The Revenant: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | December 25, 2015 | |||
Recorded | ||||
Genre | Ambient | |||
Length | 70:43 | |||
Label | Milan Records | |||
Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto chronology | ||||
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Ryuichi Sakamoto chronology | ||||
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Alva Noto chronology | ||||
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The Revenant:Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a soundtrack album for the 2015 film, The Revenant ,composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto with additional music by Bryce Dessner. It was released digitally on December 25,2015,and on CD on January 8,2016 by Milan Records.
In September 2015,Japanese musician [1] Ryuichi Sakamoto was announced as the composer for director Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant . [2] The two originally came in contact with each other after Iñárritu used songs of Sakamoto's in his 2006 film Babel . [3] Following a year-long professional hiatus in 2014 after being diagnosed with a type of throat cancer,Sakamoto's work on The Revenant marked his return to the industry despite still being in the middle of recovery. [4] [5] In October 2015,it was revealed that Alva Noto (the stage name for Carsten Nicolai) and The National's Bryce Dessner would join Sakamoto in scoring the film. [6] Alva Noto,a frequent collaborator of Sakamoto's,was brought in personally by Sakamoto due to his concerns of health and fulfilling the scope of the score. [7] "What reason I called Carsten was simply,physically,the amount of music for this film is just gigantic," said Sakamoto in an interview with Rolling Stone "And naturally Alejandro wants acoustic music,like strings or whatever and very,um,edgy electronic music. Processed music. So it seemed very naturally to call Carsten you know?" [8]
Primary scoring sessions with Sakamoto took place throughout October 2015 at Bastyr Chapel's Seattlemusic Scoring Stage in Seattle. [9] [10]
Milan Records released the soundtrack album digitally on December 25,2015 and on CD on January 8,2016. [11] While the soundtrack album features the music composed specifically for the film,there are many contemporary compositions featured in the film. [12]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 77/100 [13] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The Arts Desk | [14] |
Consequence | B [15] |
Exclaim! | 8/10 [16] |
éclat | [17] |
Mojo | [13] |
NPR | (favorable) [18] |
Pitchfork Media | 7.3/10 [19] |
PopMatters | 8/10 [20] |
Under the Radar | 8/10 [21] |
The Wire | [13] |
The musical score has received positive reviews.
Writing for New York magazine,Justin Davidson compared Sakamoto's score to the contemporaneous score by Ennio Morricone for The Hateful Eight ,stating:
Iñárritu made a completely different choice of composer:Ryuichi Sakamoto,who came to film from a career in experimental electronics... Sakamoto's is the more successful score. Both films slouch toward inevitable spasms of bloodshed,with long pensive stretches in between... Sakamoto slowly progresses through glacial chords that build toward a fortissimo horizon... The score doesn't so much follow the action here as lead it,urging the fighters on,even as it registers their single-minded lunacy. [22]
The score was nominated for Best Original Score at the 2016 Golden Globe Awards,and Best Film Music at the 2016 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs),in both cases it was beaten by Morricone's soundtrack.
The score was ruled ineligible for the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 2016 Oscars because it was "assembled from the music of more than one composer". [23] 20th Century Fox appealed against the decision and Sakamoto wrote a letter to the academy explaining his work. [24] Director Iñárritu was particularly unhappy about the decision. Speaking to Indiewire,Iñárritu said
The Academy is demanding that the way young musicians approach making music for film is narrow. That's super sad,they should be exploring new ways. Music is so powerful,that's an undeniable shame. This is the second time they are not doing it right for colleagues in the work. And this is scandalous. [24]
No. | Title | Artists | Length |
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1. | "The Revenant Main Theme" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 2:41 |
2. | "Hawk Punished" | Alva Noto & Bryce Dessner | 2:14 |
3. | "Carrying Glass" | Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto | 3:07 |
4. | "First Dream" | Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto | 3:05 |
5. | "Killing Hawk" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 3:49 |
6. | "Discovering River" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 1:11 |
7. | "Goodbye to Hawk" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 3:41 |
8. | "Discovering Buffalo" | Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto | 2:43 |
9. | "Hell Ensemble" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 2:38 |
10. | "Glass and Buffalo Warrior Travel" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 1:51 |
11. | "Arriving at Fort Kiowa" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 1:21 |
12. | "Church Dream" | Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto | 2:38 |
13. | "Powaqa Rescue" | Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto & Bryce Dessner | 5:35 |
14. | "Imagining Buffalo" | Bryce Dessner | 2:39 |
15. | "The Revenant Theme 2" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 1:54 |
16. | "Second Dream" | Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto | 1:13 |
17. | "Out of Horse" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 3:57 |
18. | "Looking for Glass" | Bryce Dessner | 2:51 |
19. | "Cat & Mouse" | Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto & Bryce Dessner | 5:42 |
20. | "The Revenant Main Theme Atmospheric" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 2:50 |
21. | "Final Fight" | Ryuichi Sakamoto & Bryce Dessner | 6:35 |
22. | "The End" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 2:16 |
23. | "The Revenant Theme (Alva Noto Remodel)" | Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto | 4:00 |
Total length: | 70:43 |
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Additional music credited in The Revenant: [25]
Title | Musician(s) | Key scenes/Notes |
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"Arikara Elder" | Chesley Wilson | Sung by actor Chesley Wilson at the tail end of the Arikara ambush. |
"Qilyuan" | John Luther Adams | Plays at the start of the Arikara ambush. |
"Become Ocean" | John Luther Adams | Plays during the Arikara ambush. Adams' piece was also featured in the film's first official teaser trailer. [26] |
"Haloid Xerrox Copy 11" | Alva Noto | |
"Xerrox Spiegel" | Alva Noto | Plays as Hugh Glass leaves his son and heads west. |
"Haloid Xerrox Copy 1" | Alva Noto | |
"Xerrox Spark" | Alva Noto | |
"Jetsun Mila (Excerpt)" | Éliane Radigue | |
"The Place Where You Go to Listen" | John Luther Adams | |
"Miss McLeod's Reel" | Michael Fraser, Scott Duncan | |
"Harakiri Opening (from Harakiri – Death of a Samurai starring Ichikawa Ebizō XI from NHK Taiga drama, Hana no Ran, and Eita from Fuji TV Japanese drama, Last Friends)" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | |
"Messiaen: Oraison" | Olivier Messiaen | Fête des belles eaux - IV. L'eau (sans monodic introduction). Plays as Glass emerges from the dead horse. This music is extracted from the fourth movement of Messiaen's aforementioned suite and was later incorporated into his Quatuor pour la fin du temps . |
"Taboos" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | |
"Glacier" | Ryuichi Sakamoto, Skúli Sverrisson, Ren Takada | |
"Stoukur" | Hildur Guðnadóttir | |
"Op.1–1" | Ryoji Ikeda | |
"Duoon" | Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto | |
"Viisari" | Vladislav Delay | |
"Lachrimae" | Bryce Dessner | |
"Viaton" | Vladislav Delay | |
"Whitten" | Hildur Guðnadóttir |
Chart (2016) | Peak position |
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Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [27] | 154 |
Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Japanese composer, pianist, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres.
async is the nineteenth solo studio album of Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto and his first one in eight years since Out of Noise (2009). It is also his first full-length solo record since recovering from throat cancer in 2015. Consisting of a combination of bizarre interpretations of familiar musical instruments, unusual textures both acoustic and electronically-made, samples of recordings of people such as David Sylvian and Paul Bowles doing readings, and everyday sounds borrowed from field recordings of city streets, async has underlying themes of the worries of the end of life and the interaction of differing viewpoints in humanity.
Alejandro González Iñárritu is a Mexican filmmaker. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the human condition. His projects have garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades including four Academy Awards with a Special Achievement Award, three Golden Globe Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Directors Guild of America Awards. His most notable films include Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), Babel (2006), Biutiful (2010), Birdman (2014), The Revenant (2015), and Bardo (2022).
Carsten Nicolai is a German artist, musician and label owner. As a musician he is known under the pseudonym Alva Noto.
Babel is a 2006 psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. The multi-narrative drama features an ensemble cast and portrays interwoven stories taking place in Morocco, Japan, Mexico, and the United States. An international co-production among companies based in the United States, Mexico and France, the film completes Arriaga and Iñárritu's Death Trilogy, following Amores perros (2000) and 21 Grams (2003).
Insen is the second studio album in an ongoing collaboration between Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and German electronic artist Carsten Nicolai. It was released on 20 March 2005 via Raster-Noton label.
Babel is the original soundtrack album, on the Concord label, of the 2006 Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning film Babel directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, Gael García Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi and Kōji Yakusho. The original score and songs were composed and produced by Gustavo Santaolalla.
utp_ is the fourth collaboration between Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Ensemble Modern is featured on the CD as well.
Bryce David Dessner is an American composer and guitarist based in Paris, as well as a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother Aaron is also a member of the group. Together they write the music, in collaboration with lead singer / lyricist Matt Berninger.
Xerrox Vol. 2 is the sixth studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. On this record, the author turns to a list of contemporary musicians, including Michael Nyman, Stephen O'Malley, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The record is the second part of his Xerrox quintet of albums.
Vrioon is the debut collaboration album between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, released in 2002. This is the first album in the Virus Series followed by four other records: Insen (2005), Revep (2006), utp_ (2008), and Summvs (2011). The initial letters of the five albums together form the word "Virus".
The Revenant is a 2015 American Western action drama film directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. The screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Iñárritu is based in part on Michael Punke's 2002 novel The Revenant, which describes frontiersman Hugh Glass's experiences in 1823, and which is based on the 1915 poem The Song of Hugh Glass. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.
The Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952–2023) released over 20 solo studio albums, over 25 collaboration albums, 3 remix albums, more than 10 live albums, several compilation albums, over 40 EPs and singles, and about 50 soundtracks. Several of the albums exist in both Japanese and internationally released versions, sometimes containing different track listings. Sakamoto has also released many video albums and music videos.
Summvs is the fifth collaboration album between Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The record was released on 9 May 2011 via Raster-Noton label.
Revep is the third collaboration record between Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and German electronic artist Carsten Nicolai. This EP continues the series titled the Virus Series. The EP was released on 23 May 2006 via Raster-Noton label.
Xerrox Vol.3 is the eighth solo studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. The record was released on 31 March 2015 via Raster-Noton label, continuing his Xerrox pentalogy.
Async – Remodels is an album of "reconstructions" of tracks from Japanese producer Ryuichi Sakamoto's nineteenth solo studio album async (2017). The album includes eleven reworks by producers such as Jóhann Jóhannsson, Fennesz, Cornelius, Oneohtrix Point Never, Electric Youth, and Arca. Released in Japan in December 2017 by Commmons and in February 2018 in other countries by Milan Records, Async – Remodels garnered generally positive critical reviews and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard American Top Classical Albums chart.
"Glass" is an improvisational piece composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai, known by his stage name as Alva Noto, for Yayoi Kusama's installation Dots Obsession—Alive, Seeking for Eternal Hope, which ran in September 2016 at Philip Johnson's Glass House. A film of the performance was uploaded to the Glass House's official Vimeo account and website on November 11, 2016, and an audio recording of the 37-minute composition was released as an album on Nicolai's label NOTON on February 16, 2018. "Glass" is an unconventional ambient piece that uses sounds from a keyboard, glass-made singing bowls, and digital processing of the House's glass walls. The composition consists of developing layers of sounds performed over a single drone. It was praised by many professional reviewers as a display of Sakamoto and Nicolai's growing artistry.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda is a 2017 Japanese-American documentary film directed by Stephen Nomura Schible. The film chronicles the life and career of Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and covers his experiences surviving cancer, his environmental activism following the Fukushima disaster, and his musical inspirations, including his interest in ambient sounds and film scoring.