Customer Reviews

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Never has a score had more energy and "life" in its compositions than that of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, composed by Patrick Doyle. His use of many instruments at once to create a feeling of hurried tension is astounding, and, combined with the nonstop moving of the camera, keeps the action moving. The ever-present love theme, which is based on Byron's "So we'll go no more a roving" poem, is heard in its entire in track twenty-one, entitled "The Wedding Night." This, above all others, will sweep you into the true emotional power of the film, allowing you to experience the feelings of the characters as well as the horror of the story itself. While some tracks called for a smaller orchestra, others, such as "Elizabeth" and "The Montser" required a full assembly. Totally moving and very forceful, this is a must for any soundtrack buff's collection, as well as fans of the 1994 film.

Buy this CD if you like the movie and the beautiful time period it takes p[ace in!I love the whole and I am working on buying the movie on DVD!!It'a beautiful score for a haunting movie based on the novel of the same name!

Patrick Doyle is one of the most overlooked film composers working today. He regularly produces music of such majesty and breadth, such as this 1994 score for the Kenneth Branagh film. As with any great film score, the music works well both on-screen and as a stand-alone piece.

A quote from the Bible used in the film is "For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowlege increases sorrow."

That sentiment is carried through very nicely through the film, and the pieces of Patrick Doyle's score echo it beautifully as well. The energy, the dread, the passion and pathos that infuse this music are at times stunning.

And there's a pulse to some pieces of the score, too, like hearing a man marching up a gallows of his own construction. Musically this suggests that the advances of time and scientific understanding are inevitable, but that the price for meeting and facing them will be terrible.

The creature represents the danger man risks by venturing into the alluring unknown, and like a phantom in Arctic mists, the score brings that sense to us with great success.

After viewing "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," (see my review on it), I was eager to own the soundtrack to the most faithful film version of the classic horror novel by Mary Shelley. Read on.

I LOVED IT!!! EVERY BIT AS GOOD AS THE MOVIE!! Amazing to hear how the music exactly matched the wonderful visuals on screen. It's like seeing the movie in your head while listening to the soundtrack. Makes you want to see the movie over and over. I even found myself acting out the dramatic parts according to the score. Patrick Doyle, Branagh's film composer since "Henry V," his film debut, does a wonderful job of orchestrating pieces of music to match up with the excellent images you see in the movie. Kenneth Branagh is equally talented and proved his inimitable mastery a hundredfold as director, producer, screenwriter and star with this faithful adaptation of the novel. Rated E for Easy Listening.

To put it in another word,fantastic.You should buy this soundtrack and Bram Stoker's Dracula's soundtrack ,and The Mummy's(1999)soundtrack they go together just like the movies.

This definately a must buy for all people who are fans of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The music is dark and foreboding and is a perfect complement to the classic novel. For all you people who may have seen Thousand Oaks Highschool's 1998 Winter Drumline then you understand dark music. This is one of those CD's who would blow the Dracula music out of the water.

The music composed by Patrick Doyle for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is best described as forboding and intense. This entire album will render images of dark and stormy nights with unthinkable acts being undertaken by ambitious souls. Patrick Doyle uses a full range of symphonic prowness in his work, making tracks like The Creation leap out with complex magnitude that will plaster you to the back of your seat, while also creating tracks like Yes, I Speak that ring with simplistic beauty. He also masters a much softer, more romantic theme in such tracks as The Wedding Night that will give you goose bumps as well as illustrate a smoldering passion of two people connecting in heavenly ways. This entire soundtrack is a wonderful work that I have appreciated for years. I highly recomend it.

Frankenstein has, let's face it, been a very hot subject over the last 50 years, and Patrick Doyle's splendor is dripping with excitement in this sharp, tragic explosion of colorful strings, blaring trumpets, and powerful drums. Victor's defiance of God is told on every track. The theme is moving and romantic, and the drums signaling something is amiss in his experiements were very emotional. My favorite part was the last track melted into an ensemble of sweeping of strings that was so tender and tragic it almost made me cry. Another great part is THE CREATION, a minute long blast of anoynomous instruments accompanied by a series of consistent taps of bells. The trumpets make you shiver with delight, and the image of Victor racing around the cathedral-like attic with the long, flowing robe becomes crystal-clear.

The roar of precussion and pompous blaring of wind gives this album a truely delicious flavor. One thing-who would have thought to cast Robert DeNiro as Frankenstein?

If nothing else, buy this soundtrack for the track titled The Honeymoon and The Wedding Night. They are so wonderful and moving.