© 2006 Lawrence Tuczynski
CD Information courtesy of Rich Housh
| Title | Complete Takemitsu Edition 4 Music For Movies 2 [3] |
| CD Label | Shogakukan Inc. & Toho Music Corp. |
| CD Number | STZ-39~41 |
| Music by: | Toru Takemitsu |
| Number of tracks | Disc 1 : 31 Disc 2 : 35 Disc 3 : 51 |
| Running time | Disc 1 - 78:09 Disc 2 - 76:44 Disc 3 - 68:04 |
| Number of discs | 3 |
| Year of release/manufacture | 2003 |
| REVIEW |
September 1, 2006 Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) did film scores for 93 movies. These COMPLETE TAKEMITSU EDITION 4, Music For Movies sets give us many of these soundtracks. I have personally never seen the movies from this set with the exception of "Ran" which is probably my favorite Toru Takemitsu soundtrack and certainly one of my favorite Akira Kurosawa movies. I can't say how well the music interacts with what's on screen with the exception of "Ran" where the music and visuals work extremely well together. The soundtrack to "Ran" also appears on this site on the discs Milan 883 499, SLCS-5073, AK-5 from the 5 disc Akira Kurosawa set Film Music Of Akira Kurosawa and AK-0013 the 4th disc on the 3rd Film Music Of Akira Kurosawa box set. Disc 1 is mainly mellow, laid back music interspersed with some more suspense sounding tracks, especially the tracks for "Prophecy". Disc 2 starts out with slow, organ sounding music that reminds me of sitting in a catholic church waiting for mass to begin. The pace picks up a bit by track 5 but is a bit strange to listen to as stand alone music. Then more church sounding music. Most of the "Antonio Gaudi" tracks are mellow and/or church like. What surprised me was the "Fire Festival" tracks. With a name like Fire Festival I expected some fast paced, action music but heard just the opposite. It was very similar to the music on disc 1, slow moving with a hint of suspense. Disc 3 was my favorite on this set mainly because of the tracks to "Ran". It's one of my favorite Akira Kurosawa movies. The music works very well with the visuals on screen and hearing the music will bring those images back to you. However if you've never seen the movie then the music can be a bit harsh to listen to as stand alone music but does contain some lovely, haunting pieces. The music does embody traditional Japanese instruments and it can be reminiscent of samurai type films. The tracks for "The Empty Table / House Without A Table" are also slow, relaxing and mellow. This 3 disc set is a mixed bag. More than half works well as mellow, relaxing music you could put on in the background while doing other things or you could listen to while relaxing and trying to take a nap. The rest most likely works better in the films. With the exception of my bias toward the "Ran" tracks, nothing here really grabbed my attention and came off as something I'd want to listen to over and over. |
|
Complete Takemitsu Edition 4 : Music For Movies 2 [3]
Disc 1 (STZ-39)
Disc 2 (STZ-40)
Disc 3 (STZ-41)
|