FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW

Review of Stardust (Ilan Eshkeri)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you're swept away by all the usual orchestral and choral techniques that define the fantasy genre of film music, even if they're not guided into any new territory whatsoever.

Avoid it... if you require the engagement of your brain when appreciating music with as much potential as Stardust, because your intellectual half might start a list of the references clearly employed to carry this score.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Stardust: (Ilan Eshkeri) At a time in Hollywood when the fantasy genre was dominated by massive, multi-part epics of mind-boggling scope, films like 2007's singular Stardust could easily get lost. Never intended to compete on the same scale with its larger siblings, this Matthew Vaughn film adapted a 1997 graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. The target of the story was an adult audience, pulling on some of the same comedy strings as The Princess Bride but with meatier horror material too dark for that carefree environment. The tale takes inspiration from staples from across the entire range of fantasy topics, rarely postulating anything new (outside of Robert De Niro as the gay, cross-dressing captain of a lightning-powered, flying ship), but the package was widely enough praised by critics even if audiences weren't particularly impressed. It's the kind of assignment that aspiring composers long for, because there await endless possibilities in the fantasy genre with which to awe listeners with a massive choral and symphonic score. Having collaborated with Vaughn before and dabbled in this genre was Ilan Eshkeri, whose budding career in the 2000's was defined by mostly obscure projects outside of the duo of Stardust and Hannibal Rising in 2007. His work for Stardust, replacing a rejected score recorded by John Ottman, was perhaps as predictable as any score for this film could possibly be, but it's difficult to fault the composer for playing to expectations very efficiently. Despite significant positive buzz surrounding his score, his career wasn't immediately shifted into a higher level by the assignment, something of a disappointment given the potential that he had displayed in the execution of Stardust. The base ingredients for the score were alone promising, starting with an ensemble of London performers and adding a choir, various soloists on exotic instruments, and tasteful electronic embellishments. The touches of vocal or electronic creativity like the groaning effect in the middle of "The Star Shines" are interesting (but too few, though). The structures of Stardust are also diverse in their inspiration, sometimes using tongue-in-cheek references to famous classical pieces and even Mozart's "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for good measure. The connections between several of Eshkeri's ideas here and famous predecessors in the genre are obvious, too, and it is in this marginally recycled environment that the most substantial criticisms against the score are grounded. Indeed, Stardust is more than just a tad transparent, but it still resides firmly in the guilty pleasure category due to its penchant for fun, good-natured swash and buckle and swoon and pomp. It's not over-thought, and that can sometimes be a refreshing approach to take.

There are several themes developed by Eshkeri throughout Stardust, but some listeners may find them a bit anonymous because the rendering of the entire score in the same bloated fantasy mould doesn't really allow for any of them to be enunciated clearly. There are, for instance, no really compelling solo performances of any of the ideas. Instead, what you get is a wall of sound approach in its best possible form, swirling high strings and chopping basses leading bold French horns and supporting woodwind phrases in mostly generous harmony. Tingling percussion, heard in abundance at the start, loses its magical touch later in the score. The straight fantasy portions are as harmless as they come, and even the villains' theme doesn't really pack much power. The score's opening two minutes establish a whimsical atmosphere as friendly as they come, leading to a flowing performance of the story' primary theme. Heard in the second minute of "Prologue," this idea owes a bit to Jerry Goldsmith's interlude to the "Star Trek: Voyager" theme, but the similarity is not deafening. A little more obvious is the theme for the protagonist, Tristan, that develops into a love theme later in the picture. Resembling Howard Shore's Hobbit material from The Lord of the Rings, this theme is best heard in "Tristan & Yvaine" and "Coronation," remaining a lightweight until the muscular and deliberate, Lionheart-like brass performance in the latter cue. The theme for Yvaine (the shooting star herself) is offered high choral treatment in "Shooting Star" and "The Star Shines," and this idea is generic enough to emulate several other scores. Specifically, this material mirrors Jane Antonia Cornish's Island of Lost Souls and foreshadows Debbie Wiseman's Lesbian Vampire Killers, both similarly predictable fantasy scores. The most unique identity in Stardust is that of the witches, lead by Michelle Pfeiffer's heart-eating persona. Their cues are punctuated by a forceful bass string rhythm that eventually gains strong percussive accompaniment over its evolution from "Three Witches" to "Lamia's Lair." The uplifting themes are summarized in "Coronation," arguably the score's lasting highlight. A theme carried over from the song "Rule the World" by the group "Take That" is heard briefly in "Epilogue," though the song itself does not appear on the score-only album from Decca. On the whole, Eshkeri's Stardust is a somewhat brainless score with several interruptions from specifically referenced pieces in the mid-section. The use of Offenbach's "Galop Infernal" in "Pirate Fight" is a bit too reminiscent of Moulin Rouge to take seriously in context of the rest of the recording. But the score is as dynamic as any to debut in its year, and for pure fantasy enthusiasts, it's a solid recommendation. Just don't expect a significant amount of originality despite the music's effectiveness.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 53:44

• 1. Prologue (Through the Wall) (3:45) • 2. Snowdrop (2:46) • 3. Tristan (0:40) • 4. Shooting Star (3:26) • 5. Three Witches (2:42) • 6. Yvaine (2:48) • 7. Septimus (1:22) • 8. Creating the Inn (1:58) • 9. Lamia's Inn* (8:04) • 10. Cap'n Shakespeare (1:27) • 11. Flying Vessel** (3:41) • 12. Cap'n's at the Helm (1:01) • 13. Tristan and Yvaine (2:05) • 14. Pirate Fight*** (2:03) • 15. The Mouse - co-composed by Matthew Vaughn (2:25) • 16. Lamia's Lair (3:57) • 17. Lamia's Doll (1:41) • 18. Zombie Fight (1:08) • 19. The Star Shines (3:21) • 20. Coronation (2:32) • 21. Epilogue - composed by "Take That" (0:52)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.

Copyright © 2009-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Stardust are Copyright © 2007, Decca/Universal and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 9/11/09 (and not updated significantly since).