War Horse

 (30 customer reviews)

This is a soundtrack that reaches out and grabs one's soul at the first listening; in a very good way it is so very different than most of the music produced for film(s) in recent years: this is music that soars even without having the benefit of the film's imagery to support it - this is the craft of a master-composer in his medium.

John Williams has crafted a score that captures the spirit of this area of the world very well; the orchestrations are so very rich and sweepingly beautiful when describing the pastoral scenes of the Dartmoor area in World War I times, including the use of ethnically specific melodic ideas throughout the score. Soon the lush strings transition into the looming threat of war and John Williams provides us with multiple solid action cues that put the listener right in the battle's fray in ever-increasing intensity until the pounding fury of "No Man's Land" shatters the ominous stillness that precedes it, though we never travel too far away from...Read more

I first became a real John Williams fan in 2005, which is probably the worst time I could have done so because starting that year, he would be taking a 6 year hiatus from film scoring, aside from doing one sequel score for Indiana Jones and Crystal Skull. That's why I've been eagerly anticipating his scores for War Horse and Adventures of Tintin ever since they were announced, and I'm so happy to say that these scores do not disappoint. At the age of 79 and after several years of retirement from his usual level of film scoring, Williams can still weave his trademark magic into his music. Amazing.

"War Horse" isn't the type of action or fantasy-type score that I became a fan of Williams for, but I still found it a thoroughly enjoyable musical experience. Although I haven't seen the film yet and don't know too much about the plot, I can tell the album really tells a heartfelt story with music alone, and at times, I started to recognize and fall in love with musical motifs or...Read more

War Horse is a gorgeous score and a mesmerizing listen. Intricate and beautifully crafted music with echoes of Vaughan Williams and Walton. Deftly orchestrated as always. So nice to have new music by one of the greatest living American composers. As a fellow composer working in Los Angeles, I can say there are few like him. There are moments in this score which harken back to Far and Away as well as earlier works such as Born on the Fourth of July and The Reivers. The harmonic and melodic surprises never cease to amaze me. Highly recommended to anyone craving a MUSICAL experience rather than the current trend of bland, ambient whole-notes permeating the film world.