Search - Harry Gregson-William :: Spy Game: Original Motion Picture Score

I spy a good soundtrack

Brandon Cutro | Tyler, Texas United States | 12/24/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Harry Gregson-Williams, who has composed many film scores along with John Powell and by himself, returns solo with this thriller score to Spy Game. The music represents the various settings in the film, from China to Vietnam and the middle east with voices and ethnic percussion sounds.The opening track "Su-Chou Prison" opens the score with thrilling percussion and synths. A boy soprano soloist is used in 2 main tracks, "My Name Is Tom" and "Operation Dinner Out". These 2 tracks, plus "Parting Company" contain the main theme. A highlight of the soundtrack is "Red Shirt" which contains all of the score's basic elements thrown into one track. "The Long Night" reminds me a little of Graeme Revell's The Negotiator in parts, but i'm sure that Gregson-Williams didn't take it from him. Other parts of the score remind me of Danny Elfman's Proof of Life. The majority of the score contains ethnic influences, with voices, a boy soprano soloist, ethnic percussion, and plenty of electronics and orchestra. Great orchestral music can be found in "All Hell Breaks Loose", "Beirut, A War Zone", "My Name Is Tom", "Explosion and Aftermath", and "Operation Dinner Out". I wish that more of the orchestral passages would of been used, but due to the film's setting, I can see why Gregson-Williams chose to use electronics and ethnic sounds for it. There is 71 minutes of music on here, which is more than plenty and satisfies the average film music collector. A great soundtrack and a job well done by Harry Gregson-Williams."

Maybe the best electronic soundtrack yet created

tropic_of_criticism | 07/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While the general job of anyone getting the "Music By" credit is to underscore the emotional context of the filmed image, electronic music is often overlooked as a tool by which this can be meaningfully achieved. Indeed, most electronically-rendered scores ARE easily forgettable, and in some cases flatly inappropriate for the action being described.



But Gregson-William here chooses precisely the right instruments and displays his absolute studio-side mastery. In part this is because the film itself, being so heavily involved with electronic surveillance, obviously calls for a more artificial musical score. But his real genius is in finding a way to give both cultural context and recognizable motifs. Whether the current action on the screen is set in Asia, Europe, America or the Middle East, the music feels like it belongs both in those locales AND in the same movie. The main theme for Redford's character doubles as the SPY GAME theme, and it's worked and reworked throughout to give a thoroughly satisfying evolution through the action.



If you've been disappointed by electronic soundtracks in the past--and who living through the 80s wasn't?--this score will show you just how expressive the genre can be, when handled by the right artist."

Good Score for a Good Movie

Shyam | Chennai, India | 11/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Soundtrack (Score rather) captures the true essence of the movie. My favorites are the 'Training Montage' and 'The Beirut Sequence', If you have seen the movie (which might i add is a classic in its own right), i would recommend buying this soundtrack.
The only gripe i have is , that they did not include Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way" and Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" in the soundtrack. An otherwise, Good music score to have around."