Customer Reviews

Stargate: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

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This stands as one of the great scores of the 1990s. Sweeping, majestic, haunting, and full of big themes. There's a "romantic" quality to this score that's virtually non-existent in film music these days. Just about every track on this CD transports you to another world - an accomplishment matched only by John William's scores for the Star Wars movie.

I own nearly 100 soundtracks, and this is the one I listen to the most. It's the reason people collect scores in the first place. (But sadly, Arnold never matched this in his later scores).

The tracks herein correspond exactly to those in the Special Edition DVD version of the film - none of that 're-recorded to get a musically superior version' nonsense. The tracks correspond to their order in the film, with one exception. A few isolated musical passages are omitted as separate tracks, usually because they're extracts from longer sequences elsewhere. I'll indicate which parts of the film correspond to each track, to help people decide for themselves what they'll be getting out of this CD.

"Stargate Overture" - The opening credits, complete with the 'growling' FX.

"Giza, 1928" - In the theatrical release, this immediately follows the overture, but with the volume so low that initially it's hard to hear. It ends with the cut from Giza to Daniel's lecture.

"Unstable" covers O'Neil's introduction, but begins in the preceding scene with the cheerful 5-note ripple as Catherine hands Daniel his travel plans.

"The Coverstones" skips the march as the camera first pans up to Creek Mountain, but begins as Daniel first enters the coverstones' room during the meet & greet, ending as he spots the chalkboard translation (omitting the little flourish accompanying his corrections).

"Orion" omits the short, isolated musical phrase covering the cut to Daniel's taped notes, beginning when Daniel marks up the 'borrowed' newspaper's star chart, ending as Catherine introduces West.

"The Stargate Opens" begins with West's "Show him", ending as the probe is sent through (not including the creepy passage as the robot approaches the gate).

"You're On the Team" begins as West adds Daniel to the team, ending as his travel allergies kick in again. :)

"Entering the Stargate" begins as the team enters the Stargate room on the Creek Mountain end, ending in the cacophony accompanying the actual ride through the gate.

"The Other Side" doesn't include the march cadence as the team members light their flares and spread out, but begins just before they step outside, ending with Daniel's...overview...of the pyramid. :)

"Mastadge Drag" - All the way from 'It's domesticated!' to...well, ick. But being slobbered over by a mastadge *does* beat being dead. (I can't listen to this without a smile, dramatic steeple-chasing format notwithstanding.)

"The Mining Pit" begins after the team catches up with Daniel, ending as they actually enter the mining complex. It's built around the basic Stargate theme, shifted to a minor key. This, after all, is the price of the glittering stargate technology.

"King of the Slaves" begins with O'Neil's handshake, ending with the arrival of Kasuf, the village chief.

"Caravan to Nagada" spans the trip from the pit to Nagada, ending upon their arrival, before the eye-of-Ra scene. (The 'live' music of the feast isn't included).

"Daniel and Shauri" - After the, er, initial misunderstanding, this picks up when the two exchange names, ends as he asks her to show him the Earth symbol. (Part of this track is also used during their second misunderstanding, after the Nagada kids' rescue of O'Neil's team.)

The Anubis ambush isn't a separate track.

"Symbol Discovery" begins as Shauri leads Daniel into the hidden caves of hieroglyphic records, but isn't played as one continuous passage in the film.

"Sarcophagus Opens" picks up as the prisoners are dragged before the sarcophagus, incorporating a brief extract from Ra's theme before the crescendo as Ra's hand emerges.

"Daniel's Mastadge" - 'I guess the word 'dweeb' doesn't mean anything to you guys, does it?'

Daniel's narration of the hieroglyphic record of the rebellion is accompanied by Ra's theme in the film, but that particular recording is not included as a separate track on the CD.

Beginning with the discovery of the cartouche lacking the seventh symbol, "Leaving Nagada" continues as the team leaves the village to return to base camp, ending with their transfer to Ra's ship.

"Ra - The Sun God" - The full-orchestra version of Ra's theme - the funereal march accompanying our first clear look at Ra as he enters his throne room.

"The Destruction of Nagada" corresponds to the air strike on the village. The music doesn't begin until the attack is nearly over, covers the devastation, and ends with the cut back to the pyramid.

"Myth, Faith, and Belief" accompanies Daniel's conversation with Ra on the special edition, and in a chopped-up version in the theatrical release version, although the dialogue that made the song title appropriate isn't in either version of the film. (It *is* in the novelization, though - Ra's fundamental tools for controlling a population that so greatly outnumbers his guards.)

"Procession" incorporates Ra's theme again, accompanying the public execution that doesn't follow his script, ending with the mirror. :) It's followed immediately by "Slave Rebellion" - a more serious version of "Mastadge Drag".

Daniel's confrontation with O'Neil, "We Don't Want to Die", is included, but isn't in order. Ra's torture of his guards is accompanied only by a standard extract from Ra's theme, so it isn't a separate track.

Daniel identifies "The Seventh Symbol" after watching the boy sketching the day of victory.

"Quartz Shipment" begins with Ra's order to send the bomb down to the Stargate, as he keeps an eye on the approaching caravan, ending with 'How ya doin'?" :) "Battle at the Pyramid" begins not as the shooting starts, but as Kawalsky realizes that the team's cover has been blown, ending with Nabeh's fall.

"The Surrender" - Kowalsky's attempt to save the lives of his people after their ammo runs out.

"Kasuf Returns" covers the village chief's final return to the pyramid, with all his friends.

"Going Home" covers the closing scene, from the final explosion to The End. :)

One of the best parts of the sci-fi adventure film "Stargate" was David Arnold's superb musical score. Arnold's music is true to the film's concept, which blends science fiction gadgetry with motifs inspired by ancient Egypt; the music thus combines the flavor of classic space opera scores (like "Star Wars") with great biblical epic scores (like "Ben-Hur" or "The Ten Commandments").

The CD opens with the outstanding "Stargate Overture," a rich, romantic composition with ominous shadings. The CD as a whole is an excellent balance of militaristic, gentle, rousing, exotic, and just plain fun passages. Particularly impressive is "Ra -- The Sun God," which builds to a seductive yet horrific crescendo. Highly recommended for fans of great film scoring.

The original motion picture soundtrack to the movie Stargate is fabulous. I am a big fan of Stargate and the music by David Arnold is quite breathtaking and enjoyable to watch. The CD from the very first opening song to the last song is stunning. The music comes from the movie and highlights the plot and cast reactions.

A great soundtrack for a wonderfully made movie. I suggest any fan of the movie or corresponding series get this CD for you won't be disapointed

This was David Arnold's score that got him into the big time. In short, it is absolutely outstanding. "Stargate Overture" begins with ominous sounding orchestral music, leading to an epic 7 note motif, which leads into a chorus chanting in a language that I can't understand. "Giza, 1928" begins with Egyptian-like sounds and tom-toms, reminding me somewhat of Jerry Goldsmith's The Mummy. This then leads to an incredible choral section, which is one of those film music moments that really stands out. "Orion" and "You're On The Team" contains military march based strings and percussion. "The Stargate Opens" is another incredible cue with lots of great orchestral things going on. "Entering the Stargate" starts out lovely and then segues into ominous string passages, leading up to going in the stargate. "Mastadge Drag" is a quick tempo version of the main theme that is fun and adventurous at the same time. "The Mining Pit" contains a great male voice choir and "Caravan to Nagada" contains a wonderful rendition of the main theme after a huge gong crash. "Leaving Nagada" contains heavy percussion and "Battle At The Pyramid" is a great action cue. "Going Home" ends the score with one, final rendition of the main theme ending in a powerful fashion. The first half of the score really stands out, while the middle section drags somewhat, and the finale is tremendous. A highly recommended score!

There are plot holes in *Stargate* through which you could pilot a fleet of galumphing great Doc-Smithian space dreadnaughts, and I know I *should* be making snotty comments left, right, and center, but.... Oh, hell. It's guilty pleasure time. The writing, the acting, the direction, the scenery, and the music -- *especially* the music -- make this the sort of movie I can and do watch repeatedly. Moreover, I write for a living, and the soundtrack of *Stargate* is hellacious good writin' music. If you're the kind of science fiction fan who appreciates skillful facilitation of your willing suspension of disbelief, and you're a "sense of wonder" junkie (like me), both the film and this soundtrack belong in your own personal store of guilty pleasures.

You know you have a great and memorable score when you see trailers for other movies use it to promote their flicks. This undoubtedly is David Arnold's magnum opus. It's sweeping music is reminicent of John Williams and Maurice Jarre. A romantic and epic score that turned a rather pedestrian sci fi flick into something a little more. The academy should have given it some recognition. Shameful.

I like this soundtrack very much!Especially 2 songs: "Ra - the Sun God" and "Myth, Faith, Belief".

A lot of the success of the feature film should be attributed to this soundtrack. It ends up more memorable than the film itself. A must have! Definitely filled with many great pieces.

The song list appears to be rather: this is not entirely the case. While there are many songs on this CD that are substantial, many are rather short. Often these short pieces would be cut from a soundtrack album: it is commendable that they were included, even considering their length.

Overall, a great purchase for fans of good music (even if they don't like sci-fi, or the movie). No sci-fi synth effects here!

Since I first heard this soundtrack, I can't stop listening to it. Amazing music! Also the TV series' music is very good (same theme)!