Search - John Williams :: Jurassic Park III: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

JP3 score ranks up there with the first two

Brandon Cutro | Tyler, Texas United States | 11/15/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A while back on a website, there was a special feature where Don Davis was answering questions about the score and his involvement in it. I e-mailed him and he graciously responded. I asked him what his theme was in relation to Williams' theme and if the score was as big and bold as his scores for the first two. He responded by saying that he wrote a theme for the family in the film and he had some thematic material for the Spinosaurus, although this theme is derived from the Jurassic Park theme. It was his objective to match Williams' style in terms of boldness. He wrote the score Williams would have, but Davis' own musical signature was also present throughout. The music sounds very large and powerful and Williams' themes are present in several cues throughout. The music is very challenging for the musicians with fierce string writing and brass lines. Williams' tended to use the timpani for his scores, but Davis uses the snare drum for this one. Williams' themes occur most notably in "The Dinosaur Fly-By", "Brachiosaurus on the Bank", and "The Hat Returns/End Credits". Davis' themes occur throughout in several of the tracks, most notably in the "End Credits". I think Don Davis did a great job in taking over the job of a legendary film composer. It's not easy to follow in the footsteps of someone like that, but Davis did it with no trouble."

You almost can't tell it isn't Williams.

Chadwick H. Saxelid | Concord, CA United States | 02/17/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Being the first series entry not directed by Steven Spielberg, it should come as no big surprise that Jurassic Park III is also the first series entry not to be scored by John Williams. Not that you could tell all that much, composer Don Davis worked very hard to make his score sound as if Williams himself had done the honors, striving to keep the score sounding as similar to the previous entries as possible. The result is a score that at first appears a seamless continuation of Williams work, but then Davis's new themes and touches bleed through. This score is no boring retread. Recommended."

No Williams, but definately something

Brandon Cutro | 11/07/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For the last two films, John Williams has been the composer of the Jurassic park series, and I must admit that I was disappointed with the film. But to say the same for the soundtrack would be understating it. I like where the music is going, but I will state the pros and cons of this soundtrack...Pros- The soundtrack is a bit bombastic, which is something that Williams never feared and you can tell music hasn't been toned down causing a disrupt in the films mood. The soundtrack also carries very well, and for anyone who likes a loud brass section, this is your soundtrack.Cons- the score has way too much drum in it, causing it to have a much less magical feel then the first two tracks. It's hard to explain, but the drums seem to disrupt the music. And the strings section is almost completely cut out. One of the main themes of the first two scores were to create an animal like feel with the music, and that was barely existent in this film. Plus it sounds like someone trying to copy John Williams, when it should have sounded original while still keeping the same soft and sympathetic feel to the music.The music of Jurassic park is about the horror, and softness of things, and how when something looks beautiful, it doesn't mean it's not dangerous. Williams did a wonderful job at portraying this in the first two scores, but this one lacked that feel. It just try's too hard. I recommend it though, because it is still a wonderful piece of music that you will most likely enjoy."