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| The Fountain | 
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| Creators: Clint Mansell, Kronos Quartet, Mogwai
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $13.64
You Save: $5.34 (28%)
Buy New/Used from $9.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  (57 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3779
Format: Soundtrack
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 79901
UPC: 075597990126
EAN: 0075597990126
ASIN: B000IU3YKU
Release Date: November 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Great soundtrack, great album December 3, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Fountain, even if a bit too abstract at times for my taste, is a stunning and beautifully made film, and one that is very worth seeing. And one of the things that make it so special is its amazing soundtrack, which complements the visual and emotional beauty of the film perfectly. Well, it turns out that the music works really well as a standalone album too. In fact, it's some of the best instrumental music I own. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves beautiful music, even those who haven't seen the film or who don't ordinarily listen to film scores.
 Beautiful! December 2, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
The soundtrack was definitely my favorite part of "The Fountain"- except for maybe Hugh Jackman :) The music is beautiful and haunting and perfectly conveys the timelessness and ambiguity of the story. I would definitely recommend buying this soundtrack- even if you didn't particularly like the movie!
The Fountain is the Road to Awe December 2, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Whether or not the film will be your cup of tea is a definite question. But there is no denying the haunting power of Clint Mansell's score. Perfectly fitting the images Darren Aronofsky worked six years for to bring to the screen, but also standing on it's own as a masterwork of unimaginable beauty. Often times it's themese are simple, and repetitive, but this is not a negative in this context. Honestly I think Aronofsky has outdone himself with this film, but Mansell most certainly has topped his score collaborations with the director's previous films Pi and Requiem for a Dream which were each brilliant in their own right. The composer teamed up with the Kronos Quartet and the rock band Mogwai to perform these tracks, and the collaboration is a very fruitful one.
A -- film -- score. November 30, 2006
63 out of 64 found this review helpful
...and I emphasize "film" because that is exactly what we have here -- the musical counterpoint to a motion picture. Being a pretty avid fan of the orchestral works that give life to their respective films, I've had a lot of chances over time to experience the contrast that exists between a score's function within a film, and a score as presented on album, as a separate musical entity dismembered entirely from the imagery it accompanies.
For me, Mansell's 'The Fountain' is truly special because, like so very few film scores, it is able to retain a sense of lucidity in the midst of its abandonment from Aronofsky's film. Granted, I found the film, visually, to be utterly stunning and unique; its images often powerful enough, on their very own, to evoke an uncommonly strong emotional response. Thus, the question that might be contemplated will be whether or not Mansell's score is in itself truly a work of greatness, or perhaps just a good score that happens to service a work of "visionary" (truly applicable) genius. And yet, there is really no way to answer this, because in the context of the film, Mansell's score, just as much as any other element, is an unrelenting force that propels and enhances each and every emotion being felt. I do believe, without any doubt in my mind, that 'The Fountain', as an album -- listened to without being acquainted with the film -- will not impress, nor affect, to any degree like that of someone who's absorbed the various ideas and sentiments gathered in experiencing the film. This, in many cases, could serve an argument in disfavor of Mansell's score as an illustrious composition, for I've heard a great deal of scores that, musically, are equally as potent an experience (often even more so) than that of their fusion with an un-scored film. To me, 'The Fountain' proves the exact opposite -- the only reason it works so well as an ALBUM is because the associations it so effortlessly evokes -- so intimately inborn to the images it nourishes -- are, literally, at the very hand [mind;ears;heart] of the listener who's experienced its intentions within the proper context. While I've seen this declaration thrown about a million times in reference to a film's score, 'The Fountain' stands at the very highest plane of that specific inclination.
This is an emotional score. On my first (and only) viewing of the film, much evaded my mind, but an affection that stayed intact amidst the confusion was that of a piercing to my heart. Much of the music on here brings tears to my eyes, and I don't mean to use that in the trivial sense; when I hear "Stay With Me" (which actually appears several times in the film), the image of Tommy, alone in his "bubble" amidst the vastness of space -- desperately clinging to The Tree of Life as its spirit slowly dissipates -- breaks my heart with its hopeful yearning crushed by a sense of devastating loss. During this, and other scenes in the film, Aronofsky so beautifully halts the pace, demanding a true ingestion of the feelings swirling around in ones head, and heart. Likewise, Mansell's score follows the same formula -- it is sublimely reflective, by which a sense of beauty and resonance develop; from that pensive but free-willed expression, a desperate affinity devours the soul.
Mansell's instrumentation is generally simple -- solitary strings and piano permeate amongst a celestial, bounteous ambiance -- a tact that provides at once a spatial isolation and (courtesy the weeping strings and tender, heartfelt piano), amidst that, a contrasting empathy for Tom and his universally Human quests in life, amidst such fateful circumstance. When its not floating in a pool of idle meditation, it remains melodic and, in its more driven moments, passionate and emotive a different kind of level -- a resilient crusade for more -- for IT. No track demonstrates this better than "Death is the Road to Awe", which also accompanies the most overwhelming montage in the film's (late) climax -- in the one moment of down-and-out orgasm, Mansell employs an absolutely impeccable use of chorale burst amongst a score that, until this point, had so respectfully restrained from anything close to that level of bombast. Because of this, and the cue's particular significance to Tom and his glorious moment of "awe" -- I am drenched in a final, loving relief -- an exalted feeling that follows the preceding hope, fear, and tragedy that has forever dwelled inside him, and the score; this moment usually makes me cry.
I'm rambling, and forgetting the limited word count.
See the film, then buy this album.
sublime collaboration November 30, 2006
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
A fan of Aronofsky's extraordinary Requiem of a Dream, I was anxious to discover if The Fountain's music style would be as equally compelling or as memorable. After all, Requiem is one of the most memorably haunting film scores in recent memory and quite a tough act to follow. The score does not disappoint; Clint Mansell and Kronos Quartet leave a lasting impression. The Fountain is reminiscent of Requiem's score, but is not overshadowed by its predecessor.
This is a stunning and often dramatic score, encompassing delicately ambient tones, heartbreaking cords and sorrowful piano. Scottish post-rock act Mogwai's addition to Kronos Quartet is like icing on the cake, bringing a dark edginess very appropriate to the film's themes of mortality and love.
The Fountain may or may not be added to Aronofsky's list of achievements, but the score is undoubtedly breathtaking. You will be sure to enjoy this as a fan of Requiem or Mogwai, but even if you are not, check this out, it will dazzle you.
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