Search - Howard Shore :: Twilight Saga: Eclipse the Score

Appropriate score for the movie from an excellent composer

R S | USA | 07/01/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Twilight movies have each been unique films, each one having a different director. The scores for the movie are similar, each having a different composer. But while the directors of the franchise have at least paid some respect to the others' work, the composers have each given their own take on what they think the music of Twilight should be without giving much thought to creating stylistic consistency.



Carter Burwell's score was influenced by pop and was effective in that it catered to Twilight's audience even if the music was sometimes structurally weak. Alexandre Desplat created a more traditional score that was influenced by the recurring "Romeo and Juliet" motif. He just about completely ignored Burwell's music, and while his own material was thematically strong, it was often borderline nebulous and it didn't do much for me in the actual film.



Now, Shore has ignored both of these composers' thematic material but has effectively combined their approaches, making a score that can be pop-ish and rock-ish at times (like the piano theme in "Compromise/Bella's Theme" and the electric guitar in "Victoria") but also provides some much-needed straight orchestra writing (the romantic music in "First Kiss" or the action cue "Riley").



Noteworthy is that Shore manages to do two things that Burwell and Desplat never managed: 1) make music appropriate for vampires and werewolves and 2) create themes for some of the side characters. Those two elements were sorely lacking in the first two Twilight scores.



Overall, Burwell's score might satisfy some Twilight fans the most and Desplat probably has the most refined score but Shore's balanced approach is effective and his mastery of his craft is evident. One could only wonder what would have happened if any one of these great composers had been able to hand the franchise at large rather than just single entries."

Twilight Saga: Eclipse Score Doesn't Disappoint

Jordan Utz | Salem, Massachusetts | 06/30/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first thing that I must point out before I begin writing this review is that listening to the previews does not serve the score any justice, which is what I think many of the reviewers on here are basing their judgment on. As of now, please ignore the previews above and judge the score based on listening to the entire album, not a thirty second sampling of each track. You may be surprised.



Music composer Howard Shore has certainly made a reputation for himself as an incredible film composer. In the past he has written Oscar Winning compositions and he has won many awards for the films he has scored, one in particular: Lord Of The Rings. Shore steps up to the plate and returns with a dark and intense film score to the third Twilight Saga installment "Eclipse". I must admit that when it comes to the Twilight Saga, the music used throughout each movie is rarely ordinary. Carter Burwell and Alexandre Desplat did an excellent job with the previous two installments and I found myself listening to each one repeatedly for a long period of time. Shore follows in their footsteps, even treading farther ahead, and definitely does not disappoint with "Eclipse".



While listening to this album for the first time it was very easy to hear that the score itself was very distinctive. Shore hammers us with ominous and powerful melodies with the right balance of fear and passion that follow along the tone of Eclipse extremely well. So it is easy to say that what he did to Lord Of The Rings, he does with "Eclipse". And even though Shore will most likely not have any Oscar nominations for this piece of work, it will still be able to stand out on its own as a notable film score among the other two previous albums.



"Eclipse" was, unquestionably, a movie that relied on its score to narrate the story. It is what made the film flow as nicely as it did. When you listen to "Mountain Peak" you know that the climax with Victoria and her army of newborns is rapidly approaching. It's that sudden range of atmospheric potency that we know what is going to happen before it happens. And that is what makes a great film score. Another fantastic track is "Wedding Plans", which makes a great transition into one of the tracks on the original soundtrack. Shore has harnessed together a satisfying score that will remain on repeat on my iPod for awhile like the previous Twilight Saga film scores.



Jordan Utz, 5 Stars"

Great music score!

K. Marsden | Red Oak, IA USA | 08/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Howard Shore is always fabulous! He has done a great job of capturing the mood of the scene with each piece of music. I only wish there was more to listen to."