-suite arrangement at the end of the album, though the theme's most beautiful performance comes from the wordless vocals in the latter half of "Middle Passage." This cue alleviates some of the problems with abrasive, dry mixing from which the three full song performances suffer.

The theme for Cinque is provided with a concert arrangement of its own in "Cinque's Theme" and features the solitary longing in flute performances that Williams collectors will best remember from Hook. This theme would interestingly be handed over to the full, lush ensemble and conclude with a horn solo that would seemingly foreshadow the America that the character would come to encounter. This theme would receive a haunting resolution in the subdued choral performance of "Going Home" at the finale of the film, once again followed by a subtle reference to the title theme. The story's transition to an American setting in "The Long Road to Justice" is announced with a buoyant and optimistic trumpet and French horn theme that represents the better halves of JFK and Born on the Fourth of July. Williams' positive themes for Americana settings seem to blend together after a while, and the one for Amistad remains rather anonymous in this history. While well performed, these good-natured passages later in the score lack the powerfully genuine touch that Williams has provided them in times past. In both "The Long Road to Justice" and "Mr. Adams Takes the Case," the American theme yields to the African title theme, but maintains the Western instrumentation. Outside of these thematic passages, there are few other cues worth noting. Much of the remainder of the score is darkly suspenseful, scored with a slight hand by Williams. An exception is "Sierra Leone, 1839," which features a deep male chorus chanting to tribal rhythms that combines the raw menace of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with the synthetic edge of Jurassic Park. The same style extends into "Crossing the Atlantic," which opens with an electronic pan pipe rhythm synonymous with James Horner's career. Overall, Amistad does not offer sweeping melodies or attractive action material. It is an intelligently successful exercise in restraint, though its major detraction is the overly optimistic nature of the title song and a few of the suspense cues. Otherwise, Amistad is a very impressive score that compensates well for its slower passages with outstanding thematic integration and execution.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

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For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.8 (in 75 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.67 (in 351,391 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 55:51