Before I start can I just say that I have never tried to review a CD before so please cut me some slack!!!
I first heard this CD in a music lesson. We had to practice our listening skills because part of the music exam is a listening section, where you have to listen to a piece of music and write about it. Our teacher played a couple of pieces of this CD, and I instantly wanted it!
I ordered it off a website and the day after it arrived, I was so pleased that I could listen to all the tracks myself.
When the cover of the box says The best cinema classics ever, it really does mean the VERY best cinema classics ever.
This is a double CD pack, and to be honest, it is pretty impossible for you not to recognize at least one film or piece of music on the CD's. If you think you have seen a great film with great music, there is a huge chance that the piece of music off the film will be on one of these CD's.
What you really don't realise is that whenever you watch a film at a cinema or even at your house, how much you enjoy the film is not entirely on how good the film is, it is also affected by the music that is heard during the film. Music helps to establish and maintain moods during the film, and music can also be used to heighten tension and complement the action on the screen. For a while now, music has been specially written for each film, and this tradition has continued up to the present day, with new composers coming through in recent years such as James Horner, John Williams
and Howard Shore. Works of classical composers such as Bach and Mozart are also used in films nowadays, and some moments in filming history were the most powerful have been underscored by music written many years earlier. The pieces of this album are pieces that you can enjoy again and again. They are the best examples of pieces written for films in recent years, as well as some of the great pieces that were wrote by classical masters.
So the pieces themselves. Well first I will give you a list of all the pieces there are on each CD, and after that I will tell you which pieces I think are the best.
Disc 1
1. Gladiator - Gladiator Suite (Zimmer/Gerrard/Badelt)
2. The Girl With The Pearl Earring - Griet's Theme (Alexandre Desplat)
3. American Beauty - Any Other Name (Thomas Newman)
4. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring - The Fellowship (Howard Shore)
5. Closer - Soave Sia Il Vento (Così Fan Tutte) (Mozart) Carol Vaness (Soprano)
6. William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet - Balcony Scene (Armstrong/De Vries/Hooper)
7. The Talented Mr. Ripley - Stabat Mater (Giovanni Battista Pergolesi)
8. Sideways - Memories Of The Alhambra (Tárrega)
9. Titanic - My Heart Will Go On (James Horner)
10. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets - Fawkes The Phoenix (John Williams)
11. Schindler's List - Schindler's List Theme (John Williams)
12. Finding Neverland - Impossible Opening (Jan A. P. Kaczmarek)
13. Chariots Of Fire - Chariots Of Fire Main Theme (Vangelis)
14. The Piano - The Heart Asks Pleasure First / The Promise (Michael Nyman)
15. You Only Live Twice - You Only Live Twice Main Theme (John Barry)
16. The Mission - Gabriel's Oboe (Morricone)
17. Traffic - An Ending (Ascent) (Eno)
18. The Passion Of The Christ - Resurrection (John Debney)
19. Once Upon A Time In The West - The Man With The Harmonica (Morricone)
20. Star Wars - Star Wars Main Theme (John Williams)
Disc 2
1. Four Weddings And A Funeral - The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba (Solomon/Handel)
2. The Aviator - Fugue/Toccata & Fugue In D Minor Bwv 565 (J. S. Bach Arr. Stokowski)
3. Saving Private Ryan - Hymn To The Fallen (Williams)
4. The Bridges Of Madison County - Casta Diva (Norma/Bellini) (Angela Gheorghiu Soprano)
5. The Deer Hunter - Cavatina (Stanley Myers)
6. Shine - Piano Concerto No.3 In D Minor (Rachmaninov) / I. Allegro Ma Non Tanto (Opening)
7. Lemony Snickert's A Series Of Unfortunate Events - The Letter That Never Came (Thomas Newman)
8. Minorty Report - Unfinished Symphony (Schubert) / I. Allegro Moderato (Opening)
9. Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World - Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis (Vaughan Williams) (Opening)
10. What Lies Beneath - Gymnopédie No.1 (Lent Et Douloureux) (Satie)
11. Platoon - Adagio For Strings (Barber)
12. The Truman Show - Piano Concerto No.1 In E Minor Op.11 (Chopin) / Ii. Romance: Larghetto (Opening)
13. Vera Drake - Salut D'amour (Elgar)
14. E.T. - Main Theme (John Williams)
15. Manhattan - Rhapsody In Blue (Jazzband Version) (Opening) (Gershwin Arr. Grofé)
16. The Incredibles - Overture (Road Trip/The Glory Days) (Michael Giacchino)
17. Apocalypse Now - The Ride Of The Valkyries (Die Walküre) (Wagner)
So, which ones do I think are the best. Well to be honest, there are quite a lot that I like, so I will shorten the list to just a few.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of secrets- This piece of music is played throughout the Harry Potter films, only with different variations of the piece throughout. In my opinion, this is definitely the best version of the music
Gladiator- This piece of music is a great compliment to the film it goes with, which is also amazing
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The ring- The first film in the trilogy, this piece of music is played throughout the trilogy, but in different forms, but I think that this version is the best. It is no wonder that the Lord Of The Rings trilogy won awards for its music, because it really is a beautiful piece of music!!
William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet- Another film I was in school, and I thought it was an amazing film, and this piece of music is beautiful! With the beautiful grand piano playing the beginning section of the piece then going into the sweeping strings section, it really is a fantastic piece of music.
Titanic- Well how could you leave this piece out, probably one of the most well known pieces of music there is!
Schindler's List- A very slow, but beautiful piece of music which complemented this very sad film very well
Once Upon A Time In The West - Have not seen the film, but I think that this piece of music is brilliant, with the harmonica and the electric guitar! Fantastic!!
I think that all the pieces make up two very good cd's. I think that all the pieces complement each other, and there really isn't a weak piece in either of the cd's. All the pieces have been recorded brilliantly, there are no sound problems in any of the recordings, and all the pieces' quality is amazing. There are no differences in between the quality of the music in the films and the quality of the music on the cd's.
So should you buy this CD? Well to be honest, if I were you, I would. It is the perfect CD to put on when you come in after a hard days work, and can relax you in an instant with some of the great pieces there are on the CD's, and with such a large variety on each CD, it is near impossible for there to be nothing you like on either CD, so to be honest, I would recommend this CD to anyone, young and old! The CD costs between £5.00 and £12.00, depending on where you buy it.
I hope my first review of a CD has been satisfactory, but if there is anything else you think should be in my review, please don't hesitate to leave a comment!!
<Thanks for reading>
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This product has not yet been reviewed.
02.10.2006 17:36
Nice one.I am very fond of classic music and there is some very good music here. John
26.09.2006 09:07
Much better than before - re-rated for you. Belinda
26.09.2006 00:16
Well, I'll give you a Helpful as the introduction is pretty nice, and the final paragraphs are fine too. Still the track listing could use a little condensing (the empty spaces between tracks are a little airy perhaps). Some mention of performers would still be good. Usually it is the City of Prague Philharmonic who specifically re-record film music, but there are some rare exceptions of other bodies doing it too, so would be nice to know. Unrelated to the review, the title of the album still gives me the heebie-jeebies as I can't believe there is no Rozsa or Goldsmith, but there is such drivel as Finding Neverland and American Beauty. Yuk! BTW, have you heard the original recording of Once upon a Time in the West? It's a bit harshly recorded to be sure (Italian 1969 vintage), but my God does the "Man with a Harmonica" cue sounds terrifyingly scary. Bet no re-recording can properly capture the rawness and power of the original harmonica and electric guitar... Berli