Track Listing

1. Progeny
2. Wheat
3. Battle
4. Earth
5. Sorrow
6. To Zucchabar
7. Patricide
8. Emperor Is Dead
9. Might Of Rome
10. Strength And Honor
11. Reunion
12. Slaves To Rome
13. Barbarian Horde
14. Am I Not Merciful
15. Elysium
16. Honor Him
17. Now We Are Free

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6090 in Music
• Released on: 2002-03-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Running time: 62 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Back in the Golden Age of the Hollywood epic, composer Miklós Rózsa lavished much scholarly research on his scores for Quo Vadis (1951), Ben-Hur (1959), El Cid (1961) and others, gracing those movies with music that had as its wellspring authentic (or at least authentic-sounding) melodies from the period. For Ridley Scott's revival of the Roman epic, Gladiator, Hans Zimmer eschews such learned academia in favour of his own more contemporary, wall-of-sound approach (honed to perfection on movies like Tony Scott's Crimson Tide). In truth, no one is quite sure what Roman music sounded like, and Zimmer's unscholarly rock music background is temperamentally better suited to Scott's all-action movie anyway.

Gladiator's score is a stylistic conflation of some audacity, incorporating lavish synthesised, percussive action sequences (a Zimmer trademark), "ethnic" instrumentation including Spanish guitar, Chinese dulcimer and Armenian duduk, and--most suprisingly of all for Zimmer--unabashed plagiarism of Wagner (his cue "The Might of Rome" is "Siegfried's Funeral March" in all but name) and Holst ("The Battle" and "The Barbarian Horde" lean heavily on "Mars"). Vocalist and co-composer Lisa Gerrard (fresh from working on The Insider, coincidentally also starring fellow-Australian Russell Crowe) adds her ethereal vocalisms to the music's more intimate scenes ("Sorrow" and "Elysium" for example). Her contribution brings an exotic, Oriental flavour to a score that in its broad musical canvas reflects the movie's depiction of the vast scope of the Roman Empire. If not the equal of Zimmer's career best work on The Thin Red Line (1998), this is still a hugely entertaining and diverse soundtrack. --Mark Walker

Customer Reviews

Epic!
Fantastic soundtrack. As a writer looking for inspiration for film music, this has to be one of my absolute favourites. Buy it now!

Epic, powerful, evocative - a fantastic soundtrack
"Gladiator" is the Golden Globe-winning original soundtrack from the 2000 film of the same name. Composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, it is one of the most easily recognisable film scores of recent times. This Special Anniversary Edition 2-disc set is in fact comprised of two titles previously released separately: "Gladiator" and "Gladiator: More Music from the Motion Picture". Fans of the soundtrack who already own either - or both - of these albums may want to consider twice before purchasing this one. Having said that, at the time of writing this review, Amazon are pricing this set considerably lower than either of the two albums individually.

The first of the two discs contains 17 tracks and runs to 61 minutes, featuring all the main songs from the film and demonstrating the range and ability of the composers: from the stirring and well-known "The Battle" to the nostalgic, wistful simplicity of "Earth"; from the triumphant tones of "Slaves to Rome" to the sorrowful "Elysium" and the emotionally moving "Now We Are Free". The score tells such a powerful story in itself, epic and full of passion, that the listener need not even have seen the film to enjoy the music.

The second disc contains a miscellany of 18 tracks, lasting for a total of 55 minutes. Some of these are experimental pieces which were never included in the film's final cut (e.g. "Duduk of the North", "The Protector of Rome", "The General Who Became a Slave", "Marrakesh Marketplace"). Others are early drafts or alternate versions of tracks which did make it (e.g. "Now We Are Free (Juba's Mix)", "Maximus", "The Gladiator Waltz", "Figurines", "Not Yet"). Many of these tracks have, in addition, been overlaid with the actors' dialogue taken from the film, although the rationale behind this is unclear, since it adds little to the listening experience, and in some cases even detracts from the beautiful music. This is but a minor fault, however. The collection is also accompanied by sleeve notes written by Zimmer and Gerrard. Though short, these notes provide a fascinating insight into the evolution of these particular pieces as well as the compositional process as a whole.

All in all, the Special Anniversary Edition of the "Gladiator" soundtrack is a musical experience worthy of its high reputation, and easily recommendable to anyone - and not just to fans of the film.

Best soundtrack ever...in my opinion
I love the film and the soundtrack. The soundtrack is so good it stands alone. It is a soundtrack on a grand scale. A true epic. Full of beauty, energy, power and emotion. As I listen to it (I have almost worn out my CD), I can see the film. The music pains a picture. One of the most moving and inspirational CDs I have ever listened to. Simply brilliant. I consider it the best soundtrack I have ever listened to. Very hghly recommended.