The Player: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Thomas Newman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 28, 1992)
• Original Release Date: April 28, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B0000014SS
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,176 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Funeral Shark

2. St. James

3. Six Inches of Dirty Water

4. Main Title

5. Rose's Cafe

6. Icy Theme

7. That's All He Wrote

8. Schecter Bros.

9. Sex

10. Desert Drive

11. Tema Para Jobim

12. The Graduate, Pt. 2

13. Lineup

14. Good Dog's Water

15. Detective de Longpre

16. Opening 3

17. Griffin's Plan: Let's Begin Agian

18. The Player

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stuff, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Player: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

An incredible movie is only made more so by the refreshing score. It is discordant, lovely, and as percussive as the main character's racing heartbeat. How wonderful to find a score that is as much a part of the movie as the cinematography.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mysteriously Satisfying, August 1, 2002

By 

G. Thomas "directorG" (San Carlos, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Player: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

An odd score for an odd movie; here, odd is interchangeable with brilliant. The stark film itself is a masterpiece -- perhaps it's Altman at his best. Perhaps Tolkin's screenplay (which mocks Hollywood in many ways; for instance, the film states that a movie's success can only occur with certain ingredients such as sex, violence, and a happy ending, and then still ironically includes all of them) necessitates Newman to score it, as he is of a Hollywood family dynasty, with his late father Alfred, cousin Randy, and brother David all in the scoring business as well. It's a fine job Thomas does here, though more of the film's moods and tones are evoked by this soundtrack than the film's plotline.

However, there are several tracks worthy of notation, as they are quite pleasing to the senses if you are a fan of Newman's percussive style: Track 4, titled "Main Title" (though its first five seconds or so are rather startling, but I suppose it was necessary to through the audience off guard, as it's the first thing they hear in the film); Track 2, titled "St. James," which stirs a light sense of evesdropping and mystery; Track 17, titled "Opening 3," which adds Newman's harmonic xylophones into the mix; Track 19, titled "The Player," which masterfully adds irony to the film's "out-of-place" conclusion by nearly sounding Egyptian; and Track 10, titled "Desert Drive," which was my original reason for purchasing this CD in the first place. "Desert Drive" has a sort of flowing, energetic feel to it, perhaps because of its soft, quick piano cues, or perhaps because of its swift, subdued, and everchanging electronics in the background. Listening to Track 10 is like watching the water of a large river cascade about, quickly passing you by while always beautifully morphing from one indiscreet shape to the next... Additionally, the great Jack Lemmon plays a piano rendition of "Silent Night" on this CD, performed in the actual movie.

Not quite Newman's best CD, but one of his best songs (can you guess which?) is included. Worthy of many listenings.