Exsultate Justi!!

After much consideration, the first score to review is actually one that wasn't listed as one of my favorites by a HUGE error, that was brought to my attention just moments after the blog was posted. The wonderful score is "Empire of the Sun" by John Williams. This film introduced us all to a little Christian Bale but it also introduced us all to a world where John Williams doesn't sound the same. Needless to say that his devotees and critics were not amused by this, but I was.

The score opens with a lovely little Welsh Lullaby, called "Suo Gan" which I have sang on numerous occasions while bored during my college years. It is done with perfection by a boys choir. Everything is crisp but doesn't reek of the John Williams typical melodic lines and chordal progressions.

The piece after that opens, and sounds just like a mellow John Williams piece sounds. It is full of strings then building up to the brass, then surprise surprise he knows how to write in some mallet percussion. Quite the shock there. Listening to this score some 22 years after it is released you can tell where he loving grabbed inspiration for his newer scores from. Star Wars Episode III comes to mind right about now.

The piece, "Jim's New Life", confuses me a bit because it doesn't sound like Williams' work but it works brilliantly. It is one of those pieces when I can clearly scene in my head, which is what the entire point of a film score is. I see a little boy running around on a bike.

The next piece reminds me that this is WAY before the days of actually putting the score in order of appearance in the film. Oh well, it is Williams' attempt at dark but it just ends up sounding like Raiders of the Lost Arc while Indiana Jones is fighting Nazis or in a snake pit.

After that "Imaginary Air Battle" just blows me away, it is like something from a totally different movie. The rich choir complementing the strings in a way that most people haven't heard with Williams. It has a wonderful blend of major and minor chords to complement the melody. It does give the sensation of the inner soundtrack in nearly every child's head while playing "airplane".

"Return to the City" opens with a very dissonant sounding Oboe feature that really sets the entire tone for the scene and the piece. I half to be completely honest with this piece, it doesn't blow me away and it usually gets skipped on my iPod.

Now the next one is breathtaking to say the VERY least. "Liberation: Exsultate Justi" is what made me love this score. I was introduced to it by one of my closest friends and haven't been able to get enough of it since. It is amazing. The choir, snare drum without the snares on, and flute blend together for complete mastery of this amazing recording.

"The British Grenadiers" is traditional in every sense of the word but I have to say that it is one of my favorite versions of the classic British theme. I just picture red coats marching when I hear it. The second half of the piece varies drastically from the beginning. The piano is melodic and wonderful.

One of the other hallmarks of the score is "Toy Planes, Home and Hearth (Chopin Mazurka Opus 17 No4) it has one of my favorite themes from any John Williams score ever. Then to have Chopin's Mazurka within it, makes it one of the classic pieces that need to be on every film score lovers playlist. The recording of Chopin's Mazurka is not one of my personal favorites but it does the piece justice.

"The Streets of Shanghai" is a variation of the theme in the previous piece. It is frantic and very rhythmic in nature so naturally John Williams decides that is when he is going to feature percussion, instead of going off on a limb and actually putting decent percussion in other, non-rhythmic pieces.

"The Pheasant Hunt" is John Williams trying to get an Asian feel while trying to connect it to England as well. Interesting is all I have to say. It is a percussion ensemble to start which is very interesting to see from John Williams. I would love to see him do a piece without the use of strings, woodwinds, or brass, but no he just has to put it in where it isn't needed.

"No Road Home/Seeing The Bomb" is from one of the most memorable scenes from the film. The piece however; not that memorable. I've listened to this score numerous times and can't remember listening to it all the way through, until now. It is very mystical with a very strange little piano breaking through to hold the melody. I like it. It doesn't sound like John Williams. It sounds more like Hans Zimmer or even Howard Shore at this moment.

The last piece is a reprise of "Exsultate Justi" but it is the complete version with all the pomp and circumstance. It is remarkable. I can listen to this piece over and over, never getting bored. I do believe that I have. For all of the John Williams bashing that I put in here, this single piece outweighs it all. It has depth. It is one of those subtle pieces that makes you stop and when you find out that it is John Williams, you have to stop and question it. The call and answer between the choir and brass is amazing. I honestly wish that John Williams would do more of it, he is brilliant at it.

This score and this film for that matter, is for some reason overlooked by a lot of people. It is a typical John Williams and Steven Speilberg duo in every sense of the word but for no reason people just don't remember it. The film is amazing and the score is nothing short of brilliance.


Happy listening and there will be more scores to come,
FilmScored