Considered as one of James Horner's all-time classics, Braveheart is a sweepingly romantic score that has endeared itself to many film-goers, Horner-fanatics and music fans alike. Mel Gibson's epic re-telling of the historical Scottish patriot Williams Wallace, who challenged the rule of the English and waged a war against them in the pursuit of freedom in 1314, has become a cult classic that revealed Mel Gibson's talent as both actor and director. Winning five Oscars in 1995, including Best Picture and Best Director, for many film score fans the Academy missed out on their most important award, the Best Score. In 1995 Horner was nominated for both Braveheart and Apollo 13, both representing some of the best work he has ever managed to create for the movies. Instead Luis Bacalov's Il Posino went on to win the award and left many people bewildered and fighting over which of the two is the better one. To this day the fight still goes on and will most likely remain a subject for debate for a time to come.
1995 was a very fruitful year for Horner with Legends of the Fall appearing in late 1994, followed by the children's film Casper, the dramatic rectelling of Apollo 13, the animation Balto, the still unreleased Jade and finally by the junglish Jumanji (a score best forgotten). Braveheart appeared in between this sudden burst of creative energy by combining many elements from it's immediate partners and making for one of Horner's most memorable creations todate. The immense fame of the score has more than outsold all the other soundtrack albums he made for MCA (that is Casper, Balto and Apollo 13) and it has continued to sell well in the years that followed. Whether this is the result of the film's popularity is open for debate but no one can dispute that the score is an immensely enjoyable listen in and out of the film's context.
Horner has always had a soft spot for Celtic and Scottish music and Braveheart was a great opportunity for him to indulge in this ethnicity. The score is filled with the typical Scottish feel of bagpipes and lush melodies, and these combined with the scenery really create the perfect soundworld to depict the Scottish moors. Although Horner doesn't use real bagpipes, his use of Irish Uillean pipes as opposed to authentic Scottish bagpipes gives him more in the range of harmonic versatility while still sounding real enough to pass most ears. To complement these ethnic elements Horner composed an achingly beautiful and romantic love theme that is a direct descendant of the music he wrote for Legend of the Fall, and it is this element that has made Braveheart one of Horner's most popular scores ever. This theme makes it's first appearance in "A Gift of a Thistle" and continues to make subtle appearances throughout the first half of the score, mostly performed by the Uillean pipes and flute. Towards the middle of the score the theme gets more passionate, however, with the increasing use of the full string performances in "For the Love of a Princess", "Betrayal & Desolation" and "The Princess Pleads for Wallace's Life" that fledge out the theme to its most memorable heights. Horner's use of action music can be seen as a prequel to his future scores, with its barbaric use of percussion (mostly deep drums and different light tapping instruments) that is a traditional approach for Horner in scoring this type of music. In Braveheart this action music is much more subtle, mostly because there are no cymbals and snare drums but this doesn't take any of the power away; it actually makes the music much stronger.
Highlights are aplenty, but there are a few tracks that stick out most memorably. "For the Love of a Princess" is by far the cue most people will remember from the score with its most complete performance of the love theme that rises to a passionate climax in the best possible manner. The other standout cues are the last three tracks ("The Princess Pleads for Wallace's Life", "'Freedom'/The Execution/Bannockburn" and "End Credits") where the music elevates itself to a completely new level of spirituality and grandness. These three cues are a perfect testament to Horner's sense of drama and skill as a composer.
As much as Braveheart is one of Horner's best known scores, it is also one of his less original. Horner is infamous for his self-plaguarism and this has caused much complaints from many people. Whether you like it or not, Horner just can't stop re-using themes, motifs and orchestrations from his previous scores, sometimes with practically no variation, and this unoriginality has been getting worse ever since Titanic. Many of the score's most memorable aspects have been recycled from scores like Legends of the Fall, Casper, and particularly Glory, but as much people complain about his self rip-offs, Braveheart is remarkably free of any such criticisms. The reasons for this is a little cloudy, but I suppose people are willing to let Horner pass on this account for the music has been a great influence for many and has even acted as a first initiation to film music for many. The heavy romanticism also help make Braveheart a very enjoyable album and this will make people want to close their ears for this one time.
The original soundtrack album runs for a generous 78 minutes that contains all the important music from the film. Horner's albums are usually very generous and often they also suffer from it. On many instances the pure mass of music can get very tedious in places where the music's only purpose is to provide underscore for dialogue. This can get very tiresome on it's own, but luckily Braveheart is remarkably free of any such detriments. The album as a whole is a very entertaining package and makes for a very pleasant listen (apart from the Uillean pipes that are not to everybodys taste). Due to the immense popularity of the score an expanded 2-CD album was released in 1997, called "More Music from Braveheart". However this proved to be somewhat of a purpose defeated. The new music consisted of a few new cues, a handful of bagpipe songs and the entirety was basically spoiled by inserting dialogue over almost everything on the album. I don't know who wants to listen to dialogue when they buy a soundtrack album, I for one would like to listen to the music. If I wanted to listen to dialogue, I'd watch the movie. Therefore it is better to simply get the original soundtrack album and simply forget the 2-CD set since it is really nothing more than an attempt to cash in on the success of the soundtrack's great popularity. Braveheart is a must have for any serious film music fan and could also work well for anyone wanting to get into film scores.
1. Main Title (2:51) 2. A Gift of a Thistle (1:38) 3. Wallace Courts Murron (4:25) 4. The Secret Wedding (6:33) 5. Attack on Murron (3:00) 6. Revenge (6:24) 7. Murron'a Burial (2:14) 8. Making Plans/Gathering the Clans (1:52) 9. "Sons of Scotland" (6:20) 10. The Battle of Stirling (5:57) 11. For the Love of a Princess (4:07) 12. Falkirk (4:04) 13. Betrayal & Desolation (7:48) 14. Mornay's Dream (1:16) 15. The Legend Spreads (1:09) 16. The Princess Pleads for Wallace's Life (3:38) 17. "Freedom"/The Execution/Bannockburn (7:24) 18. End Credits (7:15)
Produced by James Horner Music Composed, Orchestrated and Conducted by James Horner Performed by The London Symphony Orchestra and Choirsters of Westminster Abbey Chorus Master: Martin Neary Featured instrumentalists: Tony Hinnigan, James Horner, Eric Rigler, Mike Taylor & Ian Underwood Edited by Jim Henrikson Assistant Editors: Christine Cholvin and Joe E. Rand Recorded and Mixed by Shawn Murphy Recorded at EMI Abbey Road, London Decca Records, 1995 (448 295-2)
