Search - Michael Giacchino :: Speed Racer [Original Motion Picture Score]

Fun Soundtrack

Miss Courtadoo | Florida | 05/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the great new remake of the old favorite show "Speed Racer," this CD is the fabulous score to the movie, all the songs that were played throughout the background of the movie. This has some beautiful songs and some fun ones too, and I just love listening to it because it reminds me of some of my favorite scenes. However, if you're looking for the fun upbeat remix that you heard in the end of the movie as the credits ran, look for the Speed Racer EP, it's on a different CD. It only has four songs on it, available here at Amazon or on iTunes. The very fun remix is by Ali Dee and The Deekompressors, so check that out too!"

Speed Racer Original Soudtrack

John Sessor | Detroit, MI USA | 06/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having seen the movie, I was very interested in finding the soundtrack for it, and luckily found it on Amazon.com. The music is very reminiscent of the original Anime TV show from the '60s, and easily evoked images from the movie which I had just seen two weeks prior to ordering the CD. My only disappointment: The remix of the old Speed Racer theme ("Go Speed Racer Go" by Ali Dee & The Deekompressors), though played during the end credits of the movie, wasn't included on this CD. Grade A+ All The Way"

A 5-Star Composer Working With 3-Star Material

Jason Bostick | 05/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First, I LOVE Michael Giacchino. He melted my mind with The Incredibles' score and then he charmed me with Ratatouille. I can't wait to see what he'll do with the upcoming Star Trek feature and I can only hope that the Brain Trust at PIXAR lets him take the scores for CARS 2 or Toy Story 3 out for a spin. But back to the task at hand. . .



In theater, I was thoroughly impressed with the way Giacchino subtly let the music play its supporting role to the story on screen. Given the hype for this feature, I actually brought foam earplugs expecting to have the Dolby-enhanced soundtrack blasted at me for 2 hours. I was more than pleased to find that the score was applied with an artist's touch and my wife and I found ourselves at the end grinning like kids again just waiting to hear the three-tone fanfare announcing Speed's triumph over cheaters and other villiany. I ordered the soundtrack the next day.



On its own, however, the soundtrack isn't as strong as the scores from the PIXAR features. I don't think it's Giacchino's fault, though. Let's face it, Brad Bird's script for The Incredibles is a Shakespeare play compared to the dramatic gravitas of Speed Racer--as it should be. Speed Racer the Movie is a 60's cartoon on Ecstasy. It's a visual snack that I look forward to watching over and over on DVD, but it's not great art.



The score, by necessity, follows the story: Speed Racer RACES...for two hours. Eventually, the music starts to blend together. The lightweight plot produces lightweight musical compositions. After all, how much different, musically speaking, is racing on ice versus racing on sand? The songs are all good, but not as memorable as his previous work.



On the plus side, though: the full orchestra and chorus delivers a richness of tone and color that has become the Giacchino trademark of quality. And the composer is fully faithful to the music of the TV show, especially in "Speed Racer", his take on the Americanized surf-sound version of the Japanese original theme song.



Giacchino shows his respect here, but it also appears that Warner Bros. pulls a "Royalton" with the theme, for this is NOT the song everyone hears during the credits (unless it played later on; I didn't stick around for the full credits). In fact the j-pop techno remix by Ali Dee and the Deekompressors that everyone knows from the movie is missing from this CD, suggesting to me that Giacchino had nothing to do with it. Did he refuse to allow it on the CD because it wasn't his work? It seems to me that Giacchino stayed true to his muse, but the producers decided to add something a bit more "Fast and the Furious" that they could sell to the kiddies as the pop single of the movie. Sad that Giacchino labors for an entire score, only to have an utterly forgettable piece of techno fluff get the star position in the film. Like others reviewing this CD, I too expected to hear the single, but on reflection I think I respect the composer more rather than like the CD less for its absence."