ew movie images are as familiar to science fiction fans as Godzilla terrorizing Tokyo. For nearly half a century, "The Big G" has alternately decimated and defended Japan, obliterating thousands of buildings while fighting off myriad exotic creatures. Each adventure has also featured rousing music, and Godzilla 2000: Millennium, the latest film in this distinguished franchise, is no exception.
The motion picture's soundtrack CD showcases 32 melodies composed by Takayuki Hattori. A chilling Godzilla roar launches the disc, leading directly into a percussive cut titled "Godzilla's Theme: 2000 Millennium." This tune introduces the gargantuan monster's powerful motif, which is later heard on such numbers as "Godzilla Appears in Nemuro," "Godzilla Comes Ashore" and "G's Decision."
"Godzilla 2000: Millennium Main Title" uses shivering strings and lonesome horns to inject tension into the opening moments of the film. This atmosphere of anxiety reappears in cues like "Face to Face with Terror," "Sixty-Million-Year Slumber" and "Eerie Silence." Otherworldly choral components pervade "The Object from Outer Space: Bizarre Happening #2," "The Millennium Kingdom" and "End Title: Godzilla--Dreaded God." Discreet electronic effects add to creepy tunes like "The Encounter with the Mysterious Object" and "Giant UFO Approaching."
Interspersed with these works, the album contains three tracks devoted to the movie's sound effects. These cuts include the howls made by Godzilla and his adversary Orga, plus some weird spaceship noises. The disc closes with an updated rendition of famed Japanese composer Akira Ifukube's "Godzilla's Theme" from the original 1954 film Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Forceful, energetic melodies
Godzilla 2000: Millennium is the first Japanese Godzilla movie in 15 years to receive a widespread theatrical release in the United States. Yet for most SF fans, the images and music associated with the Big G remain instantly recognizable. While Hattori's score lacks the consistent grandeur of Ifukube's earlier Godzilla compositions, the melodies presented on this disc are fervent and enjoyable.
A brief cue titled "The Giant Tail" mixes trembling violins with robust horns to generate a musical "sting" that imaginatively hints at Godzilla's tremendous power and the destruction inevitably caused by his appearance. "Launching the Full-Metal Missile" and "Astonishing Resurrection" are also active cuts, both of which integrate--to varying degrees--booming percussion to suggest the fury of a vast confrontation.
Hattori produces works that evoke mellower sentiments, too. "The Wonder of G Revealed" merges tender elements and an ethereal chorus with the omnipresent brass and strings, while "Thinking of My Dad" elicits a pastoral ambience. And, just prior to the end-title sequence, a surprisingly poignant requiem for Godzilla's extraterrestrial opponent is heard on the moving "Orga: Irony of Fate."
A few numbers are rather hackneyed, such as "Deep at Sea," with its flittering harp, and the predictably demonstrative "Tensions on the Rise/The Metamorphosis." Additionally, more than a third of the cues are less than one minute in length, making it difficult to fully appreciate many of the score's thematic variations. Nonetheless, the Godzilla 2000: Millennium soundtrack is satisfying, offering vigorous melodies that should captivate both Godzilla aficionados and SF music lovers.
