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The Last Samurai
RRP: £15.99
Our Price: £5.23 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Whether Tom Cruise's portrayal of a 19th century American soldier cum samurai warrior will be remembered with the same pangs of pop-cultural bemusement that befell John Wayne playing Genghis Khan remains to be seen. But its musical soundtrack does mark an auspicious occasion: pop musician-turned-composer Hans Zimmer's 100th score since beginning his film career in 1988. A pioneer of fusing both the electronic and orchestral and the Westernized with the indigenous, Zimmer does both here with skill, drawing heavily on samples of the traditional Taiko (a massive Japanese drum) for its rhythmic action sequences, while constructing a melodic Western motif for Cruise's character that's both centrepiece and counterpoint for the score's transcultural intent. Aside from the brief, ominous thunder of the expected action/suspense boilerplate, Zimmer has constructed passages of gentle, Asian-inflected pastoralism that have parallels with much of his evocative work on The Thin Red Line. Those cues are the score's very soul, a canvas against which his more traditional themes reverberate all the stronger. --Jerry McCulley
Emotional
Review date: 2010-03-29 Rating: 10 out of 10
This really moves me. I find "a small measure of peace" the most affecting piece of music I have ever heard. I often wondered why I liked watching "The last samurai" so much and then I realised it was because the music moved me so much. You might think "why would you want to listen to music which you know makes you cry?" but the experience of being "moved" makes us human I suppose.
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Reviews
The Last Samurai Soundtrack
Review date: 2010-01-31 Rating: 10 out of 10
One of the standout features of `The Last Samurai' for me was the soundtrack and on listening to this again recently I remember why. It has richly emotive and wonderful orchestral pieces with a Japanese influence. Some of Hans Zimmers's scores can sound very similar, but I am delighted to say that this has a feel all of it's own and stands up as a piece of music in it's own right. You could easily enjoy this having not seen the film and it is a coherent piece from start to finish. There is a definitive musical theme that runs throughout the album which manages to tie everything together and give it an over-arcing narrative. I find this album very relaxing to listen to (apart from a brief Samurai shouting section which always jolts me out of my reverie) and enjoy nothing more than reading a good book with this playing in the background. This is well composed and provides accessible classical music for those new to the genre, as well as offering up a great orchestral score for those fans of film soundtracks.
Has great moments yet the rest is slightly boring
Review date: 2008-01-18 Rating: 4 out of 10
I bought this Cd for the first track. It contains for me the best stuff Hans Zimmer has ever written. Simply sublime. However, I find the rest of the CD relies a little too heavily on one particular theme. It just gets to the point where you just remember the theme and not the tracks because it appears in almost every track. If I had known this I would have probably just stuck with downloading 'A Way Of Life' from iTunes.
Average but not bad.
Review date: 2007-11-21 Rating: 6 out of 10
Zimmer's Gladiator is superb and I was looking forward to this CD, even more so after reading the reviews. It goes to show that a review is a matter of opinion and personal taste. I found it took a long time to warm up and the early tracks are relatively slow and gentle. When it did get going, it was good. Overall, I found it uninspiring and unexciting. At times I found it rather boring. It is a relaxing listen but comes nowhere near Gladiator for power and emotion. I was disappointed.
Imagine Gladiator, only immeasurably better.
Review date: 2006-07-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
One of Zimmer's better works, and considering his unequivocal position as the best and most prolific composer of our time, that clearly says something. The easy blend of traditional, Japanese and electronic instruments makes for interesting listening. 'Way of the Sword' is undoubtedly one of the better tracks, opening with heartpounding, yet irresolutely sad, action music, moving on to emotional machine-gun sequence and closing with the quiet beauty of Katsumoto's seppuku. Other highlights include 'Spectres in the Fog,' which contains the first iteration of the Samurai's theme, a heroic yet grief-laden melody (consigned to the horns on this track), 'Red Warrior,' most famous for its much-criticised, yet strangely effective, shouting people, and 'A Small Measure of Peace.' Having said that however, nothing on this CD could qualify as a low point. It's beauty is utterly staggering, and the absence of a nomination from Oscar is inexplicable, far better as it was than Newman's 'Finding Nemo' and even Elfman's 'Big Fish.'
Product Details/Specifications
Artist(s):
Original Soundtrack
Recording label: East West
Manufacturer: East West
EAN: 0075596293228
Binding: Audio CD
Format: Soundtrack,
Release date: 2004-01-12
Universal product code (UPC): 075596293228
Number of discs: 1
Running time: 154 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: Japanese (Original Language)
Disc 1 Tracks:
1. A Way of Life
2. Spectres in the Fog
3. Taken
4. A Hard Teacher
5. To Know My Enemy
6. Idyll's End
7. Safe Passage
8. Ronin
9. Red Warrior
10. The Way of the Sword
11. A Small Measure of Peace
Publishers: East West