Pigeonholed World War II Music? Not Quite.
Thirty seconds into this trumpeting tour de force, we're already soaring where very few soundtracks have recently gone. George Fenton's original score lifts the star of the film way up there, almost out of sight. Valiant is a small bird with big, albeit unlikely, aspirations. He wants nothing more than to serve crown and country during WWII as a part of the Royal Homing Pigeon Service, and he unwittingly seems to know that a big, thematic orchestral underscore goes a long way when landing a claw in the door. Somewhat modeled after classic war scores from this era, the Valiant soundtrack CD (Disney) includes plenty of military marches. How the filmmakers managed to book The Central Band of The Royal Air Force for an authentic recording of "The March of the RHPS" is near unbelievable, as the renowned band contributes to more than 370 events per year in the U.K. and abroad (you do the math!). When not in a march cadence, Fenton's score tenses with drama, sweeps with romance and soars with spirit, echoing musical sentiments written by the greatest movie composers in the history of film: Erich Wolfgang Korngold, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, James Horner, you name it. Comparisons with Chicken Run, both the movie and John Powell's sprightly score, are expected. However, Valiant isn't simply flying the coop. Along with Squad F, he's saving the day in the biggest mission our fine-feathered friends have ever faced. Thus, the music here is bigger, bolder, and significantly proves the size of the wingspan is not what matters. The size of your underscore does.
PK (8/17/2005)see all reviews, or add a review
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