Customer Reviews

Dances With Wolves

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The John Dunbar theme alone inspired me to become a filmmaker. I'm dead serious. John Barry will be remembered forever by this score "alone". When I first saw this film, I was in my early teens. I saw it on the biggest screen I'd ever seen. Let's just put it this way...Costner should kiss Barry's ass for this one! Without this music, his film wouldn't have been what it was. But it still would have been an excellent picture. This music can make you cry and be comforted. I don't just picture South Dakota landscape when I listen to this music, I picture the entire world. I even get a glimpse of Heaven...and so will you.

First, be aware the SACD CD's may not play in older CD players, unless they are specifically labeled that they will play SACD media. (Has nothing to do with this review, but many are confused on this point.)

Very succinct review:
Each main character (including the calvary) in the movie has his own theme music. As the character's development on film continues, so does the embellishment in the score.

The masterful touch is the blending of each themes as the film characters compliment or conflict with the other. As you listen to the music over and over, these subtleties come across. The cd can be played many times over, each time one discovers nuances not discovered before. It's as though Mr. Barry has discovered new shades of color never seen before. These are insinuated in the orchestration of the score.

I also love the "Great American West" feel of the music, similar to Copeland and evocative of a Charles Russell painting.

It is a symphonic dream, and one of the relatively few pieces of music that justifies the cost of a good stereo system.

The score to Dances with Wolves portends like a tragic Greek chorus the fate of a doomed people. Yet it also charts the inner life of the film's central character, John Dunbar, as he progresses from civil war soldier to member of a Lakota Sioux tribe. The tension between these dual aspects of the score is tapped to maximum effect by composer John Barry, with magical results. "Journey to Fort Sedgewick" and "The Buffalo Hunt," for instance, are rousing, majestic tracks which transcend the constraints of the movie's somber theme. The cruelty and mayhem which pervades the film also heightens the score's tender moments (eg. "Two Socks--The Wolf Theme"; "Kicking Bird's Gift"). At its best, the music transports the listener to the world depicted on the screen; it situates us in the vastness and beauty of the Great Plains, before it was trammelled with the accoutrements of modern culture. John Barry's work in Dances with Wolves is his crowning achievement in a stellar career. He garnered a richly deserved Oscar for best original score in 1990. Perhaps in time the critics will tout it as one of the finest ever recorded.

If I could be transported back to a time where much of the present-day American ladnscape west of the Mississippi was still young, wild, and irresistable, this is without a doubt what it would sound like. John Barry is a genius! If you liked this score, you will ADORE "Swept from the Sea."

I have quite a few soundtracks in my collection, but this one is my absolute favorite. I suffer with bipolar and in order to relax, I like to listen to something soothing and uplifting. When I have this CD playing, I no longer feel depressed or anxious...I just feel good. This is a great score to escape from the world. Some other soundtracks I recommend, AFTER you purchase this one, are: Superman(John Williams), Stealing Home, Willow, The Blue Lagoon, Gladiator, Titanic, and Field of Dreams, and The Natural, just to name a few. If you go through your whole life without listening to this CD atleast once, than you'll have really missed out.

This is a "blinger" of a film score, an Academy Award winning score from an Academy Award winning picture. Unquestionably, the music singnificantly enhances the emotion of the film. This is a clear case of a score that is so good, so strong, so well-done, that it can even stand on its own away from the film. It is a must-have for any serious film music buff.

What an amazing score! It echoes the vast expanse of the prairies, shows us a peek inside the human heart and soul, spans the chasm of conflicting emotions and lets us down as gently as a falling feather. Standout tracks include Two Socks' Themes (loving playfulness), Kicking Birds Gift (stoic honor, steadfast friendship), The Love Theme (pure beauty unrestrained) and Farewell and End Title (to remind you of the journey you just took, like looking back on a sunset from a beaten path). The Love Theme is so beautiful it just breaks my heart every time. Hearing this score is what made me want to study music and learn to compose-the honor I would feel after creating such a work! What a joy to bring these emotions forth in so many others. Bravo, John Barry. What an amazing achievement!

This is one of the best movie scores (as opposed to "soundtracks") ever done, and the Gold CD version has great sound. As with many other great movie scores (and soundtracks), it raises the movie from "very good" to "great" status. The Gold CD has 3 extra tracks not found on the regular release. If you're an audiophile, John Barry fan, or just a fan of great movies (and music) this is a must-have.

This score won an academy award and with good reason. The music is heartfelt, captivating, and leaves you breathless. It is a majestic epic score with stirring themes that make it a true classic. The main theme titled "The John Dunbar Theme" is a dramatic sequence with gorgeous string lines. It appears in several other places throughout the score. There are also adventurous parts in the score as an addition. "Pawnee Attack", "Journey to Fort Sedgewick", "Ride to Fort Hays", and "The Buffalo Hunt" contain bold brass lines along with the usual strings and percussion. I really don't have much to say about this one because it is so good. Just buy it and take a listen. The music will describe itself.

John Barry gives music a new quality. His gracefullness in this score is simply magnificent. The melodies are unforgettably touching, almost timeless. Tracks 2 and 13, John Dunbar, have the same name. But if anyone has seen the movie, the changes Dunbar goes through from the beginning to end are very dramatic. It's the same with the soundtrack. The mood of the melodies change with time. A very well done score. 5 stars!