Amazon.co.uk Review
Oscar-winning Italian composer Piovani (
Life is Beautiful) found much inspiration in the turn-of-the-century
Running Free, from its lush cinematography to the emotional allegory on man's cruelty to his fellow creatures. The joyous culmination is presented in the "Main Title", which is an uplifting melodious gallop that forms the basis for much of the rest of the score. Split into several sections, the individual parts take on separate character voices (while all together signifies the narration by Lukas Haas). In "Hoofbeats", the most gorgeous variation is to be found on flute. Piovani diversifies slightly with his own background material for a brass band ("Mine Band") and a salutary fanfare for the British aristocracy. The album's stylistic surprise is in two sourced cues performed by Mickey Hart and Planet Drum. "Dance of the Hunter's Fire" and "The Hunt" are both multi-layered explosions of infectious jungle rhythms, with a heavy leaning on percussion. --
Paul Tonks