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Overall, Williams succeeded in providing Saving Private Ryan with an appropriate score, but at a distinct cost. As is customary (and almost mandatory for a Williams project of this magnitude), a concert piece serving as a tribute to the soldiers who perished was written and used over the end titles of the film. Undoubtedly, "Hymn to the Fallen" is the highlight of the score, especially given that the theme from this cue is only developed with hesitation throughout the actual underscore of the film. Even amongst Williams' solemn tributes to previous subjects of considerable importance, this hymn is somewhat pedestrian. Gorgeous in its respectful statements, it follows the pattern of the rest of the score by exercising much restraint. Without the fanfares, the banging chimes, and the bold harmonies that extend throughout the full range of sonic spectrum, the hymn resides mostly in the lower registers outside of some meandering violin, woodwind, and xylophone movements above the brass and choir. There is nothing about the hymn to suggest the sharp edges of conflict or patriotism. No pronounced snare or lofty trumpet solos as in JFK and no overwhelming layers of strings as in Born on the Fourth of July are evident here. As a companion to a score with the typical dramatic gravity of John Williams' writing, the hymn would be a fine accompaniment. But the remainder of the score suffers in its entertainment value because of its solemn duty to accompany the grim environment of the film. Williams has always stated that his scores are not aimed at enjoyment outside of the context of the film, and from his career of promoting and conducting his music around the world, that statement seems more than suspect. But in the case of Saving Private Ryan, he indeed produced a rare soundtrack that does not function at any level outside of the film. The album is a product of the popularity of the composer, director, and the quality of the film. Most listeners would have been served just as well with a ten-minute single containing the primary hymn and a combination of the commercial album's second and third tracks. For a film that runs almost three hours in length, that's a surprising statement in and of itself.

Still, hardcore film score fans will find some merit in Williams' underscore for the film's transitional scenes of movement and rest. Unless you can appreciate the delicately sequenced solos for woodwinds and especially French horn and trumpet, then the album could very well translate into a boring, eventless 50 minutes of a meandering and thematic void. So melancholy and subdued is Williams' touch here that even the lightly tapping snare is mixed far at the rear to avoid any sense of patriotic defiance. The lack of thematic integration, action sequences, and even any significant suspense cause an abundance of low, rumbling, horn-dominated solos and dull, repetitious sequences of aimless strings. Outside of a few distinct moments of accentuation in "Revisiting Normandy" and "Omaha Beach," the eight tracks in between the identical concert performances of the hymn feature no individual flavor. Parts of the score are practically inaudible, which raises memories of the feathery touch that James Horner utilized for some of Glory's more somber moments of reflection. But in this case, there's nothing in the surrounding material to salvage an engaging listening experience. Only in "Defense Preparations" do fragments of action rhythms from the previous year's The Lost World: Jurassic Park provide a contribution. This cue alone, ironically enough, would likely function better if separated from the rest of Saving Private Ryan and placed with your library collection of Jurassic Park music. Otherwise, the slight and hopeful swing towards the positive, harmonic structures of the hymn in the first half of "High School Teacher" represents the most robust thematic statement in the latter half of the album. On the whole, the score requires a devoted appreciation of the film and its subject matter to float your interest in the underscore in between hymn performances. The mix of the score is among its better qualities; Williams returned to the ensemble and location with which he recorded Schindler's List, and the recording of this Boston group and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus is precise.

In early 1998, there were reports that a few of the musicians in the Boston Symphony Hall broke down in tears during the recording of Saving Private Ryan. Unless this occurred during the hymn's performance, then it's far more believable that the tears were caused by a screen with the rough edit of the film's visuals. Speculation will inevitably continue about whether or not the extremely restrained technique managed in this score was the most effective use of Williams for Saving Private Ryan. Ironically, the same debate would arise for another Tom Hanks film a couple of years later, Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away, which also strikes an odd balance between an absence of score and the music's sometimes intrusive return to the mix in later scenes. Most of this speculation about Saving Private Ryan's score comes from fans of extremely powerful war films such as Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July, both of which enhanced by thematically strong and independent music. The trailers for Saving Private Ryan only fueled the debate further, because Shaiman's theme for The American President is as flamboyantly dynamic as the composer always tends to be in such circumstances. And, frankly, the sound worked to give the combined visuals of the trailer an extremely heroic edge. In the end, though, you have to chalk up Williams and Spielberg's decision as one of necessity and move on. The entirety of the score will be a slow, boring, and sometimes painfully lackadaisical listening experience for many collectors, but the hymn remains a welcome addition to any assembly of Williams' best themes. Re-recordings of this hymn have often been quite successful, with stunning results sometimes coming from various singing groups, and if you own one or two such re-recordings, then those should represent the Saving Private Ryan score well enough to bypass the soundtrack for the film. As its own product, the Saving Private Ryan score ranks among the last of Williams' digital scores to be recommended for enjoyment outside of the film.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

• Music as Written for Film:  ****
• Music as Heard on Album:  **
• Overall:  ***

Bias Check:

For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.76 (in 73 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.66 (in 345,984 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 64:12