A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Steven Spielberg likes to alternate his "popcorn movies" with his Oscar-friendly serious ones these days, though he rarely does it so quickly as in 2005, with the excellent, underrated War of the Worlds being followed by Munich, made in record time even by Spielberg's remarkable standards.  It tells the story of the revenge mission carried out by the Israelis in retaliation for the kidnap and murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich by the Palestinian terror group Black September.  The film is purported to be true, though both the validity of the book on which it is based (George Jonas's "Vengeance") and the film's adherence to the book itself have been called into question.  Regardless of that, it's a bold film indeed for Hollywood's most prominent Jewish filmmaker to make, and clearly means a lot to the veteran Spielberg, who has increasingly been showing that he has indeed "grown up".

Spielberg himself remarks in his notes for this album that 2005 will be remembered "as a John Williams red-letter year."  How right he is: Munich is the fourth excellent score penned by Williams in the calendar year, a remarkably prolific year by his standards, since he has been carefully picking and choosing his projects for many, many years.  Memoirs of a Geisha will no doubt be remembered by most as Williams's outstanding score of the year (and indeed the outstanding score of the year), but each of his other scores has much to offer, with Munich being no exception to that.

The album begins with "Munich, 1972" which opens with Lisbeth Scott's Lisa Gerrard-like vocal wailing, far more effective here than in other projects she's been involved with.  It's surprising to hear Williams succumbing to this particular film music cliché, but he emerges with his dignity intact.  The rest of the track introduces some remarkable piano writing which seems to be a return to the Williams of the 1970s (not to mention the Jerry Goldsmith of that period; and remember that Williams scored the vaguely similarly-themed Black Sunday at that time), though sadly it is not reprised often throughout the score.  "The Attack at Olympic Village" is typical of the more urgent material in the score, being full of suspense but not action.  Perhaps the standout track is "A Prayer for Peace", which features an elegiac string-laden performance of the main theme, recalling the composer's outstanding Born on the Fourth of July.  It is a moving and seriously impressive piece, one which I suspect will be performed in the composer's concerts for years to come.  The other side of the coin comes in "Avner's Theme", in which the piece is reduced to a solitary guitar; and to a gentle oboe solo in "Avner and Daphna".  It is moving in those versions, too.  Williams does reflect the Israeli / Palestinian region with some native instruments (thankfully not just relying on the wailing vocals), and he does so almost subliminally, very impressively.

So, there is much outstanding material on offer here, but the album is not entirely compelling.  The eight-minute "Bearing the Burden", for instance, is essentially one long piece of suspense music, which is highly effective but not fully impressive when taken outside the film, excepting the brief quotes from the main themes.  It is not alone in that, either.  It is certainly fine music, perfect for the film, but there are probably just one or two tracks here which, had they not been included on the album, would have made it a much better listen overall.  More compelling is the low-end piano work dominating the excellent "Stalking Carl", an example of suspense music which works just as well on the album as in the film.  This small complaint shouldn't detract from the stunning quality of the core material, however, and Munich caps off a simply remarkable year for John Williams.

Tracks

1. Munich, 1972 (2:37)
2. The Attack at Olympic Village (3:00)
3. Hatikvah (The Hope) (2:02)
4. Remembering Munich (4:38)
5. Letter Bombs (2:48)
6. A Prayer for Peace (3:51)
7. Bearing the Burden (8:11)
8. Avner and Daphna (4:02)
9. The Tarmac at Munich (3:59)
10. Avner's Theme (3:07)
11. Stalking Carl (4:24)
12. Bonding (1:57)
13. Encounter in London / Bomb Malfunctions (3:37)
14. Discovering Hans (2:47)
15. The Raid in Tarifa (2:03)
16. Thoughts of Home (4:03)
17. Hiding the Family (1:25)
18. End Credits (4:06)