Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Superp score......lousy CD, March 5, 2000
There can be no doubt that Wojciech Kilar's score to "Bram Stoker's DRACULA" is one of the highlights of filmmusic of the 90's. However, I feel that the soundtrack release leaves a lot to be desired. First of all: Many of the tracks have been horribly edited, to the point where you don't even think it was Kilar who composed them, but rather some mixer. "The Storm" is the best example of this. Furthermore, most of the tracks are not even the ones used for the film. "The Brides", although based on the same theme, is an intirely different version than what ended up on screen. It's not bad music at all, but it ruins the listening experience. This is also the case with "The Grenn Mist". If they really wanted all that "alternate" music on the cd, why not just add it as bonus music? Also, it puzzles me, how they can exclude perhaps the most interesting and original cue of the intire film (the chase scene music at the end of the film) and instead use a cue like "The Ring of Fire" which is basically just sound effects, and has very little to do with music. Sure, it's spooky to hear a lot of laughing demons and screaming horses, but it's not the actual score, so why put it on the cd? Overall, I don't regret getting this cd, but I'm not particular joyfull about it either. Kilars music is magnifcent, but what a shame it had to get such a pathetic release(!)
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best, September 8, 2004
The one thing that strikes me the most when I'm listening to this soundtrack is the amazing use of "instrumental" emotion.
Wojciech Kilar has a very special and rare ability to use an instrument to grand effect, he knows how to use an instrument emotionally a great example of this can be heard on "Love Remembered" where he manages to create an emotional state with the bare help of a simple flute. Its very rare for a composer to capture the very essence of the instrument itself, and what's even more rare is how he manages to compile an album filled with various emotions like: sadness, loneliness, love and lust; in my opinion no one has ever been able to grab me the way that this soundtrack has. The scale of greatness is very high, take for example the opening song "The Beginning" it starts out very slow and paced, but then it erupts into a full-blown orchestra on the verve of total submission; it then slows down when demonic voices comes through...but only to be over shined by the angelic voice of the dawn.
It's very obvious what Wojciech Kilar tried to accomplish with this score, the wanted to make a soundtrack that is capable of adapting every kind of emotion from the aggressive, yet gentle "Vampire Hunters" to the heart drenching pain of "Love Eternal." As I stated above; its very rare for a composer to capture the very heart of a movie or a play, the movie is also going to reflect something else while the music usually moves the opposite direction, that is not the case in this soundtrack, the soundtrack is a sound version of the movie, practically an exact copy of the film.The movie was and still is the best adaptation of the book, it manages to capture the very soul of the book, and that's why Gary Oldman gave the performance of his life.
Gary Oldman managed to capture the very soul of Dracula (not Vlad Tepes). The order of the Dracul, a Dragon, Vlad Tepes the son of Dracul and the heir to his kingdom was in life a very brutal and mean spirited person, although to many his considered to be a Saint that saved Romania from the Turks and Islam. The soundtrack is one of those "one of a kind" masterpieces that probably never will come again, Wojciech Kilar manages to capture and explore the "Dracula" theme to the fullest. And now I want to highlight some of the songs, first up is the heartbreakingly wonderful "Mina's Photo" the songs knows exactly how to compliment Wynona's picture perfectly, and its heartbreaking when you see Dracula shedding a tear when he sees the picture...legendary stuff I tell you. "Lucy's Party" is another example of the amazing capability the soundtrack has, the song displays a very frightening side of the outspoken Lucy. "Ascension" the moment where God frees Dracula from his curse, you see Mina holding him in his arms as he seeks redemption towards the ceiling, unbearable to witness this scene...it just breaks my heart. The soundtrack is my personal favorite of all time as it has everything a real soundtrack should have, no other soundtrack has managed to capture me the way that this has.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ouch!, August 27, 2002
Why do I say ouch? Because this score bites!Prepare yourself for a musical composition like none your auditory sense has ever experienced. Wojceich Kilar (who cares if you cannot pronounce his name!) has scored a... An... No singular adjective can possibly describe it. Let me put it this way - this score will sink its teeth into you (pun intended). And you will do the same in return. The entire score - not including the incongruous "Love Song For A Vampire" - is superb. Kilar completely eschews melodies, relying on a repetitive, minimalistic style. Even with its all too familiar "Mars the Bringer of War" style march, "Vampire Hunters" serves this symphony well. However, it is three particular pieces that tower over the rest. "Dracula - The Beginning" is a perfect prologue, building from eerie, relentless, stringent notes, climaxing in a crescendo of blaring brass (in the film, this signified Dracula's rejection of God and his embracing of Satan). While this works well with the film, the entire score is better, more haunting, more nightmarish on its own. No greater example than in "The Storm". It begins with a soft - albeit quite mysterious - plucking of harp strings, tarrying until it has reached the faintest, gentlest note - piercing brass curtly disrupts this lull. After an unnerving passage of music, brass once again busts through the door, leading to repetitive, stentorian phrases accompanied by kettle drum and an otherworldly chorale arrangement. After electrifying blasts of brass, the chorus begins an ethereal chant of ascending and descending utterances - this particular section left me awe-struck. The piece appropriately ends with the gothic sounds of a cathedral organ. "Ring of Fire" (this MUST be listened to apart from the film), one of the shortest tracks on the CD, has the most impact. This is the absolute apex of experimental scoring. Not so much music, but a kaleidoscope of hellish, demonic voices and sounds superimposed by chorus. The sounds alone are mind-boggling and unlike anything you have ever heard before. How on Earth did Kilar achieve these preternatural sounds? The quality sounds too organic to have been generated by synthesizers. At one point the neighing of a horse can distinctly be heard. In another part, a mockingly puckish howl almost sounds as if it is saying "come on." By the end of this track, I was sitting with my eyes wider than a soup bowl, my jaw sitting in my lap. Wojceich Kilar has scored a masterpiece.
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DVD ~ Gary Oldman
~ Danny Elfman
~ Danny Elfman
~ Danny Elfman
by Wojciech Kilar 
