In developing the video game that would be based on Steven
Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, those enlightened people at
Dreamworks Interactive decided to go down the same route that had been taken
with The Lost World: Jurassic Park game: a full orchestral score. The
end result by composer Michael Giacchino is nothing short of amazing. His
score for this console game title is everything that people where hoping for
with John Williams’ music in Saving Private Ryan, but didn’t get.
While the overall style is highly reminiscent to that of the Indiana
Jones movies, Giacchino adroitly manages to keep the music from becoming
too melodramatic. Instead, it delivers the right emotional punch and never
veers off the course set by the opening refrains of its powerful main title.
The first track immediately presents the main theme. This theme is
used to represent the main character in the game, Lt. Jimmy Patterson. This
theme gets a lot of usage and it’s always a delight when it pops up. An
alternate version also appears on track seventeen. The next track presents
the Nazi theme after a long buildup that makes the sudden appearance of that
theme worthwhile. Personally, I think Giacchino’s Nazi theme is one of the
best I’ve ever heard. I consider it superior to the Indiana Jones and
the Last Crusade Nazi theme. This particular theme is composed in the
spirit of the Imperial March, and is used in much the same way throughout
this score. There are a couple of other themes and motifs that make
appearances, and they are all well done and interesting to pick out.
Out of all the music on the CD, there is only one track that I really
don’t care for. Rescuing the G3 Officer marks Giacchino’s attempt
at horror music and I really don’t care for horror music at all. Still,
it’s not as bad as some other horror cues I’ve listened too. The linear
notes are excellent, and include a track-by-track analysis. The CD also
contains extra tracks at the end, which are not identified in the linear
notes, or on the track listing that is on the back of the case. Track
nineteen is like a sample from the game, with dialogue and sound effects
overlaid on top of music from the Stopping the V2 cue. Track twenty
is a performance of the Star-Spangled Banner, conducted by a "Mrs.
Giacchino" (who turned out to be his mother). The performance is excellent,
but the timing gets way off at
one point. This is disappointing since the opening is very good.
This is a fantastic score that would work well in any war movie. The
fact that this is for a console game still blows my mind. This CD is a
must-buy, especially if you’re a big fan of the Indiana Jones
scores. Hopefully, we’ll be hearing a lot more of Giacchino in the future.
*****
