What? A James Horner score with less than 5 stars from me? Well, It has happened in the past on a couple of occasions but don't think that this is going to become a habit with me. Enemy at the Gates was one James Horner score that I purchased after a long dry spell of not buying scores. What was my impression? Well, I did like the choral work he had done for Red Heat and I figured that the choral work in this one would be similar. I wasn't off on that assumption. The Russian choral pieces presented here are simlar to Red Heat but have the prescence of Basil Poledoris's choral passages from The Hunt for Red October. The first track itself covers the opening titles and opening scenes depicting a particularly devastating moment during the long and bitter Battle of Stalingrad which is what the backdrop of the film is. As a voracious reader of World War II history I was enthralled by the film.
I knew that the film was supposedly a lot like Saving Private Ryan meets High Noon and those two movies could not be more opposite in the musical sense. In Saving Private Ryan there was a minimalist approach to the score and in High Noon, music played a key role. Well, the comparison only came from the film's depiction of war and the storyline being akin to the older western but I was nonetheless curious as to what Horner would do with the score.
Rather than taking a minimalist approach like Williams, or taking the overly bombastic route as with many older war films, Horner takes a happy median between the two. The score is serious as is the nature of the film but it does allow itself the occasional moments to present the heroes in a heroic light. The choral elements are utilized in such portions, like in Vassili's Fame Spreads. Other parts of the score, particularly the parts dealing with the duel of the snipers are handled in a somewhat restrained manner which surprised me. But it was a pleasent surprise. This is one score that has no vocal song attached anywhere and I am very thankful for that. It just wouldn't have been appropriate and in this case, we are finally treated to a rendition of Horner's good work at creating good end title music. Tania is a reprise of the love theme played on a mandolin style guitar that creates a haunting image and works well when seen with the actual film. Overall, a good effort by James Horner.
Total time: 76:40