The Thin Red Line

Hans Zimmer's Oscar-nominated score for reclusive director Terrence Malick's ambitious James Jones adaptation -- only the director's third film in 25 years -- is one of his most subtle and sophisticated yet. Then again, it's not as if the German-born composer has ever been known as a master of bombast or overstatement -- Max Steiner he is not (among other works, he penned the award-winning soundtracks for Rain Man and The Lion King). Unlike the scores for most other war movies (The Thin Red Line is set during World War II), the action in Malick's elegiac epic is driven mostly by the action itself (heated exchanges between characters, sudden eruptions of devastating violence) and not the music. The soundtrack, which consists primarily of long, string-laden pieces, also includes one of the film's mesmerizing chants, which were so popular that a separate recording, Chants From The Thin Red Line, consisting entirely of chants by the Melanesian Brotherhood and the Choir of All Saints, was released in conjunction with this recording. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy

『シン・レッド・ライン』（１９９９）のサウンドトラック。 音楽　ハンス・ジマー、 監督　テレンス・マリック。 ジマーがあえて、表現の難しい作品に果敢にアタック し始めた頃の、最もその類に入る意欲作。 優しく、しかしクールに、第三者的目線で、 戦士たちの行く末を伝える音楽表現は、 メロディうんぬんというよりも、静かに耳を傾けてほしい、 という感じの力作。メロディの崇高さで聴くなら、 ８曲目がおすすめ。じっくり時間のあるときに 聴いて感動してください。こんなジマー・サウンドも あります。 (C)馬場敏裕