Customer Reviews

The Claim (2000 Film)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I haven't had the opportunity to listen to the cd as a whole yet, but I have seen the film. The film is flawed, but one of the standout elements is Michael Nyman's haunting score. The end theme in particular is an amazing track that combines just the right amount of the customary inspiration from Morricone's Once Upon a Time in The West, while marking its own territory with a composition that lays open the frosty Western plain depicted in the film better than the cinematography does. This film has flown below the radar, but fans of classical western scores should make a point to listen to this work.

Michael Nyman is without peer as a composer of lush, symphonic and evocative film scores. He adds enormous value to any movie project that he is associated with. It is astonishing that he has not achieved wider recognition. This is one of his best ever - moving and uplifting even with no knowledge of the film. Having seen Michael Winterbottom's latest Thomas Hardy derived epic, Nyman hits exactly the right tone to capture the tragedy of Dillon, the character at the center of the story. The film will likely miss wide distribution, but those who see it in a cinema, and those who will subsequently see it on video or TV will want this superb piece of music.

Absolutely mesmerizing! Go out and buy this soundtrack, it is just gorgeous. I am hoping that Michael Nyman will finally get his first Academy Award Nomination his soundtrack to this film, I have not even seen the film yet. I tell you just by listening to it you can practically picture it though. This soundtrack is emotionally riveting and breath taking. Beautifully cued through out each track on the cd, I want to see this film really bad but it is not presently playing in my area yet, so until I will enjoy this wonderfull soundtrack from this momental film.

I know nothing about the film "The Claim" and almost nothing about the composer of the score, Michael Nyman. As another reviewer points out, there does seem to be a little Morricone influence in some of the cues, perhaps most due to the occasional soprano in the background on one or two selections. I hear more similarities to Phillip Glass' scores, most notably "The Hours," another great score, likely due to the musical soundscapes achieved by the layering and buildup of strings on top of strings, which occurs frequently through several tracks.

But any nods to Morricone or Glass, whether conscious or not, does a disservice to this haunting and romantic score which should stand on its own merit. After hearing the score, I was surprised to learn that the film was a Western. Virtually nothing in the score, except perhaps one selection, brings to mind any Western themes or motifs. To me, it is Western themed inasmuch as is "Duck, You Sucker" by Morricone. You would really only know it to be a Western if you were familiar with the film or had heard about it.

Nyman uses a heavily string laden orchestra, 16 or so violins, plus viola, cello and double bass, and just a few horns. The effect is heavily textured and the timbres become epic sounding, but, oddly, in a minimalist and haunting way, as opposed to becoming sentimental or "romantic" in the usual sense. The main theme, which is extremely beautiful and haunting and sounds slightly familiar almost as if it were a half-forgotten memory, is repeated in variations throughout roughly the first half of the album while the latter half tends to be a bit more sombre and in a more serious vein.

The beauty of this score has encouraged me to seek out other of Nyman's music, including his chamber music. Fans of Morricone's more esoteric work such as "Duck, You Sucker" or "Barbablu" or of Glass' forays into film scores such as "The Hours" should enjoy this evocative, yet very distinct, work by Nyman. I hope you give it a listen and enjoy it as much as I have.

This soundtrack is one of the most beautiful I have heard in quite a while. It is simply angelic. A must have for soundtrack enthusiasts.