Syriana [Import]

Alexandre Desplat (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 2, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: RCA Victor Europe
• ASIN: B000E0OCI2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #997,956 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After last year's Girl with a Pearl Earring, this CD confirms the much-deserved rise of French-born composer Alexandre Desplat in Hollywood. The success of this particular score is actually double-edged: It works wonders in the film because it never dictates the mood or imposes a viewpoint; instead, it's in such symbiosis with the images in Stephen Gaghan's political thriller that at times the music's impact is almost subliminal. That's a good thing when you watch the movie, but it also means that on its own, the CD's focus can fade in and out. Desplat tends to follow the less-showy European film-scoring model, i.e. he prefers subtlety to bloated orchestrations and tends to refrain from associating characters to musical themes. Though much of the film's action takes place in the Middle East, Desplat doesn't turn ethnic instrumentation into a cliché. And the way he instills a pervasive sense of dread on tracks such as "Driving in Geneva," "Access Denied," or "The Abduction" should be taught in film and music schools. For Desplat, less is always more. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tight, haunting, complex, June 27, 2006

By 

Sara Eff (west coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Syriana [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Audio CD)

As the product description states above, this score mirrors the film by being appropriately understated and nuanced. The title track is both melancholy and haunting, a feeling which runs through the entire soundtrack. Other parts have quite a bit of tension. One gets the feeling that there is always something bubbling under the suface here -- nothing is as it seems, which of course, is the intention of the film. Alexandre Desplat did a stellar job.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Understated Score, September 15, 2007

By 

Media Lover - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Syriana [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Audio CD)

Desplat does what few can in "Syriana," mixing the adrenaline of a John Powell score and the extremely understated compositional style of Philip Glass. With Syriana, Desplat has proven his worth as a truly contemporary film score composer, using high quality sounds and music to not only back up a film, but to actually work with it simultaniously. Even if you haven't seen the film, Desplat's score is still a work of art to be purchased and enjoyed.
Highly reccomended for avid film score listeners.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Electronica/Orchestral Score, October 17, 2009

By 

Robin Ray "redrobin62" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Syriana [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Audio CD)

Would I be considered a purist snob if I say I like my electronic separated from my orchestral stuff? This film score combines the two ala Hans Zimmer, et al. I can just picture the recording sessions in my head: Alexandre Desplat sitting in front of a synthesizer in a big recording studio alongside the Hollywood Studio Symphony awaiting cues from a conductor. Maybe he's positioned behind the first violins or in the front where a piano normally sits for a concerto. The engineer Charles F. kettering once said, "Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier." Fine. I can live with that. I've listened to Ravi Shankar's Concertos for sitar and orchestra and they're works of sheer delight. I see there is a concerto for steel pan & orchestra but I have yet to acquire it. It must be interesting. Also, if I can find a symphony or concerto that uses Turkish or Greek instruments that would also be a joy. Syriana does push the envelope a bit. Not only are you getting a symphony with electronica but you also get middle eastern percussion and flute. I guess I'll enjoy this frontier for now.