Catégory : Score
James Horner works again with James Cameron after TITANIC and ALIENS.
First listen and first point : the music undoubtedly suffers from a glaring lack of originality and idea. James Horner recycles all forms of traditional musical genre with a certain laziness somewhat surprising for a film as ambitious. We thus find the pattern of 4 notes BRAINSTORM / STAR TREK II / WILLOW / STALINGRAD and allusions barely disguised GLORY topic or theme of LEGENDS OF THE FALL, not to mention too obvious references to APOCALYPTO and THE NEW WORLD. Again, James Horner has ever failed to recycle his own compositions by hiding behind the argument of "significance" of his intimate self-quotation. Perhaps, except that when you hear it for the 100th time it starts to become painful and particularly disadvantageous for the film, which suffers from musical references to other films before. But the problems do not stop there, because if the music accompanies perfectly the mood of both ecological, magical, dark and dramatic film of James Cameron, it also recalls the great artistic laziness composer who, in any clearly lost its superb.
Finding severe ? Certainly, but the size of the huge mess of the score given to us to hear, both in the film than on the album - generously filled, as always with the composer. The score AVATAR so use normal orchestra complete with a host of electronic effects in which the composer comes to recreating some futuristic sounds rather interesting, with a range of ethnic instruments / exotic musical colors and Pandora Na'vi. This is where the rub : the party of ethnic music AVATAR betrayed a glaring lack of inspiration. While Horner announced in several interviews that he had spent much time trying to imagine and recreate the "folklore" musical Na'vi (Horner took approximately 18 months to write the music, which is absolutely enormous and exceptional for a film!), the result is after all terribly ordinary, easy, no surprises. The percussion, shakuhachi and other flutes pan and ethereal female voices are part from "Do You Dream in Cryo ..." to introduce the film. No surprise, within minutes, Horner reuses its famous pattern of 4 notes of trumpets that seems to obsess him for nearly two decades and that we constantly balance all the sauces. The vocal parts using language Na'vi created for the purpose of the film, with input from soloists Drea Pressley and Mark Edward Smith. The use of electronic beats on the end of the song seem more amazing (and easy) for the Horner, recalling the futuristic film. Synthesizers also provide a futuristic look more interesting in "Jake's Avatar Enters His World" for the transformation of Jake Sully in his Avatar. Obviously, Horner is more inventive here with electronic sounds and try some unusual sound colors in his musical universe (we can also report the use of ethnic instruments in "Jake's Avatar Enters His World" clearly modeled on the score APOCALYPTO). Alas, all is constantly marred by a lack of obvious melodic idea (surprising for the Horner). Only positive point: the appearance of theme Na'vi at the end of "Jake's Avatar Enters His World" theme rather air built on a succession of chords evoking the majestic beauty of the nature of Pandora and the peaceful nature of Na 'vi. Pity just that this subject leaves no special memory, even in the film.
Tracks like "Pure Spirits of the Forest" or "The Bioluminescence of the Night" work well in the film but fell steadily in style new-age/world music a little easier, while for a world as strange and wonderful than Pandora, one would have expected a more aggressive music in its approach, looking more and less scope in the photographs. Horner uses synthesizers new age for the scenes where Jake discovers the lush nature of Pandora and her thousand treasures along with Neytiri. The key ethnic / exotic is also recalled passages APOCALYPTO without much particular idea - the result remains quite correct on the screen. A song like "The Bioluminescence of the Night" is more interesting in its development of new age electronic sounds strange to most plants glow of Pandora. However, it is clear Horner was very hard to get out of this' music of wildlife film / documentary naturalist "when we were entitled to expect something much bolder and sought from him (especially after 18 months of work!). However, from "Becoming One Of The People, Becoming One With Neytiri" Horner recycles a subject's score from THE FOUR FEATHERS with a soaring voice of a child and a superb solo resumption of the main theme when Jake becomes a full member of the People Na'vi. The composer brings a bit of romance and poetry to the union between Jake and Neytiri intimate with the use of the flute Tony Hinnigan vaguely reminiscent of the love scene between William Wallace and Murron in BRAVEHEART, all mixed a very nice sweet and refined writing for strings and piano - without doubt one of the most beautiful passages in the score. Things go wrong, unfortunately with "Climbing Up Iknimaya / The Path to Heaven" and "Jake's First Flight" where Horner reuses a derivative theme GLORY (1989) have in turn inspired the "Ivan the Terrible" by Prokofiev. The children's choir here interpret a majestic theme for the stage of the ascent of Mount Iknimaya a very beautiful passage quite impressive in the film, unfortunately marred by a too obvious recycling theme of GLORY (Note, however, use very successful voices).
Finally, with "Scorched Earth", we enter the last part, during the long final battle. Horner uses here of martial rhythms with vocals and ethnic instruments to evoke the destruction of Pandora. The action unfolds in the massive martial "Quaritch" and the brutal "The Destruction of Hometree, which generates a feeling of disaster and tragedy in the film, with particularly impressive use of choruses (in a style close STALINGRAD ) - the theme of Pandora being taken through many versions tormented and dark. Horner finally shows himself more inspired in these dark passages of action, even if the whole has nothing wildly original in itself. We appreciate the song of lamentation tragic "Shutting Down Grace's Lab (change of emotion in the film, when the military decided to close the lab Avatar of Grace - Sigourney Weaver) to lead the two climax the score, the intense "Gathering The All Clans Na'vi for Battle," when Jake decides to bring together all the clans Na'vi for the final showdown. The music here reaches a peak of grandeur and emotion, both grand and solemn, though here too we often regret the easy side of music (ethnic percussion, backing vocals epic as it is done with a shovel today Hollywood epic music nowadays!) and recycling too evident here a theme LEGENDS OF FALL (1994). Nevertheless, the piece derives its strength from a theme of hope, courage and determination on the screen, while we see the different clans Na'vi gather together for a common cause. The piece leads to the final battle, the great "War" climax
Action over 11 minutes for chorus, orchestra and ethnic percussion. Only downside: the side of a very ordinary piece that should have been a summit of its kind, but that does eventually recycle all forms epic Hollywood in vogue (we almost hear by the time the Time Machine Klaus Badelt or KINGDOM OF HEAVEN Harry Gregson-Williams). James Horner eyeing that side-Media Ventures? Strange and frustrating! And yet, we can only be blown by the epic power that emanates from the massive "War" and its dramatic flights of solemn and serious power to the screen. The music rises to a peak of emotion from the seventh minute, without a doubt the most successful passing score, generating a feeling of great hope in the heart of the battle. Damage, however, that writing - successful - the chorus is finally very mat and a little easier (James Horner us accustomed to things more personal). Finally, we unfortunately do not spare us the traditional song of the end credits, sung by the star of British R & B Leona Lewis, "I See You", repeating the main theme in a version pop / electro disappointing and utterly dispensable.
Final report very mixed for the new epic symphonic opus James Horner. Certainly, after a few partitions as extremely arbitrary, there are some fun with the music of Horner's action / adventure epic and excessive, except that here the composer revels again in the permanent recycling of its old patterns, claiming an emotional argument in every citation in the end to hide his lack of ideas. 18 months to finally give birth to an epic score and without any surprise, recycling all music formats epic / ethnic gender? Disappointing, especially by a composer who seems not to have much to say in 2009. Certainly, the score works very well in the movie and listen to how enjoyable CD, but it really lacks something to make it a great work, may be a hint of honesty and inspiration? More daring? More melodic ideas? The report image / music is also very shallow, the music fits well with the images but does not ultimately retains much of the music in the film, Horner is more evidence than ever autopilot mode on this score and it seems to be faltering in his ideas circling. Of course, there is the greatness of "All The Gathering Clans Na'vi for Battle" or excess epic "War," but there are also facilities irritating cliches of ethnic Pure Spirits of the Forest "are unworthy of 'composer supposed to have worked for months on creating a new sound universe. And finally, we find all the usual quotes the composer already listed. Nobody can blame Horner Horner to make, but when we reached such a level of artistic laziness, hard not to lose patience, especially when one takes the time to remember the score has been announced for many months as a great musical work where the composer had allegedly managed to recreate an entire musical universe to the planet Pandora and the James Cameron film in general. In short, we remain frustrated by the outcome that is not up to our expectations because, despite the undeniable qualities (emotion really palpable in the final electronic sounds interesting enough to start the movie, score pleasant to listen and well written), music AVATAR fails to climb above the usual Hollywood and mass falls well within the facility and some obvious artistic laziness. Only Horner aficionados will find their account, others will arrive very quickly to the conclusion that the composer no longer has much to say today!
Quentin Billard
(translated from french with automatic rules - to read original text)
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