Windtalkers Soundtrack 3-CD Set James Horner

Windtalkers Soundtrack 3-CD Set James Horner  :

MGM presents a 3-CD set of James Horner's epic score to the 2002  film Windtalkers. With a lengthy running time of over 110 minutes, Horner's score straddles two lines-the action and power of battle, but also the complexity and depth of the film's characters. In fact, it was the film's focus on human relationships that drew Horner to score the film. As Horner stated, "Without the emotional dimension of the characters, I wouldn't have accepted this project. The challenge was to take these two aspects [war and man] and go in two opposite musical directions."  It was this aspect that made the music both soulful and heartfelt. As Frank DeWald writes in his liner notes, "The most salient characteristic of Horner's music for Windtalkers...is its linearity. The majority of the score consists of lines-unison lines, parallel lines and contrapuntal lines. Lines by their nature propel music forward, and in a film score they move the picture itself ahead. Horner also generates emotion through the way his lines work together." All told it was a challenging project for Horner, as the film went through numerous editorial changes resulting in significant edits, trims and repeats of the score throughout the film.

The first two discs of this album feature the complete score as Horner intended, rounded out with a suite of alternates. Since some of the tracks on the original 2002 album are  assembled from various takes that Horner preferred over their exact film counterparts, the original album program is presented on disc 3. Sometimes these preferences involve just a mere two bars of material. Ultimately the tracks on the first two discs of this release are assembled as they were recorded and may slightly differ in timings from their uniquely assembled original album counterparts.

The story of Windtalkers focuses on a solitary US Marine corporal, Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage), in the Pacific theatre during World War II. Enders is seriously wounded during the film's opening sequence set on the Solomon Islands-a vicious battle in which all 15 of the men under his command are killed, although he himself escapes. It is obvious that the guilt lies heavily on him. Once Enders returns to active duty, he and fellow soldier Sgt. Pete "Ox" Henderson (Christian Slater) are  charged with protecting two Navajo code talkers, Pvt. Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) and Pvt. Charlie Whitehorse (Roger Willie). But there is a hitch: because the Japanese often torture their prisoners, it is feared that any one of the code talkers could break under such conditions and reveal the code. For that reason, Enders and Henderson are given strict orders to kill them should either one of them appear on the verge of capture.