The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score [SOUNDTRACK]

Don Davis

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 4, 1999)
• Original Release Date: May 4, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B00000IPSD
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,798 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Musically avant-garde elements have been utilized in film scores for decades, usually as shock elements to denote horror or the otherworldly. In recent times, modern composer Philip Glass has enjoyed varying degrees of success adapting his minimalist techniques to film scoring. Given that background, Don Davis's powerful, innovative score to the Wachowski brothers' 1999 sci-fi hit The Matrix has all the makings of a landmark. Utilizing his extensive interest and training in the avant-garde, Davis has composed what's been touted as the first "New York school postmodern" film score, a jarring departure from his hugely successful work as an orchestrator of such populist fare as Titanic, Pleasantville, A Bug's Life, and Toy Story. The Matrix weds Davis's mastery of musical detail and coloration to a largely atonal postmodern concerto that's complex, dark, and unrelenting. Many film scores have driven tonal writing and heroic motifs into the ground; Davis's deft, sparing use of them here places them in stark, effective relief. The Matrix offers up a rewarding orchestral challenge that may just be a decade--or two--ahead of its time. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 30 Minutes of Modern Orchestral Power, May 17, 1999

By A Customer

Don Davis's score to "The Matrix" is fantastic -- a modern, challenging, exciting work that's reminiscent of the work of Elliot Goldenthal ("Demolition Man" and "Interview With A Vampire" come to mind), and John Adams ("Harmonielehre," especially the horn clusters.) If you're not afraid of some modern orchestral dissonance, then it's a dynamite listen.

(FYI... Yes, the CD is short, but bear in mind that the 30-minute length is caused largely by the high score re-use rates charged by the American Federation of Musicians. For film scores recorded in the U.S. by union orchestras, you have to buy music in 15-minute blocks, and pay each member of the orchestra a specific rate, per block of music. For big, U.S.-recorded scores, it adds up quickly, and unless the score is "Titanic" or "Star Wars," it's difficult for record companies to recoup their costs, since there aren't that many hard-core film music collectors in the world. Just be thankful that the CD is a nice representation of the score as heard in the film. If you couple it with Tracks 2, 4, 6 and 13 from "The Matrix" song album, and the Enigma track used in the trailer, you have a solid representation of the music from the film.)

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short but sweet, January 14, 2000

By	Christopher M Davis (Winchester, VA) - See all my reviews

Love it or hate it, Don Davis' rousing score for the 1999 megahit "The Matrix" definitely makes a statement, as well as raises the standard by which other scores in this genre will henceforth be judged. Utilizing the so-called "minimalist" technique, Davis has created a nearly perfect musical landscape for the film, managing to run the full gamut from all-out action music to soft, almost haunting, passages, his seeming fondness for the occasional use of blaring, dischordant instruments providing a fitting musical expression of the strange and nightmarish realities of the Matrix. The only real complaint I have about the score album is its length (30 minutes of music from a 2-hour movie?), plus the fact that several of the better cues are conspicuously absent. Indeed, the overall presentation of this CD suggests that it was a largely obligatory release, which is unfortunate considering what a remarkable score this is. Hopefully Warner Bros. will consider a more comprehensive release in the future. Bottom line: if you can get this CD at a price befitting its 30-minute length, it'll make a solid - if somewhat incomplete - addition to your collection.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great CD Score! Listen to Demo Tracks!, February 5, 2000

By	Christian Graves (US) - See all my reviews

This is a great CD Score.. Ignore all the other idiots that purchased the wrong cd, and wrote a bad rating because of their mistake. This is a very intense CD containing GREAT tracks. The composer did a splended job at creating the music masterpiece that was part of the thrill of The Matrix! I would recommend to anyone!