Incredible Soundtrack #21: Titanic (Horner)

The music attached to a film creates the environment, I believe, moreso than the literal environment depicted through the visuals...

I recently watched Titanic in 3D at the Waterloo IMAX. I am personally a huge fan of the film and watched it twice at the cinema, multiple times on my sisters VHS, many times on the first-edition single-disc DVD and a few more time on the not-so-spectacular-4-disc DVD boxset. Chance are, I'll get it on BluRay. It goes without saying that I bought the soundtrack and, though not a huge fan of Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On', I think Horner's score has some great sections. But I write with a slight frustration as the one thing I cannot stand is 'fake' instruments. You know what I mean - fake 'aaah' choirs and fake strings. You know from the pacing of the note that it is a 'type' of sound attached to a keyboard, rather than an actual choir. That's why I hate the track 'Southampton' ... but other tracks uuse much more orchestra, rather than fake 'aahs'.

4. Rose - When I first heard the album, this was my initial favourite track. I'd put this track on any day, over Celien Dion. Much more subtle and gentle. I think I played it too much, because the 'my-heart-will-go-on'-theme simply became a little bit too overbearing after a while, but it is the theme of the film, so this is the only way I will ever listen to it. Soft, subtle and romantic.

 

7. Hard to Starboard - This track begins with that falseness I mentioned in the opening paragraph, but as soon as the song gets 1-minute in, the pace picks up as percussion sounds the fear and panic we see in the film. Its that balance between the grand, epic size of an iceberg approaching the ship combined with the fast-pace reactions and alarms sounding off on the ship. One is slow and steady, one is fast and busy - a great track.

13. An Ocean of Memories - This is the final track in the film as the camera pans over old-age Rose sleeping before fading into a revisit to the ship sleeing at the bottom of the ocean, before taking her back to 1912 and meeting Jack again. I love the way the music captures the beauty and vastness of an ocean, before harking back to the theme of the film. It recaptures the final moments of the film and the life Rose was able to lead due to Jack's sacrifice. A great finish to the film that Horner scored so well.