MovieScore Media reunites with Marco Beltrami with another acclaimed score by the composer. Directed by Aleksey Uchitel, Mathilde was the most discussed Russian film of 2017 due to its controversial depiction of the Romanov family. The movie tells the story of the supposed romantic relationship between the heir to the Russian throne, Nicholas Romanov, and the ballerina of the Imperial Theater, Matilda Kshesinskaya. The story opens with the first meeting between the 22-year-old crown prince and 18-year-old ballerina in 1890, then follows the tormented affair up until the coronation of Nicholas and his wife Aleksandra in 1896. Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the revolution that lead to the tsar’s abdication, Mathilde spans gorgeous costumes and a emotionally charged score to match the drama.
“I was immediately drawn to the story, the costumes, the sets… it was simply a gorgeous looking movie” says Marco about the film. Using only a handful of themes to underscore the forbidden affair, the music is anchored by Mathilde’s theme for the young dancer who finds herself in royal intrigue. The other major thematic elements include a lively chase theme written around a violin solo (‘Twilight of the Empire’) and a sinister theme for the proto-Rasputin mystic Dr. Fishel (‘Fishel’s Holograph’) and some chase sequences that highlight the composer’s skills in using unobtrusive electronic elements that don’t sound out-of-place in a historical films either (“Tent Attack”, “Bear Attack”).
Following his groundbreaking score for Scream, Marco Beltrami became the most reliable genre composer following the adventures of alien invaders (The Faculty), vampires (Blade II), ghosts (The Woman in Black) and zombies (World War Z). He is frequently trusted with scoring the most valuable Hollywood properties: he worked on the remakes of The Omen, The Thing and Carrie, but he also took over from Michael Kamen on the last two Die Hard movies. Beltrami’s regular filmmaking partners include Wes Craven (Scream 1-4, Dracula 2000), Guillermo del Toro (Mimic, Hellboy), James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, The Wolverine) and Tommy Lee Jones (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The Homesman). His previous release with MovieScore Media was the Danish television mini-series 1864.
MMS18002 • MATHILDE (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Music Composed by MARCO BELTRAMI Release date (digital): March 16, 2018 Release date (CD): April, 2018 (Quartet Records)
TRACK LISTING
1 Twilight of the Empire 3:55 2 Mathilde and the Balloon Ride 2:55 3 Church Chase and Train Crash 3:17 4 Exposed 3:16 5 Obstacle Course 2:15 6 Séance 2:21 7 Fishel’s Holograph 1:47 8 Tent Attack 2:09 9 To Moscow 1:50 10 Train Kiss 2:00 11 Bear Attack 2:30 12 Dance Fight 3:05 13 Dress Reversal 1:40 14 Gassing the Raft 5:03 15 Tent Neckless 2:20 16 Running Away 2:03 17 The Fall 1:45 18 Coronation 2:10 19 Happiness 2:34 20 Dark Coronation 2:53 21 Dream Kiss 3:52 22 End Credits 2:13 23 Mathilde’s Theme 2:24
The closest comparative MB score to Mathilde would be 1864 I think -- which is another massively underrated MB score, and unbelievably heartfelt and beautiful. It seems MB has the best chance to work on those kinds of film scores (or at least those kinds of film scores come from him) when he ventures outside the States -- I am Dina, a close cousin to those scores I mentioned above, was a Norwegian production as well, with 1864 being Czech if I'm not mistaken. Sadly, I don't know much about European (or international) film music so I can't say whether or not his scores for international films reflect their sensibilities, but they do tend to have a distinct quality not present in his work in the States. Same goes for Snowpiercer, a Czech production from a Korean filmmaker, although it's vastly different in tone and shape than the others mentioned. Mesrine too -- a primarily French production shot in multiple countries over two continents -- although it was unfortunately (and partially unsuccessfully imo) infused with the studio-mandated "Hollywood sound". Whether intimate and small-scale or epic and sublimely grand, his int'l work is unquestionably representative of his unique voice as a composer, while achieving a certain level of classical grandeur and elegance.
with 1864 being Czech if I'm not mistaken. Sadly, I don't know much about European (or international) film music so I can't say whether or not his scores for international films reflect their sensibilities, but they do tend to have a distinct quality not present in his work in the States. Same goes for Snowpiercer, a Czech production from a Korean filmmaker
Both 1864 (locals) and Snowpiercer (studios) were shot here... They are not really CZ productions - only maybe with very small benefits from local "film industry" for using local people, but not really produced here. I wish, though. It would be great if Marco ever recorded anything here...
1864 I think was mostly Danish TV production (like Deep Water?). Snowpiercer possibly mainly Korean considering its director?
Both (and especially Dina) probably collected funds from several countries and were co-produced between them.
The film looks really, really bad, but the score has potential. Perhaps a bit too "full-on" for my taste, but I'll wait untill I've heard the whole thing.
Some of these samples have me rather surprised (others don't one bit). This does indeed sound, as Thor dismissively notes, very "full on" - which means most of us might like it a great deal. I'll have to pick this one up.
Still awaiting Beltrami to give us more music like MIMIC, DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, HELLBOY, I AM DINA and DAVID & LISA. Genuine inspiration seems very 'few and far between' for him as a composer.
EDIT - Might have spoken too soon, really it's just four or five of those 30 second samples that sound promising. I'll wait until more clips are up on Youtube before deciding to pick this up or not.
I've been listening to this score on Spotify this morning and found it generally underwhelming as usual with Beltrami, including Soul Surfer. Typical modern scoring focusing more on textures than themes. The few themes that show up towards the end are fairly average. Mathilde's theme, for example, has some emotional backing but is quite simplistic. It is more a string of motifs than a theme. The only recent score from Beltrami that has grabbed me is Gods of Egypt.
I remember thinking it was different and somewhat interesting, but haven't listened to it in quite a long time - I honestly don't even know if I still have the download I paid for any longer. Maybe I'll feel different today, might just hop over to Youtube and see if it strikes my palette in a different fashion now than before.
I just wish he'd mine whatever creative well led to things like "Father's Funeral" from HELLBOY or the absolutely breathtaking "Reunited" from MIMIC more often. It's not like he's been presented a shortage of opportunities to write impressive and dramatic music, but I've come to realize he's just not that 'kind' of composer I connect with like Rozsa, Scott, Williams, Delerue, Horner, Holdridge, Bernstein, Goldsmith, Herrmann, Hisaishi, Folk, Michael J. Lewis, Michiru Oshima, Yoko Kanno, Masamichi Amano et al.
The few times Beltrami HAS written music in the style of those greats have probably been him stepping outside his comfort zone at the behest of directors like Del Toro, who value memorable orchestral scoring. Those other guys and gals are all "composer's composers" first and foremost, whereas Beltrami is very emphatically a "FILM composer".
I don't want to pile on, but I'll also admit that I had great hopes for Beltrami after Hellboy and have been disappointed, ever since (with the exception of Seventh Son). I haven't had a chance to listen to Mathilde yet, but I had hopes that it would be decent...we'll see.
I don't want to pile on, but I'll also admit that I had great hopes for Beltrami after Hellboy and have been disappointed, ever since (with the exception of Seventh Son). I haven't had a chance to listen to Mathilde yet, but I had hopes that it would be decent...we'll see.
100% agree with this and what the other posters have stated. Where did the Beltrami that wrote Hellboy go? He's been a composer that has constantly disappointed since then.
100% agree with this and what the other posters have stated. Where did the Beltrami that wrote Hellboy go? He's been a composer that has constantly disappointed since then.
I'm beginning to have a sneaking suspicion that Guillermo Del Toro is the sole reason we have ANY music from Beltrami that appeals to we "traditional" score lovers.
100% agree with this and what the other posters have stated. Where did the Beltrami that wrote Hellboy go? He's been a composer that has constantly disappointed since then.
I'm beginning to have a sneaking suspicion that Guillermo Del Toro is the sole reason we have ANY music from Beltrami that appeals to we "traditional" score lovers.
That's one opinion, but this traditional score lover is quite fond of Seventh Son, I Robot, Gods of Egypt, The Snowman, Soul Surfer and xXx: State of the Union.
