Soundtrack Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2010)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Soundtrack Review: This is a review of The film score Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus by Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna.

"It's a challenging score made for your brain cells to consider and analyze."

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is an amazing tale about a man, Dr. Parnassus, who made a bet with the devil himself and won immortality. Only that's not enough, so he trades immortality for youth against his first born's soul when he or she becomes 16. 16 years later and Dr. Parnassus meets the devil again who is willing to make another bet. The first man/devil to consume 5 souls will get the possession of Dr. Parnassus' 16-year-old daughter Valentina. Intriguing indeed and with Terry Gilliam as director anything can happen. A star-studded cast with Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell and John Waitts joins as well. Mychael & Jeff Danna are composing the score.

Track List

After the slight disappointment that was The Time Traveler's Wife and the slightly better (500) Days of Summer, Mychael Danna rejoins his brother Jeff. Not since the excellent Lakeview Terrace in 2008 have they collaborated, but this is sure to test the mind and grab many by the ear. The movie itself is exciting, but what boggles the mind more is the possibility of a great score. There's nothing like these fantasy movies that test the mind. Mychael and Jeff has a great reputation for collaborating and usually come up with something good. One also has to consider Tideland from 2005, which Gilliam wrote and directed and had Jeff and Mychael Danna write the score. It turned out to be a great relationship so here's hoping they are able to recapture the magic.

Imaginative and Entertaining

From the early samples, you only got a glimpse of what was to be the full score which runs 47.5 minutes. It's certainly imaginative and entertaining, fitting a fantasy movie of this scale, but is it enough? My feeling is a bit off on this one, it has to be said, because I don't know what to feel. This is your typical intellectual score, feeding off your mind and your imagination. It's not an emotional score, which is definitely my favorite sort. The mind needs to be fed as well however, and I love the analytical mind being given a workout now and then. This is a score that requires a few listens and each time I listen to it I find new exciting details. It's a powerful orchestral score that any old school film music fan should enjoy right off the bat.

Don't get put of by the first cue 'Once Upon a Time' which was really hard to get into. The deep string intro is a tough one, but once you get past that, it's an easier listen. It's a very string driven score, but it holds a few surprises up it's sleeve. I love the way 'Once Upon a Time' changes from 1:15 onwards into a more fantastical theme made for a fantasy movie just like this. The highlights are not that many, but there's a couple of cues which are truly spectacular. 'The Tack' is an impressive powerhouse of a track and is a great fantasy cue. It starts off like an action cue with all the trimmings, but changes into a more heroic and lighter theme around the 0:50 mark. 'Sympathy for the Hanged Man' is another wonderful cue that is much calmer than other cues on the album. I like it because it is quite simple but is a good change of pace just when the score needs it. There are many great moments sprinkled throughout, but it doesn't have the consistency to properly engage me the way I want to be engaged.

Conclusion

I have a feeling this score will be great on film and a lot more powerful than it is as a standalone experience. While it has the potential to make you laugh and cry, this was something that I didn't find when I listened to it. Like I said, it's more a challenging score made for your brain cells to consider and analyze. All in all I'm happy with this score, it's better than the samples I heard a few months ago.

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Listen to the The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus soundtrack by Jeff Danna & Mychael Danna below: