CONTACT
Rating: 
Original Review: To paraphrase a certain film score magazine, "My God, it's full of Gump!". Alan Silvestri's second best ever score, after the eponymous Forrest, contains more than a hint of the beautiful Main Theme from that film here, but I really don't mind at all because it is such a beautiful theme: light, airy, whimsical, but with just enough meaning to be poignant rather than pointless. The thing that makes Contact such a marvellous score, other than this main theme, is the incidental music, which it has long been suggested that Silvestri can't write. Here, though, Alan answers his critics by making every cue a mini-marvel, especially 'Ellie's Bogey' a brilliantly realised action theme, which isn't an action theme (if you see what I mean) - it's busy and quick, with an excellent string element, but is never overbearing. The other highlights to the score are 'The Primer', which starts off rather tense and rhythmic and finishes with a marvellous restatement of the main theme; 'Media Event', which builds to a wonderfully joyous climax; 'Good To Go' is another excellent action theme, and four cues, which make up seventeen-and-a-half minutes of score, are the best on the album, beginning with the sentimental 'No Words', through the eerie and ethereal 'Small Moves' and the hopeful 'I Believe Her' to the wonderful end credits music, subtitled 'Contact'. I can really see Alan Silvestri being Oscar nominated again for this score - but whether it wins will depend on the sentimentality of the judges.
Track Listing:
- Awful Waste of Space (1:41)
- Ellie's Bogey (3:23)
- The Primer (6:19)
- Really Confused (1:18)
- Test Run Bomber (4:25)
- Heart Attack (1:29)
- Media Event (1:24)
- Button Me Up (1:18)
- Good To Go (5:11)
- No Words (1:42)
- Small Moves (5:35)
- I Believe Her (2:31)
- Contact - End Credits (7:58)
Running Time: 44 minutes 31 seconds
Warner Bros. 9-6811-2 (1997)
Music composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri. Orchestrations by William Ross. Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands. Album produced by Alan Silvestri.
Home Page | Soundtracks | Soundtrack Reviews | Composers | Soundtrack Links
These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1997. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those of my employer, the Trent Institute for Health Services Research, or those of the University of Sheffield.