Customer Reviews

The X-Files: Fight The Future - Original Motion Picture Score

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the third soundtrack I bought, after "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World," when I started building my film score collection over three years ago. I only had to listen to it one time, and I was hooked. Mark Snow not only hit a homerun with this soundtrack, he hit the ball clear out of the stadium.

I really didn't know what to expect from this CD when I bought it. Being a hardcore X-Files fan, I bought it the same day I first saw it. I knew from watching the TV series that Snow had the ability to create some great music ("Colony"/"End Game" and "Nisei"/"731" and "Gethsemane"/Redux I & II"); however, I also knew that he wasn't great all the time. But when I popped this CD into my CD player, I knew as soon as the orchestra struck the opening notes that it was going to be unlike anything I had ever heard from Snow before. And what I heard I liked.

This score contains 24 tracks of, in my humble opinion, Snow's best work. Not only does he use his standard synthesizer type music, but he also integrates an 80-piece orchestra into the framework as well. This gives the score such an incredible and unique depth that it can only be appreciated upon listening to it. All 68 minutes of it.

I hadn't even seen the movie yet before I had purchased the soundtrack, and for some reason this has always worked for me. I can usually tell by the quality of the score whether or not I will enjoy the movie, and this perfectly parallels with the movie in every regard. The music is haunting when it needs to be; it's sweet when it needs to be; and it's pulsing with intensity when it needs to be. Snow did have, after all, four years of practice before he ever set out making this score, so it's not like he was just winging it.

In short, I love this score. There is not one bad track on the entire CD, and that in and of itself is a rarity for a movie soundtrack. I'm pretty sure most X-Philes will be pleased, but I also think film score buffs will like it as well.

Kudos to Mark Snow for creating such a great piece of work. Here's hoping his work on the second X-Files movie (if there is one) is just as good, if not better, than the first.

I've had this album for well over a year now and find myself going back to it constantly. Mark Snow has done a beautiful job working and reworking the haunting X-Files theme and expanding it with a more traditional orchestral sound. He thankfully resisted synths for the most part and the fuller and richer sound traditional instruments give it really elicit the romance I often find in the TV series. The romance I'm talking about is the romance of adventure and discovery rather than anything erotic. Snow's score retains the mystery of the series, but the movie has allowed him to reach further and deeper into his repetoire. The results are often epic. For some reason this score reminds of Jerry Goldsmith's excellent music for "The Wind And The Lion". Both have a soaring quality about them that I find intoxicating (albeit Snow's work here is more subtle). All the tracks are complete pieces unto themselves. None of them sound like bits of scoring that some scores are composed of. This is one of my favorite scores of the decade.

Allow me to say this much, Mark Snow is pure composing genius. How many people do YOU know could create such beautiful resounding melodies. I'm listening it now, and all I have to say is that it's brilliant. Well, that's not all I have to say, but it is one thing. It's hauntingly profound and deep. A strong beat when necessary (Threnody in X) or a decided lack of it when it's not (Stung Kissing/Cargo Hold). And while I'm on those two songs, ANY, be it original, remix, or rewrite, X-Files Theme is, and forever shall be, my favorite. Threnody in X just happens to be at the top of my list. And everytime I hear Stung Kissing/Cargo Hold (love the oboe and harp solos, by the way) I'm reminded of the poignant and touching (did I mention heartfelt?) scene in which our heroes ALMOST made it to that ultimate happiness of blissful love confessions (darn Africanized Honey Bees, always getting in the way of a good love scene!). So anyway, if you actually read all of this, you'll see I'm such a diehard Shipper and true music fan and X-Phile to the core, that I naturally love this. I would love it anyway because the music is sooooo great! But anywho, you've read my personal thoughts on the matter, why don't you post your own! If you actually could stand me this long, I congratulate you on your achievment! Good day!

I don't as a general rule go around buying movie scores, but my X-Files addiction has led me to purchase many types of things over the years I would not have considered buying otherwise. This CD is, of course, the score of the X-Files Fight the Future movie, and I must say it really is a powerful recording that poignantly and sometimes vividly evokes the types of feelings one would normally experience only in viewing the movie or the television show themselves. This score truly has the sound and feel of the X-Files and manages to suggest quite powerfully not just moods and feelings but size, grandeur, and other more reality-based concepts. No matter how much acclaim is bestowed upon X-Files composer Mark Snow for his essential work, it is not enough to truly convey the important contributions he made to both the show and this feature film. This film score is quite different from the earlier released CD The Truth and the Light: Music From the X-Files, although both showcase the fine work of Mark Snow. Where the earlier CD, drawing its compositions from a number of shows produced in the first two seasons, resulted in significant differences at times between successive tracks, this film score flows quite consistently from one track to another, thereby communicating a much more unified message in the aggregate. The earlier album also featured interspersed bits of dialogue from the primary actors, while this score is all about the music. I am not authority on music, so I cannot identify the nuances and subtly ingenious craftsmanship Mark Snow brought to bear on this project, but I can say that this CD is a joy to listen to and can easily fit the bill if you are seeking a calming influence after a hard day's or a non-distracting background against which to read or study.

I'll be honest -- I was convinced to buy this CD after reading some reviews here at Amazon.com. Now, after having purchased the CD and listened to it, I'm glad I did so. It seems to be unanimous that the first track, Thernody in X, is the predominant highlight of the film score; I must concur. I also agree that the background quality of this music, while generally not comparable to the more popular film music (i.e., Star Wars or Indiana Jones), is satisfying, to say the least, and at times exciting. As someone who's read these reviews and bought the track, I recommend it to those of you who want non-classical background music (for whatever reason - work, studying, typing, etc.) or who enjoy instrumental scores that are over an hour long (I think my CD player read that this CD is 67 minutes). Overall, while this isn't the *best* soundtrack I've ever heard, I'll admit I'm impressed and happy with my purchase.

Mark Snow's music, his creepy violins and jarring percussion, is true X-Files sound. The music is different from the TV show, grander, and works well as a companion to the movie. Threnody In X, the reworking of the theme (most of which can be heard as Mulder and Scully drive through Texas after the "phantom tanker trucks"), and Pod Monster Suite are great examples of this, as well as the best tracks on the CD. As a stand-alone score, The X-Files doesn't have the musical value of, say, Star Wars, but it contains great mood music and is quite lovely all the same. Fun additions are the appropriately kooky track titles (Goop, Soda Pop, Stung Kissing, Pod Monster Suite). All in all, this is a very lush, moody, worthwhile CD.

This Cd is fantastic. It takes you to the world of The X-Files and back again. I would definitely recommend this to everyone who loves The X-Files. Mark Snow is a fabulous composer and I only wish more of his work was put on the markets. This is a must have CD.

Evidently you can see I m a fan of the x files. When the movie came out I was in bunches. Personally I think the musical score is always better then the various performers soundtrack. In the score you can get more of a taste of the awesomenis that is the x files. This soundtrack is really fun to listen to, it has the dramatic tunes, to the suspensful tracks of Mulder's wild adventure to the arctic. If your a fan of the show, you shouldn't be listening to me and buy it already. If your not a fan, this soundtrack is still the cream of the crop, pick it up.

This is a wonderful cd. I would recommend it to anyone. My favorite track is 'Threnody in X',a variation on the XF theme. 'Soda Pop', 'Crossroads' and 'Facts' are also really good. Let me just say that Mark Snow is a composing genius. He did an amazing job here. This is my favorite cd. I highly recommend it to all music lovers and especially XF fans.

"The X-Files Original Motion Picture Score" by Mark Snow is some of the best film music ever made. He transports us into a dark and gothic world with sounds that I have heard no other composer create. Snow is a genius in musical composition. He understands moods, feelings, and the power of visual images. Here it outdoes himself from the stuff he makes on the TV show. "The X-Files" score is music that is both beautiful but dark. Exciting and moody. I just love all the sounds in here! Mark Snow is one of the greatest composers there has ever been. He understands how to blend a live orchestra with electronic music and the result is breathtaking!