Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breathtaking!, November 21, 2000
This soundtrack CD is another of my favorite examples of how you need not necessarily have to see or remember the movie to enjoy the music. It's also the type of soundtrack which, after you have seen the movie, cries out, "Listen to me! Listen to me!" whenever your favorite scenes in the movie cross your mind."Legends of the Fall" is the first part of what I call "The Horner 90's Trilogy". That is, three film soundtracks, all composed by James Horner, all sounding vividly the same in many places, all released approximately within one year of each other. The other two parts of the Trilogy would be "Braveheart" and "Titanic." The music of "Legends" contains equal amounts of dark and light tone colors. A soft, romantic melody (written and performed by Samuel for Susannah) and an equally beautiful main theme are used to underscore the sense of family warmth and importance felt by the Ludlows before the war. Jay Ungar, famous for "Ashokan Farewell", the theme from "The Civil War" by Ken Burns, makes a notable appearance on these tracks. With World War I and everything following it, the music become distinctly darker, particularly the cues illustrating Tristan's behaviors and perilous adventures. Take note, listeners: Horner will do an excellent job of making you feel what Tristan (Brad Pitt) feels. In my honest opinion, this album is worth buying for Track 11, "Revenge" by itself. "Revenge" is a pivotal point in the film. Tristan is being released from prison for illegal transportation of wine during Prohibition and aggravated assault. During their questioning of him the arresting officers fired some warning bullets into the air---fatally striking Tristan's wife Isabella. While the music is playing, everything happens at once: two government agents are shot, Tristan stalks and kills one of the officers who shot his wife, Susannah (Julia Ormond) struggles with the fact that even though she is married to Alfred (Aidan Quinn)she still loves Tristan, cuts off her hair----and shoots herself finding the pain of a broken heart unbearable. Observant listeners will take note of the sound of this track to a simillar one on the "Braveheart" soundtrack, also called Revenge. Bottom line: this is a must for any James Horner fan, or soundtrack genre fan in general. It's simply one of Horner's best.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Legends of the Fall is absolutely incredible..., December 6, 1999
I am a serious film soundtrack collector. Some people call me an "audiophile." This album would be one of my top five, no matter what. I have had it for about two years, and my love for it has only increased with every listen. This summer, I went adventuring in Colorado for eight days in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. My hiking friend, who was escorting me through the state, had a CD player in his Jeep. We listened to many of my soundtracks. This one was hands down, we both decided, the perfect fit to the bone jarring majesty and beauty that confronts one in the solitude of the Rocky Mountains. Buy this CD, it is incredible. One warning: any listening to this score during moments of true grief or sadness is guaranteed to produce tears (unless you fight that sort of thing.) I happened to turn this score on after I lost a good friend once, and I couldn't believe what it did to me. There is a depth of feeling and emotion in this 70+ minute score that lasts from beginning to end, without ever becoming boring or repetitive. By the way, this review is also entirely independent of the film (I've never seen it.) This soundtrack is also known to many people who are not into this type of music, or don't listen to any "classical" music. I've had heavy metal heads tell me they liked this score. The themes develop throughout the CD, and culminate in an awesome London Symphony Orchestra display of musical brilliance in the last track. Pay special attention to tracks 1-4, 12 & 13. For one of the most intense musical contrasts between chaos and tranquility I've ever heard, listen to track five and the ensuing transition that the beginning of track six provides. One of the greatest film scores, if not pieces of music, ever written. And by the way, if the James Horner haters tell you it is like Dances With Wolves, they are talking about all of about 40 seconds in one track. IMHO, there is no real similarity there anyway.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I need more stars, January 20, 1999
By A Customer
Well, to be a naysayer, James Horner can do wrong. Not often. But there are those scores with which I'm sure he doesn't leave lying around on the coffee table. But when he's on, HE'S ON.James Horner is one of the few composers I love who is not afraid to hit and miss. He tries new things. His "Commando" was neat and worked for the film which is, I guess, the mandatory goal of any score. And I cannot think of a single James Horner score that did not work for it's film, but there are those scores of his that are simply BREATHTAKING. "Legends of the Fall," is breathtaking. Pan flutes echo the damning sorrows of the Ludlow family as their lives move into and out of Tristan's tragic world. "What we had is dead, as I am dead. Marry another," writes Tristan backdropped by Horner's sorrow filled strings. Edward Zwick first collaborated with Horner on his moving and passionate "Glory." I never thought these two could outdo themselves. And they haven't. But "Legends of the Fall" is flawless in it's own right, a perfect anastomosis of pain and redemption, sweeping and yet very personal. Horner has written some passionate gems such as, "The Rocketeer," "Braveheart," "Star Trek II," and the forever lost "Krull." He is an unbelievable composer who finally seems to be receiving these well-deserved accolades. He can occasionally recycle themes, but he continues to succeed in intertwining old and new to create some of the greatest film scores I've ever heard.
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~ James Horner
~ John Barry
~ John Barry
~ Thomas Newman
by James Horner 
