A Civil Action

How would you like to pinch-hit for Mark McGwire? Danny Elfman reportedly faced a similar dilemma with A Civil Action: he stepped in to score Steven Zaillian's adaptation of Jonathan Harr's bestseller when the legendary composer Ennio Morricone bowed out. Elfman's score is an amalgam of a number of modern influences: edgy, percussive minimalism, haunting, effective choral flourishes, and electronically generated/altered elements are combined with a spare use of the orchestra to create a work that relies more on mood than on melody. The score's atmospherics may occasionally recall music by other modern film composers (Stewart Copeland and Thomas Newman come to mind), but Elfman (with help from long-time arrangement collaborator Steve Bartek) ultimately leaves his own distinct stamp on it. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com

An Excellent Film Score

Why, i wonder, would Danny Elfman (who produced this soundtrack) put a song by another artist ("Hard Working Man") on his score album?? Buy the cd if you want to hear orchestral music composed FOR the film -- the songs can be found on pre-existing albums.... As for the score = There are two distinct sides to this score -- Elfman uses synth and an ethereal choir to convey the mechanical, coldly efficient world of the attorneys....but when things get messy, and the main character begins to care PERSONALLY in the case, Elfman then drops the synth and alows the orchestra to take over. These moments are subtle and gorgeous... In BOTH cases (synth and orchestra passages) you will hear subtle nods to Gospel music...a clever reference to the main character's moral dilemma's, and the church-like nature of the courtroom. The theme of water, as both cleansing and distructive (the poisoned children), is represented by glass-instruments. Really, this score is EXCELLENT...and it gets better with every listen. February 14, 2001

Soundtrack? Not exactly. . .

For those of you wondering what that great blues number is at the beginning of this movie, it's a song called "Hard Workin' Man" performed by Captain Beefheart. This song was originally written for a movie called "Blue Collar" and can be found on the new Beefheart anthology "The Dust Blows Forward" from Rhino.

Pretty entertaining movie if you're into lawyers and such. Too bad they didn't bother to put any of the good blues cuts from it on the soundtrack. Oh well, that's showbiz. . . September 30, 1999

Very Disappointing

While the movie had several great old and blues numbers, the sound track did not resemble many the songs in the movie. September 8, 1999

it was great

the movie was great, one question what was the name of the song just as the movie started some kind of blues. I am tring to find this song please help me September 5, 1999

Another Brilliant score by the master himself.

Yet another beautifully scored masterpiece filled with Danny Elfman's all to familiar dark over tones that create a mood, which is like no other. Being a fan of darker music myself, I find this to be delightful and full of flavor. A must have for collectors. When listening, try closing your eyes, forgetting that this music is for a movie and let your imagination run wild. The possiblities are limitless. Way to go Danny! February 4, 1999

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