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Posted: |
Oct 17, 2012 - 6:55 PM
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By: |
losher22
(Member)
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Kaya Savas' review of this score, taken from Film, Music & Media:
For Greater Glory is a tale that takes place during the Cristero War; when the Mexican government began cracking down on religion only to have the Catholic faithful fight back in rebellion. I am an atheist firstly and this film is very pro-Catholic. It takes many liberties and makes the whole ordeal very melodramatic. Was the government approach overly aggressive and unnecessary? Yes but I'm not here to get into my hatred of organized religion and the fact that this film is sort of like propaganda so let's get down to James Horner's score. The music here is immensely rich and very much in James Horner's style. The biggest strength of the score is how much narrative Horner has built into the music. This is a massive score with an epic and romantic flow to it.
James Horner critics will continue to criticize no matter what, and this score will give them further reason to. Within the first track we are already introduced to his infamous "danger motif". It rings loud and clear and acts as a foreshadowing device of the tragedy to come. It will make several appearances throughout the score as well. Horner then goes through the motions as he usually does with this type of material. The score is very much on par with what he did in Black Gold. I absolutely loved Black Gold and this matches the emotional flow of that score. If you take a moment to analyze this score from afar you will notice that it's pretty identical to almost any score he's ever done. In that respect it does not feel like it was composed for any specific movie. I'm all for a composer to be an auteur, but I really felt like I was listening to Troy and Avatar at times. As much as I love this score and all that it does dramatically I feel like it needed a stronger solo identity. It's still possible for a composer to sound like his/herself while creating a unique sounding soundscape. Horner fails to do that here, but if you can forgive that and see everything the score does right then you will enjoy it immensely. The extremely long track times allow the music to saturate and build impressive arcs. The score is grand and it will wash over you with an emotional blanket. By the time we get to the end we are stuck in a bit of melodrama as the score becomes a bit too big for its own sake. It feels like it's trying too hard at times and in those instances it took me out of it.
This is an impressive score and Horner handles the scope in grand fashion. I've always been a fan of Horner and his style. I loved Avatar, Titanic, Apollo 13, The Perfect Storm, Glory, The New World and so many more. This really is the first James Horner score where I felt his own style suffocated the music. I am a "danger motif" lover, and I love when he uses it. However, for some reason I felt like here it was overused and drowned the music from having a real identity. The score is not bad by any means. There are some great moments of beauty here and it's a tremendous accomplishment. The melodrama hurts it a bit, and by being too big it loses the emotional grasp it initially had on me. There is a way to tell a story like this and one only needs to look at The Mission. That is a film that brings me to my knees, yes, even my disbelieving atheist knees. The score, the characters, the story and everything about The Mission is perfect. For Greater Glory feels like it has some sort of agenda behind it that I feel seeped into the score a bit, and that left a sour taste in my mouth.
2.5 of 4 Stars
http://www.filmmusicmedia.com/reviews/forgreaterglorythetruestoryofcristiadabyjameshornerreview
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Posted: |
Oct 18, 2012 - 4:05 AM
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By: |
Hurdy Gurdy
(Member)
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I pretty much agree with that review.
It is a 'textbook' Horner score which will fuel the haters and inspire the 'lovers' of his music and trademarks.
The first listen had me tutting quite a few times and thinking 'c'mon Jim, couldn't you just TRY to build something a bit new?'.
By the second play, I was too busy being swept up in the beauty, drama and tragedy to notice or care.
The truth is, there aren't that many composers writing scores this symphonic any more these days. John Williams...yes. Elfman and Newton Howard...on occasion. While Horner is a clever adapter of today's sound like those latter two, he also seems to bag certain films that will allow him to write in his big, beautiful style.
One other thing, do the Spanish lyrics mean anything in context, or are they just random Spanish words dropped in ad-hoc?
I keep hearing the lady sing 'estadio', which means stadium in English. What context is that being used in? We have a lot of Spanish soundtrack fans who visit here, could you translate the words she sings into English?
Cheers!
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Is it as good as BLACK GOLD?
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I enjoyed it more than Black Gold, but that's just my opinion.
It's a wonderful score and even though it runs for 70+ minutes, it never seems to drag, it's rapidly becoming my favourite score release of this year.
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Posted: |
Jul 24, 2015 - 8:21 AM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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Have been listening to this one quite a bit lately and feel that it is definitely one of James Horner's very best "epic" film scores with ethnic elements. I love his classic Legends of the Fall/Braveheart/Avatar scores of course, and I am always trying to champion The Missing as a close compatriot to that vintage epic Horner sound, something that Wolf Totem recently recaptured as well: sweeping, beautiful thematic material; exciting action cues; expansive, exotic compositions of such breadth and depth that they are truly brilliant broad strokes painted on a vast canvas by a master musical painter.
I feel like For Greater Glory should be added to these wonderful works mentioned above. Sure, Horner has crafted tons of "epic" scores in his time that contain plentiful ethnic elements, but many -- like Four Feathers, Enemy at the Gates, Black Gold, Windtalkers, Zorro -- just don't hit that perfect bullseye sweet spot for me like the scores I mentioned in the first paragraph and For Greater Glory. Listening to For Greater Glory is just a sublime treat and is one of his best epic scores IMO. It features some stunning action music and some mesmerizing vocal work and to my ears is vastly preferential to the Zorro scores as far as the ethnic instrumentation is concerned. Powerful themes and rich, full orchestral performances.
For Greater Glory has just cracked my top 10 all-time favorite Horner scores.
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Posted: |
Feb 18, 2024 - 1:27 PM
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By: |
c8
(Member)
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This score might well be one of the more anticipated scores in Horner history. I suppose there's many times when scores have sat on shelves for extended periods before being released. Its just not often we learn about them so publicly as we did for Cristiada!
So here it is, after a year and a half of waiting? And was it worth it?
The answer is a resounding YES. This is the Horner of Willow writing in broad, dense strokes. This is a very special Horner score.
I don't think there was a dull moment in the score. It is vibrant with heartbreaking themes, extreme shifts of emotion, incredible intelligence, and extreme depth. Horner has the orchestra doing something at every moment of activity.
The themes themselves are plenty and go through about every permutation possible. I'm not sure a theme is played the same twice throughout the score...except for maybe when Clara Sanabras is singing. But that's the exception, and her voice is heartbreaking enough you welcome the beauty of its appearances.
Speaking of Clara, I'm not sure WHAT inspired Horner to pick her, but it was indeed an inspired choice. Her solo work is along the lines of an obnoxious Loreena McKennitt...I was not even remotely impressed. I was thinking the choice of Sanabras was like picking McKennitt to wail on The Passion of the Christ or some such thing. Yet, Sanabras aquits herself amazingly...singing with a great pain and bittersweet heartbreak. Her appearances aren't sparse, but aren't common either. They're welcomed when they appear.
Interestingly, the danger theme appears here at about the same level as Willow or Enemy at the Gates, but he takes it through just about every permutation of it he can.
Also interesting, I counted hearing themes not just from The Four Feathers, but also from Braveheart, The New World, and Avatar. Look for those cameo appearances (except for The Four Feathers, each of the above appear once...so yes, I see them as cameos!). I urge you to get past these things and appreciate the score for what it is. Scores like this just aren't written anymore.
But yes, listen for instrumental creativity dating back to Krull...Willow...all the big Horner hits. This score certainly can stand proudly among them. Its just that good. Sadly, I fear it won't get that kind of recognition due to the low profile of the movie.
But this is as ***** as ***** scores come. Certainly the best of Horner's 2011/2012 output.
Seeing this thread bumped has forced me to relive the way I wrote over a decade ago. Cringe.
That said my thoughts still are as true today as they were in 2012. This is prime Horner for anyone who loves his sweeping, lush scores. I bet he took this assignment just so he could write whatever the hell he wanted at a time he was feeling excluded by Hollywood. And boy the results spoke for themselves.
Ambush is a career favorite cue for me. The way he used the choir as percussion was just *chef's kiss*
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