Searching for Bobby Fisher

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Horner has always been good in writing scores for dramas and those emotional weepy movies. He at least combined this moving theme with a perky underscore, or created a mood with his piano and eerie strings that made it effective in the movie and intriguing on disc. Surely Horner was good at it, but the problem is then that Horner received also a lot of movies in the same vein, and that they became linked with each other in the business. Linking Horner scores together has become the profession of some people today and sadly Searching for Bobby Fisher isn't different. Of course I'm not talking about self ripping complete themes but there are moments that continued their structural sense of progression and other trademarks that are already witnessed in others of its genre. But still, Searching for Bobby Fisher has something that makes it unique and luckily the main theme lets the score work. And even if its resembles a hell of a lot Far and Away's main theme, it remains the pinnacle part of SFBF's magical quality.

Speaking solely on the material, a lot of this score works primarily as background music. The thematic development is soft and doesn't contain a lot of highlights. So in the end it are the short moments that make the album worth the listen. Worth noting are the plinky, plonky and lively piano style musical moments, bringing more flair overall to the score. It is first discovered in 'The Castle' and it will be combined together with the main theme in 'Josh and Vinnie', the highlight of the score. This is one of the best moments and I like it a lot. Sadly, I heard this style already before in Bicentennial Man and even earlier in Sneakers, differently developed there and combining to it a lot more pace and magic but in all the circumstances it works and surely on disc. And besides this plonky piano style, it is the main theme that does wonders for the listener. It is one of the better of James Horner and its always welcome when it appears on the score. Interestingly, to make the connection even stronger towards Bicentennial Man, the theme of Searching for Bobby Fisher was introduced most notably in the trailer of that movie. So in the end both movies received a flair coming from each other.

Maybe its strongest link is towards To Gillian on her 37th Birthday, because mainly it is the soft, meandering style of strings and piano that control both scores. It is just for the two already mentioned highlights that Searching for Bobby Fisher listens ultimately better then the others in the genre. For Horner fans, Searching for Bobby Fisher might ultimately be worth it, it brings several sequences of music where the magic really becomes powerful and always a strong moment is the final cue. All the moments and musical stretches of this score are witnessed in 'Epilogue / End Credits'. For 50 minutes it doesn't hold your interest from the first to the last second, but those several moments still make it all worth it for the fans of Horner's music and basically people who loved the movie and its accompanying music. It isn't the biggest nor the best listen but it can surely hold its ground.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title (3.03)

2. Early Victories (3.30)

3. Contempt (2.40)

4. The Castle (2.04)

5. Josh Vs. Dad (3.18)

6. Josh's First Lesson (2.38)

7. Trip To Chicago * (3.24)

8. Washington Square (2.44)

9. Start Your Clocks / Master Class Points (4.06)

10. Josh And Vinnie (3.31) Excellent Track

11. The Nationals (3.24)

12. Final Tournament (7.55)

13. Epilogue / End Credits (7.10) Excellent Track

* This version not contained in the motion picture

Total Length: 49.37

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

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