Michael Silvestri

Wonderful! Thoroughly enjoyed all 4 discs. You feel, hear and appreciate the full & powerful sounds and the musical clarity and quality ... just like being in the movie theatre...It's a huge compilation of great and memorable music!

you would have to buy dozens of individual soundtracks to include even some of the music here. slight adjustment to john williams (for example) originals but well performed. outstanding variety. use these cds to jump start your day with triumph!

I absolutely love this collection. It certainly matches its title. I use some of the music in workshops for movement and everyone has a great time moving through Goldfinger, Indiana Jones, Pink Panther, and the Stormtroopers! Hearing the Titanic hit the ice is bone chilling. It's a great compilation. Thank you!

This music is a multi-CD pack that includes only instrumental music. I am a person who really likes this type of music. Many different movie music themes are included in this set including: mission impossible, Titanic, Superman, and others. Eric Kunzel is the main author of this collection but many others are also showcased. I highly recommend this set.

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra led by Erich Kunzel has recorded some of the best orchestral versions of film scores. This is indeed the ultimate collection and a good starting point to explore the many albums from epic soundtracks to gentle love themes; great silver screen classics to modern award winners.

This collection is bound to capture your heart and evoke a tin ear on successive tracks. I found much to like and some duds - easy to skip over.
Very good value.

Good mix of films!
I'm a big fan of this soundtrack music and will be looking for more CD's like this.

For the price, this CD is a great bargain. The musical selections, as you might expect, are mixed in quality ranging from extraordinary to so so, the balance being worthwhile and interesting. Sonically the CD is excellent.

I have been listening to great scores for many years and this collection is truly inspirational in so far as the choice of different scores takes you on a journey of listening pleasure matched by only a few collections.The price is incredibly reasonable for hours of listening pleasure. Don't pass this one up

This product is excellent. You can't hardly ask for a better collection of film music as far as diversity goes. From the smooth beauty of the "Steel Magnolias" theme to the electronic frenzy of "Gone In 60 Seconds", this collection has something for everyone who's ever thought to themself, "The music in this movie is really good!" A must have for film music collectors!

This is a splendid cd if you enjoy movie themes. Original performances that bring back fond memories of the films. Many selections included.

If you love movies and movie music, you can't go wrong with this two cd Paramount Anniversary set.

Normally I have a lot to say in my reviews, but not this time. The main problem with this collection is that all the most memorable film scores are just on one disc, with the second used mostly to play out stuff from the last ten years that, really, musically isn't very memorable and only includes three pieces anyone will recognize just because, like the movies they come from, they're based on old TV shows - The Addams Family, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible.

And that brings up another problem. With all due respect to the late Jerry Goldsmith, who has provided some truly great classic movie scores, was it REALLY necessary to include TWO versions of the SAME Star Trek march in this collection? This seems evocative of the milk-it-for-all-its-worth attitude Paramount has had lately toward its now-tarnished crown-jewel franchise. Where's James Horner's theme music from Star Trek II and III? If they're gonna put Star Trek on here twice, they should have provided a little diversity. It wouldn't have taken much, I'm sure.

I'm sure that Paramount's had other films with far more memorable music (even Harold Faltermeyer's Top Gun Anthem could have helped on Disc 2). This just seems like a lazy attempt at something that really could have been great.

There are some really great songs on this 2 CD set. However, those really great songs seem to be lightly interspersed amongst a large number of forgettable songs whose main purpose seems to be to remind you of those movies you enjoy(ed) so much.

It seems a little odd to me that out of 90 years of film making the most memorable scores have been largely released within the last few years. I was pleased to find themes from the Godfather, Indiana Jones and Witness. I was perplexed with the inclusion of songs from Rugrats, both Mission Impossible movies (one would have been more than enough) and Tomb Raider (memorable???).

This is my own personal bias, but I do prefer movie soundtracks that evoke a feeling of excitement. With this collection I just couldn't get excited. I kept finding myself being let down by songs that didn't in some way complement the preceeding song.

There are certainly some great tracks here, but overall I was disappointed. My advise would be to look elsewhere.

This one was a pleasant surprise! I thought- how could any CD that had "Baby Elephant Walk" be all that good? This one is. Lots of great scores- classics and a few hidden treasures. After hearing the beautiful title score for "Children of a Lesser God", I had to buy the entire soundtrack - very soothing. There are a few that may seem too overplayed ("Love Story", "Raiders of the Lost Ark",), but most are a welcome addition to any compilation. Try NOT loving "Building the Barn" from "Witness" or the "Hymn to the Fallen" from "Saving Private Ryan". Hours of great listening.

Tracks 9 (Pirates) & 10 (Earring) on disk 4 are indeed reversed. I hope that Amazon will take a look to fix this.

I bought this as a gift for my husband. He wasn't expecting this; usually he gives me a list and I choose from it. I saw this while looking for one of his other selections and thought he'd like it. I figured, even if he doesn't, I will. We both love it! Great for listening on long drives up the turnpike!

Over the past thirty years, my father and I have been collecting film music on various formats--vinyl, tape, reel-to-reel, CD, recording it from the movie, even. This collection is a great starter for someone who wants to start owning movie music. Lots of big hitters, including Hermann, Barry, Conti, Mancini, and Goldsmith as well as some contemporary scores that are great, too. This is the type of collection I would make for a friend who asks "what scores should I start with?"

This is film music for the classical music lover. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra presents excellent arrangements of a number of classic film themes (although several pieces of the 56 film classics selected for this 4 CD set are not orchestral arrangements, but rather specialty arrangements). Besides great film composers such as John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, and James Horner, classical composers such as Richard Strauss and Pietro Mascagni make an appearance. On several of the numbers the Crouch End Festival Chorus adds the human voice to the power of the full symphonic orchestra to create true movie magic. If you like the sound of a full symphony orchestra playing some of the most recognized themes ever written, you'll love these CDs.

Silva Screen Records, based in England, has been issuing some fine collections of film scores, more in one box than we have the right to expect. This four-CD box contains scores by many of the best writers, including Max Steiner, Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tomkin, Kenneth J. Alford (The Bridge on the River Kwai), Elmer Bernstein, Maurice Jarre, Ennio Marricone, John Barry, Nino Rota, John Williams, James Horner, and more. We can all think of additional film scores we wished were included, but then there's no way this collection could be all-inclusive. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, supplemented by Crouch End Festival Chorus on some numbers, does a very competent job...The liner notes give the basic information without any commentary, and as far as I can see, contain only one error. Am I wrong or are tracks 9 and 10 on the fourth CD mislabeled? Track 9, which runs 7:33, seems to have the excitement of "Pirates of the Caribbean" (which I did not see) and track 10, which runs 4:22, the more sedate "The Girl with the Pearl Earring (which I also did not see). Listings seem to have them reversed.

I bought this album several years ago and continue to enjoy it to this day. The recording is professional and the orchestra is quite good. My only complaint is that I don't care for the stylistic changes effected by the arranger for some of the themes. The most notable example of this can be found in 'The Anvil of Crom' (theme from Conan the Barbarian) where the music is too fast, too crisp, and has a completely altered (and rather trite) ending that falls flat compared to Basil Poledouris' original composition for the film. But with that caveat aside, I would recommend this album to anyone who enjoys fantasy adventure music who doesn't have the $$$ to buy each and every soundtrack album separately.

WARNING: The sound effects tracks are UNBELIEVABLY LOUD. They will ruin your ears and your speakers. Proceed with caution if you choose to play them...

Well, I suppose that depends on the type of music you're testing your equipment for. However, go to almost any online discussion of audio equipment, particularly subwoofers, and you'll come across this disc. Sure, most of the other reviewers mention the sound effects in less than glowing terms. It remains though that this disc contains some of the crazy lowest signals one can buy on disc. The T rex footsteps shake the entire house despite being below my hearing range with my Martin Logan Descent sub. Incredible stuff. And the glass shattering sound effects in the Terminator theme can melt your tweeters too if turned up too loud. Don't take yourself too seriously for a few minutes and enjoy the noise!
Beyond that, musically this is one of the Cincinatti Pops' finest soundtrack collections. Perhaps the best. Almost all of their recordings are sonically of the highest quality (Copland: Music of America won a Grammy for best engineering), but all too often in recent years the releases have not met the standard of this album. Arrangers that don't begin to care what the composer's intent was or tacking on pre-fab endings are the worst offenders, but most of the selections here meet or exceed the quality of the original soundtracks. All around, a great soundtrack collection.

The Cincinnati Pops do an excellent job of faithfully reproducing movie soundtracks and this album is a perfect example. In fact after listening to this CD a few times, I tracked down some of the original soundtracks because I enjoyed the selections on here, such as the "El Cid" music and "Jurrasic Park." I also really enjoyed the music from "Henry V" "Robin Hood,"and "Hunt for Red October." The different tracks go together surprisingly well, like many of the pops other thematic CD's. While it might be helpful to have seen some of the movies the soundtracks come from, it is not crucial. The added soundeffects are a little gimmicky, but fairly short and on seperate tracks, so they can be skipped. If you enjoy movie soundtracks, this is a great investment.

"Caution: Digital Sound Effects of high levels with intrasonic frequencies to 5 Hz. Please establish safe playback levels before playing tracks [3], [5], [19], [20], and [21]. Excessive playback levels could result in damage to equipment."

The above quote is found prominantly on the back cover and is a warning not to be taken lightly. The respective tracks are awesome and should be played, as well as listened to, with great care.

A 20-bit digital recording that is perfect for surround-sound systems, "The Great Fantasy Adventure Album" is a wonder for fans of the sci-fi/fantasy film genre. Highlighting some truly landmark films, the 1994 release showcases compositions from the legends of past and contemporary film scoring. Themes from the likes of Rosza, Williams, Horner, Herrmann, and Elfman are grandiosely featured here.

The best cuts are Goldsmith's "Total Recall: Main Title", "Conan the Barbarian: Anvil of Crom" (Poledouris), and Brad Fiedel's "Terminator: Theme".

Upon hearing this trio, chills will not just go up the spine but will permeate every ounce of one's body

I have a good number of Kunzel CDs, but this one could easily be called "Mark's Favorite Movie Themes." It doesn't matter that I have many of these repeated on other CDs; it saved me the trouble of having to burn my own 'faves' disc. It's good to see Basil Polodouris' "Conan" and "Red October" themes, he's often overlooked as a film composer, in my book, and regardless what one might think of the movie, the Conan score is still probably the best thing he's ever done. And the hard-to-find "Terminator" theme is hard NOT to listen to, with its highly unusual rythmic motif. I enjoy all the music selections, but having James Horner's sublime theme from "The Rocketeer" was well worth the price of the CD by itself. This is what a movie themes CD should be, and it helps that I happen to like Kunzel's choice of selections, for once. The sound effects that typically accompany these CDs are generally annoying, but I like the sonar segue into "Red October," and the T-Rex roar that precedes "Jurassic Park" is useful for scaring kids at Halloween.

What a crowning achievement to bring "REEL CHILL VOL.2", released by Silva America and featuring The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus ~ conductor James Fitzpatrick and David Temple director of the chorus ~ one can only expect the highest quality of performances and quench the thirst of all "film-score-buffs".

A list of the selections from the Reel Chill Vol. 2 (in the order in which they appear)

Disc One (1)
1 The Fountain: The Last Man / London Ensemble 6:49
2 The Royal Tennenbaums: Gymnopedie No. 1 / London Music Works 3:35
3 Munich: Prayer for Peace / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 4:17
4 Brokeback Mountain: Main Theme/The Wings / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 5:10
5 The Hours: The Poet Acts / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 3:40
6 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Finale / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 3:36
7 Meet Joe Black: Whisper of a Thrill / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 6:15
8 Band of Brothers: Main Theme / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 4:31
9 Jane Eyre: The Jane Eyre Theme / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 3:28
10 Shakespeare in Love: Shakespeare in Love Suite / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 7:15
11 Enigma: Main Theme / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 3:44
12 The Thin Red Line: The Village / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 6:11
13 True Romance: You're So Cool / London Music Works 3:44
14 Gladiator: Now We Are Free / Bronagh Mullan 4:27

Disc Two (2)
1 Crash: A Sense of Touch / London Music Works 5:09
2 Chinatown: Main Theme / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 2:10
3 Road to Perdition: Road to Perdition / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 3:29
4 Atonement: Elegy for Dunkirk / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 5:02
5 Forrest Gump: Feather Theme / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 2:35
6 The Last Emperor: The Last Emperor / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 5:53
7 There Will Be Blood: Open Spaces / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 3:56
8 The Painted Veil: Gnossienne No. 1 / London Music Works 2:38
9 Pride and Prejudice: Dawn/Georgiana / Rob Barron 3:31
10 Dear Frankie: The Final Letter / Christopher Ross 5:12
11 Les Choristes: In Memorium / Finchley Children's Music Group 3:17
12 Batman Begins: Eptesicus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 4:15
13 Life Is Beautiful: La Vita E Bella / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 4:39
14 On Golden Pond: Main Theme / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 3:34

Silva Screen Records has brought film music to another level in soundtracks, flawless from the very first note to the last, pure perfection --- There is no other label I know of today that could come close to what they have done in film score/soundtrack albums --- All in all, this outstanding, fantastic and moving release with awesome material will have film music collectors crying for more!

Must ask the following to take a bow ~ James Fitzpatrick (compilation producer), always in their pitching, Reynold da Silva (executive producer), Rick Clark (Mastered & Complied) a tremendous asset to every project they undertake --- and the label which made it all possible ... Silva America --- and of course the composers featured on this soundtrack gem!

Total Time: 2 CD Set ~ SILCD 1274 ~ (11/11/2008)

This pricey UK import CD filled a lot of gaps in my music collection and is an excellent overview of notable music of (mostly) recent films. It's difficult to find consistently listenable soundtrack collections like this, by that I mean free from the obligitory Whitney Houston or Celine Dion embarrassments. Usually rights issues prevent comprehensive compilations like this in the US, too. While I enjoy a lot of soundtrack music, there aren't so many complete soundtracks that I would care to own, some examples of exceptions being Ennio Morricone scores and the About a Boy Soundtrack. While certainly most of these tracks are the actual recordings used in their respective films, I noticed that "La mamma morte" from Philadelphia is not the Maria Callas version. There might be other cases like this, I'm not sure. And "Unchained Melody" from Ghost is an orchestral version, not the pop song (but I consider this a plus). This collection seems to focus on the subtle and quirky, yet melodic music of indie films, with less emphasis on the loud sweeping orchestral scores of major Hollywood hits, but of course there are a few like Gladiator and Braveheart, which are welcome here because like I've said, I probably wouldn't listen to the whole score. I love the two Thomas Newman compositions from American Beauty, and it's good to have some music from films by the Cohen Brothers here. My only complaint would have to be the order of the songs. You would think they would avoid jumping back and forth between pop songs, orchestral scores, and quiet music, but it just seems thrown together by random. I would compare this collection to the excellent "Miramax Films Greatest Hits" but the makers of that album knew to group the two pop/rock songs at the end.

You can't have too many Sci-Fi albums. This is a good addition to anyone's collection. A good crosssection of SF music. It even has music from The Thief of Bagdad from the 30s(?)

As with most of the recent Silva America releases, Silva Screen has compiled older recordings from previous CDs and added some new material exclusively for this release. In this case, Silva has recorded music from The first Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings films, both Mummy films and Gladiator. I'm not sure what else is new, but combine these excellent tracks with golden age material from Hermann and Rozsa, and some Elfman (Batman, Edward Scissorhands) and Williams (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Witches of Eastwick) for good measure, you have a heckuva compilation.

The performance is first rate with only the Raiders March being a subpar track.

If you're looking for some fantasy role-playing game backround music to play or just like mostly classical fantasy-esque music, this double CD contains excellent scores wrapped in whopping total of 140+ minutes worth of music.

Classic music from your favorite hit fantasy and action movies are found all over this huge, quality collection. You'll hear suites and sounds from outstanding films like Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, Willow, The Mummy, Harry Potter, Excalibur, Conan, Highlander, Batman, Edward Scissorhands and more.

A recent (2002) and impressive collection of musical scores, and by far the best CDs I've personally bought for fantasy themed music.

History repeats itself with this latest compilation from Silva Screen "Fantasy Album:Adventure & Fantasy at the Movies", a heap of music to digest within the twenty-eight tracks. All beautifully arranged and conducted by Paul Bateman and Nic Raine with the City Of Prague Orchestra in full force...with the helping hand of David Temple (choir master) of the Crouch End Festival Chorus. A perfect blend from brew master James Fitzpatrick(producer) who has impeccable foresight and taste in film music.

What I most enjoy about Silva, is the fact they always have the lesser recorded selections within the big picture...take for instance "THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD"(1958), "THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER" (1960), "MYSTERIOUS ISLAND" (1961) and "JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS" (1963), all four composed by Bernard Herrmann who is in a class by himself, they'll never be another.

But for my money the highlight picks are "GLADITOR"(2000), Hans Zimmer's recreation of the spectacle that was Romes, with man against man, man against beast and the armies that clashed and fell under the powerful story that unfolds within this suite from the film ~ "BEETLEJUICE", "EDWARD SCISSORHANDS" and "BATMAN", each from the films of Tim Burton still ring true within the realm of great direction and storytelling, this can only be topped by composer Danny Elfman who adds the frosting to an appetizing treat ~ "LEGEND" (1985), can faeries, goblins, woodland spirits mix well with the Lord of Darkness...only the legendary Jerry Goldsmith can conjure up a tune to drive the entire cast into a frenzy with "FARIE DANCE/REUNITED", this is the stuff nightmares are made of with a happy ending of course.

With composers like Tan Dun, Randy Edelman, Danny Elfman, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, James Horner, Maurice Jarre, Michael Kamen, Brian May, Jerome Moross, Carl Orff, Basil Poledouris, Miklos Rozsa, Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, John Williams and Hans Zimmer...one can only hope this will last forever. Silva, I don't know how you do it, but keep them coming...gotta love it!

Total Time: Disc One 71:43 on 15 Tracks & Disc Two 73:48 on 13 Tracks ~ Silva
SSD-1142 ~ (2002)

This is one fantastic CD! It IS relaxing and the selections are beautiful! I'm going to buy 2 more for gifts for Christmas. My favorites are 1. The theme from Ghost, Unchained Melody, one of the most beautiful versions of that song, 2. A River Runs Through It, and 3. the theme from Piano. But ALL the selections are great!

I love this CD!!!! It has quickly become my favorite CD to play at bedtime (and also at other times). And, believe me, I have many, many "relaxing" CD's. It is an awesome compilation of beautiful, soft music that all will recognize from the movies. I immediately loaded the entire CD onto my iPod, and I find it rare that you love every selection on a CD. If I had to pick a favorite, I love selection #3 from the movie, The Piano, entitled "Big My Secret." It is magnificent! My second choice is from the movie, A River Runs Through It.

All of the selections are beautiful and enjoyable, even if you did not see the movie.

I would highly recommend this CD! The buyer would not be disappointed!

Kathleen, a music lover.

Wonderful selection of music. Nice to sit by the fireplace listening to the soft sounds!