An Impressive Score That Is Drowned By Horner's Excessive Style & Surging Melodrama Towards The End
922451
For Greater Glory is a tale that takes place during the Cristero War; when the Mexican government began cracking down on religion only to have the Catholic faithful fight back in rebellion. I am an atheist firstly and this film is very pro-Catholic. It takes many liberties and makes the whole ordeal very melodramatic. Was the government approach overly aggressive and unnecessary? Yes but I'm not here to get into my hatred of organized religion and the fact that this film is sort of like propaganda so let's get down to James Horner's score. The music here is immensely rich and very much in James Horner's style. The biggest strength of the score is how much narrative Horner has built into the music. This is a massive score with an epic and romantic flow to it.

James Horner critics will continue to criticize no matter what, and this score will give them further reason to. Within the first track we are already introduced to his infamous "danger motif". It rings loud and clear and acts as a foreshadowing device of the tragedy to come. It will make several appearances throughout the score as well. Horner then goes through the motions as he usually does with this type of material. The score is very much on par with what he did in Black Gold. I absolutely loved Black Gold and this matches the emotional flow of that score. If you take a moment to analyze this score from afar you will notice that it's pretty identical to almost any score he's ever done. In that respect it does not feel like it was composed for any specific movie. I'm all for a composer to be an auteur, but I really felt like I was listening to Troy and Avatar at times. As much as I love this score and all that it does dramatically I feel like it needed a stronger solo identity. It's still possible for a composer to sound like his/herself while creating a unique sounding soundscape. Horner fails to do that here, but if you can forgive that and see everything the score does right then you will enjoy it immensely. The extremely long track times allow the music to saturate and build impressive arcs. The score is grand and it will wash over you with an emotional blanket. By the time we get to the end we are stuck in a bit of melodrama as the score becomes a bit too big for its own sake. It feels like it's trying too hard at times and in those instances it took me out of it.

This is an impressive score and Horner handles the scope in grand fashion. I've always been a fan of Horner and his style. I loved Avatar, Titanic, Apollo 13, The Perfect Storm, Glory, The New World and so many more. This really is the first James Horner score where I felt his own style suffocated the music. I am a "danger motif" lover, and I love when he uses it. However, for some reason I felt like here it was overused and drowned the music from having a real identity. The score is not bad by any means. There are some great moments of beauty here and it's a tremendous accomplishment. The melodrama hurts it a bit, and by being too big it loses the emotional grasp it initially had on me. There is a way to tell a story like this and one only needs to look at The Mission. That is a film that brings me to my knees, yes, even my disbelieving atheist knees. The score, the characters, the story and everything about The Mission is perfect. For Greater Glory feels like it has some sort of agenda behind it that I feel seeped into the score a bit, and that left a sour taste in my mouth.
4589948
I agree with Stanley Nemeth's review - the hyperactive stage business becomes exhausting. As other reviewers have noted this actually spoils what I suspect could have been vocally a near perfect performance.  In the opera house the effect was not nearly so irritating -I saw the 2010  Covent Garden version-as it is on DVD, where the closeups intensify the clowning.
But the main problem I think was that Dessay's characterisation of Marie, dramatically effective though it was,  came at the expense of her vocal technique.  Screaming and squawking may have been in character as conceived by Pelly, but I don't think it has any place in bel canto.  Tragic opera can accommodate a few sobs by the dying, and laughs which are cascading arpeggios are standard in comic opera- though not in the score- but actually distorting the music is over the top.  We had to wait almost halfway through the opera to hear some beautiful phrasing from Dessay, and a much richer tone in 'Il faut partir' though even there her pianissimi were sometimes inaudible. Florez was his usual confident self,  and Campanella's direction elegant.
It's a great pity that Pelly couldn't allow Dessay some vocal respite, or let Donizetti's score speak for itself.
4467543
As a long time fan of Leifs, one of he most challenging and innovative composers of the 20th century, I can heartily recommend this disc inspire of the title track.  The Requiem, coming in under 5 minutes, is one of the most beautiful choral works of the era.  Medieval in flavor, this is a rare moment of Leifs patience and sense of modal manipulation.  All of Leifs' temperaments are here:  3rds 4th and 5ths modulating in augmented and xdimished form.
But Hekla, premiered in 1962, and never performed since, is a total mess.  Not because of a lack of advocacy by the orchestra or conductor.  By its very nature, it is the only piece in Leifs' oeuvre I find unlistenable because of its rambling gratuitous fury.  It goes wrong on so many levels, too many to list here.  But the remaining pieces are worth double the price of admission.
1735183
Seldom has such stellar talent taken such glorious source material and produced such unconvincing results. As an admirer of Netrebko, Schafer, Harnoncourt and "concept" productions in general, I looked forward to this DVD with much anticipation, and I find it hard to overstate my disappointment. Productions that add new insights by taking calculated risks are to be welcomed, but this one is too clever by half, misses the point and ends up compromising one of the greatest operas.

The main culprits are Harnoncourt and Guth, who have decided to turn this edgy and brilliant comedy into a dreary and often pretentious bore.

The set is a depressing over-scaled turn-of-the century interior gone to seed. Dead crows, feathers, leaves and other detritus litter the stage. This sets the tone, as the opera's extraordinary subtlety, inference, pace and wit are overshadowed by heavy-handed symbolism, occasional nastiness, and depressing, ponderous tempos. An unscripted teenager dressed as a cherub flounces on stage every now and then to remind us that the protagonists' love-interests are complex and intertwined, on one occasion providing us with a PowerPoint presentation in case we are too dim to get the point. Every time this ludicrous figure enters, the protagonists go into slow motion, which would be merely silly if the entire production wasn't already in slow motion, Harnoncourt having decided to linger over every phrase, in the process losing most of the sparkle and tension in the score.

Guth takes an outstanding cast and wastes them. Christine Schafer would have been wonderful as Cherubino had she not been forced into agonizingly slow tempi and ridiculous situations. In one memorable moment, when Cherubino says to the Countess ". . . perhaps these lips would dare . . ." she does so after both the Countess and Susanna have been sucking Cherubino's lips off his (her) face. And then the unscripted cherub drifts in, symbolically dispensing feathers over the protagonists.

As for the rest, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo is a dour Figaro, Bo Skovhus a nasty Count, Patrick Henckens a bizarre Basilio in a wheelchair (on one offensive occasion, falling out of it). Dorothea Roschmann a pathetic Countess. Anna Netrebko tries her best as Susanna, but not even she can inject enough levity to redeem this humourless and pretentious show.

Not recommended.
2511749
I am a huge fan of film scores, and was so excited when it came to my attention that Paul Potts recorded an album with movie songs. And even though some people complain about the obvious choices of songs, they are classics, and always warrant a re-recording.

That Paul Potts has a good voice is, hopefully, beyond discussion.
However, when listening to these songs, I found that they lack heart and soul, and only a small amount of blame should be placed on Paul. The significant mistakes were made in the technical departments. The arrangements are fine. However, the mixing and the orchestrations are beyond out of place. The orchestrations are flat, have been pop-ified, there is no trace of individuality in any of these songs. I do realise that it was obviously meant as a cross-over, but hearing songs like What A Wonderful World with epic strings, with so much wet reverb that they almost drown is no fun.
The orchestrations are always the same, high epic violins, droning french horns ... it gets on your nerves very quickly.

At times, you may feel like listening to a male version of Enya.

Paul needs a good orchestrator, a more natural mix, and many problems would be solved. His voice deserves better.
1150717
It's too bad such an interesting, well acted story was waylaid by the constant barrage of anachronistic music, costume design and dialog.  There were so many good things to recommend this movie, but every time they would break into a rock song or the lead love interest would show up with magenta streaked hair, the net effect was jarring.  I'm glad we rented rather than bought this one!
1675385
This is an imaginative film: superb acting, directing, cinematography, cleverly written BUT ABSOLUTELY RUINED BY THE CHOICE OF MUSIC...inappropriate, distracts from everything else, intrudes instead of supports. Ugh!
4977022
It was bound to happen.  It's been happening for generations with opera.  Some musical director without talent decided to deconstruct a perfect musical entertainment and to reinvent it.  If, in this case, Dr. Frankenstein had merely created a new "Gypsy" using the pieces of Merman, Peters, LuPone, Lansbury, Midler, and Daly, you could sort-of understand it.  That would be an easy form of plagiarism.  But this Dr. Frankenstein decided to go it alone and pretend that this production of "Gypsy" was just like what Styne and Sondheim created.  It isn't.
The truly perfect "Gypsy," which after all is a story about a big woman's ambitions and disconnect from reality, needs an Ethel Merman to sustain it.  You don't need to SEE Merman on stage to see her in mind.  Staunton doesn't even come close.  Nor does Dan Burton, as Tulsa, whose speaking voice is about as un-teenagerish as you can get.
I don't know why they even mention the original orchestrators of Styne - Ramin and Ginzler.  And in America, we would show more respect for the murder victim.  Yes, Ramin and Ginzler were murdered.  They were murdered by a guy named Nicholas Skilbeck, who is our Dr. Frankenstein in this new mess.  Skilbeck has decided that since Rose was brash and the vaudeville theater was brash, all of the music in the "Gypsy" rework has to be brash.  So, first, the string section was entirely eliminated from the orchestra and replaced with a keyboard.  How does it sound?  Try imagining, if you can, the fourth movement of Beethoven's "Ninth" being played on a calliope.
Every living thing needs balance.  The balance of the strong brass section in traditional "Gypsy" orchestras needs a lot more than a piano and a few woodwinds.  It's obvious as early as the overture that Skilbeck hasn't got a clue what this entire work is about.  It is certainly jarring when in the overture, he transitions to a piano version of the "You'll  Never Get away From Me" tune.  And when the actual song is sung, the words "get-away-from" are sung as if they were one word!!
Listen carefully as Staunton auditions for her "Lord of the Rings" role of Gollum in her introduction to "Everything Coming Up Roses."  And I found all of that sister giggling in "If Mama Was Married" annoying.
Of all the "Gypsy" recordings, this one is clearly the worst.
3040884
As I write the review of this soundtrack disc, "Far From Heaven" has not yet opened in wide release across the United States. As a remake of the wonderful Douglas Sirk film, I was expecting a beautiful, hauntingly lush score akin to those composed for the domestic melodramas of the 1950's. Elmer Bernstein's name alone made me purchase the disc film unseen. What a mistake! This music may be wonderful in its cinematic context, but it cannot stand alone. The score is mainly spare and bland with an overabundance of solo flute and oboe which tends toward monotony after a few tracks. A couple of the musical cues gave me brief hope but unfortunately were too short. If you long for the lush splendor of fifties-style soundtracks which hold up to repeated listenings long after you may have forgotten the film, I would recommend Krishna Levy's rich and stylish score for Franois Ozon's stunning French film, "8 Femmes"("8 Women")which, by the way, was musically and visually modeled on Douglas Sirk's filmic opus. Although I have enjoyed other films scored by Elmer Bernstein, this brooding, low-key offering evolves from bland to boring.
3058493
This is a seriously flawed version of the musical, only really saved by the strength of the source material. The move from Winter to Summer did not help the plot, and the insertion of a wholly unneeded chase sequence ending with a death-defying hang off a bridge (not to mention the almost cartoonish yet brutal violence) takes a great musical for kids and - if you can imagine - dumbs it down for adults. The audio quality is so incredibly varied, you can have somebody sounding like they were recorded live on the day speaking with somebody who sounds like they're coming out of a period radio. The dance sequences are generally good, though seemingly inserted into the film with a crowbar. Choosing John Huston as the director was a big gamble... one which did NOT pay off. But enough good stuff comes through from the score and casting that many of its flaws (Punjab? Really? And check out the dueling stereotypical ethnic music styles as the Asian driver and the African Punjab have a dance-off in "We Got Annie"!) are only slightly bothersome as opposed to the horrorshow they would be were the original musical not such an inherently great show.
1247870
I had seen a scene from the second act on YouTube and was stunned at how beautiful and realistic the production was, so I purchased this dvd.  There were some amazingly beautiful touches in this production.  Sets, costumes, colors.  Also, some very fine performances by Studer and Schnaut most notably.

I was enjoying this UNTIL the very ending, which nearly, for me discredits the entire production.  The ending of Lohengrin is unique in that we have both overwhelming happiness and sadness.  When I say "overwhelming" - when done right, it is.  And as it IS so unique, the effect on the viewer is too.  Overwhelming happiness at the return of Elsa's brother and the triumph of "good over evil" - and overwhelming sadness as Elsa, upon discovering Lohengrin's departure, falling "life-less."  (One small mystery that I have debated is whether Elsa merely faints or dies.)  In any case, Ortrud is basically "evil incarnate" as she, with selfish and malicious motives is the cause of every problem in the story.  HOW COULD the director obscure the very essense of the story at the end of this production?  In this production after Lohengrin's departure, Elsa and Ortrud are seen "reaching out" to each other.  huh??  HUH????  I was VERY disappointed, after having enjoyed the performance up to this point to witness such strangeness.  The effect Wagner surely wanted is NOT here.

I would urge everyone who likes this opera to see the Met's production with Eva Marton and Peter Hoffman.  THERE IS NO COMPARISON.  I can tell you that you will be "overwhelmed" by how powerful the ending SHOULD be.  Directors who distort the stories of operas are MISREPRESENTING great art.  This is a RAMPANT problem in the world of opera.  While on the sympohony orchestra stage, intellects are striving for authenticity, in the world of opera, great artists are participating in FALSE representations of some of the greatest works of art ever.  One would not tolerate a mustache on the Mona Lisa.  Opera lovers should INSIST on authenticity and respect to at least the ESSENSE of the operas themselves.
4968225
That was the first thing that caught me when I went to see Titanic recently- the sorrowful, weepy crooning had me in tears before the movie began.  Horner has raised my goosebumps, and the last composer to do that was John Williams.  I think this is an excellent soundtrack, except I was disappointed to learn that the "steerage class" music was missing- Guess I'll have to pick up that Volume 2 everyone is talking about.  Much of the music is reminiscent of Enya, with her synthesized vox and uillean pipes.  But I have to complain about "My heart will go on"- I'm no Celine Dion fan, and the placement of this song on the CD (Track 14) really got my goat- this song should have been the last track on the CD.  It's easier to program out that way.
4222374
With the recent passing of James Horner, I got to thinking about his music and the scores which I had disliked at first, but had a change of heart.  One of these scores is Courage Under Fire. When I saw this movie, I just kind of dismissed it as a rehash due to the similarity of chord structure with the battle music from Braveheart.  Courage Under Fire doesn't get much attention or love, the music is often looked at as just a mish-mash of James Horner's usual bag of tricks, and you will never find it on any fan's "top ten Horner score" list, but it is fascinating for the Saving Private Ryan and Titanic connection.  Courage Under Fire was used in the trailers of SPR.  Actually, the theme of this score is remarkably similar to the one John Williams later wrote for SPR (Omaha). Which makes me wonder, did Williams intentionally model his theme after this one from Courage?  That would be funny if it were true, since usually, it's Horner who, throughout his career, "borrowed" constantly from himself and other composers.  Perhaps they were both channeling the same kind of Americana / Copland vibe which is evident in track 5, "Courage Under Fire," and later, "Medal of Honor / A Final Resting Place" The other interesting thing about this score is Al Bathra's action music, which was later re-used almost note for note in Titanic "Hard to Starboard."  It's interesting to go back to the source and hear the ideas which Horner would re-use just one year later.  I actually really enjoyed the frenzied string writing combined with clanging anvil percussion he uses in both scores.  Other than the helicopter sound effect in the beginning of Al Bathra, there really isn't much in the way of originality in the score of Courage Under Fire, especially considering the obvious similarities to Braveheart and Glory, yet, when listening to the Hymn, the Al Bathra action music, and the Americana theme Courage Under Fire, it makes for a fascinating and enjoyable listen.
882941
Although disc 2 is another wonderful collaboration between Corea and Burton -- brilliant, spare -- the orchesteral arrangements on Disc 1 come off like they were written by John Williams for a Spielberg film and played by the City of Prague Orchestra.  Compare them to the arrangements on Corea. Concerto (unfortunately, you will not pick this up in the 30 second samples).  In that earlier work, the orchestra  adds a distinctive new thematic element.  Here, it's all melodramatic crescendos, with the strings and horns repeating the main theme over and over, as you find in soundtrack music.

Enjoy disc 2 and use disc 1 as a coaster.
4850587
Bertolucci is briliant as usual, as this film leaves plenty of mind candy to suck on. But the acting did not measure up.

The two male lead performances were uninspiring. It seemed as though Michael Pitt was reading his script from the cue cards. I found that these lame duck performances dragged this film down a notch.

The story is interesting, as an American student, studying abroad in Paris, hooks up with a brother and sister, who are movie buffs, as is he. They bond by acting out parts in movies, and passionatly arguing cinematic trivia, like Keaton vs. Chaplin. OUtside of their little world, Paris is being overtaken by revolution, and there are a million philosophical paths surrounding the revolution that this film takes. Sex is an intricate part, and is tied in well, it compliments the overall story.

Again, this is worth viewing, but, I'd rather read the screenplay, because the acting leaves much to be desired.
4163104
Some things unfortunately just do NOT age well, and Rick Wakeman's overblown take on King Arthur and The Knights Of The Round Table does so very painfully.

Flush from his success with the "Journey To The Center of The Earth" tour, Wakey decided to approach an equally grandiose subject. However, in his quest to do so, he got a little too full of himself, a few pints and no small amount of Broadway-style cheese-wiz that would probably embarass Andrew Lloyd-Webber (as if THAT were actually possible). And as if that weren't excreable enough, he wanted to tour with an Ice-Capades production in addition to the orchestra and chorus (this however was short circuited, thankfully).

End result, some of the CORNIEST, STOOOOPIDEST lyrics you ever heard in your life (they make "Hello Dolly" sound like Shakespeare by comparison) that permeate nearly ALL the tracks, save for the largely instrumental "Merlin The Magician" though this has cheese- whiz issues of its own, trying to jump to every musical style it can in the space of 6 or 7 minutes). The proceedings are NOT helped in any fashion by Ashley Holt's abysmal vocalizing (heck, William Shatner could outsing him and at least be somewhat entertaining) and the rather pedestrian band (although the orchetra and choir do get to flex their muscles periodically) as Wakey lets forth Mini-Moog and piano assaults aplenty. There are odd musical moments though that actually threaten to get good and interesting but that is QUICKLY dealt a death blow when the Broadway/Stage impulses take over.

With the lone exception of "Six Wives of Henry The VIII", Wakey has NEVER been able to compose anything meaningfully deep or substantial, sounding more like Romantic/Post- Romantic period cliches strung together with other odd bits. He can play his keys like a fiend and contribute colorful passages in the confines of Yes, he can wear the coolest capes on the planet, but the boy CANNOT WRITE!

You want high-concept hijinks that are actually FUN? May I suggest William Shatner's "The Transformed Man" (at least it was FUNNY!). This thing however just takes itself WAAAAAAAAAAAYYY too seriously and tries to overcompensate with bombastic cheese whiz (I'm just glad he didn't attempt a collaboration with Elvis on a redux of "Hamlet").

Best used for extracting confessions from criminals or getting rid of unwanted party guests. Otherwise, steer clear.
983203
I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea what it is that the previous five reviewers were smoking when they gave this score 5 stars, but I want some. The movie was average, but this review is not about the movie, it's about the music, and the music was a failure. I was actually really interested to hear the music as I was a big fan of Kloser's "The Day After Tomorrow" theme. Even after Kloser co-wrote the screenplay for the abysmal "10,000 B.C.", I could say that I approved of his haunting musical score, which nearly (emphasis on 'nearly') saved a disaster of a movie. I've been a follower of director, Roland Emmerich, since "Universal Soldier", and I've nearly always liked the score that accompanied his films. David Arnold did an admirable job with "Stargate", "ID4" and even "Godzilla". John Williams did everything he could ruin "The Patriot", and then Harald Kloser swooped in to save the day with "The Day After Tomorrow" and "10,000 B.C.". Unfortunately, his music for "2012" was a huge step back, and a disappointment from start to finish. There is no discernible theme, and it's all action-music, which is okay while you're watching the movie, but it's not an album when you pop it in the CD player, or scroll to it on your iPod. It's not dinner music, driving music, work-out music, go to sleep by music -- it's not music. It's noise. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Movie scores walk a fine line. It's difficult to score the mood of a film that transposes nicely to an album that can be listened to on its own. Very few composers are able to accomplish this feet in this age of techno-electronics. It seems that movie-music is a dying art dying a slow death. Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard and James Horner seem to be the only artists left capable of accomplishing this task. I thought Harald Kloser would hold his place in line for this distinction, but it seems that "2012" is not about the extinction of mankind so much as it is the extinction of quality music.

Thumbs down.