Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow [SOUNDTRACK]

Edward Shearmur (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 7, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Paramount Pictures
• ASIN: B0002VEPIA
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #69,859 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Director Kerry Conran's retro-themed action adventure is imbued with a singular visual sense, an ambitious marriage of Indiana Jones' serial sensibilities and the neo-Deco sci-fi trappings of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. Young composer Edward Shearmur is charged with bringing that pulp-visionary, past-that-never-was to musical life, a task he accomplishes with expected orchestral verve. Its music that's as unabashedly derivative as the film's grab-bag of 1930s/40s influences, yet arranged and executed with a rich orchestral palate and an endlessly energetic dynamic sense. While he deftly avoids walking too closely in the familiar musical footsteps of John Williams---and there are admittedly no themes here as instantly memorable as Raiders of the Lost Ark's signature march---Shearmur manages a few smart new themes of his own, breathing compelling new life into one of filmdom's most cliched genres---and trumping previous similar back-to-the-future adventure scores like James Horner's The Rocketeer the bargain. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Score Ever, September 9, 2004

By	William Smith (Djacarta) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

... ok, maybe not 'ever', but it's close.

Edward Shearmur has always impressed me. Ever since 'Cruel Intentions', with his urban-sophisticated, techno-inspired themes for the socially elite, I've followed his progress and evolution and have been constantly amazed. His 'Reign of Fire' and 'Count of Monte Cristo' scores were both excellent, and hey, I even liked 'K-Pax'.

The score to 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow' presents a whole new side to Shearmur, and also an interesting problem. I was impressed with the score, I thought it hit in all the right places, had all the right elements and took me on an audio thrill ride that I enjoyed completely. The problem comes in with Shearmur's new step into the "Epic Theme" arena. Before, he had his style, his electronic-infused, unique flair for subtlety and also a gritty ability to get the listener into the film. Now, he's getting into the full blown, orchestral suites of majestic marches and rousing action cues.

Invariably, someone's going to compare him to Williams, or Horner, or Goldsmith... they'll suggest that he's just another in a long tradition of tired examples of the action-adventure genre.

in a way, they'd be right...

Shearmur's score is as much tongue in cheek as it is an authentic and exciting sample of his newfound abilities as an action-score composer. Half the reason this score works with -this- film is that it sounds so campy, as if he were calling back to the serials and early space epics that inspired the film itself. The genius of this score is that, like the film, it draws on the elements of past action films, be they WWII aerial battles, grand military marches or sweeping action themes. The rest is Shearmur's brilliant attempt to infuse his own subtle charm and sly musical wit into what otherwise could have been 'just another action score'.

It's true, many of the tracks on this CD carry that same epic scope and feel that we've all come to know and love, with slight variation from their older siblings, but there are a few tracks that stand out. I personally enjoy the main theme, I think it's a fun poke at any other score that ever took itself too seriously. "Totenkopf's Ark" will continue to be a favorite of mine for it's frenzied strings and thundering percussion. The latter half of the CD holds the real gems though, from "Finding Frankie" on to "Back to Earth", the latter of which has one of the best intros into a theme I've ever heard.

Lastly, there is Jane Monheit's vocal track, her version of "Over the Rainbow". In all my experience with scores, the vocal selection at the end of the soundtrack has always been one to skip, something that fills the time and shouldn't even be there to begin with. This will be the first time I have -ever- considered the last-track song to be -absolutely essential- to the score itself. Monheit's version is an exquisite sample of her talents, and one I can appreciate over and over again.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars shades of "Spy Smasher" and "Blackhawk" of the '40s, September 14, 2004

By	J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

London Metropolitan Orchestra under the direction of our composer Edward Shearmur, who just composed this lavish score "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (2004/107 Mins), featuring Jude Law as Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan, Gwyneth Paltrow as Polly Perkins, Angelina Jolie as Capt. Francesca "Franky" Cook, Giovanni Ribisi as Dex Dearborn, Michael Gambon as Editor Morris Paley, Ling Bai as Mysterious Woman and Omid Djalili as Kaji ~ film director Kerry Conran spreads this sci-fi plot into many areas of adventure, action, thrills and mystery loaded to the hilt with all four ~ this an original motion picture soundtrack takes each cue in the film to another level and then some ~ this is why we showed up for the review, in the next paragraphs we'll dive into the music.

Composer Edward Shearmur had his work cut out for him, but he comes through with flying colors ~ his score has many composers ingredients that blend into plaids of John Barry, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Maurice Jarre, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner and John Williams ~ not bad company to keep.

The story-line and score are a perfect match in masterpiece art form ~ many tracks in spectacular full scale orchestration, striking and touching the hearts of the listeners ~ one can only sit back and soak up such cues as "THE WORLD OF TOMORROW", "THE ZEPPELIN ARRIVES", "THE ROBOT ARMY" ~ just wait until you hear "CALLING SKY CAPTAIN" and "THE FLYING WINGS ATTACK", dazzling darkness and light of explosive power and dizzying beauty abound ~ Shearmur hits his peak in Golden-Age compositional intellect while exploring the deepest troves of musical emotion as one of the enormous productions ever to emerge from Hollywood ~ the closing bonus track is Harold Arlen's standard classic "OVER THE RAINBOW", by vocalist stylist Jane Monheit, touching arrangement by Edward Shearmur that brings back so many memories when we first heard this song...gotta love it!

Total Time:57:56 on 18 Tracks ~ Sony 92932 ~ (9/07/2004)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun and adventurous soundtrack score, September 30, 2004

By	eric_f (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

I bought this soundtrack score a few days ago and have become totally immersed in it. Edward Shearmur has done a fantastic job with capturing the excitement of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." I feel that many people overlook the importance of the music when watching a movie. Just think about it, would "Star Wars" be what it is without that grand epic musical introduction at the very beginning? No, it wouldn't. Same thing applies to "Sky Captain." This movie needed this type of music to make it what it is. This score is just phenominal. I would even say it's better than the actual movie (I think the movie could have been better in some aspects, but since this review is for the music, I'll stick to that).

I do have one minor complaint though. The first track, supposedly the main "theme" to the movie, is way too short, clocking in at only 1:07. I wish Shearmur had elaborated more on it. It's such a cool piece of music, but ends before one can fully get into it. It's true that this "theme" re-appears at several points during the rest of the score, but it isn't quite the same thing. The final track, Jane Monheit's "Over The Rainbow," isn't vital to the soundtrack but is a nice addition and serves as a closing farewell.

All in all, I rate this score a 4.5, but I'll round up to 5 just because the music is so cool. Recommended to any fan of the movie, or any fan of the action/adventure musical score genre.