Willow

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

In the '80, effects were starting to become more and more sensational, and even though still somewhat dated of sight, Willow faced another giant leap to the effects boundaries. However, its magical quality is that its still lovely for a fantasy film and that its spectacle from top to bottom. Horner definitely made a contribution to that fact too with a rousing adventure score. At times bold for the action, at times ferocious for the suspense, at other times just plain beautiful for the vistas or the emotion on screen, Willow has it all in grand fashion. Naturally, the evil four note motif so accustomed in many Horner scores was used most prominently in this score, but it appeared much sooner in the earlier ones too. It nonetheless returns all to the same old score when people hear it in the latter ones. Now, the evil four note motif makes grand gestures of the bad villains and represents Kael's character well. But don't mind the evil four note motif so much since its the other part of the score that makes it so much fun. There are several themes and each one appears so grand in the score that its unbelievable just to hear it so bold. Horner doesn't waste time in stating the main theme of Willow, namely 'Elora Danan', a sweeping piece of beauty and with the shakuhachi in the biggest performance ever. Its so grand that you basically can't follow what comes next, with short but aggressive action music, mystical use of choir, the funny comical music and Willow's theme. Its all there from the start.

The next track does even better, 'Escape From the Tavern' with rousing statements of Willow's theme. Its giant fun and big, with of course the occasional evil four note motifs for the danger at hand. 'Tir Asleen' is another big track with the shakuhachi, brass and energy abound and it especially has a lot in common with Aliens. The adventure theme and the racing action music takes center stage while a variation on Willow's theme works as love theme for the growing romance. 'Willow's Theme' by then unleashes its beauty with the main Elora Danan theme and of course Willow's adventure theme while the final track 'Willow the Sorcerer' is first big dissonant music, before shifting beautiful with the themes of the movie and an upbeat playful jig for the community of Willow himself. The other tracks all have a bit of the themes and some more darker material, especially the mammoth 7th track. 'Canyon of Mazes' has good moments nonetheless, with adventure fanfares like Star Trek and Brainstorm while occasional flying thoughts inspire the crowd at the end. As a score, Willow is big fun and bold listening material. Its both loud for the dissonance as the melodic music and together they share one common fact, they all make impact in and outside the movie. James Horner made of course a big name with Aliens, and Willow is more approachable since it carries more happy themes but the effect is what matters the most, and Aliens and Willow are all great effective soundtracks. Its of course different in all aspects, but together they stand as a pinnacle in Horner's career and proud collectibles in the fanbase of the Englishman. Its like he was at that time a wizard to us all.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Elora Danan (9.46) Excellent Track

2. Escape From The Tavern (5.05) Excellent Track

3. Willow's Journey Begins (5.26)

4. Canyon Of Mazes (7.52)

5. Tir Asleen (10.47) Excellent Track

6. Willow's Theme (3.55) Excellent Track

7. Bavmorda's Spell Is Cast (18.11)

8. Willow The Sorcerer (11.57) Excellent Track

Total Length: 73.17

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

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