Lord of the War [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [Special Limited Editon]

Pinto's amazing orchestrations are fantastic as always. If you liked this soundtrack, you might check out his other work:
2004 Nina
2002 City of God
2002 Open Window
2001 At the Edge of the Earth
2001 Behind the Sun
2001 Collateral
1998 Central Station

(Much of his earlier work was for Italian film, "Socorro Nobre" is one)

Music supervisor John Bissell (Hearts in Atlantis, Ladder 49) tapped Ariana Morgenstern as music consultant for the film. (You may know her from her NPR radio show "Sounds Eclectic")

Many of the song choices early in the film were painfully derivative. "Young American" was a creative choice in Silence of the Lambs, but its tired now... Same with "For What It's Worth"... brilliant choice in Forest Gump, cliche now. But, later you can see Morgenstern's influence with the more unusual offerings: Coyita by Gustavo Santolalla, La Vie en Rose sung by Grace Jones and the Volga Boatmen's Song...Read more

This, like a lot of movie albums labeled as soundtracks, is the score, not the soundtrack. The movie had quite a few great songs on it, none of which are here, e.g. Fortunate Son, Hallelujah, and a great Mazzy Star song. That being said, the score is pretty good; but definitely not the soundtrack I was interested in after hearing the songs in the movie.

Lord Of War is a brilliant film about arms trade and its consequences. Antonio Pinto's music adds character and weight to the film while also creating a completely enjoyable listening experince as an album. Pinto may be the smartest new film composer to emerge in recent years. His work on City Of God is only surpassed here. The album makes great listening for many an occasion and/or casual listening.