Search - James Horner :: All the King's Men

Great Music for a not so great film

Greg Samson | Los Angeles CA | 10/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All the King's Men is definetely a departure for James Horner, a composer who is often accused of plagiarising his own and other works. However, this score is unlike any I've ever heard from him. It is dark at times and meloncholic, but always beautiful. In "Main Title" the soaring melody is played by strings and is backed with percussion to keep a sort of militaristic feeling which I guess alludes to the feelings of power that Sean Penn's character goes through. The softer, quieter sections of the CD offer a stark contrast to the loud and, some would say, bombastic nature the rest of the album. These bombastic sections run parallel to Sean Penn's over the top portrayal of Willie Stark. And although the film falters, this soundtrack is a very solid listen. I would rank it as one of the best scores of the year."

Tour de force

kelsie | Plainview, Texas United States | 04/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Horner's score for 'All the King's Men' is, like the movie itself, a tortured, dissonant, tragically noble journey. The thematic material is wide-ranging and very dark. Atonality and dissonance make this a somewhat unique offering in the soundtrack genre.



The music relies on four themes: a noble, bittersweet melody first stated in the Main Titles and present throughout virtually the entire disc; a "power" theme charged by rhythmically insistent percussion and orchestral hammering; a melancholic, innocent childhood motif first heard as one of the characters plays on a piano; and a dark, foreboding melody associated with Willie Stark's "corruption" throughout the film's course.



The disc is a bit short (just under one hour), but it is a very intense 56 minutes worth of music, from the melodrama and sad nobility of the Main Titles to the haunted, tortured cue, "All Our Lives Collide." The final track is also a strong recap of the disc's major thematic material--forming a kind of suite to the movie itself. "Verdict and Punishment" is unrelentingly restless, the string sonorities becoming bolder and bolder as the track progresses. Horner mutates and insinuates the Main Title's melody throughout the score, giving the disc a distinctly unified ambience. The score retains the fire, passion, and conflicted nature of the film and its characters in full measure.



Overall, despite the accusations of plagiarism on Horner's part (I am not well versed enough in his music to find these instances), and despite the disc's shortness, the soundtrack to "All the King's Men" is well worth hearing for those who are prepared to enter a more complex set of sonorities than the average soundtrack might offer."

Very nice

Andres Segovia | 10/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I truly didn't expect this from Horner. He wrote an original score including some of his signature cues such as the military drum beat racing before being accentuated by the clang of a bell. His beautiful string work is prominent in the main theme. Some tracks are tense underscore with shrilling trumpets.



Film reviewers have complained about the "overbearing" music in the movie. Not having seen it, it's of no concern to me. It's a fine listen on its own and a nice change from Horner after some, in the opinion of many, unoriginal recent works.



Check out THE LEGEND OF ZORRO and THE CHUMSCRUBBER as some of his finer, recent works!"