Enemy at the Gates

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Aliens, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Clear and Present Danger, Glory, The Perfect Storm, Titanic, Willow. Though all these titles are classics in one way or another, it are the similarities I picked up when listening to Enemy at the Gates, and there are many more where those came from. And despite all those trademarks, Enemy at the Gates isn't capable of portraying the same class or elegance. What I do remember is good and bad from Mr. Horner's side. Or better said disappointing and uplifting. It is disappointing that there aren't good highlights available. A composer with such enormous skills hasn't got the punch to deliver what he created in the 80' and early 90', that fun and excellent feeling when you were simply listening to his soundtracks. What is uplifting are the end moments of the score, or much wider explained the last 3 tracks of the disc. As with The Grinch the last tracks are far more worth it then the overall soundtrack. And yet it is simply some small original material mixed with success formulas he used in other scores. One of the positive signs of Horner's score is a theme he used in several tracks, it first appears in the opening track, the fifteen minute 'The River Crossing to Stalingrad', it is found on the 12 minute. A shame that Horner didn't use it more often, because it beats the actual main theme in originality and pleasure. That main theme is actually the talk of the month, again. It shares resemblance, it listens in fact much the same way as the Schindler's List theme of John Williams. You can not really notice it until the 6th track, when it starts with almost the same mood, sound, and feeling. Just replace it with the violin and you've got a perfect copy.

Of course dinner time for Horner haters but you have to see it in the context of Horner's score and let it go on its own way. Another overused idea is the villain theme of Willow, this appears simply so much it spoils the entire fun aspect of listening to Willow in the first place. 'The Tractor Factory' sounds promising and starts that way with an impressive piece during the second minute but doesn't deliver on a whole. At this point I remembered back to the fabulous action writing of Michael Giacchino's Medal of Honor, and I really wanted to hear something of that grandeur, that riveting pace and bold power. James Horner can also deliver this but he seems to miss the opportunities. One of the better moments of score is 'A Sniper's War', with starts the same way as 'The Ambush' of Clear and Present Danger and offers the original theme in choral wonder. This is only brief and for the rest it doesn't offer enough. This is sad and Horner's middle part of the score is exactly the same, offering brief moments that listen good but are forgotten when the other non attractive parts start. It makes the middle part of Enemy at the Gates such a medium listen, making Horner's score not utterly striking in the first place. Only from track 10 do we get the better material, far from becoming the best music Horner has ever written but delivering the ultimate positive side of the score.

'Betrayed' offers the best use of the choir, it is spectacular when it supports the emotional score and combined with a clever variation of Braveheart's Princess love theme, though it never listens as a second version heard in Bicentennial Man. These moments should have lasted longer. 'Danilov's Confession' brings another part of the choral wonder at the end and 'Tania (End Credits)' offers Glory and Apollo 13 in an impressive last stroke of the score. However, with 76 minutes you roughly have 15 to 20 minutes of impressive music, and those are all scattered around on the score. So you can't point out which tracks are the highlights, only the moments of those tracks are worth mentioning. This also means that it would have been better to have a 50 minute score instead of this long release. The same fate has happened in the past with The Perfect Storm and The Grinch, they are simply too long. Enemy at the Gates isn't bad, I would even rank it higher then The Grinch and quote that it is the better of the last entries of Horner. What makes this score unique for Horner fans is basically the choral support and some impressive moments. so people that don't hate James Horner might find some good music in it. But for me I heard better. I simply kept saying: "O classic masterpieces of Horner, where are thou?".

\ЕЕЕ/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. The River Crossing To Stalingrad (15.13)

2. The Hunter Becomes The Hunted (5.53)

3. Vassili's Fame Spreads (3.40)

4. Koulikov (5.13)

5. The Dream (2.35)

6. Bitter News (2.38)

7. The Tractor Factory (6.43)

8. A Sniper's War (3.25)

9. Sacha's Risk (5.37)

10. Betrayal (11.28)

11. Danilov's Confession (7.13)

12. Tania (End Credits) (6.53)

Total Length: 76.41

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: James Horner ===