Music : Superman - The Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- One of the best scores ever written!
I was very happy when rhino released this expanded soundtrack. Finally John William's Superman score the way it should be heard in all it's entirety. I got the original soundtrack long ago and was very disappointed with it. Hardly any of the best pieces from the movie were not in that soundtrack. Scenes like when Superman shows himself for the first time and saves Loise Lane, the death of his father Jonathan Kent, and the end credits the way it was in the movie. And if that isn't enough, you get more. Alternate versions of some of the themes and unreleased material. This soundtrack defiantly worth the money to any John Williams or score fan. In my opinion, it's not only one of John Williams best but it's one of the greatest scores ever written. The one and only flaw i consider with rhino's re-release of Superman is that it wasn't digitally mastered for sound quality. It wasn't super produced like E.T. and Radiers of the Lost Ark and the Star Wars trilogies. So, therefore it doesn't sound much better than the original soundtrack put out by W.B. But because u get the whole score and the packing is great, it's a very small flaw. Being able to hear the score in it's entirety more than makes up for the lack of sound quality. Some people were dissapointed with this release, although i don't see how. Any real John Williams fan would be satisfied and excited with this release. I'm hoping that John Williams score to the film J.F.K will also be re-released sometime because the original is totally unavailable. It is more than worthy of a re-release because it's also one of the greatest pieces of music ever done for a film.

Rating:

- How Can You Quantify Beyond Absolute Greatest Of All Time?
Music touches the soul better than any aural quality in existence. This much is well known over centuries. Rarely, however, do we find a musical composition so powerful, so pure, that it reaches the soul, enters the soul, and becomes the soul.

So how can one quantify the excellence of a musical composition that does all of that and even more? One would not think a fictional character as universally known as Superman would do such, but the Alexander/Ilya Salkind motion picture of 1978 does just that with its use of John Williams and the London Symphony at a creative zenith that may never be reached again.

Before 1978 there were three musical sources that best personified Superman - the victory marches of Sammy Timberg for the 1940s Paramount/Fleischer brothers cartoons, Leon Klatzkin's more soaring and celestially triumphant marches used for the 1950s George Reeves television series, and John Marion and Gordon Zahler's brassy, gut-level rocketship theme and episode cues for Filmation's 1960s cartoons. All three found their influence used by John Williams when he first began sketching out the score for the motion picture in latter 1977.

When the soundtrack was first released in 1979, it was a very generous two-LP set that remains strong in its own right, but some 40 minutes of the score were not released until 2000, and it is here that the full brilliance of Williams at his zenith can be appreciated.

Williams did several versions of his immortal "Superman Theme," and seemingly all of them can be found on this two-disc set. We then proceed into the world of "The Planet Krypton," then to the haunting tenderness that preceeds the harsh brass that closes out "The Destruction Of Krypton." The actual destruction of the planet, however, is covered in "The Star Ship Escapes," before the tiny craft begins "The Trip To Earth," a cue whose complex woodwind display remains among the film's many highlights.

But it is after "Growing Up" and its sensational racing brass that the score grabs the soul, first with the tragic loss of "The Death Of Jonathan Kent," then with the greater pain of "Leaving Home," until the score becomes mysterious and then downright heavenly in the crystal inciness of "The Fortress Of Solitude," leaving the listener believing he has gone to heaven itself, before returning to earth in the cue's brassy closing thunderclap.

With the change to Metropolis, the score's mood relaxes and becomes grittier. Two standout and previously unreleased cues, one each from "The Big Rescue" and "Super Crime Fighter," display direct influence from John Marion and Gordon Zahler in their brassy, guttural action, especially in SCF's overlapping brass at the beginning of the car chase scene.

Another musical zenith in the film is "The Sonic Greeting" and its tough string arpeggio leading to The Man Of Steel drilling himself underground to Luthor's lair. "Misguided Missiles and Kryptonite" leave Superman seemingly beaten, before he is rescued by Luthor's mistress and he is "Chasing Rockets" before having to go through an even faster set of "Superfeats."

The emotional climax of the film comes when "Finding Lois" provides a tragic ending, but Superman refuses to accept loss, and in violation of his father Jor-El's strictest dictum, the enraged Last Son Of Krypton begins "Turning Back The World," leaving all well, and proceeding to the Finale - a finale that will leave the listener cheering for the greatest movie score ever made.

Rating:

- The best soundrack ever!
Superman was one of my all-time favorite movies, and I am pleased to now own the complete soundrack of John Williams brilliant score! Music which I love to play constantly whenever I go to work! I actually own the soundrack to the film that I bought last year, but I was so pleased to now own the "whole" soundrack to the film! If you are a die hard frran like I am, you'll know the differance of this track compared to the first one! You'll thrill at John Williams score that brought a fictional character to life in 1978 when the film was released! I know I was!

Rating:

- One of the best,most thorough soundtrack recordings
John Williams is absolutely my favorite movie composer,(just look at all the different movies he's done)and it is fantastic to finally have the soundtrack of Superman the way it actually appears in the movie.Unlike,the first original soundtrack(the one that was released when the movie came out)the beginning starts off with the prologue/main title march just as it is in the movie,and it is just awesome.The quality of this CD is excellent,and the booklet that is included gives a lot of very interesting information on the recording.I also enjoyed listening to the alternate tracks,most notably the alternate main title march at the start of disc two,and the pop version of Flying Sequence/Can You Read My Mind?.(That one definately had a 70's sound to it)The finale/end title followed by the beautiful Superman love theme is fantastic.I could go on and on,so basically I'll just say the whole CD is excellent.I love Superman The Movie,and I just couldn't imagine it without this magnificent original score.I only wish John Williams could have written the music for Superman II,it would have made an already very good movie a lot better,but that's another story.Overall,as far as soundtracks go,this ranks right up with the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition soundtracks as my favorites.

Rating:

- The best of John Williams
John Williams' Superman score is his best effort. Ranging from the soft tones of Smallville to the soaring hieghts of Metropolis, the Superman score offers grand themes of adventure, epic spectacle and romance.

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