M Butterfly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Howard Shore | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 1993)
• Original Release Date: September 28, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B0000014TI
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,200 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. M. Butterfly

2. Concubine

3. Entrance of Butterfly/Drunken Beauty

4. Dragonfly

5. Great Wall

6. Even the Softest Skin

7. Sha Jia Bang

8. Bonfire of the Vanities/Cultural Revolution

9. He Was the Perfect Father

10. Are You My Butterfly?

11. Only Time I Ever Really Existed

12. What I Loved Was the Lie

13. Everything Has Been Destroyed

14. Bel Di

15. My Name Is Rene Gallimard

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Howard Shore's Finest, January 23, 2012

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M Butterfly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

The soundtrack score composed and conducted by Howard Shore is surely one of the finest in the ranks of film scores. He manages to blend excerpts from Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY, the opera on which so much of the story is based, by including orchestral transcriptions of some of the music from the opera while also allowing singers to offer the arias and the famous Humming Chorus to be part of the background. In addition to this he adds his own sweepingly romantic music to set the mood for the love scenes as well as the scenes depicting the young people in action involved in the Cultural Revolution. Add to this two excerpts of Chinese opera music he composed - those who have heard this strange but haunting sound of the voice in a radical range blended with the few Chinese string instruments that occupy the stage with the actors will appreciate this most - and we have a score that not only is descriptive and in keeping with the visuals, but a blend of East and West, just as the story of the film is a strange blend of the two opposites. This is a remarkable achievement. Grady Harp, January 12

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful score with foreign country affection, November 4, 2000

By 

Zhiyi Wang (Beijing, CHINA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M Butterfly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

I love this soundtrack because it reflects a feeling of foreign country.When you hear the music you will really recall the movie and ponder it.It's a beautiful love story so you won't miss it!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars classic shore, June 1, 2004

By 

crown of indica "buckethead noir" (saint paul,mn,usa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: M Butterfly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

fans of howard's scores for cronenberg's films will like this just the same,but fans of the rings scores may be less familliar with his usually dark and scary music and thusly it'll take a few listens to truly enjoy his earlier works.In my mind Howard Shore and Angelo Badalamenti are the two best composers at what they usually do-dark,unsettling soundscapes that put you in ,say,the drearyness of a dank basement or the chill of a bare forest in the middle of winter.
this particular work has howard tackling asian influences to go with his orchestral movements,and as expected it's truly amazing in it's subtle,ambient darkness.there are a few"wake up"points where part of the m butterfly play are spoken in japanese(?)and it's a bit startling and comical.
also,I've never seen the actual play other than what's in the movie,but the person who said it was bad or a weak effort on both the musical and theatrical level is dead wrong in my personal opinion!the first time I saw the film I had no prior knowledge of the story or anything about "madame butterfly",so the ending was a total shock and mind trip for me!see the film(first rent,then buy)and definatly buy the score before the last copies are gone!!!