North Face


Milan Records (0731383648267)
Movie | Release date: 01/26/2010 | Film release: 2008 | Format: CD, Download
 

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# Track   Duration
1.Prologue2:28
2.Luise and Toni - Love Theme 3:19
3.Hinterstoisser Traverse3:28
4.Eiger Theme 4:21
5.Mühlsturhorn Trilogy 4:48
6.Icefield1:55
7.Mehringer Discovery 1:55
8.Turning Back 2:0
9.Rappel1:34
10.Return to the Traverse 2:11
11.The Eiger In the Storm 2:24
12.Andi's Death 2:15
13.Toni Gives Up 6:38
14.Epilogue 6:54
15.Immer Ran 2:13
 48:22
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North Face - 09/10 - Review of Oscar Flores, submitted at (English)
A cinematic spectacle with beautiful scenery and a compelling script, the 2008 German film, North Face (Nordwand), tells the story of the infamous 1930's mountaineering expedition to the Alpine Eiger led by climbers Andi Hinterstoisser and Toni Kurz. While the film spends a considerable amount of time highlighting the actual ascent of the mountain, the movie never becomes a simple mountaineering adventure à la Cliffhanger. Instead, the narrative allows for characters to evolve and adapt to conflicting moral dilemmas, always portraying sympathetic individuals that should be well understood by audience members. The struggle depicted by director Philipp Stölzl mainly focuses on the ambitions of Toni and Andi, both of whom see the importance of triumphing on the mountain as a way to leave the countryside and gain notoriety and respect in their country. But the true beauty of this film is the impeccable cinematography and incredibly effective score. Christian Kolonovits, a well-known Austrian composer, arranger and conductor, delivers a haunting score with very powerful themes, harmonies, and majestic orchestrations. A dominant component of this film, its score, will surely stand out as one of the best releases of the year, and, undoubtedly, one of the best in the genre.

The Prologue begins as Toni's journal is opened and read. This will be important to remember once the main characters of the movie are introduced. Instantly, the listener will appreciate the majestic sound of the orchestra, suggestive of 19th century German composers; with the main theme (Eiger's Theme) played by first by horn, followed by the woodwinds, and culminating with the strings. At the same time, the main four-note theme contains an ominous undertone sustained by constant string tremolos, reminding the listener that the heroic adventure will also be very suspenseful. Following the sinisterly, enchanting main theme, 'Luise And Toni - Love Theme' introduces the film's quasi-love theme. A quasi-love theme because the love story will only be superficially explored by Stölzl Admittedly, the harmonies used by Kolonovits try to abstain from too many romanticisms, but the visuals will try to purposefully infuse a sense of affection between Toni and Luise. More importantly, the scene will make reference to the notable journal shown earlier in the film. Equally intense and passionate as the first theme, this second theme will be played in other parts of the movie.

In an effort to realistically highlight the ascent of the mountain, 'Hinderstoisser Traverse,' much like 'Turning Back,' and 'Toni Gives Up' introduces the unique sounds of hammering anchors and spikes to the mountain mixed with the full orchestra. At times these sounds prove distracting in the movie — and in the album, too — considering the hammering of the anchors does not occur synchronous to the actions performed by the mountaineers. However, that is not to say that Kolonovits suddenly switches to lighter or drier orchestrations; in fact, he keeps the same stunning sonorities by constantly expanding the harmonies. Mühlsturhorn Trilogy contains a gorgeous theme played by the horns and woodwinds; this being the only theme of the movie that lives within the picturesque aspect of the mountains. The tender theme will follow Andi and Toni as they climb their way up the steep wall of the Mühlsturhorn (not the North Face, yet) and will shift tonalities as soon as the first signs of danger appear on screen. Kolonovits, however, does a marvelous job of modulating from the soft horns to the full force of the brass and string sections, ultimately culminating with a playful repetition of that wonderful soft theme.

As the major buildup of the film begins to wind down, the tracks slowly begin to lose their power, starting with 'The Eiger in the Storm' and followed with 'Toni Gives Up.' In some instances, only the string tremolos can be heard, while other parts only contain the hammering sounds being played at various speeds — most notably in the end of Toni Gives Up. These tracks prove to be the weakest in the album and are a bit harder to understand outside the movie's context. On the other hand, Mehringer Discovery and the Epilogue are two of the most spectacular pieces in the album with remarkable musical cadences that even J.S Bach would appreciate. The Epilogue's expansion of the the two major themes from the movie — Eiger's Theme and the love theme — by introducing a sensational string passage in the first two minutes of the track proves to be one of the major highlights of Kolonovits' score. The final track, a pre-WWII German song is quite enjoyable and makes for a nice addition to the soundtrack.

American audiences will surely need to appreciate this digital soundtrack release by Milan records; one that been available in Germany since 2008. The film, of course, only recently premiered in select U.S cities and has not been promoted elsewhere. North Face is a modern example of the long established film scoring traditions, so listeners beware: this is not the typical 21st Century Hollywood sound. In the end, Cristian Kolonovits delivers a brilliant musical score that is exceptionally rich in musical textures, themes, harmonies, and orchestrations.

Other releases of Nordwand (2008):

Nordwand (2008)


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