Customer Reviews

Amistad: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is extremely misleading. The download is NOT the score. Do not be fooled! What it SOUNDS like is that someone ripped the vocals from the acutal soundtrack, and then used a standard onboard 128 voice midi synth to replace the score, and then somehow Amazon let them attach it to the soundtrack like it was a real product, so they can steal your money.

Great soundtrack, but do NOT BUY THE MP3 DOWNLOAD!!!

John Williams gives an effective and listenable African sounding score to Amistad which contains a wonderful African chorus, ethnic percussion, and great horn passages. The main theme is really good and really stands out in the first and last tracks. It utilizes the African chorus to great effect with the words "U yama mu yay, Afrika" repeatedly, which translates to "Dry Your Tears, Afrika", the title of the first and last tracks. This theme is repeated a few times in the middle tracks, such as in "Middle Passage" and "The Liberation of Lomboko". Another theme is found in "Cinque's Theme" which is a quiet and wonderfully played flute and string passage. The remainder of the tracks contain slow and more laid back music as in "Crossing the Atlantic", "Cinque's Memories of Home", and "July 4, 1839". Some other tracks contain bold horn solos such as in "The Long Road to Justice", "Mr. Adams Takes the Case", and "Adams' Summation". Overall, a good ethnic score that while it is not as good as some of Williams' other works, it still is worth listening to more than once. I think you will enjoy this.

Although he had written a number of film scores prior, John Williams really began to score as a film composer with Star Wars. Since then he has composed a number of winning film scores, this score from Amistad certainly being no exception. As good as the film is, this music is good enough to stand on its own and is worth the listen, even if one has not seen the film.

This is one of the most beautiful and overall impressive soundtracks I have ever heard. The "Dry Your Tears, Afrika" score can be described with one word: glorious. This soundtrack not only brings your mind back to the beauty of the film itself, but also allows you to feel the joy, sadness, and inspiration that Williams hoped to portray in his music.

Amistad is another collabiration between one of the most famous director-composer combos of cinema, Steven Spielburg and John Williams. And once again, Williams does not disappoint as the second half of this combo

Thbe soundtrack opens with "Dry Your Tears, Africa", which is a wonderful choral piece that sounds like it's right out of Africa. It's quite tuneful, grand, and is pure Williams. It's reprised at the end in a slightly different, even better form. This is definatly a worthwhile main theme comparible to Jurrasic Park, ET, Indy, Star Wars, and so on.

Most of the rest of the soundtrack, however, is quite laid back. Lots of lush harmonies and colorful orchestrations abound, but there really isn't much energy to it. It's the kind of music that makes your emotions turn but doesn't get your heart pumping. The music also has a very overall patriotic feel to it, with lots of slow trumpet and horn fanfares.

So there really isn't too much to say about Amistad's music. Four stars sums it up nicely -- not a must have, but still a worthy buy for any Williams and general score fan.

From the exquisite trumpet solos of Tim Morrison ("The Long Road to Justice") to the full orchestra and choral group in "Dry Your Tears, Afrika," John has really outdown himself. In my opinion, John should have won the Oscar over "Titanic," but I still have respect for Horner.

There are two kinds of movie scores in the world. There's the operatic tones of films like Star Wars that truly embody the film itself. But, in some ways it is somewhat limiting. You cannot hear the "Imperial March" without thinking of a certain Dark Lord of the Sith! Which brings me to my second kind of score. What I call "drifters". Music that gives your mind room to imagine. Gives your imagination freedom to picture any kind of image to go along with the score. Amistad is just such a score. Filled with vague but harmonous melodies and fertile African themed rhythms that truly let the mind make up all kinds of images and visions. Pop in Amistad, lay down, close your eyes and begin to drift into your own symphonic journey.

Whatever you thought of the film (I loved it), you cannot deny the power of this score. Whatever your race, Williams enables the viewer/listener to identify with the ethos of the struggle portrayed in the film. Hard to find, but worth the effort. FYI - I do not believe it is complete on iTunes, so you have to find this disc

Absolutely one of the top soundtrack scores that can stand alone apart from the film!!!The John Williams AMISTAD is one enormous evoking of the Spielberg film,and from "Dry Your Tears,Afrika" to "Cinque's Theme" every track is a winner.Your speakers will be "Woofing" and "Tweeting".An absolute must have.

The scores for "Cinque's Story" and "The Liberation of Lomboko" were absolutly stunning. And the choral piece "Dry Your Tears, Afrika" was stirring enough that even OUR choral director, who is extremely picky, chose it as a piece to use in this year's concert.