Pi (Symbol) [SOUNDTRACK]

Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1998, Clint Mansell

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 21, 1998)
• Original Release Date: July 10, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Thrive
• ASIN: B000009MZW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,240 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The soundtrack to the cyberthriller Pi stands on its own as a fine compilation, and fans of the artists featured on this soundtrack will be delighted to hear solid offerings from the likes of Aphex Twin, Massive Attack, Spacetime Continuum, David Holmes, Orbital, and a mix of Roni Size's "Watching Windows" by Ed Rush and Optical. Those who have seen the film but are unfamiliar with the artists will be happily exposed to great music and should enjoy this incredibly cohesive, thematic piece. Even artists like Gus Gus and Banco De Gaia fit perfectly into this mix. The music is as complicatedly paranoid as the film's protagonist, Max Cohen, and as rhythmic and precise as the film's antagonist--the numeric system. Cohen's dialogue is interspersed through the soundtrack for a nice touch. --Aaron Tassano

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping!, July 10, 1999

By	Ilker Yucel ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

"PI" was certainly one of the strangest films I had ever seen, and I am a fan of strange movies. I have seen all of David Lynch's movies, so when a friend told me that "PI" was like Lynch's "Eraserhead," that piqued my curiosity. I picked up a copy and thought "migraine headache instigated by intense lighting, complex evocative story, and excellent assembly all throughout." The movie was a harsh experience for me...so much that I watched it twice a day for a week just to sink it in.

What gripped me most besides the visuals was the music. For a film as eccentric as this, the soundtrack is just as erratic. Who would have thought that a deeply philosophical message could be conveyed through danceable ambient electronica? I certainly didn't, and I was very impressed.

Clint Masnell's music is some of the best score music I have ever heard for a film. The combination of songs by Massive Attack, Orbital, Aphex Twin, Roni Size...all giants in the field of modern electronic music. Their music just evokes the raw emotions of tension and insanity of the movie through a sheer beauty of sound. I'd go so far as to say this was a better soundtrack than that for "The Matrix." Definitely one of the finest assembled soundtrack albums of all time. Hear the madness, share in the mayhem, buy this soundtrack!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Electronica soundtrack you'll ever find., July 23, 2002

By	Go Bulldogs (Fresno State University, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Insane electronic music is what i call it. The soundtrack is just as trippy as the film was. The Clint Mansell dialouge really takes you back to Pi with his ambitious saying, "there are patterns in everyday nature." Some tracks begin with a dialouge by the crazed character, then the music begins. By far the Aphex Twin track, "Bucephalus bouncing ball," is the most amazing. You can actually feel the vibrations coming out of your speakers. The whole track is the sound of a ball bouncing making rhythmic sounds. Its incredibly done. Other amazing acts include Massive Attack with their song, "Angel," taken from their Mezzanine album, the trip-hop group Gus Gus, and the electronic groups Autechre, Orbital and Roni Size Reprasent. The album should be listened to as a whole to get the full effect. You'll feel like your inside Max Cohen's head and about to explode. Its a great listen to in the dark, when your driving, and when your on your computer. Do yourself a favor and don't pass this up. It can change your life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MMM...Pi, February 5, 2000

By	Greg Keen (London, UK) - See all my reviews

Unlike most soundtracks, this album manages to seamlessly mix music produced especially for the film with licenced tracks. Whats more the original tracks outshine most of the old stuff on here by a long way. The first three tracks fit together so well you barely notice the joins and the whole first half races by. The second half tales off slightly with only the Clint mansell tracks standing out. This album acts as a good sampler for the artists featured on it and has led to me buying more stuff by Autechre, Aphex Twin and Roni Size. However I would say it should be lisened to before you buy it as most of my friends refuse to be in the same room as it, even though they are electronic music fans.