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The most helpful favourable review
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
A larger but no deeper Hooper score
It seems like many eons ago now that I gave Hooper's Order of the Phoenix soundtrack a fairly negative review. The good news is that many of the tracks grew on me over time, especially after seeing the film numerous times and being able to picture the scenes which the music accompanies.
Unfortunately, that is still no high praise. No soundtrack should require the...
Published 4 months ago by C. Bodman
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5 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
Unacceptable
When I first prepared myself to listen to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I secretly hoped that Nicholas Hooper would improve upon Order of the Phoenix, which admittedly took very little. Or so I thought. Instead, what I heard, was baffling, especially when you consider Hooper may never get to score such a big picture again. It was worse - much worse!
I...
Published 4 months ago by G. Kroener
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
A larger but no deeper Hooper score, 14 Jul 2009
It seems like many eons ago now that I gave Hooper's Order of the Phoenix soundtrack a fairly negative review. The good news is that many of the tracks grew on me over time, especially after seeing the film numerous times and being able to picture the scenes which the music accompanies.
Unfortunately, that is still no high praise. No soundtrack should require the listener to conjure their memories of the film in order to fully enjoy its music. Composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer and Howard Shore are infamous for creating truly amazing musical pieces, irrespective of the quality of the films which go with them.
It is, therefore, also my sad duty to say that the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack gives a slight improvement and is more enjoyable in its own right but remains lightyears away from a musical masterpiece and still depends heavily on the mechanics of the film to truly work. To begin with, Hooper gives with one hand - by giving us 28 tracks as opposed to OOTP's 18 - but takes with the other by keeping all the tracks incredibly short.
There are some great tracks in this set and very few, if any, terrible ones. Amongst the greats are my absolute favourite - Journey to the Cave - and some of Hooper's more original 'non-potterish' tracks such as Wizard Wheezes, Farewell Aragog, The Weasley Stomp and In Noctem. I was also very impressed with his twist on John Williams 'Prisoner of Azkaban' Quidditch theme in Ron's Victory. However, though none are terrible, most of the others suffer from lack of presence. The music starts, plays, and ends. There is no true sense of event or mood and if you play the tracks without watching the playlist I can guarantee that 6 times in 10 you won't even notice the track has changed.
Overall, this soundtrack is a competent piece of work by Hooper. I have absolute no doubt it will work in great harmony with the movie, just as his last track did. That said, I can't help but lament the disappointing lack of length and depth in most tracks. I have to wonder what another composer could have done with Hooper's incredibly bland Dumbledore tracks.
It was with great excitement that I read an interview with David Heyman this morning suggesting John Williams will be back for Deathly Hallows Part II.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Absolutely beautiful, 11 Aug 2009
I adore this gorgeous film score and I am in awe of what Mr Hooper has achieved here.
So many beautiful themes, often both subtle and delicate. So many different styles, from Celtic ballad to 1930's big band sound to choral works, from harp pieces, to those led by flute and those led by piano.
So many commentators damn the soundtrack with faint praise, it makes me wonder if it was written with just me in mind because I absolutely love it!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Half Blooded Soundtrack?, 17 Jul 2009
As a fan of Hooper's Order of the Phoenix score, I looked forward to hearing this soundtrack, both on it's own and with the movie. I can't honestly say that I was disappointed.
Hooper says of the CD that "[it] is to give you a feeling of the film through the medium of the music" - and, it has to be said, in this it mostly succeeds. The film, as with the book, has an underlying theme of darkness. In his score, Hooper creates a constant thread of melancholy through nearly every piece. Partly this is done by his use of the 'Possession' theme, created for Order of the Phoenix and partly with the new 'in noctem' theme. Even in some of the lighter pieces ('School!', 'Ginny' etc) the lightness is subtle - in each piece (barring the delightfully foot tapping 'Wizard Wheezes' and 'The Weasley Stomp') the underlying melancholy breaks through. So yes, the soundtrack does give one a feel of the movie through the medium of music. (Mostly dark and sad, with some bright moments - quite like the view of Diagon Alley.) Hooper also states that the tracks run in the order of the film; whilst this is true, it's not completely correct. Pieces from Order of the Phoenix have been used again in the film but have not been included in the album. Equally, 'Wizard Wheezes' does not have a place in the film.
The real downside to this soundtrack, to my mind, is that all the tracks are so short - and yet, so many flow almost seamlessly one into the next. In other words, possibly some of the pieces would have benefited from being combined together, at the expense of letting each significant moment or character have its own named piece.
If you enjoyed Hooper's Order of the Phoenix, or tracks such as William's 'A window to the past' (Prisoner of Azkaban), you will likely enjoy this subtle yet atmospheric soundtrack. (if not, try listening on a service such as spotify, and then download selectively!)
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5 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
Unacceptable, 10 Jul 2009
When I first prepared myself to listen to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I secretly hoped that Nicholas Hooper would improve upon Order of the Phoenix, which admittedly took very little. Or so I thought. Instead, what I heard, was baffling, especially when you consider Hooper may never get to score such a big picture again. It was worse - much worse!
I regretted greatly that Williams left after hearing Goblet Of Fire. Then, after hearing Order of the Phoenix, I would have rather had another Doyle score. And now, after listening to this bomb, I would pretty much prefer anyone to Who-per.
Basically, Half Blood Prince takes any real merits of Order of the Phoenix, as little as it had in the first place, and throws them all overboard.
And I do not intend to make any more excuses for Hooper just because he is "new here". This is the movies, not music school.
Hooper simply does not understand Harry Potter. In fact, he does not even have sensibility for the medium. As it is well known, Hooper never scored a theatrical release until Order of the Phoenix - he came from television. Well - this is the movies! And not BBC, where it does not much matter whether a piece has the depth of a lake or a mid-sized teardrop.
Movies have bumps and edges that, if the composer picks them up, give the music structure, diversity, highs and lows, and exciting turns. And this is a big movie, a dramatic one! Where is the excitement in Half Blood Prince? The highs and lows, the flow and structure, and the diversity? None of that, and I mean none, is put to any effect here.
A cue that could, and should, offer something remarkable, like "When Ginny Kissed Harry", tingles on and on, uniformly, without any sense for pace and style, and I don't even mention a sense for the moment. Cues like this, or "Malfoy's Mission", or "The Unbreakable Vow", or numerous others, just start, ramble on in a totally irrelevant way, and end. This is not even competition for any sort of competent music, and least of all is it effective film music - it's musAc at its worst.
On the other end of the spectrum, there is music that is so fluffy and light, that I would consider it too much even for the lightest moments of Philosopher's Stone, and is woefully inadequate for what should be a serious movie.
Now I hear people responding, that this is meant to fit the film, and that's only what it's meant to do. This is a poor excuse, and I assume it also suggests a healthy amount of self-betrayal. There is an inherent mediocrity and carelessness about Half Blood Prince that goes far and beyond functionality.
The excuse that the music is only there to fit the mood of the film and not more holds no candle, not even a matchstick, for the entire history of film music classics - to which Philosopher's Stone belongs - proves otherwise.
Great film music has always lifted their respective films by showcasing classy, not necessarily classical, music with a distinct touch and style, and enough guts to take center stage from time to time.
Film music was born with the entire attention of the audience on it, and later became an offspring of opera - film music is supposed to be heard and to be recognised, and to be REMEMBERED.
This disc of filler music is not even on par with the video game score!
Every single minute of Half Blood Prince oozes incompetence. Actually, you couldn't even call it amateurish, since that would insult every serious amateur out there. An amateur has the desire to create something worthwhile, he would pay respect to the series' roots, and develop its original main themes to satisfying climaxes, while injecting and maintaining a unique style, new to it.
Hooper showcases nothing of all that.
He cheaps his way through every cue, and the few brief intermezzi of John Williams' themes (Hedwig's Theme and the Quidditch fanfare) only serve to cruelly expose the nonexistent qualities of Hooper's score. What would be considered merely a bypassing moment in a Williams Potter score sounds like a major highlight here. It is truly breathtaking how a few seconds of old Williams material are able to discredit a whole score. And apart from these few snippets, there is not a whisper in here that would indicate "This is a Harry Potter score".
I would really like to tell you about the themes Hooper wrote for Half Blood Prince, but there are none. Oh right, there is "In Noctem", an airy choral piece for Dumbledore's demise. Well, even though it's a reworking of Hedwig's Theme (like every faintly thematic moment in the score is), it's so terrifyingly undefinite and intangible that it barely registers; which is also the case with Hooper's "Possession" theme, heard in the "climactic" cues (meaning the usual boring underscore is layered with heavy violins in octaves). It is so amateurishly done that it just doesn't resonate out of its Adagio context.
Moreover, offering a nothingness of a cue like "The Friends" as the finale is nothing but an impudence towards the audience. Can you imagine an even more reduced version of "Loved Ones And Leaving"?
Can you imagine what it would have sounded like, had Eric Serra been allowed to write for another Bond movie? Well, welcome to the world of Half Blood Prince!
I never thought I would say this about a Harry Potter score, but Half Blood Prince is not only deeply boring, it's often downright unpleasant to listen to.
And to any studio executive, producer, director or otherwise, trying to defend this stale nothingness of a film score: enough! I seriously did not expect Harry Potter music to take this much of a dramatic turn for the worse. This far and no farther! Just send Hooper back where he came from, where he manages to survive with his meagre abilities. Nicholas Hooper reportedly was very close to being rejected, if only!
I'm usually someone who hates it when studio executives enforce their will, but in this case, it would be a blessing to the entire film score world!
There are very few scores that actively make me angry, but Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince just moved right to the top of my list.
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1 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince Soundtrack, 26 Jun 2009
The previous score that Nicholas Hooper did for Harry Potter was excellent so going by this analogy then this soundtrack should be as good as the one which accompanied Order of the Phoenix. Hopefully WB have put this soundtrack in chronological order regarding the scenes in the film, thoroughly looking foward to this soundtrack and the film of course, hopefully its well worth the wait after an 8 month 'delay' in its release.
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Not bad, not good, 29 Aug 2009
I'll keep this short.
The soundtrack for 'Order of the Phoenix' grew on me after listening to it several times, although I wasn't enamoured with all Hooper's efforts. Unfortunately, there is less in the 'Half-Blood Prince' soundtrack to rave about, despite several listenings, and the best track ('Wizard Wheezes') wasn't even in the film!
As someone who loves to listen to the Harry Potter music on its own, while working, there is little in this to inspire, being filled with long, slow strings and not much else. As an amateur musician, I'd be bored playing most of these.
Almost as bored as I am listening to some of them. If you're not a big HP fan, don't bother buying the whole thing, download the tracks you like individually from somewhere else. It's not really worth the money unless you want the soundtrack for your collection.
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Capturing the mood perfectly, 27 Aug 2009
A soundtrack has to capture the mood of the scene, a great soundtrack allows you to recapture the scene long after you have witnessed it, a truly brilliant soundtrack allows you to imagine the scene before you have seen it.
I bought the soundtrack before seeing the film, and sat down to listen whilst perusing the Half blood Prince book with a glass of wine, I was captivated and thoroughly enjoyed each track.
I then visited the cinema and saw the film, I was amazed at how well the music fitted each scene, some pieces lightening your heart, others bringing you close to tears. I cannot honestly pick one favourite track from all 28, though I have to mention "Harry & Hermione" and "Slughorn's Confession" as being amazing pieces.
My only disappointment was the decision not to use the wonderful Wizard Wheezes (track 6) however the reprise of Fireworks from the previous soundtrack did work well within the film.
A shame Mr Hooper has decided not to return for "The Deathly Hallows" his gentle touch will be surely missed.
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Fantastic Soundtrack!, 5 Aug 2009
I absolutely love this soundtrack! I do no not understand the criticism this soundtrack is getting as the music is dark, forboding and fits brilliantly with the film. The themes he has composed have matured from the previous scores, and the music compliments the film greatly. Personally, I love the death eater theme featured in the tracks : Opening, Malfoy's Mission and Into The Rushes and so, these are my highlights along with Journey Into The Cave. I know that many people will disagree with me but I would like Nicholas Hooper to return as I love this soundtrack and I would like to see how he develops the themes he composed, but I wouldn't mind if John Williams returned either. Overall, this soundtrack is less magical than that of John Williams but is far more dark and I love it. 10/10.
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Captures The Mood of the Film, 23 Jul 2009
This soundtrack is quite unusual for a Harry Potter one as it doesn't have the big sounds that we have become used to from previous films. Consequently it is not quite as catchy and initially memorable.
I first listened to this before seeing the film and must say that I didn't really appreciate it as many of the tracks are quite subtle. However having now seen the film and listening again I have really enjoyed listening to it again to appreciate how well the music fits to the film.
The film itself has a much more understated feel than previous ones and this music matches it very well.
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A good soundtrack, 21 Jul 2009
This has got to be one of the better soundtracks that I've bought recently. Having recently seen the film, I now understand which bits of the tracks are for which characters that bit better. Unlike some previous reviewers.
Ginny's track containing Hedwig's theme is a very nice play on the overall theme of Harry and Ginny finally (!) getting together - even if that is seriously cut to shreds in the final screenplay.
The overwhelming sense of impending darkness is nicely captured throughout the CD, with the light bits being just as needed to lighten it up.
Unfortunately, as with Order of the Phoenix and Chamber of Secrets, the tracks are out of sequence (though not as badly as Phoenix). With a little work, anyone wanting to listen to the tracks in order as they appear in the film can do so easily - if they've seen it.
Unfortunately, there is one missing track that provides immense relief at the end - Fireworks from OotP.
Good overall - can't wait to see how the next two soundtracks will turn out.
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