Analyzing the album in order of its presentation, it is easy to report with great delight that McNeely and the RSNO worked directly with Elliot Goldenthal to assemble a suite from his summer blockbuster Batman Forever. Goldenthal was eager to arrange a selection of over ten minutes that could reflect his score in the best possible light, and after some tweaking of the orchestration by McNeely and his crew, Batman Forever has never sounded better. It is rare that a re-recording blows away an original performance, but McNeely manages to accomplish that here. The identical suite eventually appeared on a later all-Batman album by the same performing group and label, and while this 1995 performance of Batman Forever remains a favorite, the two Elfman scores on that album weren't as fortunate in the translation. James Horner's patriotic and noble Apollo 13 is represented by the lengthy, exciting "Launch" cue that unfolds all of the important themes in the film during one powerhouse scene. A light choir completes this extremely authentic performance, strikingly true to the original and, for those who don't own the promotional version of the original soundtrack, existing without sound effects or dialogue. For Judge Dredd, Alan Silvestri also worked with the label and McNeely to arrange a suite of the best action cues from his score. They are performed with great vigor, as is short trailer cue for the film (written by Jerry Goldsmith, who left the project due to scheduling conflicts). Horner's gorgeous lullaby from Casper is performed by choir, piano, and ensemble with haunting spirit. James Newton Howard's strong land-related theme from Waterworld is adapted from no particular cue specifically, but resembles the finale statement in that score. Two cues from Goldsmith's ambitious First Knight score are offered, followed by perhaps the most understated performance on the album, the "End Titles" from Horner's Braveheart. Due to the passing of Golden Age composing great Miklos Rozsa in 1995, Varèse and the RSNO decided to perform the pretty love theme from 1940's That Hamilton Woman as a tribute to close out the product. Overall, this is the best Varèse/RSNO collaboration of the era, and no collector of modern film music should be without it.  *****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download