Apocalypto

[Zphyr]

Just saw mel gibsons apocalypto last night..AMAZING movie, but throughout the entire movie i couldnt help but think how bad the score was, sounded like an amateur score, with very "synthy" sounding strings and poor use of instruments to project the mayan civilisation...Kinda sounded like the score came out of an 80's national-geographic documentary...All till i saw on the end credits "music by james horner":eek:
-This is just my opinion of course, but i have to say that its a rare thing for me to notice a score that sticks out like a sore thumb while watching a 2 hour movie.
Anyone feel the same?

[shnurgle]

Interesting, I'll have to check this out. Horner usually sounds pretty polished.

[iMartin]

after a fast listen at the itunes music store I can agree a bit. For me it is the panflutes and "jungle"-instruments that sounds to much like a sample-library. There seems to be quite a lot of synthpads too.

[Scott Cairns]

Maybe he was filling in for Gabriel Yared again. ;)

[johncarter]

I think it's a way for Horner to illustrates this timeless story ( because this movie is just a simple Maya love story )

He already did that on Titanic, but this time with synth choirs ..

[nexus]

this is just my personnel opinion and i'm sure many will disagree, but i feel horner peaked-out very early in his career, pouring himself out with great scores like krull, star trek etc. and began to slide as the 90's rolled around and has been in a slide ever since. as he started out so high he can afford to slide while still composing scores that if not great are 'serviceable' and carry the film. apocalypto was no different and actually reminds me of a couple scores he did in the 80's with a heavy use of synth pads and pan flutes. that is a sound that seems cliche'd but rather expected in this kind of film.

[johncarter]

Yeah i agree in a way, Horner made great scores in the 80s and the beginning of 90s , but he's recycling himself so much. Of course i love willow, casper ( that piano theme ! waw ) , braveheart, apollo 13, but since Titanic he's really in a poor period :(

[shnurgle]

I'll third that sentiment. Most composers get flack for repeating old stuff, but I think Horner tops the list--I hear actual melodies from old stuff in his new scores. He's definitely a master in terms of craft, and his sensitivity is second to none (Legends of the Fall remains one of the great epic romance scores in my opinion), but the more music he puts out, the more apparent his limitations become. Then again, in his early years, it was almost as if he was limitless with his variety. So, maybe he just doesn't want to work that hard anymore?

[PPH]

I found the score adequate. It uses many percussion instruments. Not a great score, but it's good, and it perfectly accompanies the movie. And there are some very good ideas, like the use of human screams mixed with the percussion. Maybe the sound was heavily processes and that's why it sounds synthy. Also, it probably uses synths. I don't think this is bad if it doesn't clash with the spirit of the movie. This score wasn't made in order for one to listen to it. Leitmotivs are not melodious, but rythms mixed with whispering and scraming voices. I liked the way this sound, which was used while the members of the minor tribe were hunting, and then was used againg when one of them was being 'hunted'. It underlines an aspect of the story that can't be expressed in another way. Maybe the score is not musically impressive, but if I were Mel Gibson I would be pleased with Horner's work.

[Nathan Allen Pinard]

Imo, Horner has gone WAY down hill since his older movie days. He wrote so many good scores back then (Land Before Time, ST: Wrath of Kahn, Braveheart, Apollo 13, Willow, etc.) but lately since Titanic his scores have ideas have been recycled so damned much I don't know what movie I'm watching anymore.

I'm really disappointed in his work lately.