 |
|
|
|
Hero
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 Chinese
2003 Japanese
2004 U.S.
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
Composed, Conducted, and Co-Produced by:
|
Tan Dun
|
Co-Produced by:
|
Grace Row
|
Performed by:
|
China Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus
Itzhak Perlman
KODO Drummers of Japan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Audio Clips:
2004 U.S. Album:
1. Hero: Overture (0:33), 168K hero1.ra
3. Warriors (0:28), 140K hero3.ra
4. Gone with Leaves (0:31), 154K hero4.ra
11. Farewell, Hero (0:32), 161K hero11.ra
|
|
|
|
|
Availability:
The 2002 and 2003 albums were commercially released around the world and were only available to Americans as imports. The 2004 Sony Classical album is a regular U.S. release. All the albums were released by various divisions of Sony Music.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you would be interested in a massive and more accessible
expansion of Tan Dun's sounds for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Avoid it... if your ears could not find anything remotely enjoyable or
interesting in that previous score, for the styles are largely similar.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
 |
| | Dun | |
|
Hero: (Tan Dun) The biggest domestic grosser in Chinese
film history, Zhang Yimou's Hero was the natural progression of
styles from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon into an even bigger and
more lavish production. The former film, interestingly, never performed very
well in China because of Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat's accented Mandarin
dialogue, but extra dubbing in Hero solved the problem and led the
film not only to wild success in China, but abroad as well. The film nominations for an
Oscar and Golden Globe in 2002 for the foreign film categories, but was never
fully distributed in the West. Much of the cast and crew for Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon returned the next year for Hero, with the
addition of international star Jet Li as the nameless hero at the heart of
the film. Set in China during the reign of the King of Qin (the emperor
2,200 years ago who united modern-day China and built the infamous wall),
three assassins have vowed to kill the new emperor and one hero (Li) steps
up to defend him and succeeds in killing all three through different
techniques of swordplay and passion. Like its predecessor, Hero
suspends reality by combining the martial arts craft with magical and
logic-defying movements, taking every setting and packing them with even
more exaggerated and unrealistic characteristics. Composer Tan Dun won
nearly every conceivable award for his music for Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon (defeating Gladiator in the year of that film score's
popular reign), and with his name and work now extended into the
international spotlight, Dun returns to expand upon the same general sound
for Hero. Like the first film, he assembled immense talent for the
project, recording with the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, violin
virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, the KODO Drummers of Japan, the Ancient Rao
Ensemble of the Changsha Museum, soprano You Yan, and guqin (lute) performer
Liu Lu, with sessions in China, Japan, and New York. Whether or not your
ears are tuned to enjoy the sounds of these musicians, the magnitude of the
assembled performers should merit the curiosity of any film score collector,
regardless of cultural upbringing.
Fortunately for the Western ears in particular, Hero
is a more attainable sound to grasp than that of Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon. Dun is not necessarily altering Hero for that specific
purpose, but the more warlike nature of this second score causes the brass
and percussion to be more recognizable than the dominant string material
typically inherent in Dun's writing. The base romanticism in the string
section still exists, and serves as the hypnotic heart of this score as
well. Perlman's violin performances function very similarly to Yo Yo Ma's in
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, with his style of performance altered
to fit the slurring nature of historical string writing for the region. Dun
is extremely loyal to his title theme, which may, in the end, be the most
pronounced weakness of this score (as well as the previous one), and if the
romanticism of this theme in all of its variants does not touch your soul,
then you could in for a very long listen. But Dun does offer the passages of
war dedicated to his huge armies, and in cues such as "Warriors" and "At the
Emperor's Palace," the KODO Drummers are paired with magnificent single-note
blasts of brass, and the fight sequences predictably rely heavily on
block-busting and stick-tapping percussion to maintain their rhythmic steam.
Still, despite the overwhelming power of the music for the Emperor's scenes,
Dun's romantic treatment of his title theme prevails. The drums are always
present in the score, but for the theme they perform quietly below the
chorus for an uniquely Eastern and refreshing treatment of an otherwise
typical orchestral theme. There are no individual standout cues
--consistency is one of the trademark aspects of Dun's work for these
films-- although pronounced performances by the soprano and lute player were
limited and may have served the score better had they been used in a greater
capacity. Also of curious note is the seeming omission of any special
musical identity for each of the three charismatic assassins, leaving the
music always firmly rooted in the passion that the nameless hero feels for
his country. Overall, Hero is a pleasant and more readily enjoyable
score than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, with a few militaristic
cues of bombast tempered by 45 minutes of beautiful treatment of the score's
primary theme. The non-American versions of the Hero album
(2002-2003) contain a vocal rendition of the theme (performed by Faye Wong
in Chinese Mandarin) as a bonus track. ****
 |
|
Viewer Ratings and Comments:
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Track Listings (2002 and 2003 International Albums):
|
|
Total Time: 59:13
| |
|
|
|
|
|
• 1. Hero: Overture (4:21)
• 2. For the World - Theme Music (4:19)
• 3. Warriors (3:44)
• 4. Gone with Leaves (3:28)
• 5. Longing (4:20)
• 6. At Emperor's Palace (3:58)
• 7. In the Chess Court (4:02)
• 8. Love in Distance (4:54)
| |
• 9. Spirit Fight (4:32)
• 10. Swift Sword (3:36)
• 11. Farewell, Hero (3:00)
• 12. Sorrow in Desert (2:33)
• 13. Take Me Home (1:16)
• 14. Above Water (1:45)
• 15. Snow (1:06)
• 16. Yearning for the Peace (3:30)
• 17. Hero (Theme Song) - performed by Faye Wong (4:49)
|
|
|
|
Track Listings (2004 U.S. Album):
|
|
Total Time: 54:29
| |
|
|
|
|
|
• 1. Hero: Overture (4:22)
• 2. For the World - Theme Music (4:20)
• 3. Warriors (3:44)
• 4. Gone with Leaves (3:28)
• 5. Longing (4:20)
• 6. At the Emperor's Palace (3:58)
• 7. In the Chess Court (4:03)
• 8. Love in Distance (4:55)
| |
• 9. Spirit Fight (4:33)
• 10. Swift Sword (3:37)
• 11. Farewell, Hero (3:00)
• 12. Sorrow in Desert (2:33)
• 13. Home (1:16)
• 14. Above Water (1:45)
• 15. Snow (1:06)
• 16. Yearning for the Peace (3:30)
|
The 2004 U.S. album insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
|
