Soundtrack Review: Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Posted by Jon Blough

September 2, 2009

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John Williams - Saving Private Ryan This is a review of the motion picture score Saving Private Ryan by John Williams.

“Serviceable enough in construct…combined with the awesome power of Hymn to the Fallen”

The “works in film” vs. “works on album” debate is certainly difficult to evaluate for most. A lot of derivative Media Ventures/Remote Control scores serve their films decently. Horror scores add to the fright but repel most listeners in an isolated listen. Slumdog Millionaire meshes very well but the CD does not enthrall me. Personally, I feel that almost all scores can “work on film”, with many corresponding quite well to the events on screen and only a few being abject failures (Apocalypse Now, Tangerine Dream’s Legend). If I were to write all my reviews with that being a major factor, there would always have to be two separate ratings, putting a bigger dent in my free time than this already does and becoming a mind-numbing headache. Does it mean I’m supposed to play video games too? (No interest) Watch all the TV scores I review? (No time) Ultimately, it’s the quality of music I look at and appraise, often without having even seen the medium. The album experience is the important one for me.

Restrained Nobility

I say all that because this is a debate that defines people’s views on Saving Private Ryan. It’s restrained nobility is a great fit for a film that didn’t require an overbearing score, and any music during the battle scenes would have robbed them of their crushing realism. But on album many complain the work is too minimal, repetitive, or even boring to be appreciated like other John Williams works. Certainly the second criticism gains some ground in the main theme, a slow-moving affair mostly for low horns and strings that is effective at conveying the necessary patriotism without overshadowing its film. But after dominating “Omaha Beach”, it never develops, thus by its final entry in “The Last Battle” it has worn out its welcome (it is present in almost every cue), a real shame considering the maestro normally never allows that. Also somewhat holding it back is the theme’s reliance on similar structures Williams has applied to Ameircana, notably the preceding year’s Amistad.

“Revisiting Normandy” has some fine work on brass and snare, but the rest of the underscore is decent yet unmemorable. “Finding Private Ryan” and “Approaching the Enemy” can just pass you right by, while “High School Teacher” delves into effective suspense work and sparse trumpet solos without theme. A few chord shifts may be similar to Glory, but the real puzzler is the rip of Jurassic Park suspense (especially in the brass hits) in “Defense Preparations” and “Wade’s Death”. I can’t recall a Williams score where its body has passed by without a single highlight, and if this were the whole score, I’d chalk it up to being a solely serviceable score.

Hymn to the Fallen

And yet the necessities of the film don’t hold back the end credits, where Williams unleashes what I believe to be his most moving work, “Hymn to the Fallen”. Here we get a lengthy theme that slowly builds up on woodwinds and light choir. Light timpani and a deeper choir transfer into a brief brass interlude (ala military funeral) before unleashing itself with a full ensemble choir and orchestra. Magnificent in construction and heartbreakingly beautiful in execution, it rips apart your emotions (it caused the performers to cry), especially when experienced after the movie. My only complaint is its straight reprise to close the album, although it does save me the trouble of pushing the repeat button. For a background listen of a score, it is its saving grace.

Conclusion

This is a score that divides people, both against each other and internally. I recognize that the restrained nature is a dramatic necessity for the score, and thus I can’t punish it for being low-key. However, a low-key score could have still excelled by being more consistently engaging and far less repetitive. The score is a disappointment for sure, but it is serviceable enough in construct, and combined with the awesome power of its bookend cues it’s enough to merit a recommendation

Album (64:12)
1. Hymn to the Fallen (6:10)
2. Revisiting Normandy (4:06)
3. Omaha Beach (9:15)
4. Finding Private Ryan (4:37)
5. Approaching the Enemy (4:31)
6. Defense Preparations (5:54)
7. Wade’s Death (4:30)
8. High School Teacher (11:03)
9. The Last Battle (7:57)
10. Hymn to the Fallen (Reprise) (6:10)

Listen to Saving Private Ryan by John Williams below:

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