Gladiator

This is a soundtrack that has impressed me greatly and which I would listen to several times a day while I worked. The themes were not necessarily unique - I can hear Sigfried's Funeral March from Wagner, Holtz's Mars from the Planets, lovely Celtic music, Spanish guitar work, and much more. Each fits perfectly into its location. The Roman empire was huge, encompassing a quarter of the known population of the entire Earth. The music moves from location to location - from the military machine that was the Roman Army in the depths of Germania, across to the middle east, and back into Rome itself.You take that journey through the music - the strength and honor of the Roman soldiers, the code of the gladiators, the love, the deception. There are common themes running through the music, and yet each piece represents and entirely different slice of the world that was the Roman Empire. There are other similar soundtracks that I've loved - those to Excalibur and Conan the Barbarian come to mind - but in those cases they often just lifted classical works known for their power. In this case Zimmer created entirely new works which pay homage to those classics but bring them to a new level, tailoring them to fit within the pathway of the movie.There's even a second CD you can get if you want more of the music, but this one is a definite must-have. You don't get familiar with the tunes as you replay them. Instead, you find even more nuance, even more meaning in the songs you thought at first were 'less good'. I consider this a masterpiece up with my favorite classical music CDs.

I ordered this sound track for my brother, and he stated he is enjoying listening to it!

I originally bought this record for one song but when I started listening to the rest it made me feel immersed.

This is a truly a beautiful soundtrack from the movie gladiator. It really puts me in a relaxing mood.

Great movie soundtrack.

This is an epic score that perfectly fit the movie. In fact, I think it adds immensely to the movie, especially in the sweeping battle sequence and in establishing mood in later scenes. The score balances extremely powerful orchestral pieces by Zimmer with Lisa Gerrard's quieter and deeply affecting passages. With respect to orchestral film music, Zimmer reminds me of John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, and James Horner at their best.I suggest that one should not be bothered by Zimmer's borrowing from Holst and Wagner -- Williams is notoriously guilty of it as well, although in a sneakier way (he hides his thematic borrowing while Zimmer makes no attempt to cover his tracks.) I have come to view this technique in film music more as an homage to great classical music from the past. In fact many great composers from the past borrowed thematic elements from each other.In the end one should judge a musical score not as an original music composition, rather for its ability to establish the mood and enhance the dramatic tension of what is happening on screen. In this regard, this music is supremely successful. Trust me that this movie would be much weaker without this musical score. This is one of the finer musical scores to come along in years.

Loved the movie and the soundtrack.

Loved the movie, loved the iconic music from Lisa Gerrard and hans Zimmer. To be honest I'm surprised I didn't already own it.I am also surprised how intense the music is without the movie.The cd arrived unbroken and works well. I am considering buying a second one for a friend.