Various Artists - Last Samurai (Score) / O.S.T. - Music & Performance - CD

The Elektra scores features music by Academy Award nominee and Grammy Award winner Hans Zimmer, one of the top film scores in Hollywood, who has compo sed the music for epics like Gladiator, Rain Man, the Lion King, Pearl Harbor, and dozens more the Last Samurai will be one of the biggest releases of the Christmas season.

Hans Zimmer's score for Edward Zwick's samurai epic The Last Samurai mixes his own densely composed style with Japanese instruments and melodies, resulting in a brooding, atmospheric collection of music. Shakuhachi and other flutes, koto, and taiko drums make their presence known throughout the score, most effectively on compositions like "A Way of Life," which begins as a reflective duet for flute and strings before swelling into an ominous but majestic melody. "Spectres in the Fog" is another compelling mix of beauty and violence, starting with a delicate koto melody and rolling drums before crashing percussion and sawing strings turn the mood from bittersweet to battle-ready. These drums of war and battle cries increase as the score unfolds, making tracks such as "Safe Passage," "Ronin," and "Red Warrior" nearly as tense and striking outside of the film's context as they are in it. The score's quieter moments are just as thoughtfully crafted, with "Taken," "A Hard Teacher," and "Idyll's End" adding restraint and balancing the more explosive tracks. The Last Samurai flows from track to track seamlessly; indeed, its lengthy, multi-part compositions give it the feel of one long, shifting composition. Its Asian melodies and emphasis on percussion are reminiscent of Tan Dun's score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but this score is both more somber and more lush, particularly on its closing pieces, "The Way of the Sword" and "A Small Measure of Peace." Both of these tracks mix gravity and hope into a somber conclusion to a somber but expertly crafted score that ranks among Zimmer's finest work. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Performer	Various Artists
Music genre	Soundtracks
Music subgenre	Film Score
Music release type	Release
Media format	CD
Original release date	2004
Edition	Standard
Language	English
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Various Artists - The Last Samurai [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [CD]
Track listing	A Way of Life, Spectres in the Fog, Taken, A Hard Teacher, To Know My Enemy, Idyll's End, Safe Passage, Ronin, Red Warrior, The Way of the Sword, A Small Measure of Peace
Record label	Warner Bros Uk
Composer	Hans Zimmer
Songwriter	songwriter
Track name	A Way of Life, Spectres in the Fog, Taken, A Hard Teacher, To Know My Enemy, Idyll's End, Safe Passage, Ronin, Red Warrior, The Way of the Sword, A Small Measure of Peace, To The Battlefield, To the Battlefield, Season's Pass, They Won't Surrender, Intriguing People, The Little Big Horntale, Battle In The Fog, Beating In The Rain
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N