Customer Reviews

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The music possesses a dark grandeur. I enjoyed the film, and still think the soundtrack may be its best element.

The CD's front cover folds out into six small pages, containing four still shots from the film, one picture of the original cast members posing in their Star Trek VI uniforms on the bridge of the Enterprise-A, and an approximately 200-word testimonial from Nicholas Meyer, the film's co-writer and director, to his wonderful working relationship with composer Cliff Eidelman. The first still shot shows an unhappy General Chang sitting in the captain's chair aboard his Bird-of-Prey. In the second shot we see Spock and Valeris at the peace conference, with Chekov and delegates in the background. In the third shot Kirk and McCoy stand trial on Chronos. The final shot shows a slightly-blurry Enterprise-A moving away from space dock at impulse.

Eidelman has produced a brooding and moody soundtrack. Almost entirely original, it fittingly contains periodic strains reminiscent of music from both Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Sad and nostalgic at times, it nonetheless finishes with triumphant music conveying what may be the ultimate Star Trek message: The human adventure is only beginning.

You don't have to be a fan of Star Trek to enjoy this music. Cliff Eidelman has composed and orchestrated, in my opinion, some of the most thrilling movie music ever to be produced to date. And I have collected a lot of it over the years. You don't believe me? Just check out the Overture, trak #3: Clear All Moorings, trak #7: Rura Penthe, trak 11: The Battle For Peace, and the final trak: Star Trek VI Suite. The music oscillates between brooding darkness and triumph of the spirit. Eidelman creatively blends and balances traditional western orchestral instrumentation with a non-lyrical chorus and a variety of what sound like African and South American percussions and pipe instruments. With each listening, I look for something that I have not previously heard. I don't even think of the movie at all(though it is an entertaining film). This work rivals the best efforts of other great movie score composers like Bernard Hermann, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith, and John Williams.

Whether you like Star Trek or not, don't pass up this opportunity to experience some tremendously creative musical composition. Whatever genre he chooses, I hope that Mr. Eidelman is still out there contributing his musical talents to whoever will listen.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - I consider this to be the best of all the Trek scores. It is much, much darker than any other (First Contact doesn't even come close) and it has that freshness that many cd's have when it is one of a composer's first efforts.

First of all, it should be noted that this cd sounds extremely close at times to "The Planets" suite bu Gustav Holst, especially to the amazing "Mars, The Bringer of War". This is not bad, especially since I like the score to the movie better. It seems more like a homage than a rip-off.

The main theme in this movie, while possibly not as epic as Goldsmith's Star Trek: The Motion Picture theme, is just as beautiful and strong. It is only used in a few tracks here, but they are great. The best use by far is the "Sign Off" sequence at the end. The music quiets down as Kirk gives his final "Captain's Log", then flows into one of the two best uses of the TV fanfare ever! This sequence is simply stunning. Spock's theme is used several places, most notably in "Assassination" with a strange, throbbing sound, which helps to bring out the other-worldly feel of the theme. It is used, interestingly, during "Escape From Rura Penthe" as the escapees travel in the arctic wastes. This usage is very beautiful and helps to bring out the emptiness of the scene. A good as these themes are, they are not used too much during the soundtrack. The Klingon theme is the heart and soul of the score. Unlike the previous Klingon tunes, this one is very dark and throbbing. It is probably the best theme in here, and it really sets the whole score appart from any other. It is used in nearly every track except for the few lighter ones. There are several motifs also, including ones for the assassins, explosions and others. They make the score even better, being woven into it all through the cd.

The best track on here is the "Overture", definitely the best Trek title and a near definite best track ever. The first time I heard it, I had only heard versions of the grand main theme and Spock's theme, and was expecting something light or brassy. The moment I heard that throbbing opening and the chilling chorus with it, I knew this score would be different. Other great parts are: "Assassination" when Spock's theme ends and the Klingon theme opens up, until the assassin's theme comes in; "Escape From Rura Penthe" - all of it, especially the arctic "helicopter" music; "The Battle for Peace" - definitely the best background track, and the best "final battle" music ever! The best part is the section leading up to the explosion of the Bird-of-Prey; "Sign Off" when Kirk reads his Captain's Log and the Enterprise sails into the sunset; and, finally, "End Title", which is long, but stupendous, weaving all the main themes together into a perfect send-off for the original crew.

This cd may not be as "epic" as The Motion Picture, or as fun as The Final Frontier (my two other favorites) but its darkness sets it apart by making it richer and more exciting. If you only buy one Trek cd, it should probably not be this one, but one you've listened to film music, this should be HIGH on your list to get. It is worth every cent it costs and the dratted computer should let me give it 6 stars. BUY IT NOW !

This score is not the equal of Goldsmith's masterwork for the original ST movie (few will ever be) or Horner's great work for "ST III" (better than his soundtrack for "ST II"), but it was an amazing effort for a 24-year-old and far, far better then Rosenman's dreadful (and inexplicably Oscar-nominated!) "ST IV." The terrific opening march sets the tone for what is easily the darkest of all ST scores. (And in response to the earlier poster who felt he ripped off Holst's "The Planets," director Nick Meyer asked him to make an opening that resembled "Mars, the Bringer of War," so don't knock him for doing so.) This soundtrack won't blow you away, but it is marvelous work for one so young and it still puzzles me that it didn't advance him to the big leagues like Horner's breakthrough effort for "ST II" did for him. Buy it!

To start off this is not your usual Star trek score from the wonderous music of Star trek we have all come to know and love from time and time again. Fisrt of all this was one of Cliff Eidelmans first composing jobs and he did and incredible job. When you pop this in your cd player don't expect the usual theme fore Star trek and don't expecxt this to be a bombastic action score. The Overture is the best track on the cd it is very dark and operatic track and track 7 Rura Penthe is dark and brooding klingon music that sends chills down my spine every time i hear it. and it also has very tender pices of music like Dining On Ashes. Also the signing off tracks are very poingient. and track 13: Star Trek Vi suite has all the themes and in one track. even though this music is dark and sometimes spine chilling it is surprsingly fitting and i think is one of the best scores for Star Trek he ranks right up there with James Horner and Jerry Goldsmith. So In conclusion go out and buy this cd because it is very good music that i think that every trekkie should have in his or hers collection.

Cliff Eidelman's score for "Star Trek VI" is the perfect score to say goodbye to the best "Trek" crew ever! With the music, you'll remember how it felt when you realized that this would be the final time that you would see Kirk, Spock, McCoy and all the others together on screen for the last time! Stands right up there with Goldsmith and James Horner! Bravo, Mr. Eidelman! Grade: A+

Cliff Eidelman's score for Star Trek VI is not your regular Star Trek movie score. Director/co-writer Nicholas Meyer decided to make the last movie with the original Star Trek crew much darker. This score has no huge majestic fanfares or overly happy cues, only dark oppressing music, with occasional noteworthy uses of foreign instrumentation. The music can be described with one word: dissonant. The ominous 6-note motif for the Klingons is almost always present and captures the fear and confusion of the movie. A slight fanfare for the Enterprise reminescent of Deep Space Nine and Voyager makes an appearance but doesn't fully appear until the very end. The opening title is the best track on the CD, utilizing the Klingon motif and building into a dark and menacing orchestral work. It is worth the price of the CD alone. "Assassination" starts off with eerily dark synthesizers and begins to become tense as the ominous 6-note motif appears during the assassination. "Rura Penthe" shows the best use of the score's tribal foreign instrumentation and includes dark male chants. "Escape From Rura Penthe" continues with the same unusual orchestration as "Rura Penthe". It also includes an echoing french horn solo as Kirk and the others journey across the frozen landscape, a brilliant effect when coupled with the movie. "Battle For Peace" marks the huge battle between the Enterprise and a cloaked Klingon Bird of Prey. Here, Eidelman cleverly has the Klingon motif strike out amist the dissonance, like the cloaked Klingon ship and is quite interesting to hear. After all the action and suspense, the score wraps up with a triumphant rendition of the Enterprise fanfare. I highly recommend this classic sci-fi score. It not only kept the line of Star Trek movie scores fresh but successfully introduced a style unheard of in the Star Trek movies.

The first thing any Star Trek fan will notice is how radically different this score is. Instead of the fast-paced, exciting, and eminently hummable themes popularized by Jerry Goldsmith, we have a brooding track that seems slow even when it really isn't. In my opinion, this soundtrack does what all of them should do (but few manage to): complete define the mood. Unlike many other movies, where the soundtrack is a secondary consideration there just to keep your ears busy when the dialogue lags, Star Trek VI really revolves around its musical accompaniment.

From the subtly exciting main title to the surprisingly alien-sounding theme for Spock (he seems to have a different one in every movie) to the thrilling conclusion - which really consists of three tracks - this is very much a musical piece which can stand on its own. In my opinion, the best Star Trek, although not always the one I most enjoy listening to.

Let me start off by saying that this remains my favorite score when it comes to Star Trek films. I think it outranks all others, which is considerable if you think about the talent that has gone into the Star Trek license over the years.

The music in the film matches the film perfectly, and I think it goes to director Nicholas Meyer for being able to choose his composers wisely so that the perfect score will be played during his films (The remaining question to be asked is why isn't he directing EVERY star trek film? ).

Something that is lost in all of this praise however, is the remarkable similarity to Holst's The planets suite. Someone once told me that Meyer had wanted to use the suite itself in the film but couldn't get the rights. Whether that is true or not, I don't know.

In the end however, this is still a piece of music that's fun to listen to. I would reccomend it to anyone who likes orchestrial scores.

This is my second favorite soundtrack{star trek II being my first} and I must say it fits the movie perfectly. The breathtaking main title is a great work of art. Eidelman paints a dark picture with his music in track 4, "assassination". It depicts the death of the klingons and the assassination of gorkon wonderfully, almost causing the scene to appear in your living room. This soundtrack is amazing and I highly recomend you buy it if you like the darker side of music.