Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
by Elliot Goldenthal
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
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Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Composed by Elliot Goldenthal
Sony BMG Records (2001)
Rating:
10/10
Soundclips below provided by AmazonMP3
“Blending his
aggressive
style performed by a
massive orchestra and
choir, with an equally
powerful but
contrasting love
theme, Goldenthal
churns out an absolutely golden score. ”
Elliot's Gold Enthralls!
Review by Christopher Coleman
In recent years two
intriguing phenomena
have appeared. First,
video game scores have
come right along side
feature film scores as
far as orchestral
depth and complexity.
Second, feature films
began being spawned by
video game premises.
The Summer of 2001
features two
sure-blockbuster films
which are based upon
the premises of two
immensely popular
video games. First,
Lara Croft's Tomb
Raider, and now Final
Fantasy: The Spirits
Within.
The video game series,
FINAL FANTASY, has
become one of, if not,
the most popular video
game series to date.
Not only have the nine
games released made
millions and garnered
a massive worldwide
following, but the
music from the games
scored by Nobuo Uematsu has a huge
following as well.
With its detailed
storyline, the Final
Fantasy games provide
a broad palette of
opportunity for its
music to be powerful
and engaging.
Uematsu's music for
the series has become
some of the most
recognizable game
music around.
The expectations and
hopes regarding FINAL
FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN have been much
loftier than those for
TOMB RAIDER. Early
trailers had fans of
the game as well as
sci-fi fans salivating
for months. Under the
direction of the
game-series creator,
Hironobu Sakaguchi,
the ambitious project
breaks new ground in
the use computer
generated characters
for features films.
Besides the
expectations of film
music fans, game and
anime music fans were
hopeful, if not
expectant, that the
original game score
composer, Uematsu,
would get the call.
Surprisingly, in a
fairly bold move,
director Hironobu
Sakaguchi opted for
acclaimed film music
composer Elliot
Goldenthal instead.
The announcement of
Elliot Goldenthal was
met with the expected
mixed reaction.
Goldenthal's mainstay,
dissonant, post-modern
style has neatly
divided those that
have listened to his
music into two camps:
love it or leave it.
For many fans of the
game series,
Goldenthal's name and
work is probably a
complete mystery.
With synthesizers
playing a greater and
greater role in film
music, it would be
natural to anticipate
a heavy synth-score or
electronica/grunge-laden
score for this
completely CG film.
With Goldenthal at the
musical helm, this was
just not going to be
the case, further
reason to consider his
selection as composer
a brave and bold move.
Until now, most
movie-goers and many
film music fans, may
not have found
Goldenthal's music
easily embraceable.
With scores that have
fallen into the
collective pile of the
forgotten or
overlooked such as
SPHERE, IN DREAMS or
more recently, TITUS, Goldenthal seemed a
curious, if not
disappointing, choice
for FINAL FANTASY. Be
that as it may, Elliot Goldenthal's score for
FINAL FANTASY: THE
SPIRITS WITHIN has
brought such
uncertainty to a
screeching halt.
Blending his
aggressive
style performed by a
massive orchestra and
choir, with an equally
powerful but
contrasting love
theme, Goldenthal
churns out an
absolutely golden
score. From the first
mystical moments of
Goldenthal's music,
the listener is taken
on a vigorous and
breath-taking ride.
Despite the clear
differences in musical
style, perhaps not
since John Williams'
score for the original
Star Wars film has a
sci/fi-fantasy-score
come forth with such
fortitude and
character.
Unfortunately, within
the film, Goldenthal's
score plays second
fiddle to all the
visual delights on
screen. Compared with
the effectiveness and
force of the music on
the soundtrack, it is
downplayed within the
film itself. While it
is unlikely this score
will leave a similar,
indelible mark on film
music or on audiences
as Star Wars did,
Goldenthal's score is
still worthy of the
highest accolades.
FINAL FANTASY contains
an all-too-rare-amount
of ominous and
wondrous music such as
the opening track, The
Spirit Within (1),
Toccata and
Dreamscapes (7) or
Winged Serpent (13).
The feel is expansive
and majestic as Goldenthal infuses
cavernous brass with
haunting choruses and
strings that range
from alluring to
terrifying. Also
incorporated into some
of the more intense
sequences are strong
percussions- sometimes
in a very militaristic
manner and at other
times making a slight
nod to Jerry
Goldsmith. For Final
Fantasy, Elliot
Goldenthal's action
music is never stale,
seldom becomes
forgettable,
background music, and
is a potent force in
and of itself.
To Balance all of this
high-intensity-music,
Goldenthal crafts,
among other elements,
a simple and elegant
love theme. The theme
is introduced in The
Kiss (4) played simply
on piano and strings.
Later, this theme
receives a
significantly more
dramatic performance
in Adagio and
Transfiguration (16).
The sparsely used love
theme is finally
transformed into a
stylized, pop vocal
performed by Lara
Fabian.
Singer/songwriter and
international
sensation, Lara Fabian
reprises her role as
soundtrack-ambassador
to the radio, with her
performance of The
Dream Within (17)
which plays at the
very conclusion of the
film and into the end
credits.
Having made her first
film-music waves as
the vocalist for
Esmerelda in Disney's
The Hunchback of Notre
Dame, and more
recently with her solo
and duet performance
of For Always on the
A.I. Artificial
Intelligence
soundtrack, Lara
Fabian may have become
the most sought-after
female vocalist in (or
even outside) of
Hollywood. For FINAL
FANTASY: THE SPIRITS
WITHIN , Fabian sings
the haiku-like lyrics
of Richard Rudolph set
to Goldenthal's
love-theme. Fabian's
appropriately reserved
performance helps to
cement this theme into
the hearts and minds
of the audiences as
they exit the theatre.
Asian sensation band,
L'arc-en-Ciel, may not
be such a recognized
name in Western
countries, but this
band is a true phenom
of the East.
L'arc-en-Ciel performs
the final track,
Spirit Dreams Inside
(18), in their noted,
alternative/grunge
fashion.
L'arc-en-Ciel's edgy
music is actually what
many expected the
soundtrack to FINAL
FANTASY: THE SPIRITS
WITHIN to be filled
with. The film's
target audience would
certainly be familiar
with, and likely buy
up a soundtrack with,
this sound. It is safe
to say that the
inhabitants of
orchestral-film-music-fandom
are pleased that the
score is otherwise
dominated.
Thankfully, the
producers of the film
have done a wise thing
in bringing in
Goldenthal to provide
the vast majority of
the musical texture.
This move alone will
help keep FINAL
FANTASY: THE SPIRITS
WITHIN from becoming a
thin-layered,
juvenile-thrill,
Summer-film. While the
film isn't much deeper
than the very
impressive visuals,
the score does help
elevate the experience
to a
better-than-average-matinee
experience. The
combination of Lara
Fabian and her Western
super-celebrity
status, L'arc-en-Ciel's
Eastern notoriety, and
a Elliot Goldenthal's
landmark score, will
equal
mega-worldwide-sales.
For those who have
been a part of the
"leave it" camp
regarding Goldenthal's
previous film scores,
Final Fantasy is
definitely a score
that will lure one
into the "love it"
camp.
