.

STARSHIP SUBS,
Soups, Catering,
and
more...
|
|

review by Ed Vincent
I was already waiting with baited breath for the
film to
be released on its own. Now that I have heard the score
by Vangelis I am reaching for my wallet to buy the ticket
in advance. The sound is fitting for the time, the regions,
and the journey. The exotic sounds of distant lands
permeates into each tune highlighted for the route of,
conquest that the young and bold King of Macedonia
and Greece chose. The cd on its own is dramatic and
exciting, and given the story that it is set to it only
compounds the effect of drama and adventure.
Vangelis has all the right stuff for this score and you
will want more.
Oscar-winning Greek composer
Vangelis is creating the original score for Oliver Stone's Alexander,
an epic retelling of the story of the legendary Greek conqueror-hero
Alexander the Great, with Colin Farrell in the title role. An
Intermedia film in association with IMF with a cast that includes
Academy Award winners Angelina Jolie and Sir Anthony Hopkins as well as
Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers,
Alexander opens nationwide from Warner Bros. on Wednesday, November 24,
2004. Sony Classical will release the film's original soundtrack
recording on Tuesday, November 9, 2004.
Vangelis has created a musical setting that captures both the epic
scale and the human drama of this spectacular film, which is both
written and directed by multiple Oscar winner Oliver Stone (Platoon,
Born on the Fourth of July, JFK).
"I've always admired Oliver's films," Vangelis says, "and, of course,
Alexander the Great is a story that's a natural part of my heritage.
So, to be composing for this film, with Oliver Stone directing, makes
it an especially exciting experience for me."
Alexander is based on the true story of one of history's most luminous
and influential leaders (Colin Farrell) - a man who had conquered 90%
of the known world by the age of 25. Alexander led his virtually
invincible armies through 22,000 miles of sieges and conquests in just
eight years, and by the time of his death at the age of 32 had forged
an empire unlike any the world had ever seen.
The film takes a bold, honest look at Alexander's life and his
relationships with his mother, Olympias (Angelina Jolie), his father
Philip (Val Kilmer), his lifelong friend and battle commander
Hephaistion (Jared Leto), Roxane, his ambitious and beautiful Persian
wife (Rosario Dawson), and his trusted general and confidant Ptolemy
(played at different ages by Anthony Hopkins and Elliot Cowan). Set in
Alexander's pre-Christian world of social customs and morals far
different from today's, the film explores a time of unmatched beauty
and unbelievable brutality, of soaring ideals and staggering betrayals.
Vangelis's music for the 1981 film Chariots of Fire is one of the most
influential - and widely "quoted" - film scores of modern times,
winning an Oscar for Best Original Score. Since that worldwide success,
his scores for the films Blade Runner, Missing, The Bounty and 1492-
Conquest of Paradise have become enduring international cult favorites,
along with his many concept albums and other musical projects. Most
recently, Vangelis created the 2002 FIFA World Cup Anthem, which won
the International Song of the Year Award from the Recording Industry
Association of Japan.
In 2001, Vangelis collaborated with Sony Classical on
an epic multimedia project entitled Mythodea, built around his music,
which was used by NASA to celebrate its Mars Odyssey mission. Vangelis
himself performed the score live in Athens in a concert that also
featured singers Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman. In addition to an
audio recording of the music, a dramatic film of the concert is
available on home video by Sony Classical.
|
-
 
|