Star Wars: Episode II: Attack Of The Clones
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List Price: £13.99 £6.98 Sony Classical
Binding: Audio CDEAN: 5099708996529Format: SoundtrackLabel: Sony ClassicalManufacturer: Sony ClassicalNumber Of Discs: 1Publisher: Sony ClassicalRelease Date: 2002-04-29Studio: Sony Classical
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Editorial Reviews: Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones impressively showcasing rich drama beyond the customary eye-popping spectacle, long-time franchise collaborator John Williams' score follows suit with a rewarding and compelling mix of tragedy-tinged romance and epic action, enveloped in a pervading air of approaching doom. Dispensing with The Phantom Menace 's exuberant, youthful orchestrations, more at home in E.T. , Attack of the Clones pleasingly mirrors Williams' work on franchise zenith The Empire Strikes Back . Fans will delight in the increased appearance of the series' classic themes, underlining the wider saga and tantalisingly foreshadowing future events while, like a Bond score, retaining the series' beloved musical signature. Williams frames the film's tragic romance with a beautiful love theme, "Across the Stars". A sweeping epic with a melancholic edge, it's the strongest track, the "threatened romance" theme further showcased in "Anakin and Padme" and "The Meadow Picnic". Yet, the action cues find Williams on equally glorious form. "Jango's Escape" and "Bounty Hunter's Pursuit" are thoroughly exciting fare while "Zam the Assassin" is a breathless 11-minute epic, with Williams exploring new ground, with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -esque percussion and, surprisingly, electric guitar. The forbidding atmosphere reaches a deliriously thrilling crescendo with "Return to Tatooine", "The Tusken Camp" and "Love Pledge and the Arena", a heart-rending collision of romance, action and inescapable dread, interwoven with a plethora of the series themes. When "The Imperial March" makes a full-blown appearance in "Confrontation with Count Dooku"--as a victorious fanfare, no less--it recalls the best heart-stopping moments of Williams' original Star Wars orchestrations.
Coming so far in to such a distinguished career, this is an impressive, memorable work that once again showcases Williams' virtuoso affinity with cinema and, beyond that, a magnificent fifth segment in his eventual Magnum Opus. --Danny Graydon
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Is there anything better than a williams soundtrack??Comment: A brilliantly crafted soundtrack, nicly produced and recorded.I love the feeling of tension the soundtrack creates by itself -it does'nt need visuals! And you get some rather nice packaging to boot!Customer Rating: Summary: It Gets Better and Better and Better!Comment: Yet again John Williams has shown why George Lucas has entrusted him with the soundtrack to the Star Wars Saga and after the excellent Phantom Menace soundtrack which gave the world the fantastic Duel of The Fates, which makes a welcome return in Attack of The Clones, yet again another song has been selected and given a music video to accompany it in Beyond The Stars (the lovetheme). In the film, I was pleasantly surprised when The Imperial March, my personal favourite of all Star Wars tracks returned along with certain elements of Episode IV: A New Hope. I really rate this highly along with The Raiders of The Lost Ark and the upcoming sci-fi film The Minority Report soundtracks, the earlier which has become a classic in my eyes as well as the Main Title Track, played at the start of every Star Wars movie while the famous yellow script scrolls up the screen. A soundtrack that I'm sure everyone will get used to over time and grow to like more and more, just like the movieCustomer Rating: Summary: A Vast Improvement on 'The Phantom Menace'Comment: It could be argued that the quality of the scores in the Star Wars saga has a direct correlation to the quality of the films themselves. 'The Empire Strikes Back' is the clear champion, both in terms of the soundtrack and the movie, whereas 'The Phantom Menace', barring the excellent 'Duel Of The Fates', was a disappointment on both fronts. The encouraging news for fans is that this CD, whilst not reaching 'Empire's' dizzy heights, is a vast improvement on Episode I. The obvious standout is the haunting, achingly beautiful 'Across The Stars' which perfectly captures Anakin and Amidala's doomed romance. In fact, this is by far the most melancholy Star Wars score yet (another promising sign for those of us who like our SW movies to temper action and spectacle with human drama). Every theme seems to have an element of tragedy, even the 'Coruscant Chase' and 'Arena' tracks which are obviously set during two of the film's spectacular set-pieces. My favourite moment? Undoubtedly 'Confrontation with Count Dooku' - as another reviewer remarked, the sudden swell of the 'Imperial March' is spine-tingling. This limited edition has one extra track and a series of four collectible covers, just like the US version - good to see that UK fans haven't missed out. Overall, an essential purchase for followers of Star Wars and John Williams, and enough to raise expectations for the film (mine at least) to an even more frenzied level.Customer Rating: Summary: The Saga Continues......Comment: I finally got to hear this long awaited soundtrack recently and enjoyed it very much. Initially I felt there was some justification in some criticisms about the tracks lacking the uniqueness of some of John Williams' other music, but having not seen the film yet and experienced the whole movie experience, I personally cannot say how well this music works with the new movie. Lucas has often commented on how the whole saga should work as a silent movie using sound and visuals alone. John Williams is a very talented composer and having seen the final movie is in a much better position to determine what is appropriate for the movie. Since this album is only 70 minutes long out of 125 minutes for the total score that he wrote for the film, I believe the final soundtrack may hold little gems that have yet to be heard, indeed as with the other Star Wars movies some of the best tracks were left ureleased until the release of the special edition albums. What I can say is that the soundtrack is definitely growing on me in much the same way the other John Williams scores did before them. The highly regarded Across the Stars definitely sets the scene for this and indeed the next movie with its distinctly russian overtones associated with Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. If that doesnt impress upon us that the story is becoming darker and more depressing then what can? As part of the whole Star Wars story, this album is definitely a worthy addition to the continuing saga.Customer Rating: Summary: Disappointing, but...Comment: As both a big fan of John Williams and Star Wars I've been waiting for the AOTC soundtrack with bated breath. The result though is as a bit of a disappointment. There are very few new motifs and much of the score sounds derivative; even the much vaunted 'Love across the Stars' sounds like the 'Journey to Neverneverland' from JW's early score, 'Hook'. That said, track 13 alone is worth the price of the CD: it's absolutely wonderful with a real shiver-down-the-spine moment when the 'Imperial March' comes to the fore.
