The Book Thief (soundtrack)
| The Book Thief (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Film score by | ||||
| Released | November 5, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | September 20, 2013–October 6, 2013[1] | |||
| Studio | Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox Studios | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 52:03 | |||
| Label | Sony Classical Records | |||
| Producer | John Williams | |||
| John Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Book Thief (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2013 film The Book Thief based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Markus Zusak. Released by Sony Classical Records on November 5, 2013, the album featured an original score composed by John Williams, his first non-Spielberg collaboration since 2005.[a]
Background[edit]
Ken Blancato admitted that Williams knew the film being made and saw the film before him, admitting his strong interest in the film. The film was scored at the Newman Scoring Stage at the 20th Century Fox Studios, instead of his Sony Scoring Stage where Williams usually recorded his films. Initially, Blancato wanted to score the film in London as "he wanted to do it closer to home and have him with us". Blancato felt it was "mesmerizing to go and listen to this process take place".[3]
Reception[edit]
Music critic Jonathan Broxton wrote: "The Book Thief illustrates and brings out the emotions in the listener and the viewer with grace and sincerity, never overwhelming them, allowing the audience to feel the story at it unfolds. Simultaneously, the musicality and compositional excellence in the score illustrate just how well Williams understands musical storytelling and the importance of structure and narrative in film music. It’s the essence of good cinema, and just proves once more why Williams is one of the greatest film composers who ever lived."[4] James Southall of Movie Wave commented "There’s nothing groundbreaking in The Book Thief. It’s well-worn territory. It sounds like you expect it to sound. And that means it sounds good. Williams has always been a master at telling a story through his music; he tells this one beautifully. There’s heartache and beauty, side by side; agony and ecstasy. Every spine-tingling chill is eventually contrasted with one of warmth. Class never ages and Williams has a class in abundance; as his forays into film music become more occasional, they become all the more special."[5]
Danny Gonzalez of Examiner commented "The Book Thief isn't in the league of Williams' most accomplished works but it certainly holds a major candle to those works because it's thematic, lush and full of energy that really is missing from a lot of today's music in general and in particular the film music genre. Classical music fans will also enjoy this score on its own merits because it does play at times like a full classical composition that does stand out outside of the film that it was written for. The Book Thief is one of my favorite scores of this year and certainly will be an Oscar contender come January when the Academy Award nominations will be announced. This one really does like a score that may garner Williams another golden statuette as well."[6] Daniel Schweiger of Film Music Magazine said "Even though he’s past 80 years old, John Williams remains at the top of the Hollywood game with a sense of melodic freshness and innocence that’s no more resonant in a “Book Thief” that's likely to reduce listeners to stealing handkerchiefs. But as always, it's sweeping emotion that's honestly earned through dramatic subtlety and gorgeous, heart-rending themes, of which “The Book Thief’ has volumes. It's a veritable library of the greatest dramatic film scoring text of the last century, accomplished with no shortage of vitality as Williams continues to enthrall into the next epoch."[7]
Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter commented "uncharacteristically understated score is one of his more effective in recent years".[8] Dennis Harvey of Variety called it as "excellent score",[9] while Richard Corliss of Time called it as "subtly melodic"[10] Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote "John Williams’s score — a quieter, more somber echo of his music for Schindler's List — lends the film an unearned patina of solemnity".[11] Kaye Don of Den of Geek commented "the score by living legend John Williams is lyrical, subtle and a shift from the epic fanfares he is known for."[2]
Accolades[edit]
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[12] | Best Original Score | John Williams | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards[13] | Best Film Music | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Awards[14] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| Grammy Awards[15][16] | Best Instrumental Composition | Won | |
| International Film Music Critics Association[17][18] | Best Original Score for a Drama Film | Nominated | |
| Film Music Composition of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Satellite Awards[19] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards[20] | Best Music | Nominated |
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "One Small Fact" | 1:46 |
| 2. | "The Journey to Himmel Street" | 1:48 |
| 3. | "New Parents and a New Home" | 1:33 |
| 4. | "Ilsa's Library" | 2:21 |
| 5. | "The Snow Fight" | 1:01 |
| 6. | "Learning to Read" | 2:48 |
| 7. | "Book Burning" | 2:52 |
| 8. | "I Hate Hitler!" | 2:06 |
| 9. | "Max and Liesel" | 1:11 |
| 10. | "The Train Station" | 2:16 |
| 11. | "Revealing the Secret" | 4:11 |
| 12. | "Foot Race" | 1:20 |
| 13. | "The Visitor at Himmel Street" | 2:02 |
| 14. | "Learning to Write" | 2:07 |
| 15. | "The Departure of Max" | 2:32 |
| 16. | "Jellyfish" | 2:08 |
| 17. | "Rescuing the Book" | 1:55 |
| 18. | "Writing to Mama" | 2:42 |
| 19. | "Max Lives" | 1:31 |
| 20. | "Rudy is Taken" | 2:00 |
| 21. | "Finale" | 2:48 |
| 22. | "The Book Thief" | 7:05 |
| Total length: | 52:03 | |
Notes[edit]
- ^ Williams' scored for the Alfonso Cuarón-directed film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), which was his last score for a non-Spielberg film. Since then, he consecutively worked with Spielberg's directorials.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ Thor Freudenthal [@ThorFreudenthal] (September 20, 2013). "At Fox watching John Williams conduct the score for The Book Thief #wow!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Kaye, Don (November 6, 2013). "The Book Thief Review". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Thompson, Anne (November 7, 2013). "How YA Bestseller 'The Book Thief' Got Made Into a Studio Film: With Difficulty, and John Williams (TRAILER)". IndieWire. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "THE BOOK THIEF – John Williams". MOVIE MUSIC UK. November 17, 2013. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "The Book Thief soundtrack review | John Williams". movie-wave.net. November 10, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Gonzalez, Danny (November 25, 2013). ""The Book Thief" Soundtrack Review – Music By John Williams". Examiner. ISSN 2208-9721. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2023.[dead link]
- ^ Schweiger, Daniel (November 26, 2013). "November Soundtrack Picks". Film Music Magazine. ISSN 1087-7142. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Farber, Stephen (November 6, 2013). "The Book Thief: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (October 4, 2013). "Film Review: 'The Book Thief'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (November 7, 2013). "'The Book Thief': The Girl Who Fought the Nazis With Words". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (November 7, 2013). "A Refuge Found in Pages". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "Nominees for the 86th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. January 16, 2014. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon; Harris, Jamie (January 8, 2014). "BAFTA Film Awards 2014 – nominations in full". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
- ^ "Golden Globes Nominations: The Full List". Variety. January 11, 2014. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- ^ Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY (December 5, 2014). "2015 Grammy nominations roll out". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 2015: winners and performances – as it happened". The Guardian. February 9, 2015. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
- ^ IFMCA (2014). "2013 IFMCA Awards". IFMCA. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- ^ Kinetophone (February 24, 2014). "IFMCA Winners 2013". Kinetophone. Wordpress. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- ^ "The International Press Academy Announces Nominations For The 18th Annual Satellite Awards". PR Newswire. December 2, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ Goldberg, Matt (February 26, 2014). "The Saturn Award Nominees 2014 include GRAVITY and THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG". Collider. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
