Soundtrack Review: The Great Debaters by James Newton Howard and Peter Golub
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James Newton Howard has been a busy guy lately, scoring for I Am Legend, Mad Money and now this, The Great Debaters. 2007 was also a very busy year for him and 2008 he has at least 6 projects, including The Dark Knight with Hans Zimmer. The Great Debaters is a movie directed by and starring the great Denzel Washington. It’s a drama, based on a true story about Melvin B. Tolson a Wiley College Texas professor who inspired the students to form the school’s first debate team which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship 1935. Seems like a nice movie to watch. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve heard through the soundtrack many times and here’s what I think.
It’s a very light soundtrack, with light thematic elements throughout. It feels like a drama with comedic undertones, and there’s no distinct theme. It’s slightly more pronounced than James Newton Howard’s excellent Michael Clayton from last year. The soundtrack seems a bit thin overall, and it’s far between the highlights. What makes Michael Clayton a lot better than this soundtrack is the sound. This soundtrack has a feeling of “heard it all before”. It’s not that much different from I Am Legend for example, except it’s much lighter and it also lacks a main theme.
It’s not all bad though, it’s nice to listen to as background music, it’s just that I expect better from James Newton Howard. I think I’m allowed to be a little bit harsh with him, since he will probably make the score of the year with Hans Zimmer for The Dark Knight. I’ve been talking a lot about James Newton Howard, when he has a collaborator in Peter Golub. I don’t know who made what, but it’s a James Newton Howard score, definitively. Overall, it’s a nice, but easily forgotten soundtrack. Listen to it below:
http://soundtrackgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/tgd.flv
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Comments
Yeah I agree with you. It’s nice, but so easily forgotten. I hope that JHN does something really original this year, as his scores doesn’t vary much from the formula. I expect greatness for The Dark Knight. Batman Begins was such a good score, and I hope they can make The Dark Knight even better.
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I thought the score for this film was rather mediocre, but hopefully with all the projects he has slated for 2008 are great, I would like to see him to something substantial. I look forward to his score with Hans Zimmer in The Dark Knight, sounds good.
Nick Plowman’s last blog post..Gone Baby Gone (2007)