THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

HANS ZIMMER

Rating:

Original Review: Dreamworks Pictures don't take the easy way out on their movies, do they? Billed as one of the most ambitious animated features ever made, The Prince of Egypt attempted to translate no lesser a tale than the book of Exodus to the big screen. It's obviously a bid to finally steal the animated movie crown from Disney for good but, one has to admit, it's not quite the spectacular movie we all expected. It has moments of great power, is visually stunning, and thankfully does not pander to the usual tendencies of animated movies by being overly cute or coy, but the film suffers slightly from having a rotten ending, and by taking a number of historical liberties - most notably by turning the relationship between Moses and Rameses into a sort of biblical buddy-movie. In his role as head of music at the studio, Hans Zimmer was handed the job of providing a new musical voice for the story of Moses and Rameses. Composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, poached from the clutches of Alan Menken after Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, wrote six original songs to be performed on-screen by a stellar voice cast that included such famous names as Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Martin Short and Steve Martin. Their problem was one of taste: they had to try to make the music interesting and appropriate, but not trivialise or "Disneyfy" a story which, to many, is one of the cornerstones of their religious beliefs. As Zimmer put it in a recent interview, he could have offended half the western hemisphere with one wrong note or one misjudged musical phrase. In the end, despite best efforts, Schwartz came up with the goods more effectively that Zimmer did. Zimmer's score is barely removed from his usual high-octane style, but is toned down a notch a two so that the listener is not simply blown out of their chair, and is able to experience the subtleties of the score. The two best, 'Burning Bush' and 'Red Sea', are built around a magical three-note "God" motif accompanied by synthesisers, ascending brass scales and a heavenly choir which attempts to capture the awe, wonder and power felt by Moses when in the presence of the Lord. The other cues of note include 'The Reprimand', which starts off quite slowly, but by the three minute mark had turned into a lively Egyptian dance piece featuring authentic middle eastern instruments courtesy of Jeff Rona's exotic ensemble. 'Goodbye Brother', which has a startlingly good orchestral blast half way through, to underscore the amazing sandstorm sequence, and 'Death of the First Born', which features a haunting cello solo by Anthony Pleeth that captures perfectly the hopelessness and despair felt by the families affected by the final plague sent by God. On the whole, though, although Zimmer's score is suitably epic and is certainly enjoyable to listen to, it somehow lacks a little something that would have otherwise made it a classic. Ironically, one of the best cues in the score is not included on the album. The Chariot Race is a rip-roaring action sequence with a fantastic musical accompaniment, and is included on a rare "Collectors Edition" soundtrack available only in the USA - one of no less than four separate CDs to hit the market, including one of completely unrelated songs "inspired" by the film, and one entitled "Nashville" which inexplicably includes a load of country 'n western ballads. Schwartz's songs, however, are completely successful, with not a bad one among them. The opening scene-setter, 'Deliver Us' is arguably the best, and features a strong and powerful male chorus lamenting for the plight of the Hebrew slaves, while Israeli singer Ofra Haza lends her exotic voice to the gorgeous river lullaby segment, offering a poignant farewell to the infant Moses. Amick Byram, singing for Ralph Fiennes, makes 'All I Ever Wanted' a soul-searching lament as he questions his heritage; 'Through Heaven's Eyes' is barnstorming, full-bodied dance piece with a memorable performance by Brian Stokes-Mitchell; The darkly comical 'Playing with the Big Boys Now' is marvellous, combining a touch of humour with a barely-concealed menace as Rameses' two priests mock Moses' attempts to amaze them with miracles; 'The Plagues' is a bitter verbal sparring match between Moses and Rameses, who refuse to budge an inch in the face of the other, while the inhabitants of the land suffer invasions by frogs, locusts and boils, and the spine-tingling, life-affirming 'When You Believe' is destined to be the one which everyone remembers, not through its performance in the film, but because it's probably going to win the Oscar for Best Song this year. Looking through the liner notes, it becomes obvious that this score was a massive undertaking by the combined forces of Dreamworks SKG and Media Ventures. Harry Gregson-Williams, Gavin Greenaway, John Powell, Jeff Rona and Rupert Gregson-Williams are all credited in some form or another, as either conductor, orchestrator or producer. In addition, the star names performing the various spin-off songs include Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Amy Grant and Boyz II Men, showing without question that no expense was spared to make The Prince of Egypt a commercial success. Despite the lavish publicity, and time and effort, the final test of a score's worth is not sales or awards, but on the quality of the music. While Zimmer's efforts on The Prince of Egypt have their fair share of highlights and moments of excellence, and although I can't exactly put my finger on what's wrong with it, it nevertheless strikes me as being a little disappointing. Schwartz, on the other hand, has done the best work of his cinema career here, and his songs alone make this album a success.

Track Listing: Running Time: 76 minutes 10 seconds

Dreamworks DRD-50041 (1998)

Voice cast: Ofra Haza, Eden Riegel, Amick Byram, Linda Dee Shayne, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky.

Music composed by Hans Zimmer. Conducted by Gavin Greenaway, Harry Gregson-Williams and Rupert Gregson-Williams. Performed by The London Orchestra and The Boys Choir of Salisbury Cathedral. Songs by Stephen Schwartz. Orchestrations by Bruce L. Fowler, Ladd McIntosh, Yvonne S. Moriarty, Marcy Dicterow-Vaj, Elizabeth Finch, Tom Fowler, Steven C. Fowler, Walter E. Fowler, Darryl Leonard, Erik Lundborg and Jack Smalley. Featured musical soloists Anthony Pleeth, George Robertson, Hugh Seenan, Jonathan Snowden, Michael Brittain, Richard Morgan, Nicholas Rodwell, Michael Chapman, Maurice Murphy, Derek Watkins, Richard Edwards, Andrew Fawbert, Stephen Wick, George Wall and Nicholas Hitchens. Special vocal performances by Andrew Johnson, Shira Roth, Christopher Marquette, Justin Timsit and Michael Patrician. Middle Eastern Music Ensemble Jeff Rona, John Bilezikjian, Bradley Durtz, Pejman Hadadi, Souhail Kaspar, Guangming Li, Ali Jihad Racy, Adam Rudolph and Fred Selden. Recorded and mixed by Alan Meyerson. Edited by Adam Smalley. Mastered by Bob Ludwig. Songs produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, Gavin Greenaway and John Powell. Album produced by Hans Zimmer and Adam Smalley.


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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1999. 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.