Customer Reviews

Moon

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As the other review stated, the two-note theme of this score is repeated throughout, echoing the two main characters (if you will), almost revolving around each other like a binary star. As with his other great themes, like those of Requiem For a Dream, and The Fountain, the emotional tones stay with you long after the movie ends. Here, Clint manages to make tangible the feeling of desolation and loneliness that pervades throughout the first act of the film. It's almost as if you're inside Sam's head, losing your sanity along with him. I love that this score was done by Mansell almost entirely alone, just him and his piano, as he usually collaborates with the like of Kronos Quartet, or bands like Mogwai. Here, it's just Clint and his keyboard, which reinforces the feeling of isolation, and illustrates the genius this man is capable of. I highly recommend seeking out his other soundtracks, as they are almost all worth owning.

With film scores like "Solaris" and "Requiem for a Dream" in his catalog, Clint Mansell has proven himself to be one of the freshest composing talents in today's cinema. Unlike some scores that serve as slaved shadows to the film's action, punctuating each moment of drama or action, Mansell's work takes a step back and sets a rich, unforgettable stage. His work doesn't get in the way of the actors or plot, but creates an atmosphere that enhances each scene and leaves its mark on the viewer/listener. His ambient approach to his craft makes the work an effective stand-alone listen, as well as solid film accompaniment.

The twin pulse piano note is theme throughout much of the soundtrack. It reminded me a bit of that single note piano cue all through Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut", only.... well, not annoying. The notes two notes stuck with me as a signature even after I left the theater.

I'm hoping that Duncan Jones continues this collaboration for his next film. Mansell always brings a unique and powerful game to the table.

It is shortsighted that this album is not available in the US. Definitely would think twice before paying over $30, but the good news is that you can get it for half that by importing it from amazon.co.uk. It's going for about $12 with the current exchange rate. Also, the UK Amazon page says the CD only has nine tracks, when it really has twelve. There's three extra tracks not listed in the product description. Bonus!

The extra tracks are:

10. Sacrifice
11. We're Going Home
12. Welcome To Lunar Industries (Three Year Stretch...)

An observation about the score: the repeating dissonance tone that recurs throughout the film is an inferred quotation of Beethoven's famous "Moonlight Sonata" with it's recurring minor ninth interval in the right hand at its cadential moments. It is the leading tone of the harmony along with it's resolution...two simultaneous states of the same melody, just like the two Sams in Moon.

Apart from the cleverness of this detail, it is used very poignantly as a source of lingering tension, just as in the original Beethoven.

Kudos on this understated and thoughtful score for a brilliant film.

When I finally saw this soundtrack available on Amazon, I didn't even look at the price until I was checking out my purchases. It didn't matter. The music for this is just something that must be available to listen to and absorb once you've seen the movie with this score.

Moon was a surprising and exceptional movie that really became fully realized as a piece of art work when this score is added to it. It is perfect...absolutely note perfect...for the atmosphere and story as well as the stand out performance of Sam Rockwell.

There is, as other reviewers have noted, a repeated set of notes or variations on those notes that one might anticipate in a Clint Mansell soundtrack throughout the songs. But it is done with such delicacy and creativity that it makes each track into a piece that can stand on it's own or be incorporated into the full soundtrack without feeling repetitive.

This wasn't available on iTunes or here after I saw the movie, so I frequently just played the movie on Netflix in the background at home in order to hear the music. That's what kind of impact it makes. It's also my favorite "bath" music and once you hear it, you'll be bathing to Clint Mansell's Moon too.

I'm not one of those people that can dissect music into technogabble; I'm a simple scientist. But I do know that there isn't much in the way of music today that can transfix me like a cobra under the control of a snake charmer. This does that.

After the Fountain, is it honestly possibly to not worship the ground this guy plays music on?

There is something peculiar about soundtracks. This is music composed specifically for the moving images on the screen. But why should it be limited to film, and not accompany the daily scenes of life or stunning visuals behind my eyelids. I close the door behind me and set towards my commute to work. The music somehow follows every turn and step I make. It swells in crescendo and dies out in silence in all the right places. Or maybe it's the other way around. It is the music that drives my thought patterns. The drums marching me towards determination, the soft piano guiding me forth to acceptance. This is Clint Mansell's yet another film score that goes onto my permanent rotations. Starting off his career as a lead singer and a guitarist for Pop Will Eat Itself, Mansell ventured into creating his first films soundtrack for Darren Aronofsky's debut film, '. Placing his compositions among the works by Autechre, Orbital and Aphex Twin (among many others), Mansell set off on a new path in writing cinematic music. Two years later, in 2000, Mansell became a star composer among the cult followers, with his soundtrack release for Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream performed by the Kronos Quartet. The rest is history. Among my favorite works by Mansell are his soundtracks for films like The Fountain, Smokin' Aces, The Wrestler, and now, Moon. The music conveys the feelings of ambient longing, rhythmic anxiousness, and atmospheric nostalgia. A minimal piano melody is at the center stage of each piece. Propelled forwards by this unifying theme, each variation on the main melody evokes a new emotion. Being absorbed within this repeating cinematic pattern over 55 minutes of music, puts me in a mild trance. Hard as I try, some tracks move into the background of my consciousness, as my thoughts trail away, only to be awakened into this gloomy reality with a familiar pattern, as if on a queue by a hypnotist. I am writing this review without having seen the film yet. And that's just as well. I am bonding with the music on a whole different level. And when I finally see the movie, it will be as if a good old friend is playing in the background. I think that it's more than a metaphor. It is exactly the case.

I just watched /Moon/, and I thought the music fit the movie perfectly. The score is deceptively simple, but I think it really helped make the the production work. The haunting yet at times optimistic music aligns perfectly with the story's feeling. Likewise, the simple musical structure and coldness reflect the stark visuals of the base and the lunar surface. And, as others have pointed out, the two note pattern can be seen as allegory to the plot itself. Very well done!

However, regarding the sound track album itself, I can't bring myself to spend $30+ on it. That's more than the DVD costs! Purveyors of any product are free to charge what they like, of course, but that's too much for this particular potential customer.

The music here fits the movie like a hand in a glove, it sets the mood amazingly well.

Worth every penny.

I'd love to download this from amazon, thus spending money that would benefit the site and the producers. But idiotic "geographical" restrictions prevent this. Thus no one makes any money. Good call, corporations!