Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A New Star Composer? Ilan Eshkeri and "Stardust", September 12, 2007
Two of the better film scores this summer came from relative unknowns: Nicholas Hooper and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Ilan Eshkeri and Stardust. The latter was a particularly pleasant surprise. Both Mathew Vaughn's film, Stardust, and Eshkeri's music more or less came out of nowhere at the end of the summer when we usually are left with less than prime films. Stardust proved a sheer delight as did its score. Generally, Eshkeri's music is a fine fit to this film, especially the chase scenes, and works as a very pleasant soundtrack. There are several tracks of music by other people, the director, Take That, and oh yes, Bach, Dvorak, and Offenbach which are important in the film and the latter are a fun aside on the album as well. Overall, Eshkeri's orchestral (with some chorus) score captures the magic, romance, awe, and sense of adventure that we associate with the fantasy genre. Solid production values and nice packaging by Decca.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure magic, September 12, 2007
Few movies have entertained me in recent years as much as Stardust did this summer. Stardust is a blockbuster and a cinematic beauty - a glorious telling of a wonderful adult fairy tale that made me yearn for princes and fairies and magical worlds beyond high stone walls. It definitely is one of the few films I might pay exorbitant movie theater prices to watch again and again.
And while I anxiously await the release of the DVD (oh, please be packed with extras), I'm delighted to have a piece of the magic with me. This soundtrack, composed by Ilan Eshkeri and majestically performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra, is a delight in every way. Tristan & Yvaine (my current favorite track) is tender and sweet, while Shooting Star is swift, enchanting and so memorable - definitely the track that will transport you back to Stormhold! Not a single composition in this entire CD is lacking, but an honorable mention must go to The Mouse and Epiloque, two very sincere, powerful pieces that most definitely capture the romance of the film.
Reportedly, British band Take That had recorded a piece named Rule The World that was to accompany the movie as its theme, but does not appear on this soundtrack. It is to be released on Take That's upcoming album this October (2007). I'm not unhappy about that - an entirely instrumental Stardust soundtrack is good enough for me!
All in all, a stunning soundtrack to accompany a magnificent film. Make this a part of your collection, and get ready to daydream!
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificent ... but one track is missing, methinks, September 12, 2007
The music in this film is at least a fourth of the reason why I've gone back to see it, in the theater, six times to date! (The rest being a superlative, perfectly cast fantasy-action-romance, impossible to describe easily, which can only be conveyed fully on the big screen.)
Eshkeri's score is lush, evocative, using the full London Metropolitan Orchestra to resonate against the visuals. It's perfectly pitched to the action - and with three tracks on this CD reflecting the final battle, in various phases, the listener can tell that the composer is not falling back on shortcuts or needless repetition.
When a motif is used again, it's to evoke a particular character. This helps in seeing the film, as it has three broadly sketched plot lines, involving growing romance, murderous witches, and plotting princes. The cues make the plot intersections even more fluid than the screenplay has already done.
The score is, however, not all of the music. The song "Rule the World" by the British group Take That, over the first half of the end credits, has its own lush and emotional take on the romance that's at the heart of the film, and wears its feelings on its lyrical and melodic sleeves. It's a superb follow-up to Eshkeri's symphonic score, and (as I am told - see below) the last track on this disc has a transition into the song's chord scheme.
I said "am told," though, because I have not yet bought this disc. This, and my rating it only 4 instead of 5 stars, is because Take That's song is NOT included on the disc. I cannot fathom this decision on the part of the producers - unless the song was recorded considerably later than the symphonic score.
Offenbach's "Can-Can" (track 14), used in the film to hilarious effect, is repeated over the second half of the end credits. So this disc ends up including the entire musical experience ... except the one part that involves melodic human voices. To me, the disc has an esthetic hole in it.
I may buy this CD nonetheless, and will edit the review if I do - but until I can obtain the Take That song as a single, the musical experience will be incomplete, to my great regret.
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