About the movie

Robert Redford directs and stars in this poignant story of 14-year-old Grace MacLean, who is emotionally and physically scarred after suffering a terrible riding accident while astride her prized horse, Pilgrim. Realizing that the fates of her daughter and the horse are inextricably linked, Grace's mother, a high-powered magazine editor, launches an all-out campaign to find a 'horse whisperer', someone with a unique gift for curing troubled horses. She learns of Tom Booker, a legend for this sort of work, and packs up both Grace and Pilgrim to seek his help in Montana. While Tom works to rebuild all the lives that have been shattered by the accident, love blossoms between the gentle horseman and the uprooted sophisticate - a love with both wonderful and tragic consequences.

Starring Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Neill and Dianne Wiest.
Produced by Robert Redford and Patrick Markey (Touchstone Pictures).
Directed by Robert Redford.

About the music

Film music fans all over the world were dissapointed on hearing that John Barry, who was orginally going to score this movie, had been fired by director Redford. He had seemed the ideal composer for a film like this one; who else could do better? Well, it's hard to tell if Newman's score turned out better than the one Barry would have composed, but it sure is an incredible piece of music - by far one of the most impressive film scores of Mr Newman's career. It's a subtle score that hints at the styles Newman used for scores like Little Women, The Shawshank Redemption (lots of cellos!) and Oscar and Lucinda, but there's also Newman's more experimental side, with country-style setting-pieces and the added sound effects of whistling birds, wind and rain on some of the tracks. The film opens with Hooves, track 20 on the CD. As the Touchstone logo appears, there's first the faint sound of a horse breathing and then the music comes in to a black stallion running and kicking up sand in slow motion, against a pale moon-like light. It's pure magic, a wonderful combination of music and images. As is often the case with Mr Newman's soundtracks, the tracks are not represented here in chronological order but in an order that makes the most sense as a listening experience. The Horse Whisperer is without a doubt one of the most beautiful and enchanting scores of late and a worthy addition to Thomas Newman's growing and already impressive filmography.

The soundtrack

Street date: June 1998.
Availability: In print.

The European version of the score soundtrack featured different cover art. The picture on the right side is the cover art of the French score album. The music on both versions is identical.

At the time of the movie's release (May 1998), a soundtrack-album was released by MCA with songs by a.o. Dwight Yoakam, The Flatlanders, The Mavericks and Don Edwards (from but mostly "inspired by" the movie). This album is still widely available. No Thomas Newman-music is on this disc.

Track listing

1. Angus (0:55)
2. Double Divide (1:36)
3. The Whisperers (2:21)
4. Accident (1:45)
5. There Was Snow - Opening (3:17)
6. Hooking On (1:23)
7. Montana (1:23)
8. Pilgrim's Progress (1:59)
9. Runaway Meadow (3:00)
10. Badlands (0:47)
11. Voice of God (1:00)
12. The Rhythm of the Horse (3:15)
13. Rancher's Wife (1:30)
14. Iron (1:33)
15. Simple Truths (3:21)
16. Hereford Cross (1:15)
17. Tunnel (1:26)
18. Awkward Talk (1:58)
19. Your Misfortune - None of My Own (2:52)
20. Hooves (1:14)
21. Hobble (2:52)
22. The Very Act of Being (2:28)
23. Grace (3:06)
24. Lazy J (1:00)
25. Creek House (1:14)
26. The Vast Continent (3:39)
27. Percheron Stallion (1:49)
28. End Title (3:44)