Minority Report [Original Motion Picture Score] [Soundtrack]

John Williams (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: John Williams
• Audio CD (June 18, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Dreamworks
• ASIN: B000068C9F
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,746 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Minority Report

2. "Can You See?"

3. Pre-Crime To The Rescue

4. Sean And Lara

5. Spyders

6. The Greenhouse Effect

7. Eye-Dentiscan

8. Everybody Runs!

9. Sean's Theme

10. Anderton's Great Escape

11. Dr. Eddie And Miss Van Eych

12. Visions Of Anne Lively

13. Leo Crow.The Confrontation

14. "Sean" By Agatha

15. Psychic Truth And Finale

16. A New Beginning

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While Steven Spielberg's sci-fi detective thriller revolves around the intriguing premise of future cops arresting criminals before their crimes, beneath its high-tech veneer it asks a simple but infinitely powerful question: Do we have the power to alter our own destiny? Coming on the heels of the director's posthumous collaboration with Stanley Kubrick, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, it also affords longtime Spielberg musical collaborator John Williams a rare back-to-back opportunity to construct a musical future-world. The composer's efforts here are largely a forceful departure from A.I.'s sparkling minimalist influences, employing an enduring cinematic cliché--that film futures often sound much like the works of early-20th-century serialist/modernist classical composers--that puts a compelling new spin on the ever slippery concept of postmodernism. If the cues here occasionally recall the jagged edges, dark corners, and rhythmic fury of some of Goldsmith's best sci-fi scores, it's only a tribute to both legends' deep musical roots and preternatural scoring instincts. But make no mistake, this is pure Williams at his most compelling, employing his full arsenal of technique and always masterful use of color to construct a new genre--call it "future noir"--from inspirations as diverse as Bartók, Ligeti, Penderecki, Webern, and Schoenberg. Like Herrmann's suspenseful scores for Hitchcock (one of the film's intentional musical touchstones), there may be nary a memorable melody in it, but it's a riveting--and occasionally harrowing--listen from opening bars to its final, minimalist-tinged string flourishes. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Score Combined with Classical Hits, July 2, 2002

By 

Enrique Sanchez "CubanBach" (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Minority Report [Original Motion Picture Score] (Audio CD)

Before I begin, I must mention that Williams did incorporate some Classical Music from other composers into this score.

He did use the 1st movement of Franz Schubert's very famous "Unfinished Symphony" as the backdrop for the moments when Tom Cruise's character was in the "Pre-Crime computer". That is, where he sees the flashes of images and tries to put them together with his hands from the Pre-Cogs' inputs as if playing the Theremin.

Williams also used some slow movements from a Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky symphony and snatches of another Romantic era composer I can't recall at this moment - perhaps Robert Schumann.

All that aside, Williams has served his craft well again with a marvelous and evocative score. Williams is maturing finally and has demonstrated that he will not be a servant to "Sound-bite Tunes" or "Signature Tunes" to each movie - merely to add cohesion as in the symphonic fabric of a full-length classical work. These are simply not always necessary.

The best music, it has been said before, it that which you do not hear while you are watching a movie.

Perhaps Williams has finally taken note and just scored the movie as it should be....a collection of actions and feelings..and not just Top 40 hits bundled up into an orchestral framework.

Bravo John!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars John Williams and his A-grade "Report", June 30, 2002

By 

Brandon Galvin (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Minority Report [Original Motion Picture Score] (Audio CD)

One of the most exciting things for many movie-music lovers is getting their hands on the next John Williams soundtrack. I myself have been a great fan of his scores. He writes such beautiful and grand themes, heartbreaking melodies, and pulse-pounding action music that it seems never to stop. For over 30 years, he has poured out scores, one after another, and each one is bold, beautiful and exciting. My recent favorites of his have been "The Phantom Menace", "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone", "The Patriot", "Attack of the Clones", and "A.I." And now there is another to add to that list: his newest collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, "Minority Report".

Recently, Williams has been branching off, and covering new ground for himself, while also reminding listeners of his previous efforts. That is the magic of John Williams's music: You know when you're listening to him.

I was highly anticipating the score for "Minority Report", while at the same time, I was fearful. After all, this man has produced scores to dozens upon dozens of films. After after the recent successes "A.I." and "Attack of the Clones", I wondered: Could he still do it?

The answer is yes. With the score for "Minority Report", I found something very different than what I expected, and yet something that thrilled me at the same time. This is a much harder-edged film, which calls for a much harder score. There aren't many of the soaring melodies that Williams is known for here. Instead there is some very Bernard Herrmann-like suspsense chords, haunting vocals, and some very futuristic-sounding tones.

And if this sounds like a major step in the wrong direction to fans of the old John Williams, then you'd be wrong. There are his trademark beautiful melodies and incredible action cues that remind you who you are listening to, while at the same time not boring you in the least.

The first track, "Minority Report", starts off with dark, suspenseful rhythms and builds to some very intense action music before fading into the first use of the major theme. "Spyders" is another tense Herrmann-esque cue, that is very suspenseful.
"Sean's Theme" is the heart of the soundtrack, and is a soft, bittersweet piano theme that aches with loss and love. Although it is short, it is very good. "Visions of Anne Lively" is a haunting track that utilizes eerie vocals and a dissonant, futuristic sound. The most exciting track in the score accompanies the most exhilirating sequence, "Anderton's Great Escape"--a fast, thunderous action piece. John Williams definintely let loose in this particular sequence, and this complex and exciting track is one of the score's highlights. Another personal favorite of mine is the last track, "A New Beginning". Much like the beautiful theme for "A.I", John Williams allows the theme to build throughout the film before finally letting it flourish in the end. It is a simple and beautiful melody that finds its way into your heart and mind, and stays there.

The rest of the tracks are also quite good, although "Minority Report", "Sean's Theme", "Anderton's Great Escape", and "A New Beginning" are enough to make you buy it.

So, all in all, the score to "Minority Report" is a success. While it may not be remembered as well as "Star Wars", "Indiana Jones", and "Jaws", it will no doubt please fans of John Williams and film music. It is a score that is different, and yet somehow familiar, and that's why it is such a pleasure to listen to.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 'Sounded better in the theater, August 4, 2002

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Minority Report [Original Motion Picture Score] (Audio CD)

Grant it, I don't have the luxury of the expensive AND expansive system at the local multiplex. However, this score is one of those that MUST accompany the film. It really has no "life" outside of the on-screen antics.

Most of Williams's greatest scores have achieved that status because they can stand alone on their orchestral merits. "Close Encounters", "Star Wars", "Superman", "Jaws", and "Schindler's List" benefit from strong melodic themes essential to the story, as well as being memorable long after one has left the movie house.

Sadly, the score for the latest Spielberg offering just doesn't cut it. The more that I listen to it, the weaker it becomes.

From Williams, I expect much, much more.