Gladiator

I rushed out to order a copy of the Gladiator soundtrack online as soon as I saw the movie. I only regret that they didn't sell this CD at the movie theatre because I would have bought it immediately after watching the movie. The music in this soundtrack is utterly amazing, inspirational and beautiful. As I was listening to it, I could vividly see the images of the movie, floating around my head. "The Battle" and the "Barbarian Horde" scores are exhilarating and very herculean- as much as I really didn't want to relive the bloody battle scene- I could see General Maximus swooping down on his horse to create mayhem in the battle field. Or the beautiful music in "The Wheat" and others such as "Elysium" where I can see Maximus walking in the field of wheat, reminiscing of his home and his family...which is simply soul-wrenching.

Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard work together (composed by and arranged by these two) in this soundtrack to...Read more

Hans Zimmer and Lisa Garrard so skillfully integrated their music into Ridley Scott's epic Gladiator that it might be underappreciated if not played separately. Two moods are masterfully created by this soundtrack: Zimmer's powerful martial orchestration, so stirring it will send you in search of your samurai sword in the attic trunk; and Lisa Garrard's emotional themes that sweep you with an unforgettable after-battle melancholy and sense of loss. This is certainly a soundtrack in the tradition of Miklos Rozsa (Ben-Hur, El Cid), Nino Rota (War and Peace), and Dimitri Tiomkin (The Fall of the Roman Empire). But it perhaps owes more to James Horner's recent Titanic. In his battle music, Zimmer employs a sustained bombast, at times punctuated with piercing bell strikes that remind us of Horner's rivet-popping, and Garrard employs the human voice as a musical instrument in much the way Horner so masterfully loaded his Titanic soundtrack with emotion. Fans of Zimmer...Read more

The movie Gladiator is a truly excellent film, with an involving storyline, beautiful locations, intense drama, full-blooded action and a rousing score from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard.

As soon as the movie starts, one is surprised by the subdued tone that the musical score seems to be taking. Knowing that Hans Zimmer was the composer, I was expecting his usual rousing, booming and very pleasant music, as seen (or rather, heard) in other movies like 'Crimson Tide', 'The Peacemaker', and 'Backdraft'. However, what we get, as a friend of mine remarked, is something like a cross between Vangelis and 'The Rock' (which also includes participation by Zimmer). Which is fine.

While not as melodic as, for example, a James Horner score like Braveheart, Hans Zimmer's score, with Lisa Gerrard's participation, perfectly complements the action on screen. When battle music is required, the score returns to a classic, if somewhat more mature, Zimmer feel; totally classical in style...Read more