First Knight | ||
 | Composer: Jerry Goldsmith Label: Epic Producer: Jerry Goldsmith Conductor: Jerry Goldsmith Buy this soundtrack:   |   |
 Track Listing | |||||||||||||||||||
| 01 Arthur's Fanfare (0:45) 02 Promise Me (4:05) 03 Camelot (2:20) 04 Raid On Leonesse (4:28) 05 A New Life (4:55) 06 To Leonesse (3:27) 07 Night Battle (5:40) 08 Village Ruins (3:21) 09 Arthur's Farewell (5:26) 10 Camelot Lives (5:39) Total Length: 40:10 | |||||||||||||||||||
More Soundtracks by Jerry Goldsmith
Reviewed by James - Grade: A Everything that Lionheart should have been, First Knight is one of Goldsmith's best from the 1990s.This reviewer's last piece was a write-up on "Lionheart," which has been called the older, better cousin of "First Knight." Having been disappointed by "Lionheart," I wanted to make it clear that "First Knight" is actually the younger, better cousin, the one that actually takes the good ideas and runs with them, delivering full-bodied themes, pulsing action material, and a remarkable love theme. "First Knight" is one of the best scores from Goldsmith's 90s output, which included some terrific scores ("Mulan," "The Mummy") and some not so good scores ("Dennis the Menace" any one?) But I have always felt that "First Knight" was among the best of this period. I might as well get the weaknesses out of the way. The majority of the action music, represented best in "Raid on Leonesse" and "Night Battle" is just pretty good. It is effective in the film and enjoyable enough on CD, but it doesn't kick the action to that special, sublime place where "Total Recall" and "Rambo" live. But despite it not being an action masterpiece, it's still very good stuff and in no way takes away from the listening experience. The exception to this (and this is my migration to the score's positives) is "Arthur's Farewell," a furious, pounding climactic cue for the film's final battle. Goldsmith shows all his cards here, mixing the orchestra with a massive choir. The movie, admittedly, is kind of lame and the final battle should have been lame, as well, but Goldsmith's music gives it weight, drama, and power. The battle is probably the best part of the movie, and it is largely thanks for Goldsmith. Where the score truly shines, however, is in its other themes - Camelot and Arthur's music, sometimes played softly and sometimes played as a march, is a superb piece of music that reflects both the nobility and glory of Camelot and its legendary king, while also hinting at the loneliness such a hero must feel. It's a versatile piece, and I welcome it whenever it appears on the CD. And the love theme is even better. Goldsmith wrote a lot of stirring love themes in his day, but this one must be among his best. The love theme, depicting the forbidden love of Lancelot and Guenevere, is best heard "A New Life," where the music actually tells the story of their love by literally starting and stopping the theme, sometimes in mid-passage. It's clever writing, and when the love theme finally does get to render out fully, it feels more glorious because of the earlier tentativeness. "A New Life" continues beyond the love theme, following Guenevere's entrance into Camelot with the CD's best version of the Camelot theme, hands down. The track is probably the second best on the whole CD. I can talk more about the best track on the CD, "Camelot Lives," or about the rest of the CD or how the the strings soar (I've never heard violins hit such high notes), but I have to discipine myself. I can't ramble on and on. So instead I will just sum up. If you see this score, grab it. If you don't see it, then find it! More Movie Soundtracks
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