Customer Reviews

Trinity and Beyond Motion Picture Soundtrack CD

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here's a BOOMING score that's akin to Prokofiev's "Alexander Nevsky", and SO much more!

I was blown away while watching "The Atomic Bomb Movie" narrated by William Shatner on TV. Aside from the awesome spectacle of seeing atom and hydrogen bombs flair up into mushroom clouds, the score-- the score really put the show over the top! I love bomb-basting scores that really have oomph in them and this one is a kicker!

It was so powerfully locked within my mind that years later when I searched for the DVD, I did so for the sole purpose of listening to the heart-pounding score. To my delight, the DVD had a feature where you could listen to the score on its own (that alone tells you how much this score rocks). My only disappointment was that I couldn't burn the pieces to a CD. How I would love to take this CD on the road, listening to it in my car having a power-trip! Well, to my supreme delight, the producers were smart enough to sell the CD by itself!

Here it is in all its glory-- don't miss this one! 5 BIG stars!

I am by no means a classical music expert, but this music tells as much of the story of the evolution of the atomic bomb as the movie does. Whoever teamed up William Stromberg and the makers of this movie hit it out of the park. I highly recommend the movie too, it's not preachy and covers the history like a true documentary with very intense footage. Narrated by my hero, William Shatner. I was fortunate enough to see it in HD and WOW! The music only makes it better, Classical Thunder move over!!!

I must admit, I've listened to a lot of music and a lot of soundtracks but few have come close to matching the the specticle displayed on the screen so perfectly. Stromberg's score created a very powerfull sense of menace and doom. It really brought out a sense of poignancy and the music coupled with the terrible images of atomic bombs and people dieing in the fallout of Hiroshima had me almost in tears. Films and music like this don't get enough recognition so this it one review the score thouroughly deserves!

I'd have never guessed.

I first saw "Trinity and Beyond" on TLC back in 1997 (between sixth and seventh grade.) I fell in love with it immediately, thanks in no small part to William Stromberg's moving, passionate score. But more on that later:

::THE MOVIE::
During that particular period in my life, I was very much intrigued by atomic and hydrogen bombs, but this film pushed my intrest into an obsession. I brought it to school and treated my friends to a screening years before the chemistry teacher would make it an annual event. I researched on these weapons and nuclear physics and was quickly becoming an expert on the subject. (I would stop friends in the hallway and drop factoids one moment and quiz them the next, and if anybody genuinely wanted to know, I'd talk their ears off until they gave up in the face of my feriority.) I actually wanted to build one of those Goddamned devices; my parents were called when someone went in my backpack and found instructions, as well as eavesdropping on my search for lithium-6 distributors.

If you think about it, atomic and hydrogen bombs can be seen as the ultimate form of masturbation that man has yet devised. Period. I don't think I have to emphasise my point any further (Stanley Kubrick has already done that, handily) but suffice it to say that it was one of my age group's favorite pastimes. I was all too awed by the raw cosmic power and brutality of these weapons, almost to the point of wanting to participate in these most sophomoric experiments in mass destruction. I have since matured in my views, and the movie has a bit as well (the DVD has some extra footage and public service films that add more of a feeling of tragedy and or pathos to a picture that mostly consists of watching things go "BOOM" for two hours. Can you blame me?)

::THE SCORE::
What can I say? "TandB" has one of the most beautiful and powerful scores I've ever heard from a movie, let alone a documentary. I had to order mine directly from VCE, and it took literally months for it to arrive, but damn if that wasn't one of the best days of my life. After hastily breaching the shrinkwrap and fondling the jewel case with all five senses to make myself sure of its existence, I popped in the CD, slipped on my headphones, and set sail for the heart of the Dark Sun--- and my cockamamie Discman couldn't get past the TOC, so I threatened to smack it with a hammer (while I actually turned off the shock protection) and it finally capitulated and played my shiny new disc.

I was surprised and disconcerted by the inclusion of leftover parts of the score (the tracks "Russia Gets the Bomb" and the original version of "Operation Ranger-Able"-- which in the film was the latter half of "Operation Hardtack, Teak, and Orange.") Those tracks eventually grew on me, and I both admire their strength and recognize why the director might have left them out of the film--- they call a bit too much attention to themselves. A welcome surprise was the full version of the track "Thor Missiles." This, I read, is Peter Kuran's favorite cue, and it's one of the more somber cues on the album, but be forewarned... it'll make you turn up the volume before it finally blows your speakers. I especially enjoy the last three cues, "Thor Missiles" included, "Christmas Island Tests," possibly the most beautiful track on the album, but way too short, and "China Gets The Bomb," the finale and recapitulation of the sinister, bombastic "Hiroshima/Nagasaki Requiem" Theme (which you may have heard in the trailers for X2.) 'Tis a great album, this. I've never heard of William Stromberg or John Morgan, or Lennie Moore or Edgardo Simone before TandB, and I wonder why, because these guys and the titanic MSO could go toe-to-toe with anyone in Hollywood. I'm baffled.

William Stromberg chilling and goosebumps inducing score is a rare instant where it's the music that completely makes a movie, much like Basil Poledouris who turned b-movies like 'Conan the Barbarian' and 'RoboCop' into earth shattering success. A strong percussive base with an equally strong brass and string support give greatest imprint of the purest horror and terror of nuclear proliferation, more so then James Cameron's nuclear nightmare sequence in 'Terminator 2' which is considered to be the most realistic depiction of a thermonuclear strike in any visual medium.

This OST will leave the most harden man on the brink of tears.

Soundtrack to Documentary of same-Chilling Orchestral score in the style of Prokofiev and/or Shostakovich. Most Excellent! Thank you Mr. Stromberg!

First off, it seems like the disc I received is like that of the other reviewer where the actual track count on the disc is not the same as the one listed on the insert. All the songs are still there, however. As a bonus, my CD came with a duplicate insert autographed by William Stromberg and John Morgan! Well, I'm guessing it's authentic, I have no idea. Pretty cool, at any rate!

About the music:
This outstanding soundtrack is one that you can listen to over and over without getting tired of it. I have a hard time describing music in a technical sense, so I'll just say that it sounds like classical music that came from the 1950's and 60's, but in a VERY GOOD WAY. It draws a strong emotional response from me which is the best experience I could get from any music. You really feel like you stepped back in time (for us young folks, anyway). Sorry for generic/non-technical review; I just have to say it's a great soundtrack and I love it!

I started writing this review, and then I deleted it and started over. Then I did it again. And again. I give up. I simply can't figure out how to say what I want to say. I love this score. There is no better music for watching atomic bombs explode.

On a side note, there seems to be a screw-up somewhere, on my CD at least. The track listing shows 26 tracks, with a run time of 57:37. My CD has 24 tracks, but still with a run time of 57:37. I think everything is there, so it's no big deal.

I am a fan of "Trinity and Beyond." I believe that it is an incredible production, and I laud Peter Kuran, who I freely credit with inspiring my choice of Doctoral Dissertation. Of course, no great piece of film can be complete without an excellent score. This one is superb and I highly recommend it to any and all. It accomplishes what William Stromberg set out to do: impart a feeling of beauty, tension, and horror to the story of the development of nuclear weapons. I am very pleased to have it in my collection - a fusion of Holst's "The Planets" in some places, "Carmina Burana" in others - someone else added "Alexander Nevsky" in there as well. Heartily agreed!

Buy it - it is a wonderful piece of music (and don't be scared to watch the movie either - it is some great stuff!).

I watched this movie the other night on HDTV.

The visuals were stunning and the score was magnificant.

It reminded me of the old Victory at Sea series (NBC 1952-53) which featured music composed by Richard Rogers and performed by the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra.

I was hoping the Trinity soundtrack was available on CD, and, fortunately, it is...