Dark City: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture [Soundtrack]

Trevor Jones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 1998)
• Original Release Date: February 24, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Tvt
• ASIN: B000005ZD5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,008 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #95 in Music > Indie Music > Soundtracks > Movie Soundtracks

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The reviewers were right-this IS beautiful!, May 21, 2000

By 

Diószegi Bálint (Budapest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark City: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture (Audio CD)

I loved the movie, but the music may even be better. My friends think so too, everybody who heard it. Look, if you liked the movie's music, and are reading the reviews to figure out if it is worth buying or not, then take my word for it, IT IS! It has all kinds of tracks: mostly chilly and dark, but also some narcotic-sounding slow ones (good for dancing) and a few brutal ones. I really recommend it, it is one of the best CDs I have. If you are feeling sad, depressed, angry or if you just had enough, this is the music to listen to. Buy this, it is essential for your collection.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Violent, dark, nostalgic... You'll need new adrenaline glands after this, July 22, 2005

By 

Bram Janssen (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark City: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture (Audio CD)

Trevor Jones' score for "Dark City" is a dark, violent nightmare trip to another universe. Even the quieter, subtler moments don't get spared from a general feeling of unease. Even though the music is rich with synthesizer effects, the music still manages to sound authentic and exceedingly creepy.

The main theme is a musical piece like steam-powered locomotive: a driving baseline over a synthesized Gregorian choir, with slowly culminating percussion and exploding into a mushroom cloud of brass and string -- which by all means compares best with a pitch-black, nightmarish, "underwater" version of Alan Silvestri's music for "Predator."

The action cues in "Dark City" are amongst Jones' best - arguably THE best he ever did. When the main theme isn't ripping your adrenaline glands apart, the music for the many fights and chases in the film will. "You Have The Power" (which underscores the final - Neo versus Smith-like - battle between the protagonist and the leader of the Strangers) is amongst the darkest, most driven action music written for film in the 90s. It's enormous and will leave you behind sweating and gasping for air.

Yes, the music settles down every now and then as well, but the easier piano or string cues are - almost - always accompanied by unsettling synthesizer effects, the slow baseline from the main theme, or a creepy choir-effect. And even when it's not unsettling, it's always melancholic, nostalgic and unspeakably sad.

I suppose, to counter all this violence, the album's producers decided to put some regular songs on the album, which I think are unremarkable and superfluous. The exceptions are the two nightclub songs performed by Anita Kelsey, who dubbed Jennifer Connelly's singing in the movie. These are very nice and really fit in with the rest of the album.

All in all, I think this is Trevor Jones' crowning achievement of the 90s. And for a score that's so dark, violent and nostalgic, that's saying a lot.

This one gets four stars.

Bram Janssen,
The Netherlands

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Score that Scores!, February 1, 2002

By 

Rodney Meek (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dark City: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture (Audio CD)

All too often, the score to a movie is uninspired and lame. The themes are trite and predictable, and the music just lies there limply. Bleh. But if you disdain wimpy background pastorals and like your instrumentals to be bold, unashamed, and thundering, this is the soundtrack for you.

Trevor Jones has succeeded wildly in creating a score that is, by turns, ominous and mysterious, threatening, and energetic, one that is packed with action and movement. The final piece, "You Have The Power", reprises the recurring themes and brings them all together for a glorious finish. It's really, really good. As a side note, these instrumental numbers make excellent accompaniment for chase or battle scenes for Dungeons & Dragons players and other RPGers.

The musical numbers by other artists in the first half of the soundtrack are also quite good. Anita Kelsey provides a sultry version of the old standard "Sway" (which was lip-synched in the movie by Jennifer Connelly). Hughes Hall also bangs out a great and driving instrumental piece that neatly fits the approach of Trevor Jones. (Hall has a small section on MP3.com, but sadly, his tunes there are disposable New Age fluff.)

If you're in the mood to pick up a soundtrack for mood music for these dark and turbulent nights, this should be your choice. Heck, I bought it about four years before I even saw the movie, and I loved it! Give it a try.