Hugo: Original Score

The film "Hugo" tied with the other new film "The Artist" as my favorite movies of 2011. I guess it's no coincidence that both are about "silent movies" and both have scores of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. And I see both contending for the Best Picture Oscar.

"Hugo" was filmed - and must be seen - in 3-D and the special effects and acting keep your eyes glued to the screen. But, all this time, your ears are hearing the score and subconsciously helping you relate to the characters. All I remembered after the film was over - and I was watching the final credits roll on the screen with the one vocal track, "Couer Volant" performed by a singer named Zaz - was that I had to hear the score by itself. When I got the CD today and sat down to listen to it, the "theme" for "The Thief" brought back images of the massive train station in Paris and the orphaned boy living among the clocks. Over the next 67 minutes (the recorded score is over half the length of the film) scenes came back to me. The accordion that composer Howard Shore uses prominently puts you right back in Paris as the 19th century was rolling into the 20th.

This album is not on one of the major labels - a surprise to me! - but Shore's own Howe Records. (At least I think it's his label!) If that is the case, he has done us all a great service in releasing it with such great sound. The CD comes with a 8-page booklet which contains just a track list and photos,; no discussion of the film.

If you've seen the film, you know what a wonderful score it is. If you haven, then go out and see this wonderful film NOW - and then come back and buy the album.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

I must say that my expectations for this soundtrack were very, very high because my affection for the source material is so strong. Howard Shore has the capacity for greatness (Lord of the Rings) and for sensitivity and sublimated emotion (Doubt). With Hugo, he brings his sensitive brand of grandeur into the heart of 1930's Paris, with all its wonder, romance, poverty, desperation and glamour all mixed together. If you have loved the pictorial novel on which this was based (as I have), then this music will send you back to the book with pleasure--all the sounds somehow evoke the music that I wanted in my mind but didn't know how to express. Lucky for us, Howard Shore does know how to express it. French cabaret music blends and informs the orchestral writing, and the wonderful "Coer Volant" realizes this in a simple yet grand waltz. Zaz (the delightful Isabelle Geffroy)has a voice of perfection--velvety, rich, smooth and so so perfect here. A wonderful gem of a soundtrack for a wonderful gem of a story.

Scorsese and Shore are one of the industry's best director/composer teams. Since Gangs Of New York the two have formed a formidable team and Howard Shore is now the voice of A Martin Scorsese picture. For Hugo the two really get to flex their creative muscles. Hugo is a grand old fashioned adventure with what has to be Scorese's most visually stimulating film. For the score Howard Shore matches that wonderment with piano and strings, and of course the accordion which gives everything a French twist.

The score is definitely a refreshing and mesmerizing journey. The music whisks you into fantasy within the first track and doesn't let go. The structure while maybe not technically a waltz definitely has that feel, and I found myself swaying my head to the beats as I listened. The music can be delicate when it needs to be, and even when it's bold it's never aggressive. It lulls you into a state of being that is just plain wonderful. I can't imagine anyone not having a warm smile on their face while listening to this. The music is young at heart so it feels rejuvenating. I felt love and admiration at every point in the score and that transcends into something very special. Howard Shore hasn't composed something like this in a while. It's nothing that will blow you away emotionally, but it is perfect when it comes to crafting a state of mind and guiding the audience through it. For some reason it reminds me of sitting by a warm crackling fire while there's 2 feet of snow on the ground outside.

It's nice to hear a Howard Shore score for a Scorsese picture again since Shutter Island opted for non-original music. Shore definitely composes one of his most character rich scores in some time and the brisk youthful energy in every note is something to make everyone smile. The score embodies setting, atmosphere, character and pure inspiration to create a memorable experience.