The Rock: Original Motion Picture Score

This Alcatraz-themed potboiler was the final film initiated by the vaunted masters of the action McMovie, producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer; the flamboyant Simpson died of a drug overdose soon after its release. Modern synth-orchestra fusion master Hans Zimmer is unaccountably teamed with Nick Glennie-Smith and Harry Gregson-Williams here, and the results are, well, just McFine. Not surprisingly, Zimmer's done better work on better films. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com

Awesome!

I'm what some might call a 'casual critic' of movie scores. In almost every case with the collection I have at present, I have sat in the theater or at home watching a film completely unaware of who has made the music behind the scenes and events that I'm seeing. All that drives me to buy a score is a small piece of music that's catchy or interesting, and then it's on the web for some previews before I commit to ordering.

In the case of watching 'The Rock' every bit of music I heard was something I'd like to hear again, the movie itself is no longer in my dvd movie collection but the score has stuck with me to this day and remains one of my favorites.


COMPOSITION: 3/5 - The score changes the order of events, ie. car chase happens at the end rather than 2/5 of the way through. - Personally I don't care because the pieces or themes bridge together in a way that works.

CONTENT: 5/5 - Everything from the film seems to be here and more, even if the composition is non-chronological.

MIXING: 5/5 - It's accurate to what you hear in the film. I'd just like to point out that not all scores are an exact match to their film counterparts; composers sometimes add or remove certain things that can drastically altar the sound of the music. I'm glad it's been preserved in this case. June 26, 2008

Good Score

Loved the movie, it's a classic. So I bought the soundtrack, luckily it's the same as the movie. Some other soundtracks I've bought weren't the original. November 25, 2007

Great Soundtrack

This is a fantastic soundtrack. It is both full of energy and emotion. I am not sure how much was composed by Hans Zimmer but it definitely has his sound behind it.
December 23, 2006

Another Moving Action Score from Hans Zimmer

THE ROCK is a powerhouse of film scoring. I played it several times before I started to recognize the cues used in the film. I do not know how much is Zimmer's but the quieter and reflective parts of the score sound definitely like his style and I truly love them. He had this same effect in GLADIATOR, very moving.
November 18, 2006

for zimmer not good at all

a Zimmer fan?: buy Last Samurai, King Arthur, Tears of the Sun, Gladiator, Thin Red Line, and Beyond Rangoon first. They are all much better than this one. Zimmer seems to be at his best when he goes global (Africa or Asia). His heavy synth stuff (like The Rock and Crimson Tide) isn't nearly as good. Instead of buying this I wish I has bought a new Last Samurai to replace my badly scratched copy. April 26, 2006

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