Customer Reviews

The Prestige [Original Score]

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

 

 

David Julyan's score for THE PRESTIGE was one of the key elements in sustaining the film's foreboding atmosphere, the sense that every victory will be undermined by tragedy. The soundtrack is very dark, but in a beautiful and thrilling way. The ethereal orchestration invites comparison to Brian Eno's darkest ambient endeavors, such as ON LAND, Fripp & Eno's NO PUSSYFOOTING, and "An Index of Metals" from EVENING STAR. As in Eno's ambient music, timbre, harmony, and texture figure more prominently melody and harmony. Perhaps this radical approach is what put some of the other reviewer's off. Julyan's THE PRESTIGE soundtrack is more likely to appeal to connoisseurs of composers such as Gyorgy Ligetti and Krzysztof Penderecki than to listeners accustomed to the heroic fanfares of Jonathan Williams.

True, this may not have been the most dazzling soundtrack you ever heard, but The Prestige is good none the less. This is one of those very quiet, chill out type CDs you put on when you put on when you need to slow down. Some reviews for this call it dull, but its all a matter of what you want to hear. The Prestige (movie) is about the mystique and mystery behind the illusion of the so-called magic trick, and the two men's quest to attain it, and the music reflects the tone of the story superbly.

If you go into listening to this CD knowing and liking what you'll be hearing, you'll love it. I know I do. 5/5 stars.

Contrary to some reviews, this score offers a lot more variety than one might expect - though there's a definite sense of mystery and foreboding to every track. It's unlike any other soundtrack in that it puts the emphasis on atmosphere rather than melody, and if you like the mood of the film, you will certainly enjoy this album.
Highlights are 'A New Trick', featuring a more positive, almost optimistic feel; 'Man's Reach Exceeds His Imagination', with the most bold statement of the main theme, and 'Sacrifice', in which the music reaches an almost terrifying climax.
So if you're in for something different, and you enjoyed the movie - then don't hesitate to buy this mystifying and captivating soundtrack.

The Prestige is an amazing film. Go see if you haven't yet.

This soundtrack is just what such a film needs. Not an attention-stealer like a John Williams and Hans Zimmer score (both of whom write great music, however), but it works with the movie, which is its purpose.

This movie was absolutely amazing, the soundtrack was good as well, yet some may find it quite boring without having seeing the movie. Even then , it is basically just long notes and chords and harmonic things later on. But yeah, its good ! :)

This soundtrack is very good. It fits the tone of the movie. It has some "Momento" vibes to it. If you found the music in the movie enjoyable you will like this CD.

Slowwww, low strings and ambient tension.

While the film was a letdown, the score is not. David Julyan gives the film a slow, deathly ambience with no percussion. There are moments of piano and plucked string melody here and there, but mostly the tracks move between a suspended Em chord and a C7#. It's like knowing you will not get out of the water tank this time, and resigning to it.

If you've heard Jon Brion's score for the movie "Magnolia", Julyan goes further in that direction. The music rarely changes gears, and only then very slowly, as if to mirror the obsession of the two lead characters. Hope, redemption, and forgiveness fade as illusions, distractions from the rivalry.

The abrupt cutoff of the closing track matches that of the first one: the cycle of obsession will not stop. When you invest yourself in something to the point that you cannot ever set it down, this score conveys that state of mind pretty well. The score for "The Prestige" is not a pick-me-up, but it acknowledges what can happen to human beings who make choices that lead to fewer and fewer choices down the road.

Well, as of writing this review, I have yet to see the movie but I have heard the soundtrack. I got it based on the fact that I loved David Julyan's previous scores for Memento and Insomnia (have yet to hear The Descent) so I blind purchased it. All I can say is, if you enjoyed the scores to those films then this builds upon those. It works very well on its own and doesn't sound like every other film score out there. I cannot wait to see and hear this movie! Sorry for such a lackluster review, but I don't have much to go on more than having heard the music. Enjoy folks!

Don't get me wrong, I loved the movie itself, and thought durring it that the soundtrack blended in well and fit in the places where it really came out. I also liked the songs they chose for the ending credits. UNFORTUNATELY both really do not come off the same here on the CD sountrack, and that's what I'm here to review.

First of all, don't expect to get any of the songs (such as the one durring the closing credits) that include lyrics or have any power or volume. Normaly this is not a problem for me because a lot of the time I DO like the instrumental music or "Score". But in this case I was having a hard time picking out those other songs, and this product didn't help me find them.

Secondly, the way they have arranged the instrumental music or "Score" comes off even more subtle than it does durring the film. Unless you blast the volume, you can put this CD into your player on repeate, and if you're mulit-tasking only really notice that it had been playing three hours later. The arrangments of the music into this soundtrack are rather unimpressive compaired to the way it was mixed in durring the movie.

I will give one bright side: as I said, unless you blast the volume it's very subtle and blends into the background of many tasks. So if that's what you're looking for durring a dinner party or some thing more conversational than I suppose this might work for you. But as far as plain listening value, I was very disappointed.

If you want to fall asleep in a hurry, stick the CD on.

If you want to hear any proper music, listen to something else.