Music from the Movies
by Andrew Keech

Among the wealth of beautiful music that emanates from Imax cinemas is a gem of a score from Alan Williams, written for the Oscar nominated Amazon. The film allows the composer to explore music to match the magic and beauty of the South American rainforest and utilises ethnic woodwinds instruments while neatly avoiding the more obvious ethnic musical clichés associated with South America. The main Amazon theme is a combination of insistent native drums and delicate pan pipes which breaks into a sweeping orchestral theme, which often resurfaces at various point in the score. The sweeping strings continue in later cues often emphasised by the kettledrum in a manner reminiscent of John Barry's African scores, Born Free and Out Of Africa. Cues like 'The Journey Begins' and 'Journey's End' demonstrate a sedate majesty while others such as 'The River' and 'The Zoe' show great feelings of depth and tenderness. The 'End Credits' combines the whole effect into one superb montage giving a fitting end to an entertaining score. The score for Amazon obviously bows to the South American subject of the film, but is a thoroughly enjoyable score that includes some memorable themes. The composer's combination of ethnic instrument and a full orchestra is unusual but highly effective and makes this a score worth searching out.