Munich

This soundtrack caps a busy year for John Williams: In addition to Munich, he also scored Star Wars: Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith, War of the Worlds, and Memoirs of a Geisha. When it comes to Hollywood's A-list big-budget needs, Williams, with 46 Oscar nominations by the end of 2005, remains the go-to composer. But does he deserve his reputation? Well, it depends on what you want from a score: If you expect it to surprise you at every turn, you should look elsewhere; but if you want music to faithfully match the mood of the images it accompanies, and as lavish as said images usually are, Williams is worth every penny he gets, as Munich amply proves. While Steven Spielberg's drama-thriller starts off in 1972, Williams eschews period touches and delivers a mix of powerful, string-heavy atmospherics--"Hatikvah (The Hope)," "A Prayer for Peace," "Thoughts of Home"--while ethnic elements (which could easily have been overdone in a film dealing with Palestinians and Israelis) are, cleverly, almost subliminal. Fans of otherworldly female vocals should note that sought-after session singer Lisbeth Scott (The Chronicles of Narnia) appears on tracks such as "Munich, 1972" and "Remembering Munich." --Elisabeth Vincentelli

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Soundtrack Review: Munich