Beautiful!, 05 Jan 2009
What a beautiful album this is! Cant stop listening to it! Takes you back to all the great moments in the film. 10/10 Bella's lullaby is my fave x

A perfect compliment to the official soundtrack CD, 22 Dec 2008
Its not often that a film score and soundtrack perfectly compliment each other. The last time for me was American Beauty. The soundtrack contains many of the more sassy songs from the moments of action in the film, which will give you the highlights in flashbacks. The best there is undoubtedly the opening track by muse - from the baseball scene in the film.

The score delivers a more subtle satisfaction. Carter Burwell has perfectly captured the running undertones of the film and the sense of longing and tension felt by Edward and Bella. The haunting strings that represent Bella's moments of fear are present as a recurring theme in several tracks, and serve you with a heady delight as memories of the beauty and danger of Edward will return to you. Bella's lullaby stands out as the piano piece played by Edward in the film, but "The Skin of a killer" is another wonderful moment, returning memories of his illuminated beauty.

This sound track is just as good as the words of the books - representing the feelings of the many millions of fans and making them tangible.



twilight the score, 11 Dec 2008
I have just listened to the previews to this album and it sound's so awesome my copy is on order i cant wait to receive it so i can listen to the whole thing from what ive heard this is a must for any twilight fan.=}

Beautiful!, 05 Jan 2009
What a beautiful album this is! Cant stop listening to it! Takes you back to all the great moments in the film. 10/10 Bella's lullaby is my fave x

A perfect compliment to the official soundtrack CD, 22 Dec 2008
Its not often that a film score and soundtrack perfectly compliment each other. The last time for me was American Beauty. The soundtrack contains many of the more sassy songs from the moments of action in the film, which will give you the highlights in flashbacks. The best there is undoubtedly the opening track by muse - from the baseball scene in the film.

The score delivers a more subtle satisfaction. Carter Burwell has perfectly captured the running undertones of the film and the sense of longing and tension felt by Edward and Bella. The haunting strings that represent Bella's moments of fear are present as a recurring theme in several tracks, and serve you with a heady delight as memories of the beauty and danger of Edward will return to you. Bella's lullaby stands out as the piano piece played by Edward in the film, but "The Skin of a killer" is another wonderful moment, returning memories of his illuminated beauty.

This sound track is just as good as the words of the books - representing the feelings of the many millions of fans and making them tangible.



twilight the score, 11 Dec 2008
I have just listened to the previews to this album and it sound's so awesome my copy is on order i cant wait to receive it so i can listen to the whole thing from what ive heard this is a must for any twilight fan.=}

Glorious Repetition, 01 Nov 2008
Like all Burwell's best work, this shimmers with the veneers of Glassy Minimalism. Rippling arpeggios and pounding chords mass to thrilling effect, creating a work not a million miles from the film work of Philip Glass himself (the work it most closely resembles is Glass's recent 'Cassandra's Dream' score). Dark, yet playful; visceral, yet smart - this is probably Burwell's best work since 'Book of Shadows', or even 'Fargo'.

Desperate for a change? That's exactly how director Simon West felt. For the two principal aspects of his movie he felt it crucial to play a wild card. To combat flag-waving traditional scoring for the military, he asked Carter Burwell to blend his Fargo tragedy with his jazzy Conspiracy Theory. Sure enough, that's what you get in the score parts of the album. As of "Exercise In Darkness" there's the maestro's melancholy giving the strings plenty to do; a little later he fulfils the other part of the deal with some funky action composites of orchestra and samples ("The Conspiracy" and "Kent's Story"). Then there's the deep South setting, which West couldn't bear to have portrayed by that sliding steel-guitar and washboard thang. He therefore got 1930s and 40s field-worker songs remixed with 90s beats. "She Began To Lie" is like a gospel Portishead rock. It's definitely a change for all concerned. --Paul TonksThis John Travolta-starring military-themed thriller hardly distinguished itself with critics, who almost universally lambasted its overwrought ambience and painfully obvious plot points; a whodunit that begged the question "why'd ya make it"? But even the most turgid Hollywood fare can have its delightful musical surprises, and that's where The General's Daughter redeems itself. Veteran Carter Burwell turns in a brooding orchestral score that finely underplays the histrionics with subtlety and emotional weight. But it's Greg Hale Jones's ingenious digital reworking of half-century-old Library of Congress remote recordings (made in cotton fields and prisons) of African American folk music and spirituals that's the real revelation here. The opening "Sea Lion Woman" is both haunting and unforgettable, a gratifying reminder that studio alchemy can enhance the humanity of music as well as sublimate it. Minus points for trotting out the cinematically tired Carmina Burana once again; it's enough to make one want to Orff themselves. --Jerry McCulley

Beautiful!, 05 Jan 2009
What a beautiful album this is! Cant stop listening to it! Takes you back to all the great moments in the film. 10/10 Bella's lullaby is my fave x

A perfect compliment to the official soundtrack CD, 22 Dec 2008
Its not often that a film score and soundtrack perfectly compliment each other. The last time for me was American Beauty. The soundtrack contains many of the more sassy songs from the moments of action in the film, which will give you the highlights in flashbacks. The best there is undoubtedly the opening track by muse - from the baseball scene in the film.

The score delivers a more subtle satisfaction. Carter Burwell has perfectly captured the running undertones of the film and the sense of longing and tension felt by Edward and Bella. The haunting strings that represent Bella's moments of fear are present as a recurring theme in several tracks, and serve you with a heady delight as memories of the beauty and danger of Edward will return to you. Bella's lullaby stands out as the piano piece played by Edward in the film, but "The Skin of a killer" is another wonderful moment, returning memories of his illuminated beauty.

This sound track is just as good as the words of the books - representing the feelings of the many millions of fans and making them tangible.



twilight the score, 11 Dec 2008
I have just listened to the previews to this album and it sound's so awesome my copy is on order i cant wait to receive it so i can listen to the whole thing from what ive heard this is a must for any twilight fan.=}

Glorious Repetition, 01 Nov 2008
Like all Burwell's best work, this shimmers with the veneers of Glassy Minimalism. Rippling arpeggios and pounding chords mass to thrilling effect, creating a work not a million miles from the film work of Philip Glass himself (the work it most closely resembles is Glass's recent 'Cassandra's Dream' score). Dark, yet playful; visceral, yet smart - this is probably Burwell's best work since 'Book of Shadows', or even 'Fargo'.

The best way to score a comedy..., 10 Mar 2003
... is playing the music as serious as possible. In "Adaptation", Carter Burwell does it again. He's the king of comedy scores, not only because he writes music for the best and most unusual comedies in movie industry (the Coen films, and now the Spike Jonze / Charlie Kaufman films) but because he understands that the music should reflect what goes in the characters' minds and not be merely a cynical and distant interpretation, full of comedic "please-laugh-here" moments. This is beautiful music, which perfectly survives without the - by the way, brilliant - film it scores. And there's a remix of the main theme (a thing which is getting common these days) which actually works, with Fatboy Slim doing a much better and subtle job than Paul Oakenfold in Danny Elfman's "Planet of the Apes" score.

Writing a soundtrack for Being John Malkovich couldn't have been an easy task for Carter Burwell. How many films so freely sneak between absurdity, fantasy and dark melancholy--often in the same scene? Thankfully, the film composer rose to the task. The music of Being John Malkovich varies from introspective simple piano solos to a snippet of Bartok, but mostly revolves around an orchestrated theme found from the start of the movie (heard in the track "Puppet Love" all the way through "Future Vessel"). There are some odd surprises, such as Björk's dreamy contribution of "Amphibian" and "Malkovich Masterpiece Remix", in which the actor reciting his name is transformed into a goofy trip-hop tune. Track 17 is an excerpt of Burwell verbally explaining a scene to his orchestra; on track 18 ("Lotte Makes Love"), we get to hear the outcome. Just like the movie, this soundtrack can be repetitive at times, but it is a perfect accompaniment to this weird and wonderful film. --Jason VerlindeWriting a soundtrack for Being John Malkovich couldn't have been an easy task for Carter Burwell. How many films so freely sneak between absurdity, fantasy, and dark melancholy--often in the same scene? Thankfully, the film composer rose to the task. The music of Being John Malkovich varies from introspective simple piano solos to a snippet of Bartok, but mostly revolves around an orchestrated theme found from the start of the movie (heard in the track "Puppet Love" all the way through "Future Vessel"). There are some odd surprises, such as Björk's dreamy contribution of "Amphibian" and "Malkovich Masterpiece Remix," in which the actor reciting his name is transformed into a goofy trip-hop tune. Track 17 is an excerpt of Burwell verbally explaining a scene to his orchestra; on track 18 ("Lotte Makes Love"), we get to hear the outcome. Just like the movie, this soundtrack can be repetitive at times, but it's a perfect accompaniment to this weird and wonderful film. --Jason Verlinde

Beautiful!, 05 Jan 2009
What a beautiful album this is! Cant stop listening to it! Takes you back to all the great moments in the film. 10/10 Bella's lullaby is my fave x

A perfect compliment to the official soundtrack CD, 22 Dec 2008
Its not often that a film score and soundtrack perfectly compliment each other. The last time for me was American Beauty. The soundtrack contains many of the more sassy songs from the moments of action in the film, which will give you the highlights in flashbacks. The best there is undoubtedly the opening track by muse - from the baseball scene in the film.

The score delivers a more subtle satisfaction. Carter Burwell has perfectly captured the running undertones of the film and the sense of longing and tension felt by Edward and Bella. The haunting strings that represent Bella's moments of fear are present as a recurring theme in several tracks, and serve you with a heady delight as memories of the beauty and danger of Edward will return to you. Bella's lullaby stands out as the piano piece played by Edward in the film, but "The Skin of a killer" is another wonderful moment, returning memories of his illuminated beauty.

This sound track is just as good as the words of the books - representing the feelings of the many millions of fans and making them tangible.



twilight the score, 11 Dec 2008
I have just listened to the previews to this album and it sound's so awesome my copy is on order i cant wait to receive it so i can listen to the whole thing from what ive heard this is a must for any twilight fan.=}

Glorious Repetition, 01 Nov 2008
Like all Burwell's best work, this shimmers with the veneers of Glassy Minimalism. Rippling arpeggios and pounding chords mass to thrilling effect, creating a work not a million miles from the film work of Philip Glass himself (the work it most closely resembles is Glass's recent 'Cassandra's Dream' score). Dark, yet playful; visceral, yet smart - this is probably Burwell's best work since 'Book of Shadows', or even 'Fargo'.

The best way to score a comedy..., 10 Mar 2003
... is playing the music as serious as possible. In "Adaptation", Carter Burwell does it again. He's the king of comedy scores, not only because he writes music for the best and most unusual comedies in movie industry (the Coen films, and now the Spike Jonze / Charlie Kaufman films) but because he understands that the music should reflect what goes in the characters' minds and not be merely a cynical and distant interpretation, full of comedic "please-laugh-here" moments. This is beautiful music, which perfectly survives without the - by the way, brilliant - film it scores. And there's a remix of the main theme (a thing which is getting common these days) which actually works, with Fatboy Slim doing a much better and subtle job than Paul Oakenfold in Danny Elfman's "Planet of the Apes" score.

A soundtrack is a soundtrack, 28 Mar 2004
As with most soundtracks some of the tracks are the mood music for the scenes and there is also the Bjork track which plays out the film. It's not entirely fair to criticise it as an album as the pieces were written for the film not primarily for listening to independently. If there is a few tracks just over a minute long that is because they were for scenes of that length.

Some of the tracks are beautiful short compostitions that do stand alone as wonderful gentle pieces of melodic music and there are also pieces that are slightly (intenionally) harsh and a little grating. You get two versions of Bjork's Amphibian which bear very little resembelnce to each other but are both intriguing, melodic and a little different. You get a little audio snippet of Carter Burwell trying to explain a bizarre component of the film to the orchestra, interesting but a little annoying when you are listening the album.

The second track is an amusing little mix of clips and bits of the film but does use the f word. so don't play when the little ones are around like I did.

This version was enhanced which means it had a couple of small Mpeg movies this does make playing it on your PC difficult but not impossible. Overall if you like the film you will like the soundtrack, and, as long as you can program your CD player to skip certain tracks you can get a beautiful and relaxing selection of music.

Great soundtrack in it's own right., 02 Apr 2003
It just sooo refreshing when effort is put into a film soundtrack such as 'Fight Club' or a Lynch film. "Being John Malkovich" is no exception to the rule. It's a mainly orchestral album, very meloncholic in places, all beautiful piano and lush string arrangements. Credit to Carter Burwell for this great score, and a special mention must go to track two, the "Malkovich Masterpiece", which is a demonstration in lyrical minimalism. Very amusing track to a superb album.

Totally like the film - twisted!, 26 Sep 2000
Anyone wanting to recapture the wonderful insanity of BJM should go straight to track 2, where Mr Malkovich himself puts on his "Piano in Restaurant Woman" voice into effect. Frankly, mixing JM's lines into a 3 minute burst of sound with a repetitive beat is like a constant beating around the head - great if you're into that sort of thing! Bjork's a b s t r a c t offerings are, in my view, hidden treasures and stir up memories of little Emily swimming silently under the water at the end of the film. The Malkovich Shrine's first few bars (used in the DVD menu screen) are the focal point for me, the atmosphere summed up before elaborating through the score - short though it is. Listening to the composer's explanation about the "Woman having sex with a woman as man for the first time" is marvellous as the taboo subjects so fantastically raised in the film are shyly told by him. The only drawback, like the Gladiator score, is the way scores nowadys have one long piece of music disected into the track numbers, meaning if you want to play it randomly you get sudden bursts... Apart from that, the finale score track is the best conclusion piece for a film I've heard for a long time. Brilliant. All hail John Malkovich's performances!

Beautiful!, 05 Jan 2009
What a beautiful album this is! Cant stop listening to it! Takes you back to all the great moments in the film. 10/10 Bella's lullaby is my fave x

A perfect compliment to the official soundtrack CD, 22 Dec 2008
Its not often that a film score and soundtrack perfectly compliment each other. The last time for me was American Beauty. The soundtrack contains many of the more sassy songs from the moments of action in the film, which will give you the highlights in flashbacks. The best there is undoubtedly the opening track by muse - from the baseball scene in the film.

The score delivers a more subtle satisfaction. Carter Burwell has perfectly captured the running undertones of the film and the sense of longing and tension felt by Edward and Bella. The haunting strings that represent Bella's moments of fear are present as a recurring theme in several tracks, and serve you with a heady delight as memories of the beauty and danger of Edward will return to you. Bella's lullaby stands out as the piano piece played by Edward in the film, but "The Skin of a killer" is another wonderful moment, returning memories of his illuminated beauty.

This sound track is just as good as the words of the books - representing the feelings of the many millions of fans and making them tangible.



twilight the score, 11 Dec 2008
I have just listened to the previews to this album and it sound's so awesome my copy is on order i cant wait to receive it so i can listen to the whole thing from what ive heard this is a must for any twilight fan.=}

Glorious Repetition, 01 Nov 2008
Like all Burwell's best work, this shimmers with the veneers of Glassy Minimalism. Rippling arpeggios and pounding chords mass to thrilling effect, creating a work not a million miles from the film work of Philip Glass himself (the work it most closely resembles is Glass's recent 'Cassandra's Dream' score). Dark, yet playful; visceral, yet smart - this is probably Burwell's best work since 'Book of Shadows', or even 'Fargo'.

The best way to score a comedy..., 10 Mar 2003
... is playing the music as serious as possible. In "Adaptation", Carter Burwell does it again. He's the king of comedy scores, not only because he writes music for the best and most unusual comedies in movie industry (the Coen films, and now the Spike Jonze / Charlie Kaufman films) but because he understands that the music should reflect what goes in the characters' minds and not be merely a cynical and distant interpretation, full of comedic "please-laugh-here" moments. This is beautiful music, which perfectly survives without the - by the way, brilliant - film it scores. And there's a remix of the main theme (a thing which is getting common these days) which actually works, with Fatboy Slim doing a much better and subtle job than Paul Oakenfold in Danny Elfman's "Planet of the Apes" score.

A soundtrack is a soundtrack, 28 Mar 2004
As with most soundtracks some of the tracks are the mood music for the scenes and there is also the Bjork track which plays out the film. It's not entirely fair to criticise it as an album as the pieces were written for the film not primarily for listening to independently. If there is a few tracks just over a minute long that is because they were for scenes of that length.

Some of the tracks are beautiful short compostitions that do stand alone as wonderful gentle pieces of melodic music and there are also pieces that are slightly (intenionally) harsh and a little grating. You get two versions of Bjork's Amphibian which bear very little resembelnce to each other but are both intriguing, melodic and a little different. You get a little audio snippet of Carter Burwell trying to explain a bizarre component of the film to the orchestra, interesting but a little annoying when you are listening the album.

The second track is an amusing little mix of clips and bits of the film but does use the f word. so don't play when the little ones are around like I did.

This version was enhanced which means it had a couple of small Mpeg movies this does make playing it on your PC difficult but not impossible. Overall if you like the film you will like the soundtrack, and, as long as you can program your CD player to skip certain tracks you can get a beautiful and relaxing selection of music.

Great soundtrack in it's own right., 02 Apr 2003
It just sooo refreshing when effort is put into a film soundtrack such as 'Fight Club' or a Lynch film. "Being John Malkovich" is no exception to the rule. It's a mainly orchestral album, very meloncholic in places, all beautiful piano and lush string arrangements. Credit to Carter Burwell for this great score, and a special mention must go to track two, the "Malkovich Masterpiece", which is a demonstration in lyrical minimalism. Very amusing track to a superb album.

Totally like the film - twisted!, 26 Sep 2000
Anyone wanting to recapture the wonderful insanity of BJM should go straight to track 2, where Mr Malkovich himself puts on his "Piano in Restaurant Woman" voice into effect. Frankly, mixing JM's lines into a 3 minute burst of sound with a repetitive beat is like a constant beating around the head - great if you're into that sort of thing! Bjork's a b s t r a c t offerings are, in my view, hidden treasures and stir up memories of little Emily swimming silently under the water at the end of the film. The Malkovich Shrine's first few bars (used in the DVD menu screen) are the focal point for me, the atmosphere summed up before elaborating through the score - short though it is. Listening to the composer's explanation about the "Woman having sex with a woman as man for the first time" is marvellous as the taboo subjects so fantastically raised in the film are shyly told by him. The only drawback, like the Gladiator score, is the way scores nowadys have one long piece of music disected into the track numbers, meaning if you want to play it randomly you get sudden bursts... Apart from that, the finale score track is the best conclusion piece for a film I've heard for a long time. Brilliant. All hail John Malkovich's performances!

One of Burwell's finest, 02 Nov 2007
This dark, moving, utterly compelling minimalist inspired score is one of Burwell's finest works. A must for fans, but also the perfect intro for newcomers to Burwells' fiercely imagined musical landscape.