A few of Zemeckis' choices for Cast Away weren't as clear; the plane crash itself went unscored, which was a more curious choice. But in the last half hour of the film (the extended epilogue), Silvestri's score makes just a few select appearances. In these late scenes, it works brilliantly, proving that sometimes, less is indeed more. The theme for Cast Away is very simply constructed. It's not particularly noble; instead, it's appropriately humbling and detached. There are progressions and sensibilities that could be compared to the feather theme of Forrest Gump. The "End Credits" cue repeats the same statement of theme heard in the actual film, but it is in this slightly longer performance that the piano joins the woodwinds and strings for an additional layer of elegance. Roughly half of this cue actually consists of interludes that solely feature the sounds of crashing waves and whispering winds through the trees. This mixing of Silvestri's on and off again strings with the sound effects is a thoughtful touch in "End Credits." It is equally delightful, therefore, that the full performance of theme and subsequent mixing of those sound effects were made available on a album released in 2001 by Varèse Sarabande. The seven and a half minutes presented on that product offer the essential music from the film, since earlier performances of the title theme are practically the same (lacking the piano). The much-requested Russian choral piece heard near the start of the film was not composed or even recorded by Silvestri, so it doesn't appear on this album. It is a traditional Russian song written by Lev Knipper called "Oh, My Field" ("Polyushka, Polye") and it is available on various collections of Red Army hymns.

To fill out the album, Varèse Sarabande producer Robert Townson compiled original selections from each of the ten scores that Silvestri has written for Zemeckis films. These are the actual, original soundtrack recordings from each film, so the album acts as a very effective tribute to their collaboration. The lighter Romancing the Stone and Death Becomes Her are a glimpse of the composer's pop and comedy side, while Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a flamboyant score that was long difficult to obtain on its original Touchstone album. The three Back to the Future scores are well-represented, though it's easy to say that any fan of the original film and score would rather have heard something other than the suite that was already available on the film's commercial song compilation. The beloved Forrest Gump and Contact both feature wonderful and delicate themes, and their back-to-back appearance on this compilation provides for over sixteen minutes of uninterrupted beauty. Just before Cast Away, What Lies Beneath is certainly the weakest score of the ten, and an unfortunate detraction from the listening experience on this compilation (but since the album is a chronological presentation of each collaboration, it has to be there). Overall, the Cast Away "End Credits" cue is a pleasant listening experience, albeit short. Fans who seek the complete 20-minute score for Cast Away on bootlegs aren't likely to find anything substantially different (other than the Russian material not by Silvestri). Most of the other selections on this compilation have their virtues, but since they cross over several genres and are placed chronologically, they don't always flow well into each other. Nevertheless, it's a competent compilation of Silvestri's work and merits some consideration.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download