THROW DOWN Music by Peter Kam Limited Edition of 1000 Units Retail Price: $19.98
*NOTICE: This is a pre-order item, and it will be shipped on 3rd March.
Soundtrack Magazine proudly presents a limited edition, world-premiere CD release of composer Peter Kam’s (THE WARLORDS, DRAGON) original motion picture soundtrack to the 2004 award-winning action drama THROW DOWN, directed by Johnnie To (DRUG WAR, ELECTION). The first collaboration between To and Kam, the film tells the story about a group of dreamers and their friendship that centers around the art of judo. With his previous experience in pop music songwriting, Kam created a highly melodic and enjoyable score for the film. Additionally, the composition also has a number of segments that emphasize on the rhythm of the action as well as the solemnity of judo. But in the end, those elements of revenge and decadence are transformed into friendship, dreams, and hope through the music. The whole album is also structured around these rousing elements.
The album is edited under the supervision of composer Peter Kam. Director Johnnie To is also invited to write a special note on the collaboration for this release. The liner notes were written by QIU Yang, the writer and producer of Soundtrack Magazine, based on his interview with the composer.
This is a limited edition of 1000 units, with a pull-out dynamic cover and silver stamping numbering.
Tracklist:
01. Throw Down 00:30 02. The Challenger 02:17 03. Back Alley Judo 01:51 04. You Can Never Take Away My Dreams 02:19 05. Strange Friends 03:11 06. The Fallen 04:23 07. Bossa for One 01:54 * 08. The Strong Man 01:28** 09. Spirit of Judo 02:11 10. Chasing Dreams 04:00 11. No Time for Goodbye 01:50 12. Lost on the Way 02:42 13. Fury 02:34 14. Awakening 02:29 15. The Fighter Returns 03:12 16. The Red Balloon 02:16 17. Final Defiance 01:39 18. Summer Dreams 00:58
Throw Down is a highly personal film for Johnnie To. It is very much an homage to Sugata Sanshiro directed by Akira Kurosawa, resulting in a non-typical (not as thrilling or high-octane, nor very light-hearted in tone) Johnnie To film covering aspects like spirits of Judo, friendship, suffering and ups and downs of life in general. If the theme of the film does not interest you, at least it features a cast worth checking out made of Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok, Leung Ka-Fai and Cherrie Ying. The composer Peter Kam Pui-Tat is one of the most in-demand composer in Chinese filmmaking. His most accessible release to western audience may be Dragon/Wu Xia (a Peter Chan film) released by Moviescore Media. His more high-profile work includes The Warlords, the first Detective Dee film, The Reign of Assassins and The Cold War franchise. Film score release is relatively rare in Chinese world, let alone physical release in CD format. Hence this release is much desired. This label handled the release of The Blind Massage, Shadowplay (both score by Johann Johannsson and Jonas Colstrup) and Hidden Man (score by Nicolas Errera). The production quality is top tier.
Should I now add Peter Kam's BIG BULLET to my holy grails list ? Or STORY OF RICKY ?
Or even:
Thanks for your interest in our lable! We appreciate your support. Unfortunately, most of the film music materials of Chinese films have been lost, including the few you mentioned. Regarding the works of Peter's work, we are making efforts to preserve them.
