Miller's Crossing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK]

Carter Burwell

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 1990)
• Original Release Date: October 17, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B0000014RV
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,295 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
Greatest motion picture of the 1990s? This is it: Joel and Ethan Coen's intricately plotted Irish gangster picture, Miller's Crossing. Carter Burwell has been the Coen's composer of choice since the very beginning (Blood Simple), and this is his most memorable score. The movie and its characters are hard-boiled, pretty tough nuts to crack, but this haunting music (in the same autumnal brown, green, and gray tones as the visuals) lets you know there's a lot more going on beneath the surface. If "Danny Boy" gives you goosebumps (and the version here, gloriously sung by Frank Patterson, surely will), then Burwell's orchestral titles theme will have you putting on a sweater. Jazz-band versions of "King Porter Stomp" and "Runnin' Wild" brighten the mood a bit, but it's the other music that stays with you. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for quality, 3 for length, February 13, 2004

By	G. Faville "gfav611" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

The other reviews do a commendable job of recommending this fine score, there's not much to add but a couple of quick notes.

A note on the beer commercial thing: the other reviewer was simply commenting that the theme was also used in a commercial, not that it originated there. This beautiful theme has been used over and over again in movie trailers for other films, it's that good. If I remember correctly, it was even used in the trailer for Shawshank Redemption, but I could be wrong.

A note on length: the album is only about 30 minutes long, and the theme is repeated within that quite frequently. There are some great moments on this disc, but I would maybe question a full price for the length.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burwell's Best, June 13, 2000

By	F. Araujo "The old dude" (Sacramento, CA , USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This CD rocks. It is just merely excellent. The track from the Coen's brother's darkest film breathe deeply along with the superb storyline and excellent acting. The OST starts with the haunting melody from the Lament for Limerick, titled the Long Way Around in the film, and grows all through to the closing credits. The additional pieces from Frank Patterson's Danny boy to an old McCormick's Come Back to Erin [in the film but not on the CD] are great. The old 30's numbers add spice and color to make this one of my favorite movie OST. Being an oboist, I'd love to get my hands on his arrangements of the opening titles and recreate the haunting arrangement of this truly imaginative composer. I highly recommend this CD. There's not a single soft spot on it. If you liked the film, you'll love this CD. Buy it! you'll be glad you did.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WHY THE MILLER'S CROSSING SOUNDTRACK IS ESSENTIAL..., May 27, 2002

By	VICTOR (sunny FLORIDA, USA) - See all my reviews

This album doesn't "rock", nor is it "like, really cool." It is however, one of the moodiest, most evocative film scores of the nineties. Carter Burwell again partners with the acclaimed writing/directing/producing Coen brothers to present a perfect accompaniment to their stylish, dark and brooding portrayal of 1920's gangsterism in "some dirty eastern city." The film does incorporate one of the most overused, but here, beautifully mounted versions of the Irish standard "Danny Boy" into the soundtrack, but the film's wonderfully melancholy opening theme may possibly now have been used in more modern movie trailers than any other music. Yes, we all know that it's also been used in a beer ad, but Gabriel Byrne himself told me at the 2001 Florida Film Fest in Orlando that it's actually a beloved and traditional Irish standard titled "Limerick's Lament" and that he actually had a lot of influence on the Coen's and Burwell's eventual changing of the soundtrack to an Irish flavor. If you're like me and are a huge fan of this, one of THE BEST Coen brothers films, not owning the soundtrack to it is like enjoying a sumptuous meal prepared by wonderfully expert and gifted hands, and skipping the dessert...the experience is simply incomplete.