| The Last Castle |
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Composed by Jerry Goldsmith |
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Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith Orchestrated by Mark McKenzie Produced by Jerry Goldsmith Release Date: 2001 |
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When it comes to scoring military films, no composer is more synonymous with the genre than Jerry Goldsmith. His most prolific military output was during the 70s with such films as Patton, The Blue Max, and Papillion. It has been quite a long time since he last composed a film score for that type of film, but even with his older scores, Goldsmith cemented his reputation. In fact, when it came time to pick the composer for The Last Castle, director Rod Lurie knew there was no other choice but Jerry Goldsmith. Writing this review has proved to be a difficult assignment. On the one hand there is so much I could say about this score, but on the other, putting them into actual words has proven to be rather difficult. Generally, this is a fine score, but when put up against competing Goldsmith scores from the past, it’s strictly average. Given that I have yet to experience his classic military scores of the past, I feel that I am really disadvantaged in completely understanding the background that this score comes from. But that’s enough of my rambling. The opening track starts off with the main theme. It’s not a powerful, “brass-blaring-for-all-its-worth” type theme, but it is very effective as an emotional theme that seeks to convey more than just a standard patriotic military theme. It is used to great effect throughout the score, but when Goldsmith attempts to shoehorn it into an action cue, it tends to sound out of place since that’s not what the theme is really about to begin with. As far as those action cues go, they are better than most, but still never leave the average camp when being compared with previous Goldsmith action cues. One nice change is the almost total absence of any electronic or synth effects. It was quite refreshing to hear a straight orchestral score from Goldsmith, and while his style for this film is recognizable, it’s not overtly so, at least to my virgin ears. The quieter moments are also just as average as the louder cues, and aside from the uses of the main theme, generally lack any emotional involvement. Given that the score is nothing incredibly special, unless you’re looking for a modern Goldsmith military score, or you were impressed with the music in the film, there’s not much to recommend otherwise. The main theme is good, but for just that instance, you might as well obtain it via a good compilation. *** |
| Track Listing - Total Running Time: 43:06 | |
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