Amelie: Original Soundtrack Recording
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Free Music Notes for Amelie: Original Soundtrack Recording
Free Music Review: Un hymne à la joie de vivre!
Hit: 5 Stars
This magnificient music delivers a powerful message of hope, love and joy for life, all through a whirlwind of emotions, from melancholy to joy and extasy.
Yann Tiersen displays an impressive command of melodic subtlety. He heavily leans on the familiar parisian street accordion leitmotifs as a starting point. His touch incorporates gypsy violin flourishes, classical string ensembles, electronics, piano solos, etc. His music sounds incredibly fresh, breezy and somehow familiar.
Accordion has never been one of my favorite musical instruments before. Now, after Thiersen's works, I have to say it kind of slowly grew on me.
Apparently Thiersen was given complete freedom to recycle some of his old tunes that perfectly fit the mood of most of the scenes in this movie. Of course he did more than that, since he added a number of new compositions which are so quirky and majestic you never know what musical twist is about to come next.
Piano and accordion obviously play a pivotal role, balanced out by banjos, basses, guitars, hapsichords and vibraphones, all of them played by Tiersen himself, just like M. Oldfield, although their musical styles are completely different.
Yann Tiersen has very often been compared to Eric Satié or Nino Rota. As difficult as it is to imagine Fellini's films without Rota's music, I keep wondering what "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" would have been without Tiersen's music. Different. Maybe not better, maybe not worse, but somewhat different.
If you've already been to the "l'île de la cité" in the spring and have taken long strolls in Montmartre or near the "Canal Saint Martin", chances are you are going to love Tiersen's music even more, if that were possible.
A little piece of advice though: don't forget to put the headphones on before pushing the play button, otherwise you'll be missing on some sound effects like a typewriter clicking at the beginning of "Pas si simple" and later beautifully blending with the percussion of an ensuing waltz, the sound of a bicycle wheel rolling at the end of "Soir de fête", the birds chirping and the like. Trust me, it really makes a difference...oh, yes, I almost forgot: don't be ashamed if you feel a few tears rolling down your cheeks now and then. They say a beautiful piece of music can do that to you sometimes.
Free Music Review: Melancholic Melody and Whimsical Lullabyes
Hit: 5 Stars
A great soundtrack to an even greater movie, "Le Fabuleaux Destin d'Amelie Poulain" is a showcase for Yann Tiersen's masterful use of atmosphere in music.Give director Jean-Pierre Jeunet credit for his hands-off approach -- Tiersen, who doesn't often have very many nice things to say about directors and the movie scoring process, was given free reign to do whatever he wanted on this project. And what he wanted to do, apparently, was to recycle many of his old songs that fit the mood of the film, all of which have an otherworldly-yet-familiar feel to them, while adding an equal number of new compositions to round out the collection. The result of Tiersen's autonomy was a unified soundtrack that captures the mood of both the film and the composer.
This album -- almost exclusively instumental -- features nine songs compiled from Yann Tiersen's other albums (from 1995's "La Valse des Monstres" to this year's "L'Absente"), nine new Tiersen compositions (a handful of which are variations on the "Valse d'Amelie" theme, all of which are fortunately distinct enough to merit life on their own), and two 1930s songs featuring vocals ("Guilty" and "Si Tu n'Etais Pas La" both contribute to the nostaligic air of the movie, especially with the old vocal style).
Really, there's no way to adequately classify the accordion-driven folksy milimalist lullabyes that permeate this collection. Whether using orchestral touches, retro-future instruments straight out of an Ed Wood movie, or just playing the piano, Tiersen puts an alternately melancholy and jubilant edge on beauty while doing a magnificent job at evoking the whimsy and nostalgia of "Amelie." The source of Tiersen's music, just like the Paris of "Amelie," seems to be located in some alternate dimension, maybe a parallel universe that never escaped from the 1950s.
"Amelie" is a wonderful example of an excellent movie turned into an instant classic through a soundtrack that perfectly captures the mood of the film and adds another layer of depth to an already formidable medium. See the movie, and buy the soundtrack.
Free Music Review: Love, Dreams, and Amelie
Hit: 5 Stars
This is my first review. All my senses are telling me not to write anything; but, I must say something about this work of song.My best friend came to visit me from home during Thanksgiving. He wanted to watch Amelie in the old theater we have because he knew it would take such a long time to get to Puerto Rico. I went in because I love movies and I was also intrigued by what I had seen of it.
My heart was ambushed. The story played before me and love filled my soul. The music was a warm, slow, and gentle stream flowing through me, threatening to spill through my fingertips. Comtine D'un Autre Ete: L'apres Midi, the first of Amelie's masterpieces. Once this song was played, I was hooked, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, along with Yann Tiersen, had my full attention.
Though without a doubt, the director of Amelie did a spectacular job of movie making, without the music of Yann Tiersen, it would never have been as powerful. When La Valse D'Amelie played, I felt like standing up and dancing as a fool. The first love I had ever felt for my girlfriend returned and made me want to laugh so hard, and be so happy, that I almost cried a little for not having the courage to do it then and there. (Then again, it might have been because some foreign film-junkie would have order me to sit my behind down again)
And then they played Pas Si Simple, and I was back in the small cobblestone streets of Paris riding my bycicle faster and faster though I have never traveled once there, maybe in some other life perhaps, but faster and faster as people passed me quickly and I caught a faint view of them waving though I kept going down the winding streets, of Paris.
Im sorry. I dont usually speak this way. I like it when people tell me of something they love or admire and put it in the words that their soul demands. However, to speak of this music, I have to try my very best to describe its beauty.
Beauty, and beautiful. Two words I do not take likely.
These songs, this music, are beautiful.
Free Music Review: Absolutely breathtaking. A rare gem that truly deserves its 5 stars.
Hit: 5 Stars
There are certain movies that inspire you to go out and purchase their soundtracks. Most of mine include Danny Elfman (Beetlejuice, Good Will Hunting, etc.) and John Williams (Harry Potter and the much forgotten though equally incredible 1941 soundtrack). There are of course the required recent releases such as the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, and the spooky Lemony Snicket soundtrack. Then there are movies that have soundtracks that you purchase because they are a good collection of popular songs (Shrek movies come to mind).
There are a lot of movies that you watch, then purchase the soundtrack. However, Amelie was one of those movies that I actually watched because of the soundtrack. I remember purchasing the CD, and being absolutely amazed. Every track, every song on the album was almost beyond brilliance. The skill in playing the instruments, the unique progressions, the range of emotion - all are presented to the fullest that I have ever heard on a movie recording. Soundtracks seldomly reach the genious that this one reaches.
I watched the film after listening to this, expecting the film to match the emotional and technical supremacy I found on this CD. I left the theater, pleasantly at a loss for words. This is a soundtrack that actually matches the movie in its content. If you enjoyed the movie, you will love the soundtrack.
If you have never seen the film, this soundtrack is a joy to hear. This is not a soundtrack that you have to have seen the movie to fully appreciate. I know several people who have never seen Amelie, but they all own copies of this album.
Even if you disliked the film, or even if you abhor movie soundtracks in general, you can still appreciate and probably enjoy this CD. It is engaging beyond anything that you will hear for a long time, whether it be popular, classical, or even another film soundtrack.
Free Music Review: In No Particular Order...
Hit: 5 Stars
Thoughts on the album, in no particular order:
First, it's the ideal musical counterpoint to what the film is visually. Similar to the movie's simple-but-saturated visuals, and the quirky bits of mise en scene contributed by artist/illustrator Michael Sowa (whose work is also worth checking out in its own right), Tiersen's score wrings an awful lot of meaning from whatever's at hand, from toy piano to typewriter, and all points in between.
Second, if you're a fan of what I'll call "semi-serious" music--stuff that's somewhat, but not quite, classical, and that doesn't take itself all that seriously--you'd probably find this enjoyable. Yes, it sounds like Satie in some places, Nyman in others. If you're a fan of Penguin Cafe Orchestra, as I am, this is quite nearly a Francophile version of that. Or, if you'd prefer, some of the more cinematic offerings from Pat Metheny (think of the sunnier bits from "Secret Story").
Finally, though, the best comparison I can think to make is to an album this sounds nothing like at all: Peter Gabriel's "Passion" (the soundtrack to "The Last Temptation of Christ"). Reason being, this is one of those rare soundtracks that, while it vividly evokes the film for which it was written, stands very well on its own. If you've seen the movie, it will bring you right back to that; but if you haven't, put it in the player anyway... you'll find that your imagination will supply plenty of visuals to go with the music.
Added note: One bit of incidental music appearing in the film (and which was also used in the trailer and commercials, if I'm remembering correctly) that doesn't appear on the soundtrack is titled "Quimper 94," and can be found on "La Valse des Monstres," which is also worth a listen.