Open Web Player
Do you remember watching "Se7en" for the first time? What a great movie. It was a creative, thrilling, and such a successfully shocking story that everyone was just mesmerized by the events unfolding before them. The first crime scene, which was themed after gluttony, was one of the most memorable for me. I can recall the audience and I just being fascinated as the investigators tried to piece this puzzle together and track down the mysterious John Doe. My appreciation for film scores had begun just a few years before this film was released in 1995 and I can remember the strong emotional effect it had upon the story.
Eager to enjoy the score away from the movie proved to be a quest that ended in failure however. I spent quite some time searching for the score and the only thing I could find was the soundtrack containing some songs from the movie (and it was even missing some of the best ones) and a small portion of Howard Shore's score. Needless to say, I never even purchased that offering in hopes that a more complete version of the score would be released. Well, time passed and I soon forgot about it. So here we are over 20 years later and the score is finally being released through Howard Shore's personal label. Better late than never I suppose!
Listening to the score again certainly brings back the memories and even prompted me to dig in my old DVD collection and watch the movie over again. Shore certainly knew how to deliver a score that builds the suspense and take us on a thrilling ride with this one. "Gluttony" (track 2) acts like a morbid gateway as we are introduced and begin our journey into the satirical horror of John Doe. It's slow "walk like" tempo and pulsing orchestra keeps pace like uneasy breathing as we see the horror unfold before us in the darkened room. Shore scores a cue for all of the deadly sins in the movie and each one takes an interpretative personality of their own. While some seem to musically capture the sin itself, others are more representative of the onscreen action as investigators search and discover the crimes. There is a constant and dynamic tension building throughout the score however, and it's here where Shore demonstrates his mastery in pulling the viewer deeper into this world of madness. According to the liner notes found in the CD, Peter Cowie mentions that Shore considered "Apartment #604" (track 11) to be the "emotional musical center of the film". This particular cue focuses on the detectives as they enter into the place where John Doe "mirrors the hideous perversions" of his twisted reality. One could say that Shore's music becomes a window into John Doe's soul as well. The score does more than just provide a creepy soundscape for the story to ride on. I guess you could say that Shore becomes as meticulous as John Doe in a sense. The crime? Crafting outstanding music for a great film.
The CD is released through Howe Records and comes with a cool bonus. The opening track entitled "Last Seven Days" was intended for the movie's opening but was never used. It's a short piece that is quite nice...but it does feel a little bit out of place when compared to the other material. The CD also comes with some great liner notes provided by Peter Cowie. He offers some interesting insights about the film and Shore's score. One thing I didn't know about Howard Shore is that he prefers to see a full cut of the film rather than just working with "snippets" of material. The insert is 16 pages and also contains photos from the film, track listings, and production credits. The CD comes in a tri-fold digipack with a plastic shell to hold the disc. It's great to finally have this in my collection and to be able to enjoy the score outside of the film. I recommend.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 28, 2016
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 22, 2016
wow can't believe its finally here it only took 20+ years to come out lol but so happy with the score really
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 17, 2016Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 5, 2016
Top reviews from other countries
M Haque
A superb release of a masterpiece in film scoring. Highly Recommended!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 23, 2016Cliente Amazon
Seven (Se7en) - Complete Original Score
Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on February 17, 2017
