Search - Maurice Jarre :: Ghost (1990 Film)

Unchain the melody, PLEASE!

07/18/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I originally had just wanted a good recording of the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody," but purchased GHOST on the basis of several of the rave reviews below. Mssr Jarre is obviously a talented composer, but the two renditions of "Unchained Melody" are really the only things on the disk that I can stand. The rest of the selections are quite cacophonous and unmelodic; the music works fine on screen to convey tension, fear, dementia, etc., but it's not what I would ever choose to listen to. If you're like me and have a hard time appreciating much of modern "classical" music, you'd be much better off just buying a Righteous Brothers CD - "Unchained Melody" really is a slow-dance classic."

Captures the Essence of the Movie

Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 09/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are actually several types of movie soundtracks, which primarily depend on the movie. Many movies have a lot of songs and those songs are what appear on a soundtrack CD. However, "Ghost" had "Unchained Melody" and a lot of instrumentals.



"Unchained Melody" is what most people remember from this movie, and that song is on this CD. However, if you do not like the music that accompanied the remainder of the film, you would be better served by getting a collection of Righteous Brothers hits.



Moving past the beautiful song "Unchained Melody," there is an instrumental based on "Unchained Melody," which is only slightly less beautiful than the Righteous Brothers song. Instrumentals follow these two songs that are themes for each of the characters titled by the instrumentals. Since Jarre intended these instrumentals to heighten tension and create feelings of stress, some of the music is mildly discordant.



Is the music cacophonous, which is synonymous with discordant? I believe the music is periodically strident with percussion often leading the way. However, the musical effects relate to the character and the situation and are appropriate for the sound track.



I enjoy this sound track because I recall when the music was used in the movie. Each of these tracks takes me to that moment in the film. Before you buy this CD I recommend you watch the movie once more, and listen to the music other than "Unchained Melody," because that music makes up the bulk of this CD. If you think the instrumentals would displease you, then buy a Righteous Brothers greatest hits CD. If you like the music in the movie other than "Unchained Melody," then you may like this soundtrack.



Good luck!

"