The Hunger Games (score)

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The Hunger Games
(Original Motion Picture Score)
The Hunger Games Original Motion Picture Score.jpg
Film score by
James Newton Howard
ReleasedMarch 26, 2012
Recorded2011–2012
Venue AIR Studios, London
Genre Film score
Length42:16
Label Universal Republic
Producer
The Hunger Games soundtrack chronology
The Hunger Games:
Songs from District 12 and Beyond
(2012)		The Hunger Games
(Original Motion Picture Score)
(2012)		 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2013)
James Newton Howard film score chronology
Green Lantern
(2011)		The Hunger Games
(2012)		 Snow White & the Huntsman
(2012)

The Hunger Games (Original Motion Picture Score) is the score album to the 2012 film The Hunger Games . The score was initially intended to be composed by Danny Elfman in his collaboration with T Bone Burnett, however, James Newton Howard replaced Elfman as the composer. It was released by Universal Republic Records on March 26, 2012. [1]

Contents

Development

In June 2011, Lionsgate originally announced that Danny Elfman and T-Bone Burnett would score The Hunger Games, [2] [3] with Burnett also acting as the film's executive music producer to produce songs for the soundtrack. [4] [5] Due to scheduling conflicts, Elfman was replaced by James Newton Howard. [6] [7]

Arcade Fire also contributed to the movie's original score. The group composed the fascistic-inspired Panem national anthem, entitled "Horn of Plenty", a leitmotif appearing throughout the film. [8] [9] "We were interested in making music that would be more integral in the movie, just as a mental exercise," Butler, who co-wrote the song with Chassagne, explained. "And there's an anthem that runs throughout the books, the national anthem of the fascist Capitol. So as a thought experiment, we tried to write what that might sound like. It's like the Capitol's idea of itself, basically." [8] [9] He further added that "it's not a pop song or anything. More of an anthem that could be playing at a big sporting event like the [Hunger] Games. So we did a structure for that, and then James Newton Howard made a movie-score version of it that happens in several places in the film." [8] [9] According to Spin , "'Horn of Plenty' pulls off the neat feat of sounding both exactly like Arcade Fire and exactly like a futuristic anthem. It still has one foot in the band's uncorrupted neighborhoods, but another is up on the podium at the end of Star Wars accepting an Olympic gold medal or something. Horns blare, a choir booms, strings swell, the martial percussion steals the show, and we just realized how much we love Big Brother." [10]

The film also features an obscure analog track from the 1970s, titled "Sediment", composed by Laurie Spiegel for its "cornucopia scene", as well as music by Steve Reich, Ólafur Arnalds, and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. These do not appear on the soundtrack or score releases. [11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."The Hunger Games"1:10
2."Katniss Afoot"1:49
3."Reaping Day"1:35
4."The Train"1:27
5."Entering the Capitol"2:28
6."Preparing the Chariots"1:05
7."Horn of Plenty"1:59
8."Penthouse/Training"3:36
9."Learning the Skills"1:41
10."The Countdown"1:58
11."Booby Trap"2:37
12."Healing Katniss"3:04
13."Rue's Farewell"5:00
14."We Could Go Home"1:15
15."Searching for Peeta"1:27
16."The Cave"3:13
17."Muttations"4:45
18."Tenuous Winners/Returning Home"3:25
Total length:42:16

Reception

Filmtracks.com wrote "Like most decent Howard scores, there are individual moments of melodrama or intriguing percussion employment that will merit repeat attention. As a whole, however, don't be surprised if you find a large number of non-concept enthusiasts writing The Hunger Games off as a disappointment. Regardless of where you exist in this spectrum of opinion, it's difficult not to ponder what Elfman would have conjured for this franchise." [12] Heather Phares of AllMusic gave four out of five stars, saying "Newton's score is one more fine piece of The Hunger Games experience, even if it's not the showiest one". [13] Brad Kamminga of Film Score Reviews rated three stars out of five, calling it as "a very simple and subtle score that connects you very personally to the main character, Katniss. The use of ethnic instruments throughout the score instill in you the feeling of being in a foreign place." [14]

Sean Wilson of MFiles wrote "The Hunger Games is a score that will likely confound many expectations [...] Howard's subtlety and restraint might come as a shock. It's certainly not the bombastic, in your face, action-laden score many people will have expected but that's entirely to its credit. In truth, an overbearing score would likely have proved detrimental to director Gary Ross' vision, and Howard deserves much praise for imbuing his largely quiet score with just enough emotion and instrumental textures to keep it interesting." [15] James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "The Hunger Games is very impressive, featuring some real creativity and most importantly some fine music – you have to experience it on album rather than in the film to realise that, which is a bit of a pity, but on its own terms this is probably the finest collection of music from this composer since 1999’s Snow Falling on Cedars ." [16]

David Edelstein of Vulture called that Howard's score "manages to be at once thrilling and plaintive". [17] Natalie Zutter of Tor.com wrote "James Newton Howard’s score evokes the space opera with its simple strains, soaring against the bleakness of District 12 and almost brittle as they clashes with the Capitol, a city so shiny it almost hurts to look at." [18] Keertana Sastry of Business Insider wrote "From the beautifully ominous humming in the opening scenes to the triumphant sounds of the Capitol, the score by James Newton Howard was hands down one of the biggest pluses of the movie. The best pieces from the score would have to the be in the scenes where Katniss is hunting or searching for Peeta as well as the scene where Katniss shoots an arrow at the Gamekeeper during her practice before the games." [19] R. Kurt Osenlund of Slant Magazine wrote "the score by T-Bone Burnett and James Newton Howard, which nicely steps in for the bloodcurdling screams of dying teens perhaps too terrible for the target YA audience." [20]

Credits

Credits adapted from CD liner notes: [21]

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References

  1. ↑ ASIN   B0078467LC , The Hunger Games: Original Motion Picture Score
  2. ↑ Halperin, Shirley (June 29, 2011). "'Hunger Games': T Bone Burnett and Danny Elfman Team Up for Score, Soundtrack". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ Vilensky, Mike (June 28, 2011). "T Bone Burnett and Danny Elfman to Score The Hunger Games". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  4. ↑ Angie Han (June 29, 2011). "Danny Elfman and T-Bone Burnett to Collaborate on Hunger Games Score". SlashFilm. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  5. ↑ Perpetua, Matthew (June 29, 2011). "T-Bone Burnett and Danny Elfman Team Up for 'Hunger Games'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  6. ↑ "James Newton Howard Replaces Danny Elfman as Composer on The Hunger Games". Collider. December 6, 2011. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  7. ↑ McNary, Dave (December 6, 2011). "Danny Elfman won't score 'Hunger Games'". Variety. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 "Arcade Fire Created the National Anthem of Panem! – Hunger Games". Hungergamesmovie.org. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 "Arcade Fire – 'Horn Of Plenty'". Stereogum. March 24, 2012. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  10. ↑ Hogan, Marc (March 26, 2012). "Arcade Fire Drop Dystopian 'Hunger Games' Anthem 'Horn of Plenty'". Spin . Archived from the original on November 2, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  11. ↑ Dayal, Geeta (March 29, 2012). "Rare '70s Electronic Music Is Hidden in The Hunger Games". Wired. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Filmtracks: The Hunger Games (James Newton Howard/Various)". Filmtracks.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Hunger Games [Original Score]". Allmusic . Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  14. ↑ Kamminga, Brad (March 26, 2012). "The Hunger Games Score Review". Film Score Reviews. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  15. ↑ Wilson, Sean. "James Newton Howard - The Hunger Games soundtrack album review". Mfiles. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  16. ↑ Southall, James (April 11, 2012). "The Hunger Games soundtrack review". Movie Wave. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  17. ↑ Edelstein, David (March 22, 2012). "Movie Review: The Slick Hunger Games Purges All the Horror". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  18. ↑ Zutter, Natalie (March 23, 2012). "A Thoughtful Adaptation That Adds Greater Depth: A Review of The Hunger Games". Tor.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  19. ↑ Sastry, Keertana. "'Hunger Games': Here's What The Movie Got Right And Wrong". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  20. ↑ Osenlund, R. Kurt (March 20, 2012). "Review: The Hunger Games". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  21. ↑ "The Hunger Games (Original Motion Picture Score), by James Newton Howard". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
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