Unbreakable (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Composed by James Newton Howard
Our next release is James Newton Howard’s score for the 2000
psychological superhero thriller film Unbreakable, written and directed by M.
Night Shyamalan and starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright and
Spencer Treat Clark. Willis plays David Dunn, the only survivor of a catastrophic
train crash with no injuries whatsoever. When David realizes that he has never
been ill in his life, he seeks help to understand what is happening to him.
This eventually puts him in contact with Elijah Price (Jackson), a disabled
comic book store owner who suffers from a genetic disorder that results in his bones
breaking easily. As the story progresses, both characters find themselves
entangled in a good versus evil fable, eventually understanding their roles in it.
The film received much praise for its direction, screenplay, cinematography and
performances, ultimately becoming the first installment of a film series that includes
Split (2017) and Glass (2019). For the film’s music, Shyamalan returned to
James Newton Howard, after their successful collaboration in The Sixth Sense, and Howard
provided a score that also received much attention for its contribution to the film’s
suspense, particular atmosphere and emotional weight.
While retaining much of the atmospheric appeal of The Sixth Sense,
Howard is a lot more ambitious in Unbreakable, expanding thematic and
instrumental ideas striving for a tone that would give the film its singularity. As the composer put
it, Shyamalan “wanted something that was very different, very distinctive, that
immediately evoked the movie when people heard it”. Even tough Unbreakable progresses with minimized instruments
and orchestrations, with strings,
trumpets and piano taking most of the foreground, Howard does achieve the
singularity that his fellow director was after. In the track "Unbreakable", Howard introduces a main theme that immediately
hooks the listener’s attention, and serves as an overarching identity for the supernatural element of the story.
Starting with a solemn five-note piano motif, the track progressively evolves into
a full string ensemble rendition of this theme accompanied by a heavy “new age”
drum loop, with choral effects to add to the dark and mysterious atmosphere of the film. The track grows louder and more prominent, elevating
the theme with dramatic effect, as if embodying the larger-than-life scenario
in which the protagonists find themselves living. This theme is again presented
with the drum loop in highlight track “Visions” and at the end in the end credits suite “They
Call Me Mr. Glass”.
The David Dunn character is treated with a “hero theme”, subtly introduced with strings and piano at the end of the track “Memories”. The theme is further explored with effective trumpet solos and some comedic delicacies during the “Weightlifting” track, as David continues on his journey of self-discovery. Howard wisely reserves the magnificent and muscular full statements of this theme for “The Wreck” and “The Orange Man”, in which David becomes fully aware of his superhero abilities and his place in the story. On the other hand, the Elijah Price character is fittingly treated with a collection of reflective and fragile high note motifs for strings, piano and harp instrumentations, best summarized in “Prologue”, “Reflections of Elijah”, “Falling Down”, and the beginning of “They Call Me Mr. Glass”.
The score for Unbreakable was released in 2000 by Hollywood
Records. Though thoroughly enjoyable, the album was oddly arranged, with tracks
out of chronological order, causing it to drag in its mid portions. Now, Renovatio
Records has produced a new program that presents the standout cues in fitting
chronological order, enhancing the listening experience as Howard’s develops
his excellent themes and motifs as the film progresses. We hope you enjoy what is easily one of Howard's best scores for director Shyamalan. Are you ready for the truth?
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